12 A FIELD GUIDE IN NATURE-STUDY 



When the nest is in use, keep the parts in place by drawing a rubber band 

 around them. When the nest is lying on the table, light is excluded from 

 the under side by the table, from the edges by the black binding, and from 

 above by the pieces of cardboard. Cut a thin slice of sponge and place 

 in the inner room. The nests should stand a few days to dry out, as the 

 odor of glue is not an agreeable one even to ants. 



Directions for stocking and caring for the ants' nest. Take a pint fruit 

 jar with its cover and go out to where ants are abundant. Dig up an ants' 

 nest or break to pieces an old log or stump in which are found the galleries 

 of the large black carpenter ant. Look for the eggs, larvae, or pupae. The 

 eggs are tiny white grains, the larvae look much like rice grains, while the 

 pupae look like puffed rice grains. Scoop these up with the ants and dump 

 them into the pint jar; more or less dirt and debris will be taken up at the 

 same time. Cover and bring the material back to the schoolroom. Set 

 the completed ants' nest on the bottom of a large shallow tin pan; see that 

 the sponge in it is moist. Set this pan in a still larger one partly filled with 

 water. The inner pan must at no point touch the rim of the outer. Dump 

 the material brought in from the field down beside the nest. As the debris 

 dries out the ants will take their eggs, larvae, and pupae into the nest. 

 When this is accomplished plug the front door of the nest with a wad of 

 absorbent cotton. The nest may now be taken out and kept on the table 

 for observation. 



Feeding the ants and cleaning the nest. A bit of peanut the size of the 

 head of a pin or a bit of sponge cake dipped in honey may be put into the 

 nest once a week. A shred of raw meat may occasionally be given the ants. 

 Uneaten remnants of the food should be removed within twenty-four hours. 

 To clean the nest remove the cardboard cover from one room. The ants 

 will take their material all into the dark room. Then plug the door between 

 the two rooms and wipe out the vacant room with a cloth moistened in 

 alcohol. Let the room stand open for five or ten minutes, until the alcohol 

 fumes have disappeared. Remove the plug from the door, cover this room, 

 and uncover the other. Then the process may be repeated in the second 

 room. 



Habits. Watch the ants you have to see how they busy themselves. 

 Can you distinguish queen, drones, and workers ? Are there soldier ants 

 present? Which members of the community feed the larvae or young 

 ants? Do the ants of the community seem to communicate with each 

 other? If so, how? Do they feed each other ? How does the ant clean 

 itself ? Watch the nests of ants out of doors to see what the animals are 

 doing. Among other things you will find that the ants whose nests are 

 in the sand will be busy bringing grains of sand out of the nests and carrying 



