486 SIR JOHN LtlBBOC'K ON ANTS, BEES, AND WASl'S. 



A an inch ; still, though the ants reached over and showed a great 

 anxiety to take this short cut home, they none of them faced the 

 leap, but all went round by the sticks, a distance of nearly 7 feet. 

 At 6 P.M, there were over 550 larvae in the glass cell, and I re- 

 duced its distance from the upper surface of the nest to about f 

 of an inch, so that the ants could even touch the glass with their 

 antennae, but could not reach up nor step down. Still, though the 

 drop was so small, they all went round. At 11 p.m. the greater 

 number of the larvaB had been carried off; so I put a fresh lot in 

 the cell. The ants were busily at work. At 3 a.m. I visited them 

 again. They were still carrying off the larviE, and. all going round. 

 At 6 A.M. the lan-sB were all removed. I put a fresh lot, and up 

 to 9 A.M. they went on as before. 



The following day (Oct. 17), I took two longer sticks, each 6 feet 

 6 inches in length, and arranged them in a similar manner, ouly 

 horizontally instead of vertically. I also placed fine earth under 

 the glass supporting the larvae. At 8 o'clock I placed an ant on the 

 larvcB ; she took one, and I then coaxed her home along the sticks. 

 She deposited her larva and immediately came out again, not, how- 

 ever, going along the stick, but under the larvae, vainly reaching up 

 and endeavouring to reach the glass. At 8.30 1 put her on the larvae 

 again, and as she evidently did not know her way home, but kept 

 stretching herself down and trying to reach the earth under the 

 glass cell, I again coaxed her home along the sticks. At 9.3 she 

 came out again, and again went under the larvte and wandered 

 about there. At 10 I put her on the larvae and again helped her 

 home. At 10.15 she came out again, and this time went to the stick, 

 but still wanted some guidance. At 10.45 she again reached the 

 frame, but immediately came out again, and I once more coaxed 

 her round. After wandering about some time with a larva in her 

 mouth, she dropped down at 11.14. After depositing her larva, 

 she came out directly and went under the larvae. I again coaxed 

 her round, and this time also she dropped off the glass with her 

 larva. At 12.30 she came out again, and for the last time I helped 

 her round. After this she found her way by herself. At 12.20 

 another (No. 2) found her way round and returned at 12.37. 

 IFor the next hour their times were as follows : — 



