Community Life in the Animal Kingdom. SI 



of intelligence. The whole difference lies in the fact 

 that instead of calls, the ants use another means of 

 sensile communication, namely, their feelers. If a 

 troop of "sanguine slavemakers," as McCook calls 

 them, (Formica sanguined}, approaches a nest of the 

 negro ant (Formica fusca}, then the first black ant 

 which has noticed the foe hurries back into the nest, 

 communicates her own fright to the other workers by 

 rapidly tapping them with her feelers and thus gives 

 a general alarm. The larvae and pupae are hurried 

 down from the higher parts of the nest into the deeper 

 galleries and chambers, and if the foe advances as far 

 as these apartments, the black ants run head over 

 heels through the secret openings at the opposite side, 

 and with their precious burden climb up stalks and 

 bushes to save it from the foe. Sometimes they re- 

 sort to this final means of escape at the first news 

 of danger and take to their heels before the van< 

 guard of the foe has reached the interior of the nest. 

 In a similar way, but adopting different tactics, the 

 yellow and the brownish-black meadow ants (Lasius 

 flavins and niger} struggle for safety, when their 

 nests are attacked by some Formica species. As soon 

 as the approach of the foe is discovered, the fact is 

 announced with lightning-like rapidity throughout 

 the colony by rapid strokes of the feelers. The 

 larvae and pupae, the winged males and the queens 

 are carried to the lowest recesses of the nest, and the 

 avenues to it are hastily blocked up with earth to 

 prevent the enemy's advance. Whilst the small 

 Lasius is constantly closing up the approaches to the 

 interior of the nest with bits of earth, such of the foe 



