256 SPECIAL INSTINCTa. 



with plenty of food which they like best, and with their 

 own larvae and pupae to stimulate them to work, they did 

 nothing; they could not even feed themselves, and many 

 perished of hunger. Huber then introduced a single slave 

 (F. fusca), and sh_e instantly set to work, fed and saved 

 the survivors; made some cells and tended the larvae, and 

 put all to rights. What can be more extraordinary than 

 these well-ascertained facts ? If we had not known of any 

 other slave-making ant, it would have been hopeless to 

 speculate how so wonderful an instinct could have been 

 perfected. 



Another species, Formica sanguinea, was likewise first 

 discovered by P. Huber to be a slave-making ant. This 

 species is found in the southern parts of England, and its 

 habits have been attended to by Mr. F. Smith, of the Brit- 

 ish Museum, to whom I am much indebted for information 

 on this and other subjects. Although fully trusting to the 

 statements of Huber and Mr. Smith, I tried to approach 

 the subject in a skeptical frame of mind, as any one may 

 well be excused for doubting the existence of so extraordi- 

 nary an instinct as that of making slaves. Hence, I will 

 give the observations which I made in some little detail. 

 I opened fourteen nests of F. sanguinea, and found a few 

 slaves in all. Males and fertile females of the slave species 

 (F. fusca) are found only in their own proper communi- 

 ties, and have never been observed in the nests of F. san- 

 guinea. The slaves are black and not above half the size 

 of their red masters, so that the contrast in their appear- 

 ance is great. When the nest is slightly disturbed, the 

 slaves occasionally come out, and like their masters are much 

 agitated and defend the nest: when the nest is much dis- 

 turbed, and the larvae and pupae are exposed, the slaves 

 work energetically together with their masters in carrying 

 them away to a place of safety. Hence, it is clear that 

 the slaves feel quite at home. During the months of June 

 and July, on three successive years, I watched for many 

 hours several nests in Surrey and Sussex, and never saw a 

 slave either leave or enter a nest. As, during these 

 months, the slaves are very few in number, I thought that 

 they might behave differently when more numerous; but 

 Mr. Smith informs me that he has watched the nests at 

 various hours during May, June and August, both in Sur- 



