ORIGIN OF THE STING. 15 
of Formica represents a hitherto undeveloped organ, 
then the original ant was stingless, and the present 
stings of ants have an origin independent of that 
belonging to the other aculeate Hymenoptera, such 
as bees and wasps. These organs, however, are so 
complex, and at the same time so similarly constituted, 
that they must surely have a common origin. Whether 
the present sting is derived from a leaf-cutting instru- 
ment, such as that from which the sawfly takes its name, 
I will at present express no opinion. Dr. Dewitz him- 
self regards the rudimentary traces of wings in the 
larvee of ants as the remnants of once highly-developed 
organs; why, then, should he adopt the opposite view 
with reference to the rudimentary sting? On the 
whole, I must regard the ancestral ant as having pos- 
sessed a sting, and consider that the rudimentary con- 
dition of that of Formica is due to atrophy, perhaps 
through disuse. 
On the other hand, it is certainly, at first sight, diffi- 
cult to understand why ants, having once acquired a 
sting, should allow it to fall into desuetude. There are, 
however, some considerations which may throw a certain 
light on the subject. The poison glands are much larger 
in Formica than in Myrmica. Moreover, some species 
have the power of ejecting their poison to a consider- 
able distance. In Switzerland, after disturbing a nest 
of Formica rufa, or some nearly allied species, I have 
found that a hand held as much as 18 inches above the 
ants was covered with acid. But even when the poison 
