ANTS AND ANT LIFE 171 



and fought at first with closed ranks, then divided into duels, 

 while the wings stood opposite each other doing nothing. 

 The struggle went on with embittered rage, feelers and legs 

 were torn off, the opponents bit each other without mercy, 

 and while the black ants helped each other and defended or 

 carried away their wounded, thefusca left theirs to their 

 fate. When the observer visited the field of battle two 

 hours later the fuscte had been vanquished and had dis- 

 appeared ; here and there only was a fugitive to be seen. 

 The black ants had taken possession of the nests of their 

 enemies, and were running eagerly about, to and fro, between 

 these and their own nests. The excitement and fury during 

 the struggle were so great that if any of the fighters were 

 taken up they ran over the hand without biting and did not 

 touch sugar laid before them. 



Here for the most accurate and detailed accounts we must 

 again thank Forel, who observed battles brought about both 

 artificially and naturally between ants of the same and also of 

 different species. Battles between ants of the same species 

 often end with a lasting alliance, especially when the number of 

 the workers on both sides is comparatively small. The wise 

 little animals under such circumstances discover, much more 

 quickly and better than men, that they can only destroy each 

 other by fighting, while union would benefit both parties. 

 Sometimes they drive each other out of their nests in a quite 

 friendly way. Forel laid on a table a piece of bark with a 

 nest of the gentle Leptothorax acervorum, and then put on it 

 the contents of another nest of the same species. The last 

 comers were by far the more numerous and soon possessed 

 themselves of the nest, driving out the inmates. But the 

 latter did not know whither to go, and turned back again. 

 They were then seized by their opponents one after the other, 

 carried away as far as possible from the nest and there put 

 down. The oftener they came back the further were they 

 can-ied away. One of the carriers arrived in this fashion at 

 the edge of the table, and after it had by means of its feelers 

 convinced itself that it had reached the end of the world, 

 mercilessly let its burden drop into the fathomless abyss. 

 It waited a moment to see if it had attained its object and 

 then turned back to the nest. Forel picked up the ant 

 which had fallen on the floor, and put it down right in front 

 of the returning ant. The latter repeated the same 



