FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 117 
them, and pressed them closely to- 
wards the ground. When she had suc- 
ceeded in disembarrassing herself of 
these organs, I observed her walk about 
tranquilly in her enclosure, and begin 
constructing a grotto in the earth : thus, 
this second experiment had all the suc- 
cess of the first. 
I still possessed one pregnant female, 
which I reserved for the following 
morning ; she had not lost her wings be- 
fore the experiment. I introduced her 
under the recipient fifteen or sixteen 
hours later than the others: she ap- 
peared to be in excellent condition, and 
apparently had not suffered by this de- 
lay. Scarcely had she touched the 
ground, than she hastened to get rid 
of her wings, employing the method 
already described. I repeated the like 
experiment on several females of’ dif- 
ferent species, and always obtained the 
same result. * 
* For the discovery of the female ants voluntarily 
depriving themselves of their wings, after impreg- 
