PROCEEDINGS, 1918 



period, so among ants the first three of these are observed, not, 

 of course, in any time sequence, but marking different varieties. 



In the hunting families the communities are small; they 

 fight singly, and each individual finds its own food. The pas- 

 toral varieties live in better houses, act in concert, fight in 

 armies, conduct organized food forays, and enslave the 

 young of conquered foes. A most interesting habit of the 

 pastoral ant is its adoption of the honey secreting aphis. A 

 colony of ants often house and attend these little creatures in 

 return for the honey they collect, using them precisely as the 

 human family uses the cow. When we examine the habits 

 of the agricultural types, there is a variety of opinions as to 

 their planting and growing grain for food. Some observers 

 claim that they actually and intentionally plant the seed of 

 their favorite ant rice. But the consensus of opinion among 

 careful writers is that the ring of these plants so often seen 

 about the colony is due to the fact that seeds are dropped or 

 pushed out among rubbish and become sufficiently covered 

 over to take root and grow. It is well known that germinated 

 seeds found among the winter stores are immediately expelled. 



Perhaps the most interesting habits to be roted in the 

 agricultural stages are those of the fungus growing ants. These 

 collect organic matter of such quality and preserve its moisture 

 at such a degree as to grow a fungus which constitutes their 

 favorite food. This is stored in chambers constructed spec- 

 ially for its reception, and when a female goes off to start a new 

 colony, she takes with her as a sort of marriage dowry, a piece 

 of fungus to form the nucleus of the food supply for a new gen- 

 eration. 



If in all this there are striking analogies to human beings 

 and their ways, the ant world has as striking differences. Among 

 these is the fact that ant societies are female societies. Pos- 

 sibly they have only preceded ourselves in that particular, and 

 we are soon to follow in their footsteps. At any rate the male 

 among ants has a very limited sphere, and as a member of the 

 community is quite negligible. Then, the ant is born to a call- 

 ling. There is never a change by superior training or prow- 

 ess from one grade to another. Karma ordains her station 

 and there she remains. In government the ant colony is an 

 anarchistic socialism, but as far as can be imagined from the 

 insane and inane Bolshevikism. It has no ruler or general 



