Ants. 45 



or to my rough though well-meant handling, or to 

 both, she was evidently much wounded, and lay 

 helplessly on the ground. After some time another 

 ant from her nest came by. She examined the 

 poor sufferer carefully, then picked her up gently 

 and carried her away into the nest. It would have 

 been difficult for any one who witnessed this scene 

 to have denied to this ant the possession of humane 

 feelings. 



6. Again, on another occasion, I perceived a poor 

 ant lying on her back and quite unable to move. The 

 legs were in cramped attitudes, and the two antennae 

 rolled up in spirals. She was, of course, altogether 

 unable to feed herself. After this I kept my eye 

 on her. Several times I tried uncovering the part 

 of the nest where she was. The other ants soon 

 carried her into the shaded part. One day the 

 ants were all out of the nest, probably for fresh air, 

 and had collected together in a corner of the box ; 

 they had not, however, forgotten her, but had 

 carried her with them. I took off the glass lid of 

 the box, and after a while they returned as usual 

 to the nest, taking her in again. The next day she 

 was still alive, but shortly afterwards, notwithstand- 

 ing all their care, she died. 



At the present time I have two other ants per- 

 fectly crippled in a similar manner, so that they are 

 quite unable to move, but they have been tended 

 and fed by their companions, the one for five the 

 other for four months. 



