382 



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



larvae. I do not altogether understand this proceeding, and un- 

 luckily had not marked the first three ants ; so that I cannot tell 

 whether they brought or sent their friends. It seems possible 

 that they felt unequal to the exertion of carrying a burthen to 

 the nest until they had had some food. 



When the ants were fairly at work, I turned the table 90 degrees. 

 In this case eight ants continued their inarch along the paper, 

 while two turned back ; but none left the paper, and went across 

 the table straight for the larva?. 



I then stopped the experiment for a while, so that the excite- 

 ment might subside; as when the ants become too numerous it is 

 not so easy to watch them. 



When all was quiet, I put the cup with the larvae on the middle 

 of the table, and covered the greater part of the table with the 

 box as before (p. 379). When the ants were leaving the cup on 

 their w T ay home, I then, as before, turned the table half round. 



Under these circumstances, however, instead of turning as in 

 the previous experiment, ten ants, one after another, continued 

 their course, thus coming out of the box at the end furthest from 

 the nest. When ten ants successively had, under these circum- 

 stances, gone wrong, I then, to make the experiment complete, tried 

 it again, every thing being the same, except that there was no box. 

 Under these circumstances five ants, one after the other, turned 

 directly the table was rotated. It seems clear, therefore, that in 

 determining their course the ants are greatly influenced by the 

 direction of the light. 



March 27. I let out two ants imprisoned on the 25th, and placed 

 them on the larvae, which I put on a column 7 inches high, 

 covered with blue paper, and communicating with the nest by the 

 paper path (A, fig. 3) arranged as usual, but supported on pins. 

 At first I arranged it as shown below, placing the larvae at M, so 

 that the ants, on arriving at the larvae, 

 made nearly a semicircle round the 

 edge of the table. I then gradually 

 moved the larvae to M' and afterwards 

 to M". The ants, however, obviously 

 knew that they were going unneces- 

 sarily round. They ran along the paper 

 bridge in a very undecided manner, 

 continually turning round and often 

 coming down the pins ; while in 



Fig. 3. 



