624 8IE JOHN LrBBOOK ON ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS. 



way to my ants. The experiment was not, however, very satis- 

 factory, as I was not able to try the flame with a very active nest. 

 Prof. Bell most kindly set up for me an extremely sensitive 

 microphone : it was attached to the underside of one of my nests ; 

 and though we could distinctly hear the ants walking about, we 

 could not distinguish any other sound. 



It is, however, far from improbable that ants may produce 

 sounds entirely beyond our range of hearing. Indeed it is not 

 impossible that insects may possess senses, or rather sensations, 

 of which we can no more form an idea than we should have been 

 able to conceive red or green if the human race had been blind. 

 The human ear is sensitive to vibrations reaching to 38,000 in a 

 second. The sensation of red is produced when 470 millions of 

 millions of vibrations enter the eye in a similar time ; but between 

 these two numbers vibrations produce on us only the sensation 

 of heat; we have no special organs of sense adapted to them. 

 But there is no reason in the nature of things why this should be 

 the case with other animals ; and the problematical organs pos- 

 sessed by many of the lower forms favour the suggestion. If any 

 apparatus could be devised by which the number of vibrations 

 produced by any given cause could be lowered so as to be brought 

 within the range of our ears, it is probable that the result would 

 be most interesting. 



Observations on the Kindness of Ants. 



In my previous paper I have given various cases which seem to 

 show that ants are not so uniformly humane as the descriptions 

 of previous writers would seem to imply. Some of those who 

 have done me the honour of noticing my papers have assumed 

 that I disputed altogether the kindly feelings which have been 

 attributed to ants. I should, however, be very sorry to treat my 

 favourites so unfairly. So far as I can observe, ants of the same 

 nest never quarrel. I have never seen the slightest evidence of 

 ill-temper in any of my nests : all is harmony. Nor are instances 

 of active assistance at all rare. Again, indeed I have myself 

 given various cases showing care and tenderness on their part. 



In one of my nests of Formica fwsca was a poor ant which had 

 come into the world without antennae. Never having previously 

 met with such a case, I watched her with great interest; but she 

 never appeared to leave the nest. At length one day I found her 

 wandering about in an aimless sort of manner, and apparently 



