134 ON THE HABITS OF ANTS. [lect. 



think, conclude from the preceding that — (l) ants have 

 the power of distinguishing colour; (2) that they are 

 very sensitive to violet ; and it would also seem (3) that 

 their sensations of colour must be very different from 

 those produced upon us. 



When I began keeping ants, I surrounded the nests 

 by moats of water. This acted well, but the water 

 required to be continually renewed, especially, of course, 

 in summer, just when the ants were most active. At 

 length, in considering the habits of ants and their 

 relations to flowers, another plan suggested itself to me. 

 The hairs by which plants are clothed fulfil various 

 functions; one is, I believe, to prevent ants and other 

 creeping insects from obtaining access to the flowers, 

 and thus robbing them of their honey. 



It occurred to me, therefore, that, instead of water, I 

 might use fur, with the hairs pointing downwards. This 

 I have found to answer perfectly, and I mention it 

 because the same arrangement may perhaps be found 

 practically useful in hot climates. It is very possible, 

 of course, that tropical species of ants might be able to 

 climb up the fur ; but at any rate the experiment 

 would be worth trying. 



I never succeeded in keeping a bee long under obser- 

 vation. On the other hand, I once kept a wasp (P. gallica) 

 for more than nine months. I took her, with her nest, 

 in the Pyrenees, early in May. The nest consisted of 

 about 20 cells, the majority of which contained an 

 egg ; but as yet no grubs had been hatched out, and, of 

 course, my wasp was as yet alone in the world. I had 

 no difficulty in inducing her to feed on my hand ; but at 

 first she was shy and nervous. She kept her sting in 



