DIFFERENCES IN HABITS, 3 
ants belonging to the communities placed on the 
stands just described, knew their own nests perfectly 
well. 
/ These nests gave me special facilities for observing 
the internal economy of ant life. Another main diffe- 
rence between my observations and those of previous 
naturalists has consisted in the careful record of the 
actions of individual ants. The most convenient mode 
of marking them was, I found, either with a small dab 
of paint on the back, or, in the case of bees or wasps, by 
snipping off a fragment at the extremity of the wing. 
This, I need hardly say, from the structure of tke 
wing, gave the insect no pain; in fact, as it is only 
necessary to remove a minute portion, not sufficient to 
make any difference in their flight, they seemed 
scarcely to notice it. I never found any difficulty in 
painting bees or wasps; if they are given a little honey 
they become so intent that they quietly allow the 
paint to be applied. Of course too much must not be 
put on, and care must be taken not to touch the wings 
or cover up the spiracles. Ants require somewhat more 
delicate treatment, but with a little practice they could 
also be marked without any real difficulty. 
No two species of Ants are identical in habits; and, 
on various accounts, their mode of life is far from easy to 
unravel. In the first place, most of their time is passed 
underground: all the education of the young, for 
instance, is carried on in the dark. Again, ants are 
essentially gregarious; it is in some cases difficult to 
