Turner, Homing of Ants. 385 



up a pupa, moved about the stage for a few moments, then dropped 

 to the island and hastened to the nest with the pupa. Once more 

 the ant was replaced on the stage, once more it picked up a pupa 

 and dropped to the island. This was repeated over and over 

 again. 



In the case of Myrmica, I was careful always to pick it up at 

 about the same place on the island. After I had picked it up 

 about a dozen times, it would go from the nest direct to that place 

 and wander about in a curve of short radii. When the forceps 

 were presented the ant would mount them of its own accord and 

 rest quietly thereon until transferred to the stage. Then it would 

 pick up a pupa, drop off the stage and hasten to the nest. The ant 

 always dropped off from the same side of the stage; but not from 

 the same spot. Whenever it dropped, it was amusing to note the 

 reflex tendency of its legs to cling to the support. Each time 

 Formica would make several false starts before the successful drop 

 was made. It would make a dash and perhaps the front part of 

 the body would clear the edge, but the two hinder pairs of legs 

 would hold fast to the stage. Recovering, it would make another 

 start, and this time in all probability one or both hinder pairs of 

 legs would retain the ant on the stage. But persisting in its efforts, 

 it would finally make the drop through ten centimeters of vertical 

 space — an enormous drop for a creature so small. Towards the 

 latter part of the experiment the ant took much less time to over- 

 come the reflex tendency of its legs to cling to the support. For- 

 mica continued this dropping until, by accident, I pinched its 

 body with the forceps, and after that, not only would it not mount 

 the forceps; but, when they were brought near, it would dash about 

 in such a lively manner that it was impossible to capture it with- 

 out injuring it. 



Myrmica never dropped off" in this headlong manner; on the 

 contrary it usually dropped oft' sidewise, but like Formica it had 

 much trouble in overcoming the reflex tendency of its legs to cling 

 to the support. 



In addition to proving that ants retain what they learn, this 

 experiment lends credence to those anecdotes in which ants are 

 reported to have voluntarily dropped from ceiling to table and 

 from leaves to the ground (Romanes '92, pp. 134, 135). 



On another occasion I trained an ant to use a section-lifter as an 

 elevator on which to pass to and from the stage. ' This time it was 



