40 TWO CHAPTERS ON ANTS. 



to make sure that nothing is left ; but they 

 soon return to their own dominions empty- 

 handed, and visit the ravaged nest no more. 



During the day I keep watch of the plun- 

 dered nest, and occasionally a black ant 

 comes timidly up and cautiously moves 

 around; finally it ventures into one of the 

 openings and disappears, but it soon comes 

 out and walks away. Toward night of the 

 same day a large number of the black fugi- 

 tives return to their home, not in any reg- 

 ular order, but from various points, and each 

 is carrying a comrade which he takes into 

 the nest. I can offer no solution of this; 

 there was no battle, and these are not 

 wounded soldiers. 



In most nests which I have observed there 

 seem to be two sets of workers, one larger 

 than the other ; the smaller seem to be the 

 true nurses : it was these that were carried 

 back to the nest. But why they did not re- 

 turn in the same way they left is one of the 

 mysteries of ant life. 



The returning fugitives all disappeared 

 through the same opening, and. in the morn- 

 ing this was closed, mostly with sticks and 

 clumps of earth. I remove the covering, 

 but not an ant appears ; it is fully an hour 

 before they venture out, and now a dozen 



