COMMUNICATING AND OTHER ANTS 65 



efforts to find the object to which it was summoned, 

 that the original discoverer, previously marked with 

 a speck of paint, has had again to return to the nest 

 and call out the swarm a second time. 



The ants are sufficiently careful not to empty com- 

 pletely their nest when the swarm emerges. The 

 whole strength is not lost in one effort. A reserve 

 swarm is left in readiness within the nest to be called 

 out should information be received of a second 

 discovery while the main swarm is engaged in over- 

 coming the first. Or should the contest be severe, 

 the ants will have reinforcements in readiness to 

 advance and support their fellows. Like the prudent 

 commander' of an army, they rarely throw the whole 

 strength of their force at one moment into the struggle, 

 but rather keep a strong reinforcement in reserve to 

 be sent forward should necessity arise. 



This, in truth, is a wonderful power of communica- 

 tion, for not only does the worker supply the informa- 

 tion that it has discovered something, but it can 

 communicate to its fellow-workers the place where the 

 discovery has been made. The other ants which I 

 have described could never have transferred one 

 to the other such definite communication as this. 



The process is worth further investigation, so I 

 describe the following observations and simple ex- 

 periments to shed some light on the manner in which 

 I believe it works. At first it appeared possible that 

 the returning ant might have caused the excitement 

 in the swarm and urged them into activity by bringing 

 into the nest a tiny fragment of the discovered 

 treasure. But I am certain that this was not so, 

 but that the communication was a real transfer of 



