160 CONDITIONS OF THE PROBLEM. 
Hymenoptera are really so highly gifted, it ought 
not to be necessary for us to rely on accidental observa- 
tions ; we ought to be able to test them by appropriate 
experiments. 
Those which I have made with reference to bees 
will be described in a subsequent chapter. 
Every one knows that if an ant or a bee in the course 
of her rambles has found a supply of food, a number of 
others will soon make their way to the store. This, 
however, does not necessarily imply any power of de- 
scribing localities. A very simple sign would suffice, 
and very little intelligence is implied, ifthe other ants 
merely accompany their friend to the treasure which she 
has discovered. On the other hand, if the ant or bee 
can describe the locality, and send her friends to the 
food, the case is very different. This point, therefore, 
seemed to me very important; and I have made a 
number of observations bearing on it. 
The following may be taken as a type of what hap- 
pens under such circumstances. On June 12,1874, I 
puta Lasius niger, belonging to a nest which I had 
kept two or three days without food, to some honey. 
She fed as usual, and then was returning to the nest, 
when she met some friends, whom she proceeded to 
feed. When she had thus distributed her stores, she 
returned alone to the honey, none of the rest coming 
with her. When she had asecond time laid in a stock 
of food, she again in the same way fed several ants on 
her way towards the nest; but this time five of those 
