ii 4 ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS THE WEB OF LIFE 



cases extreme, while observation seems to elicit contradictory 

 facts. About two thousand species are already known, and it is 

 pretty certain that the number will reach at least five thousand." 

 The caste-system is well-marked among Ants, and there are 

 at least three sorts of individual, males, queens, and workers or 

 modified females. The two former are commonly winged, and 

 pairing usually takes place in the air. After this has been accom- 

 plished the males soon die, while the females cast, or it may be 

 bite off, their wings, and enter upon their further duties. In some 

 species the male alone possesses wings, while it more rarely 

 happens that the contrary is true. Cases are also known where 

 both kinds of male exist in the same species, the female being 

 winged, or both kinds of female are associated with winged males. 

 There may also be distinct castes of workers, one consisting of 

 large individuals (workers major), and the other or others of 

 small ones (workers minor). In many cases, too, there is a caste 

 of ''soldiers" distinguished by the great size of their mandibles. 

 Like workers they are modified females. To all intents and pur- 

 poses, indeed, the societies of Ants, like those of Bees and Wasps, 

 are female republics. The " queen ", it is true, has all her wants 

 attended to by the workers, but does not actively direct the affairs 

 of the community, having no special authority. The care bestowed 

 upon her, indeed, would appear to be simply in recognition of the 

 fact that she is necessary for the continuance of the society. In 

 ant-societies there may be more than one queen. There appears 

 to be no doubt that these insects are able to communicate certain 

 kinds of information to one another. Indeed, without some power 

 of communication there would be endless confusion in a large com- 

 munity. As it is, we find that foraging expeditions, warfare, and 

 the complex economy of the nest are all carried out in an orderly 

 fashion. In human societies even republics require some sort of 

 government for the direction of individual efforts, but this often 

 appears not to be the case here. The armies of our native species, 

 for example, so far as we know, are entirely made up of rank and 

 file, without officers and non-commissioned officers. Yet such 

 an army often seems to conduct its campaigns strategically, and 

 deals very effectively with tactical problems which arise after it 

 has taken the field. How this is possible we are not yet able to 

 say, for our own mental powers have been evolved on very 

 different lines. There is certainly a basis of instinct, i.e. inherited 



