INTELLIGENCE IN INSECTS 213 



I left the arrangement for several weeks, but they continued 

 to go round by the long paper bridge." 



The facts above stated should render us suspicious of 

 conclusions regarding the high degree of intelligence which 

 ants have been supposed to manifest in certain of their 

 activities, especially hi their powers of communication, hi 

 their military manceuvers, and in the keeping of slaves and 

 guests. A foraging ant finds some sugar, or a dead insect too 

 heavy to carry to the nest, and she goes home, communicates 

 by means of striking with the antennae with other ants, and 

 then returns with several companions to her prize. Or it may 

 be that some of the "scouts" of a marauding species discover 

 a nest of a species preyed upon, and after visiting her 

 own nest and making her report, guides an expedition of 

 warriors to the habitation of the enemy. The older writers 

 on ants and some of the modern ones have made much of 

 their power of communication, and in reading their accounts 

 one might almost be led to believe that ants have a language 

 with a large vocabulary, and hold elaborate dissertations 

 on the food discovered, the whereabouts of their enemies, 

 their strength, and the most feasible way hi which to conduct 

 an attack. That some power of communication exists has 

 been abundantly shown, but for the most part it consists 

 of signs instinctively made under certain conditions and 

 which are instinctively responded to by other ants. In 

 spite of the valuable investigations of several of the foremost 

 myrmecologists our knowledge of ant "language" is very 

 imperfect. Among the actions which have been considered 

 to be involved in communication are striking with the anten- 

 nae, butting with the head, opening the jaws, beating the 

 floor with the abdomen, and the production of sounds by 

 various kinds of apparatus for stridulation. What the 

 particular things may be which are signified by these various 



