i88o.] 
43i 
Honey -bearing Ants. 
sympathy and of intelligence. In the new circumstances 
under which these ants were placed, their strongest instindt 
— that of excavation — at once displayed itself; but they 
seemed quite incapable of handling the question of the 
proper disposal of their food-magazines, under such unusual 
conditions. Fortunately for the honey-bearers they were 
not quite helpless, despite the great weight which they bore* 
They were able to drag themselves slowly forward, and in 
time they seem to have all managed to reach the under- 
ground habitation without aid from their friends. At least 
such was Dr. McCook’s belief, although he did not observe 
the complete process. There was no evidence of any 
assistance from the workers. 
Observations made in the natural nest of these ants gave 
different results. When they were dug into for the purpose 
of examination, and ants of every age and caste exposed to 
the light of day, the workers made the most vigorous 
efforts to carry all their helpless charge into the unbroken 
galleries of the underground city. The eggs, the young, 
and the honey-bearers were alike carried to this place of 
safety, with the most devoted energy. Whether the honey- 
ants were replaced in their favourite position on the ceiling 
of their chambers is not so certain. In our former article 
the workers were spoken of as so replacing them. But this 
statement was not derived from actual observation, but 
from the facft of their being often found in this position on 
further excavation. 
There is some reason, however, to believe that they may 
have regained this position by their own efforts, to judge 
from fadts observed in the artificial formicary. As already 
mentioned, the honey-bearers are not quite helpless ; they 
have the full use of their legs, though their movements are 
necessarily made at a disadvantage, from the angle into 
which the head and thorax are thrown by the swollen con- 
dition of the abdomen ; yet they have been observed to 
move by their own efforts, and it is not impossible that they 
themselves regain their favourite position on the ceiling of 
the nest. The reason of their preferring this position may 
be from the uncomfortable attitude which they are forced to 
assume on the floor of the nest. 
It may seem that an intense muscular effort would be 
required to sustain their great weight in this position. That 
ants, and insedts generally, are excessively muscular, as 
compared with the larger animals, is well known. And the 
honey-bearers are more muscular than ants generally, their 
legs being simply bundles of powerful muscles. But it is 
VOL. II. (THIRD SERIES). 2 H 
