THE INTELLIGENCE OF ' 'THE LOWER ANIMALS". 79 



ers of ants. Some even, as Sir John Lubbock, main- 

 tain that in a certain sense the Formica sanguinea 

 stands next to man. Hence, to substantiate the prop- 

 osition that the lower animals are void of intelligence, 

 it is but necessary to prove that this famous ant does 

 not possess any higher faculty than mere animal in- 

 stinct. Another reason, why we give preference to 

 ants as subjects of our inquiry, is because the actions 

 of no other animal have been so much misinterpreted 

 for upholding the doctrine of animal intelligence. 



This is especially true of the ant-species Polyergus, 

 which we have selected as first example. x ) 



It is a warm sunny day in June. In a colony of 

 the Polyergus rufescens (Plate III., Fig. 1) feverish 

 activity is displayed. The Amazons (this is their 

 popular name in Europe), having spent well nigh the 

 whole morning in preening their legs and feelers, rally 

 upon their battlements, that is on the top of their nest, 

 and with great haste and evident excitement descend 

 for a warlike expedition. Within about 50 paces of 

 their castle there is in a meadow a settlement of the 

 Formica rufibarbis. Already some time before some 

 roving members of the Polyergus household have ac- 

 cidentally hit upon this formicary, and now under 

 their guidance a goodly array of about 1000 "slave- 

 hunters" may be seen marching in an almost straight 

 line upon their destined prey. Having arrived with- 

 in 10 cm. of the enemy's stronghold, the vanguard 

 comes to a stop, giving a violent signal with their feel- 

 ers to the ranks immediately behind them. With in- 



J ) The following description was originally published in 

 the Scientific American Supplement. 



