138 ANTS AND ANT LIFE. 



the Amazons think the same ? or do they follow the maxim 

 held by many men that work is shameful ? No the ant 

 has a far better ground for its conduct, or a far better and 

 more cogent excuse than its human examples or followers. 

 It cannot feed itself, and cannot discharge the regular duties 

 of an ant, owing to its long, narrow, and strong mandibles, 

 which do not form a toothed edge, as in other species, but 

 run out into a sharp and strong point, so that they must 

 be regarded as regular jaws. These jaws are indeed admir- 

 able for use as weapons, and are specially adapted to pierce 

 the head and brain of an enemy, but make self-feeding and 

 work impossible. The Amazon is therefore entirely de- 

 pendent on the goodwill of its slaves. Without their help 

 it would starve to death, and the whole colony would perish 

 from want of care and nourishment. 



Huber placed a number of ants (about 30) with their 

 larvae and pupre and some earth in a box. and supplied them 

 with plenty of food. After the lapse of only two days some 

 of the ants died of hunger, or rather of thirst, although, 

 according to Forel's experience, ants can live for four 

 weeks without food, if the air or the earth is sufficiently 

 damp. The Amazons were neither able to feed themselves, 

 nor tend their young, nor work in the earth. Huber then 

 put in a single ant of the slave species, and it quickly put 

 everything to rights. It fed young and old with the honey 

 lying there, began to build cells for the pupae and larvae, 

 cleaned them and so on. In order to substantiate this 

 observation Lespes one day put a piece of moistened sugar 

 in front of a nest of Amazons. It was soon discovered by 

 one of the ants of the slave-species (F. fttsca, or small black 

 ant [negro, TR.] ). It eat as much as it could and then 

 went back into the nest. Other gluttons soon appeared, 

 and the delicious meal was busily devoured. At last Lespes 

 noticed some Amazons come out. They first ran about in a 

 puzzled way, without touching the sugar, until at last they 

 began to pull at the legs of their duty-forgetting slaves, 

 thereby reminding them that they should be served. This 

 was done and all parties seemed content. 



Forel also never saw an Amazon eat alone. If one was 

 hungry, it tapped a slave on the head with its feelers, until 

 the latter brought up or regurgitated a drop of nourishment 

 from its proventriculus and gave it to its master, mouth to 



