428 Handbook of Nature-Study 



*-hat the callows are herded together, their attendants ranged in a circle 

 about them. Often we see one ant carrying another which is not a callow, 

 and this means that a certain number of the colony have made up their 

 minds to move, while the others are not awake to this necessity. In such 

 a case, one of these energetic sisters will seize another by the waist, and 

 carry her off with an air that says plainly, "Come along, you stupid!" 



Ants are very cleanly in their nests, and we find the refuse piled in a 

 heap at one corner, or as far as possible from the brood. 



If we are fortunate enough to find a queen for the nest, then we may 

 observe the attention she gets ; she is always kept in a special compart- 

 ment, and is surrounded by ladies in waiting, who feed her and lick her 

 clean and show solicitude for her welfare ; although I have never observed 

 in an ants' nest, that devotion to royalty which we see in a beehive. 



Not the least interesting scene in an ants' nest is when all, or some, are 

 asleep and are as motionless as if dead. 



LESSON XCVII 



Observations of Ants in an Artificial Nest 



Leading thought — The ants are very devoted to their young and per- 

 haps the care of them is the most interesting feature in the study of the 

 artificial nest. 



Method — Have, in the schoolroom, a Lubbock's nest with a colony of 

 ants within it, with their larvae in all stages, and if possible, their queen. 

 For observing the form of the ant, pass one or two around in a vial. 



Observations — i. What is there peculiar about the shape of the ant's 

 body ? Can you see which section bears the legs ? Are the ants' legs long 

 compared with her body ? Can she run rapidly ? 



2. Look at the ant's head through a lens, and describe the antenna, 

 the jaws and the eyes. 



3. Note how the ant keeps her antennae in motion. Note how she 

 gropes with them as a blind person with his hands. Note how she uses 

 them in conversing with her companions. 



4. How does the ant clean her antennae? Does she clean them more 

 often than any other part of her body ? How does she make her toilet ? 



5. See how an ant eats syrup. How do ants feed each other? 



6. How does the ant carry an object ? How does she carry a larva or 

 a pupa? Have you ever seen one ant carry another? If so, describe it. 



{. Note the way the ants feed their young. How do they keep them 

 clean ? Does an ant carry one egg or one small larva at a time or a bundle 

 of them ? How do you suppose the bundle is fastened together ? 



8. Describe an egg, a larva and a pupa of the ant and tell how they 

 differ. Do you know which ant is the mother of the larvae in the nest? 



9. Do you find larvae of different sizes all together in your nest ? Do 

 you find larvae and pupae in the same group ? Do the ants move the young 

 often from one nest to another? Why do you suppose they do this ? 



10. Note how the ant nurses take care of the callow ant when it is 

 coming out from the pupa skin . How do they assist her and care for her? 

 How do they lead her around ? How do ants look when resting? 



11. Note where the ants throw the refuse from the nest. Do they 

 ever change the position of this dump heap? 



