APPENDIX 447 



those going out of the nest came up, pushed the others on one 

 side and tried to seize the sick one. After many fruitless 

 attempts it succeeded at last in doubling up its legs and 

 antennae, and allowed itself to be carried by its neighbour 

 into the new nest. Moggridge saw a still more remarkable in- 

 stance of the pity felt by one ant (an atta) for another. It 

 dragged the sick one to a little spot of water, immersed it for a 

 few moments and then took it out again with the greatest care 

 to dry in the sun. 



To these well-authenticated instances of the treatment of the 

 sick may be added some equally interesting cases of the care of 

 the wounded. Latreille cut off the antennae of some workers 

 among the yellow ants in order to see what would happen. 

 The mutilated insects ran hither and thither as if mad, without 

 any knowledge of their whereabouts ; then some other workers 

 from the same nest came up to them, laid their tongues on the 

 wounded spots and let a drop of moisture fall on them. Lat- 

 reille observed this with a lens, and clearly saw this process 

 several times repeated. M. de Saint Furgeau remarks that " an 

 ant never meets a wounded comrade of the same species without 

 seizing it and carrying it into the nest ". Lubbock's observa- 

 tions, however, are more detailed. He placed a wounded ant 

 on a piece of paper; a previously marked ant passed the 

 wounded one twelve times without taking any notice of it. 

 Three others also ran hither and thither without attending to it, 

 but a fifth picked it up and carried it into the nest. 



The foresight of ants even goes so far as to provide for 

 their cripples. An ant born without antennae, which had 

 never been seen to leave the nest, one day went out while 

 Lubbock was watching, and was immediately attacked by some 

 hostile ants. It lay there, badly wounded, and unable to move, 

 when by chance some other ants from the same nest came by, 

 examined the poor damaged creature, carefully picked it up 

 and carried it into the nest. The same observer knew of a 

 crippled worker in a nest of Formica fusca which was unable to 

 feed itself owing to a contraction of the mouth and a deformity 

 of the antennae which were rolled up in a spiral. It was, how- 

 ever, taken by its companions on their expeditions, and, thanks 

 to this provident care, lived for several months. 



Throughout this work we have tried by means of a critical 

 comparison between man and the other animals to determine 



