ANTS — SENSE OF DIRECTION. 37 



then to X, and not finding the food at either place, set to 

 work to look for it at random, and was only successful 

 after twenty-five minutes' ^ 



wandering. 



And, as evidence how 

 much more dependence 

 they place upon scent in 

 finding their way than 

 upon any other of their 

 faculties, it is desirable to 

 quote yet one further ex- 

 periment, which is of great 

 interest as showing that *^' 



when their sense of smell is made to contradict their 

 sense of direction, they follow the former, notwithstanding, 

 as we shall presently see, the wonderful accuracy of the 

 information which is supplied to them by the latter. ' If, 

 when F, niger were carrying off larvae placed in a cup on a 

 piece of board, I turned the board round so that the side 

 which had been tiu-ned towards the nest was away from it, 

 and vice versa, the ants always returned over the same 

 track on the board, and, in consequence, directly away 

 from home. If I moved my board to the other side of my 

 artificial nest, the result was the same. Evidently they 

 followed the road, not the direction.' 



There can be little doubt that ants have a sense of 

 taste, as they are so well able to distinguish sugary sub- 

 stances ; and it is unquestionable that in their antennae 

 they possess highly elaborated organs of touch. 



Sense of Direction. 



As evidence of the accuracy and importance of the 

 sense of direction in the Hymenoptera, we must here 

 adduce Sir John Lubbock's highly interesting experiments 

 on ants — leaving his experiments in this connection on 

 bees and wasps to be considered in the next chapter. 

 He first accustomed some ants (Lasius niger) to go to 

 and fro to food over a wooden bridge. When they had 

 got quite accustomed to the way, he watched when an ant 

 was upon a bridge which could be rotated, and while she 



