NATURE'S WISE FOLK, 



"Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider 

 her ways and be wise," sang Solomon, 

 centuries ago, and the refrain of it, run- 

 ning through my mind one morning, 

 drove me out to ''consider" some of her 

 ways for myself. 



To my astonishment I had not gone 

 far before I had received a charming 

 illustration of the wisdom, patience and 

 perseverance for which these insects are 

 noted. The hero of this occasion was one 

 of our common black ants. The little 

 fellow had found a huge blue-bottle fly, 

 and was making the best of his way 

 home with it. The fly was many times 

 the size and weight of the ant, and must, 

 in consequence, have taxed his strength 

 severely; but he persevered, never once 

 seeming to give up for a moment. After 

 having struggled many weary yards with 

 his burden, he suddenly came upon a 

 large crack between the boards of the 

 porch floor. Surely it is useless to try 

 further. ''Give it up," I said, uncon- 

 sciously. "Why waste strength upon a 

 thing that can't be managed ?" 



My little acquaintance paid no heed to 

 my lack of wisdom, but quietly deposited 

 his burden upon the porch and went to 

 the edge of the crack, where he en- 

 deavored to ascertain the width of the 

 opening by stretching the antennae over 

 it, but as they found no resting place he 

 decided that measurements must be taken 

 some other way. Baffled for a moment, 

 he suddenly darted down the aperture, 

 hoping, no doubt, to find a convenient 

 wisp of straw or odd projection upon 

 which he could safely cross. No such 

 friendly aid was offered, however, and 

 upon his own resources he was forced to 

 depend. 



Nothing daunted, he calmly surveyed 

 the situation, then returned to his fly, 

 and with equal calmness and deliberation 

 moved over it and around it, carefully 

 noting every particular. Evidently satis- 

 fied that all was well, he firmly lifted the 

 fly and dropped it into the crack, where it 

 fitted exactly, thus making a fine bridge 

 for the determined little creature, which 



he quickly crossed, and, turning, lifted 

 his dead captive out, and went on his way 

 rejoicing. 



"Well done," I exclaimed, and turned 

 my attention to the little hero himself. I 

 have said he was one of our common 

 black ants, but after that exhibition of 

 patience, perseverance, indomitable will, 

 and engineering skill in bridging a 

 chasm, I think he is entitled to our ut- 

 most respect, and his name — Formica 

 fuscus. 



As this little creature is a neighbor of 

 the Lasius niger, or little brown garden 

 ant, and both live in close proximity to 

 us, let us pay them a visit and- become 

 better acquainted with our neighbor- 

 folk. Of course, no two races of ants 

 exactly resemble each other, just as no 

 two human families are precisely alike, 

 but in most respects there is enough sim- 

 ilarity to make the description of one nest 

 do for that of another, and we will find 

 the inhabitants of these underground 

 dwellings very interesting. Without 

 knock or ring we enter the front door 

 to find ourselves in a hallway supported 

 by a single pillar, with a narrow, passage 

 each side — made so that they may be 

 quickly guarded in case of an invasion by 

 enemies. 



Opening from the narrow passages is 

 an irregular vestibule, which contracts 

 again into another narrow passage, fol- 

 lowed by still another, this one opening 

 into the main chamber. This room, 

 being large, several pillars of earth are 

 left, presumably to support the roof, and 

 behind this apartment is an inner one, 

 divided into three chambers, and to 

 which access is given by three narrow 

 entrances. 



Throughout these rooms all is bustling 

 activity, for the eggs of these busy com- 

 munities need careful attention from the 

 time they are laid until the perfect in- 

 sects come forth, passing, as they do, 

 through four distinct periods — those of 

 the Qgg', of the larva or grub; of the 

 pupa or chrysalis, and finally of the ant. 

 While these changes are taking place the 



54 



