362 Mr. G. A. J. Eothney's notes 



few workers came out from her nest and stood about the 

 entrance, but she took no notice of them. I do not 

 know how many journeys she made that day, as I had 

 to leave for the evening drive. 



The next Sunday I arranged the sugar island in the 

 same place. There were a good many ants of different 

 species walking about, but none found the way to the 

 BUgar. In about an hour out came my marked ant, and 

 after a little wandering about found the bridge, and then 

 followed the rapid journeys to and fro with the sugar. 

 She never appeared to eat any herself, her great desire 

 being to get all she could stored in her nest. 



The next Sunday the same process went on, but with 

 this slight difference : this time some of her own fellow- 

 workers seemed inclined to follow her and watch her move- 

 ments, and my marked ant, after going one or two direct 

 journeys, then altered her mode of travelling to a very 

 irregular and zigzag course, and generally assumed a 

 casual and uncertain air. I watched her closely, and 

 am quite certain she wished to bamboozle her friends, 

 and keep all the credit and "kudos " of bringing home the 

 treasure to herself. She kept up these roundabout journeys 

 to and from the island until I left for the usual drive. 



I carried on these experiments for many successive 

 Sundays, but no other ants from this nest found out the 

 island. A small species of Tcqnnoma did, and came in 

 numbers every Sunday, and at last a worker of vagans 

 from another nest at the other end of my verandah, 

 distant about 50 ft., found out the bridge, [ think by 

 accident, but had the enterprise to cross, seize a piece of 

 sugar, and off to her nest. After this I always had a 

 marked ant going backwards and forwards with sugar on 

 the left side, and an unmarked ant doing the same on 

 the right side, and little Tapinoma swarming all over the 

 place with the grains, but no other ants found out the 

 sugar island. Sometimes the two workers of vagans 

 met on the brick or bridge, but never took any notice of 

 each other ; they were too much wrapt up in their work 

 for that. 



I should mention that I always arranged my island 

 within a few feet of the same spot, and now I often 

 wonder why I never changed the position completely, 

 and then watched the result. 



After reading Sir John Lubbock's most charming 



