LITTLE BUSYBODIES. 



BELLE P. DOWNEY. 



ONE'S own observation tends to 

 confirm the wonderful stories 

 told by naturalists about ants. 

 They have a claim to rank next 

 to man in intelligence. 



Seven or eight ants once attempted 

 to carry a wasp across the floor. In 

 the course of the journey they came to 

 a crevice in a plank caused by a splinter 

 which had been torn off. After re- 

 peated attempts to cross this deep ra- 

 vine all the ants abandoned the task as 

 hopeless except one who seemed to be 

 the leader of the enterprise. He went 

 on a tour of investigation, and soon 

 found that the crevice did not extend 

 very far in length. He then went after 

 the retreated ants. They obeyed the 

 summons and returned, when all set 

 about helping to draw the wasp around 

 the crevice. This little incident proves 

 the ant is possessed of the power of 

 communicating its wishes to others. 

 Ants have been seen to bite off the legs 

 of a cockroach in order to get it into 

 the narrow door of their nest. The 

 brain of ants is larger in proportion to 

 their size than that of any other insect. 

 Naturalists think that they have mem- 

 ory, judgment, experience, and feel 

 hatred and affection for their kind. 

 They are valorous, pugnacious, and ra- 

 pacious, but also inclined to be helpful 

 as they assist each other at their toilet. 

 They have a peculiarity among insects 

 of burying their dead. It is a curious 

 fact that the red ants, which are the mas- 

 ters, never deposit their dead by the 

 side of their black slaves, thus seeming 

 to show some idea of caste. 



Ants yawn, sleep, play, work, prac- 

 tice gymnastics, and are fond of pets, 

 such as small beetles, crickets, and 

 cocci, which they entertain as guests in 

 their homes. 



Indeed, ants are social, civilized, in- 

 telligent citizens of successfully gov- 



erned cities. Even babies are claimed 

 by the state. Their government is a 

 happy democracy where the queen is 

 "mother" but not ruler, and where the 

 females have all the power. The queen 

 is highly honored and at death is bur- 

 ied with magnificence. In her devo- 

 tion to her lot in life she pulls off her 

 glittering wings and becomes a willing 

 prisoner in the best room of a house of 

 many apartments. Here she is cared 

 for by devoted followers who polish 

 her eggs, carry them upward to the 

 warmth of the sun in daytime, and 

 back to the depths of the habitation to 

 protect them from the chill of night. 

 These eggs are so small as scarcely to 

 be seen by the eye alone. They are 

 bright and smooth, without any divi- 

 sion. It is very strange, but these eggs 

 will not develop into larvae unless care- 

 fully nursed. This is effected by lick- 

 ing the surface of the eggs. Under the 

 influence of this process they mature 

 and produce larvae. The larvae are fed, 

 like young birds, from the mouths of 

 the nurses. When grown they spin 

 cocoons and at the proper time the 

 nurses help them out by biting the 

 cases. The next thing the nurses do is 

 to help them take off their little mem- 

 branous shirts. This is done very 

 gently. The youngsters are then 

 washed, brushed, and fed, after which 

 the teachers educate them as to their 

 proper duties. 



It is astonishing how many occupa- 

 tions are followed by these little busy- 

 bodies whose size and weakness are 

 made up for by their swiftness, their 

 fineness of touch, the number of their 

 eyes and a powerful acid which they 

 use in self-defense. Their jaws are so 

 much like teeth that they serve for cut- 

 ting, while their antennae are useful for 

 measurement, and their front feet serve 

 as trowels with which to mix and 



