390 THE INSECT WOELD. 



by certain philosophers of our day, who were only able to conceive 

 the idea, the possibility, the project of such a community of goods 

 and interests, which is among ants a reality. 



How do these insects manage to make themselves understood 

 in such various ways, asking for help, giving advice, giving invi- 

 tations ? They must have a language of their own, or else they 

 must communicate their impressions by the play of their antennae. 



When an ant is hungry, and does not wish to disturb itself 

 from its work, it tells a foraging ant as it passes, by touching it 

 with its antennae ; the latter approaches it immediately, and 

 presents it, on the end of its tongue, some juice it has disgorged 

 for this purpose. The antennae, then, are used by the ants for 

 the purpose of making themselves understood by each other. Dr. 

 Ebrard, who studied these insects attentively, is of opinion that 

 they use them in the same way as a blind man does his stick, 

 to feel their way with, for their sight is not good. The age 

 to which ants live is not well known. It is believed that the 

 workers live many years. 



Ants eat all sorts of things. One sees them eating meat, fresh 

 or decaying, fruits, flowers, particularly everything which is 

 sugary. They attack living insects, and kill them and suck their 

 blood. Like many insects, they are very fond of sugary liquids, 

 honey, syrups, pure sugar, &c. Dupont de Nemours relates 

 in his Memoirs that, to guarantee his sugar-basin against the 

 invasion of ants, he had found no 'better plan than to place it " in 

 an island," that is to say, in the middle of a basin full of water. 

 He felt sure that he had thus made the fortress safe against any 

 attack ; but listen to the stratagem made use of by the besiegers. 

 The ants climbed up the wall to the ceiling, exactly perpen- 

 dicularly over the sugar-basin. From there they let themselves 

 fall into the interior of the place, penetrating thus by main force, 

 and without injuring any one, into the magazine. As the ceiling 

 was very high, the draught caused them to deviate from the 

 straight line, and thus a certain number fell into the fosse of the 

 citadel, that is to say, into the water in the basin. Their com- 

 panions, stationed on the bank, made all efforts imaginable to 

 fish out the drowning ants, but were afraid of taking to the water 

 of such a large lake. All that they could do was, to stretch 



