OBSERVATIONS ON ANTS in 



struggled on (who knows from where?) with that bit of food, faithful 

 to her queen and colony. 



Into the darkness of the nest she plunges, now assisted by another 

 worker. She disappears through tunnels and alleyways and finally 

 lands her dainty morsel in some store room far in the depth of the tree. 

 All this she has done in utter darkness and it is strange that she should 

 be able to work, unaffected, either by glaring sunlight, which she has 

 just left, or the blackness of the nest. 



Now let us look within the nesting tree and see the multitude of 

 insect life that inhabits its endless tunnels and galleries. A complete 

 colony contains one or two fertile queens, whose sole duty is the 

 laying of eggs and without whose influence, the lesser personages of 

 the tribe would soon lose their instincts and die. Besides these regal 

 insects there are a multitude of creatures known as "Workers," unde- 

 veloped females in reality, upon whose shoulders the main labor of 

 the community rests. Then there are the young males, and females, 

 the weaker sex, to become royal mothers after they have left the old 

 home in what is known as the "Marriage Flight" with the young 

 males. 



New colonies are started in this way by the younger generation, 

 who at maturity are actually driven from home by the workers. The 

 young males, however, never enter the new nest. Weak and unable 

 to provide for themselves, they soon die of starvation or fall easy prey 

 to their many enemies. Thus does Nature dispense with these useless 

 members when the "Marriage Flight" is ended. 



The young queens are independent, strong and well equipped to 

 take care of themselves, as indeed they must be, for each must lay the 

 foundations of a new colony. Their first action is to rid themselves 

 of their no longer useful wings, which they do with enthusiasm, sever- 

 ing them close to the body with their own jaws! When this has been 

 accomplished the fertile insect crawls into some tiny crack or cavity 



