54 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



though at first a little shy, the}' graduall}' make friends. I thought, 

 therefore, I would take a few specimens of Formica fusca from two 

 different nests, which we will call nests A and B, place them 

 together, and then, when they had lived together for some time, 

 introduce the ants from nest A into nest B, and vice versa. 

 Accordingly, having first ascertained by direct experiment, though 

 I had myself no doubt on the point, that the ants in nest A would 

 attack and expel an ant from nest B, and vice versa, I took two 

 ants from nest A on the 2nd December, 1880, and put them in a 

 small glass with two others from nest B. 



Then on the 23rd January, I put two of the ants from nest A 

 into nest B. One of them was at once attacked ; about the other 

 we could not be sure. Unluckily the two ants from nest B were 

 killed by an accident. 



On February 24th, 1881, I again took three ants from nest A 

 and the same number from nest B, and put them together in a 

 small glass. Then on May 1st I put two ants from nest B into 

 nest A. They were soon attacked very vigorously, and dragged 

 out of the nest. 



Thus, then, though these ants had lived amicably for some 

 weeks with companions from another nest, they were not accepted 

 as friends by the nest from which those companions were taken. 



In consequence of Mr. M'Cook's suggestion, I took three 

 specimens of Lasius niger and three of Formica fusca, and put 

 them in water for an hour. After marking them, I put them back 

 in the nest. The specimens of L. niger were put back at 11 a.m. 

 They were quite amicably received, and the other ants began at 

 once to lick off the paint with which they were marked. At 11.30 

 one was among the rest, evidently quite at home ; the other I 

 could not distinguish; but no ant was being attacked. At 12 

 the one was not quite cleaned ; the other I could not distinguish. 

 I looked from time to time during the afternoon, and certainly 

 there was no fighting in the nest. The next morning I looked 

 carefully, but there was no dead body, and I am satisfied they 

 were amicably received. 



The following morning at 7 a.m. I put in the three specimens 

 of F. fusca. They were also evidently received as friends, and 

 their companions began, as in the other case, to clean off the paint. 

 At 7.30 they were quite at home among the others. 8, ditto. 9, 

 ditto. 10, ditto. There could be no doubt about their recognition. 



