SIR J. LUBBOCK ON ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS. 



177 



ants from a strange nest they did not attack her, and by adding 

 others gradually, I succeeded in securing the throne for her. 



Sense of Direction. 



Having been much struck by the difficulty which ants appear 

 under certain circumstances to experience in finding their way, 

 as indicated, for instance, by some experimentsVhich the Society 

 has done me the honour to publish (Journ. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. 

 pp. 239-245), I have during the past year made some more expe- 

 riments on this part of the subject. 



I accustomed some ants (Lasius niger) to go to and fro to food 

 over a wooden bridge (fig. 1). 



Fig. 1. 



When they had got quite accustomed to the way, I watched 

 when an ant was on the bridge and then turned it round, so that 

 the end b was at c, and c at b. In most cases the ant immedia- 

 tely turned round also ; but even, if she went on to b or c, as the 

 case may be, as soon as she came to the end of the bridge she 

 turned round. 



I then modified the arrangement, placing between the nest and 

 the food three similar pieces of wood. Then when the ant was 

 on the middle piece, I transposed the other two. To my surprise 

 this did not at all disconcert them. 



I then tried the arrangement shown in fig. 2. 



Fig. 2. 



a is a paper bridge leading to the nest ; b is a board about 22 

 inches long by 13 broad, on which is a disk of white paper fas- 



