071 Indian ants. 363 



work on ants, I thought I would try a few simple experi- 

 ments to see if I could influence my ants by means of 

 colours. I first scattered sugar about my verandah for 

 a day or two, by which means I attracted considerable 

 numbers of ants of different genera and species, par- 

 ticularly Diacamma, Solenopsis, and Tapinoma. I then 

 placed sugar on different coloured cards (subsequently 

 substituting the intensely brilliant colours of surface- 

 papers for the cards), making various changes from 

 time to time according to my judgment. These experi- 

 ments I kept up for a good many weeks, but I could 

 never find that colour influenced my ants in any way. 

 I do not attach any value to this, as my experiments 

 were very crude, and generally interrupted by the gaps 

 of from Sunday to Sunday, and I only mention the 

 circumstance as affordmg some traits of ant-character. 

 Tapinoma was always first at the sugar, and swarmed 

 indiscriminately over anything alike. 



Diacamma vagans was fairly quick at the sugar, but 

 appeared to be influenced chiefly by the card nearest 

 her nest, and perhaps in some degree by the one with 

 the finest grains. 



Solenopsis gemminatus seemed only to blunder on the 

 cards by accident, and without, as far as I could observe, 

 any particular signs of intelligence. Tapinoma ate sugar 

 on this spot, and also carried off grains. Diacamma 

 carried off the sugar as fast as possible, but ate none. 

 Solenopsis ate sugar on the spot, but did not carry any 

 away. 



By alarming the ants by striking the cards, shaking 

 the paper, or dropping fine powdered sugar on them, 

 Diacamma vagans and Tapinoma ^NOVi\(\. give a little start, 

 but, recovering themselves instantly, would seize the 

 nearest and biggest grain, and make off at express speed. 

 Solenopsis w^ould start, sometimes tumble over one 

 another, and then make off" in alarm and without any 

 method or precision. According to my ideas, Diacamma, 

 by a number of little traits which I cannot describe, but 

 which as a whole made a great impression on me, showed 

 the most intelligence, Tapinoma the most audacity. 

 Solenopsis I do not like to judge rashly from an im- 

 perfect human point of view, so will only say I was 

 disappointed with them generally. I never succeeded 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1889. — PART III. (oCT.) 2 G 



