218 SIB JOHN LUBBOCK ON THE HABITS OP ANTS. 



At the moment when the separation was made there were fifteen 

 ants on the larvae. These could, of course, have returned if one 

 had stood still and allowed the others to get on its back. This, 

 however, did not occur to them ; nor did they think of letting 

 themselves drop from the bottom of the paper on to the nest. 

 Two or three, indeed, fell down, I have no doubt, by accident ; but 

 the remainder wandered about, until at length most of them got 

 into the water. After a time the others abandoned altogether as 

 hopeless the attempt to get at the larvae. 



I waited about six hours, and then again placed the glass (A) 

 containing the larvse so as to touch the piece of wood (D), and 

 again put some ants to the larvse. Soon a regular string of ants 

 was established; when I again raised the wood (D) y^ of an inch 

 above the glass (A), exactly the same result occurred. The ants 

 bent over and made everj^ effort to reach the larvae, but did not 

 drop themselves down, and after a while again abandoned all hope 

 of getting the larvse. 



Experiments testing Intelligence. 



In order to test their intelligence, it seemed to me that there 

 was no better way than to ascertain some object which they would 

 clearly desire, and then to interpose some obstacle which a little 

 ingenuity would enable them to overcome. Following up, then, 

 the preceding observations, I placed some larvae in a cup 

 which I put on a slip of glass surrounded by water, but acces- 

 sible to the ants by one pathway in which was a bridge consist- 

 ing of a strip of paper | inch long and 5 inch wide. Having 

 then put a Formica nigra from one of my nests to these larvae, she 

 began carrying them off, and by degrees a number of friends 

 came to help her. I then, when about twenty-five ants were so 

 engaged, moved the little paper bridge slightly, so as to leave a 

 chasm, just so wide that the ants could not reach across. They 

 came and tried hard to do so ; but it did not occur to them to 

 push the paper bridge, though the distance was only about ^ 

 inch, and they might easily have done so. After trying for about 

 a quarter of an hour, they gave up the attempt and returned home. 

 This I repeated several times. 



Then, thinking that paper was a substance to which they were 

 not accustomed, I tried the same with a bit of straw 1 inch long 

 and g inch wide. The result was the same. I repeated this 

 twice. 



