Chap. VII. SLAVE-MAKIXG INSTINCT. 213 



{2:eous in capturinp^ slaves, do no otlier work. They are inca- 

 paljle of makiiii^ their own nests, or of feeding their own larv'a3. 

 When the old nest is found inconvenient, and they have to 

 migrate, it is the slaves which determine the migration, and 

 actually carry their masters in their jaws. So utterly helpless 

 are the masters, that when Hubcr shut up thirty of them with- 

 out a slave, but with plenty of the food Avhich they like best, 

 and with tlieir own larvie and pupa3 to stimulate them to work, 

 they did nothing; they could not even feed themselves, and 

 many perished of hunger. Huber then introduced a single 

 slave (F. fusca), and she instantly set to work, fed and saved the 

 survivors ; made some cells and tended the larv.T, and put all to 

 rights. What can be more extraordinary than these avcII- 

 ascertaincd facts ? If we had not known of any other slave- 

 making ant, it would have been hopeless to speculate how So 

 wonderful an instinct could have been perfected. 



Another species, Formica sanguinea, Avas likewise first dis- 

 covered by P. Huber to be a slave-making ant. This species 

 is found in the southern parts of England, and its habits have 

 been attended to by Mr. F. Smith, of the British Museum, to 

 whom I am nnich indebted for information on this and other 

 subjects. Although fully trusting to the statements of Hulxu' 

 and Mr. Smith, I tried to approach the subject in a skeptical 

 frame of mind, as any one may well be excused for doubting 

 the truth of so extraordinary and odious an instinct as that (jf 

 making slaves. Hence I will give the observations wliicli I 

 made, in some little detail. I oj^ened fourteen nests of F. san- 

 guinea, and found a few slaves in all. Males and fertile fe- 

 males of the slave sj)ecics (F. fusca) are found only in their 

 own proper communities, and have never been observed in the 

 nests of F. sanguinea. The slaves are black and not above 

 half the size of their red masters, so that the contrast in their 

 appearance is great. W^hen the nest is slightly disturbed, the 

 slaves occasionally come out, and like their masters are much 

 agitated and defend the nest ; when the nest is much dis- 

 turbed, and the larva^ and pup:c are exposed, the slaves work 

 energetically together with their masters in carrying them 

 away to a place of safety. Hence, it is clear, that the slaves 

 feel quite at home. During the nujuths of June and July, on 

 three successive years, I have watched for many hours several 

 nests in Surrey and Sussex, and never saw a slave either leave 

 or enter a nest. As, during these months, the slaves are very few 

 in numljcr, I thought that they might behave differently wlien 



