328 LEISURE-TIME STUDIES. 



The oval bodies, resembling grains of corn, were the pupa 

 or chrysalides of the ants, the sleeping babies and young 

 hopefuls, on whom the hopes of the colony were, and, I may 

 say, are, founded. It is noteworthy, however, that upon 

 some mistaken notion regarding the nature of these bodies 

 many of the ideas concerning the frugal care of these insects 

 were founded. Solomon's advice that the sluggard should 

 " go to the ant," with the view of considering her ways and 

 of gaining wisdom as a result of the study, was in days of 

 old thought to be approved by the observation that the ants 

 husbanded their stores of food in the shape of the grains of 

 corn they had gained from the autumnal store. There can 

 be little doubt that some species of ants do store food ; but 

 their praiseworthy actions in this direction have been greatly 

 exaggerated, and there appears, indeed, to be some danger 

 of idle persons being prepared with the retort to the wise 

 man, that the ant is by no means the model creature he 

 thought her to be. If, however, the supposed corn-grains 

 turn out to be the rising generation of ants in their chrysalis- 

 state, it may be said that what the ants may have lost in the 

 way of fame in this direction has been amply compensated for 

 by the discovery of more wonderful traits of character than 

 Solomon could possibly have dreamt of. 



The work of removing the developing population thus 

 appeared in our ant's nest to absorb the entire energies of the 

 alarmed denizens. Pupa after pupa was carried out from 

 amongst the debris and taken for a considerable distance 

 certainly fifteen inches to a place of security, beneath a 

 small sloping stone of flat shape, which roofed over a hollow 

 in the ground. So far as I could observe, the scouts must 

 have discovered this place of refuge, and have communicated 

 the intelligence to their neighbours. The regularity with 

 which the slumbering innocents were conveyed to the same 

 spot would appear to point to concerted work and to a 

 definite idea, if one may so term it, having animated the 

 labourers. I was careful to ascertain at an early stage of the 

 proceedings that the place of refuge had no communication 



