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



in frightening my ants by noise alone ; noise had always 

 to be accompanied by an earth tremor or wind. 



I several times endeavoured to keep workers of varjans 

 in captivity, but never with any success ; they swarmed 

 up the sides of my highly polished tin -box with ease, 

 and in my island arrangement, which kept smaragdina 

 in perfect security, they found their way with wonderful 

 rapidity to the brick surrounded by the moat, and then 

 took to the water without a moment's hesitation, and 

 with one or two strokes with their legs they got over the 

 two or three inches of water with almost the ease and 

 dexterity of a water-boatman. 



On one occasion I put two workers in with smaragdina. 

 One escaped at once ; the other was seized, but fought 

 her way clear, and followed her companion with splendid 

 determination and quickness. It would require much 

 ingenuity to make a receptacle that would safely and 

 conveniently confine this clever ant. 



In Barrackpore Park, on the river-drive half-way 

 between " Scandal-point " and Tittaghur Bridge, at one 

 of the prettiest spots in the most beautiful park in 

 Bengal,— I might almost say in India, — is a fine old 

 banyan-tree {Ficus indica), with foliage almost touching 

 the ground ; it stands on the green, slope below the 

 drive, and the breeze, blowing straight up from the 

 broad Tittaghur Eeach, makes the shade of this tree 

 delightfully cool in even the heat of May or June. There 

 is in this spot a stone culvert running under the road, 

 the mouth of it opening in the deepest shade of the tree, 

 and on the stones of this culvert you can find almost 

 all the year round, but particularly in the hot weather 

 and rains, numbers of the workers of Diacamnia vagans 

 congregated together in couples, and engaged in what I 

 take to be a process of shampooing. Two ants will face 

 each other, and fence about and caress with their 

 antennae, now advancing, now retiring a little ; at 

 last one will give a little spring on to the back of the 

 other, and gently and tenderly hold her with her 

 mandibles ; then the caressing with the antennae is 

 renewed, and the legs are also brought into play, and 

 used in much the same way ; and lastly, the mandibles 

 will be run gently up and down the limbs. During this 

 operation the ant under treatment will keep time with 

 her antennae, and stretch out her limbs with evident 



