ANTS AND AKT LIFE. 39 



CHAPTER IV. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



THE ants, in psychical or intellectual development, stand 

 without doubt, highest among insects, although the 

 better-known bees, with their highly-organised societies, 

 are unjustly allowed to challenge their position. Such a 

 challenge might rather come from the Termites, the white 

 ants of tropical regions (wrongly classed with ants), of whose 

 manners and customs enough is not yet accurately known to 

 enable us to make an exact comparison of their mental 

 capabilities with those of ants. Even the European ant, 

 although studied with the utmost accuracy by a circle of 

 distinguished observers, is not yet known with the exactness 

 merited by this marvellous insect, with its remarkable political 

 and social arrangements; doubtless future observers will 

 bring to light thereon many noteworthy and surprising facts 

 as yet unknown. 



It will doubtless surprise many readers to hear that such 

 highly-developed intellectual powers and capacities are to 

 be found in so low a grade of animal life, and perhaps this 

 very circumstance will be enough to fill them beforehand 

 with a certain distrust as to the facts to be hereafter related. 

 But it should not be forgotten that the great subkingdoms or 

 divisions of the animal kingdom are not arranged beneath, 

 but beside each other, and that therefore the highest outcome 

 of a generally lower subkingdom may be, and is, bodily and 

 mentally, very much raised above the lower or middle grades 

 of a generally higher one. Thus the most perfect of the 

 Mollusca is much higher than the most imperfect of the 

 Annulosa ; and the most perfect of Annulosa is far higher 

 than the most imperfect of the Vertebrata, although the 

 Vertebrata in its highest members reaches the utmost per- 

 fection as yet possible. In fact, we may say without hesita- 

 tion, that an ant, which represents the highest type of the 



D2 



