THE HONEY-BEE AND OTHER SOCIAL ANIMALS 311 



different parts of the nest when it stands in the sun- 

 light. 



' ' The ants when estabhshed in the nest are to mine in 

 the earth between the two plates of glass. The removal 

 of one corner from the upper pane provides an opening to 

 the nest. The thickness of the strips of wood between 

 the edges of the two panes of glass determines the depth 

 of the layer of earth in which the ants live. This should 

 not be much thicker than the ants are high ; for if it is the 

 ants will be able to conceal themselves so that they can- 

 not be observed 



" The nest being prepared the next step is to transfer 

 a colony of ants to it. The things needed with which to 

 do this are a two-quart glass fruit-can, or some similar 

 vessel that can be closed tightly, a clean vial, and a 

 garden trowel. With these in hand find a small colony 

 of ants, such as are common under stones in most parts 

 of the country. Collect as many of the ants and of the 

 eggs, larvae, and pupae as possible, and put them in the 

 fruit-can, together with the dirt that is scooped up in col- 

 lecting them with the trowel. Search carefully for the 

 queen ; sometimes she is found immediately beneath the 

 stone covering the nest, but often it is necessary to 

 dig a considerable distance in order to find her. She can 

 be recognized by her large size. If the queen is not 

 found, empty the contents of the can back into the nest, 

 and take up another colony; without a queen the experi- 

 ment will be a failure. When the queen is found place 

 her in the vial so that she shall not be injured while being 

 carried to the schoolroom. 



' ' Having obtained a queen and a large part of her 

 family, old and young, return to the schoolroom and 

 empty the contents of the fruit-can on to the board cov- 

 ering the upper pane of glass, and place the queen there 

 with her family. If much dirt and rubbish has been col- 



