74 WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED 



disposal of a thing, then we have certainly much to 

 prove. The laws of insect communes may only be 

 known through the actions of the communists. To us 

 it seems that their sense of property is such as charac- 

 terizes primitive peoples, whose unwritten laws are 

 defined by brute force. The haste with which the ants 

 remove their youngsters in case of attack can scarcely 

 be classed under the sense of property rights, although 

 in no instance does the mother of the young act as 

 their defender. The state cares for the children, -and 

 the state defends them. However, the situation is some- 

 what different when it comes to the question of stored 

 food. The bees and the agricultural ants store up food 

 in the summer for use in the winter. Our common ants 

 use plant lice for their milch cows, and in all of these 

 cases the owners show by their actions a clear sense of 

 property rights. 



That bees have this sense is shown through their 

 actions in defending their stores from other plundering 

 swarms. Bee-robbing usually takes place when there 

 is little nectar to be taken from flowers, and probably 

 hunger incites to ill-gotten gain. It is interesting to 

 note that strong colonies are seldom attacked, the 

 weaker ones being the victims. The fury with which 

 the owners of the honey fight for its retention is 

 sufficient, when once seen, to convince any doubter 



