Seivell : Notes on the Wood Ant. 159 



ants out sunning themselves, great numbers continually 

 swarming out of their holes in the side of the nest, climbing 

 over one another, and gathering into a little living ball at 

 the hole' entrance, until becoming top-heavy, the foothold 

 gives way and the cluster rolls down the side of the nest. They 

 are very shiney, as if just emerged from the pupa state, and 

 at first sight look like black buds belonging to the twigs to 

 which they cling ; the bright red of their legs, however, betrays 

 them. The ants are not seeking food, nor collecting building 

 material ; some appear very savage ; there are many lying 

 dead beside the nest. 



May 22nd. — The nest well built up, a few ants with wings 

 crawling about ; the sun coming out while I was still examining 

 the nest ; the latter soon swarmed with winged ants. May 

 i8-2oth had been very cold, with much snow ; a sharp frost 

 on the night of the 21st (compare the same date last year). 



June ic/th. — Ants greatly excited, possibly colonies going 

 off ? I saw what I imagine to be three separate queens, out 

 for an airing. Distinct sets of ants appear to use different 

 entrances ; is this a ' colonial ' family, i.e., the members uniting 

 to build a common shelter, but having separate apartments ? 



July 17TH. — Top of the nest divided into two distinct 

 cones with an entrance near the base of each cone ; nest more 

 column shaped than usual. 



September 14.TH. — Nest recovered its old shape ; food 

 providers busy. I have not noticed any bird or other foe 

 preying on the ants. 



October c/th. — A few ants still carrying food ; sorry I 

 have not been able to trace the extent of their collecting area. 



November 6th. — The nest is still in order, but only saw 

 one or two ants. A squirrel collecting beech nuts near by. 



The above notes were taken, in each case, at about the 

 same time of the day, about noon. In 1895, there was no 

 ant-hill at this place, although 1894 had finished up, as far as 

 we can judge from the ant point of view, very favourably, 

 the year having seemingly been more prosperous than the 

 preceding one, judging from our notes ; we wonder if the 

 summer conditions extending into autumn, in contrast to the 

 wet ' back end ' of 1893, had any effect in causing less foresight 

 for the future ? On the other hand, our notes show us that 

 the apparently disastrous ant year in 1893 was followed by a 

 prosperous and larger settlement. The nest was in rather an 

 exposed position where the winter winds would play havoc 

 with it, if not covered by snow. 



A local farmer told me how he saved the replanting of his 

 turnip field at a time when his seeds were suffering from a 

 bad attack of fly, by carting a similar ant hill into the middle 

 of his field. 



1'J17 May 1. 



