36 ZOOLOGY 



nightfall of the day of this flight the males perish, while 

 the queens settle down to the ground, tear off their wings, 

 and each of them seeks an appropriate place to begin the 

 formation of a new colony. If by chance a queen is dis- 

 covered by some of her workers, she is cared for by them; 

 otherwise she must get on alone. She makes a small nest 

 and lays eggs, which quickly develop into workers, which 

 then assume the task of constructing the nest of the new 

 colony. The nests of our ordinary species consist simply 

 of tunnel-like passageways dug in the ground and enlarged 

 at intervals to form small chambers. Most species dig 

 their nests preferably under protecting stones or the roots 

 of trees ; in other cases a hillock of earth and twigs, an 

 "ant-hill," is constructed. These mounds may attain a 

 diameter of from six to ten feet. 



Ant Language. In connection with their communal life 

 ants have gained a power of communication. By the 

 agency of their antennse, with which two comrades are 

 constantly stroking each other, they can tell each other of 

 the whereabouts of food, of the approach of an invading 

 army, or of the need of aid. They distinguish members 

 of their own community from those of other communities, 

 and recognize one of their number, even after a long ab- 

 sence, and receive it back to the colony with demonstrations 

 as of joy. 



Social Life of. Ants. To illustrate the complex social life of ants, 

 a more detailed account is here given of certain interesting species. 

 Certain ants, such for instance as our Formica 1 difficilis^ a rust-red 

 species often found living beneath large, flat stones, make slaves of 

 another species of ant which (a curious coincidence) is a dark-colored 

 species. In at least one slave-making species the jaws have become 



i Ant. 2 Difficult. 



