30 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis 



The poi^h was shaded with vines that furnished pas- 

 turage to innumerable herds of '*ant cows". At almost 

 any hour of the day ants could be seen milking aphids, or 

 moving to and from the pasture. Much patient waiting 

 and careful searching finally revealed a leaf upon which 

 a single ant was sipping food from plant lice. This leaf 

 was gently removed and inserted in a hole previously 

 made in the brick pillar (Fig. 1). This was accomplished 

 without interrupting the ant's meal. Presently the ant 

 finished its dinner and was ready to go home. Being 

 within two feet of its nest, if in possession of a homing 

 instinct, it should have gone directly home. What really 

 happened is as illuminating as it was unexpected. In a 

 meandering line it descended the pillar until almost to the 

 ground, then turned and zigzaged slowly upward until 

 it had reached the leaf. After exploring the leaf it twice 

 more meandered over the pillar and back, each time in a 

 different direction. On its fourth sinuous journey, it 

 reached the base-board of the porch and then rushed 

 directly to the nest. Evidently, transporting the leaf 

 had caused the ant to become lost. 



It is an easy matter to cause ants to lose their way. 

 After a hard rain, if a number of ants are transported a 

 few yards from a nest and deposited on the ground, 

 almost none of them will be able to find the way home. 

 After numerous profitless random movements, they will 

 usually take refuge under stones or chips. Unless dis- 

 covered by workers from the nest, they are apt to remain 

 in such situations a long time. Would it be possible to 

 do this if ants were in possession of a homing instinct! 



You may think Miss Pielde* entirely wrong when she 

 claims to have demonstrated that each joint of the anten- 



•Pielde. A. M. Proc. Acad. Sci. Philadelphia. 1903. 



