ANTS 259 



one would apply a pair of scissors, and a narrow 

 strip is cut away. At this hard labor the ants work 

 in relays, toiling and resting by turn. One holds the 

 narrow strip that has been cut, while a second en- 

 larges the opening, and a third gently extricates the 

 young ant from its natal sac. 



"At last the insect comes forth, but unable to 

 walk or even to stand on its legs, for it is still en- 

 swathed in a final membrane which it cannot strip 

 off unaided. The workers do not forsake it in this 

 new predicament ; they free it from the satin enve- 

 lope enwrapping all its members ; with delicate care 

 they extricate the antennae from their sheaths; they 

 disengage the feet and set the body at liberty. Then 

 the young ant is in a condition to walk about and, 

 above all, to take nourishment, which it greatly needs 

 after all this fatiguing exertion. Its liberators vie 

 with one another in offering the mouth and disgorg- 

 ing a little sweetened liquid. For some days longer 

 the workers keep a watchful eye on their new com- 

 panions and follow them about, acquainting them 

 with the labyrinthine passages of their abode. Thus 

 instructed, the young ants mingle with the others 

 and share their labors. 



"The nurses remaining at home to perform the 

 household duties depend for their rations on the 

 workers that go out to collect supplies. These lat- 

 ter bring them little insects, or pieces of those that 

 they have dismembered on the spot when the entire 

 prey is too large for conveyance. Whatever they 

 may be, these provisions are passed around and are 



