
390 THE INSECT WORLD. 
by certain philosophers of our day, who were only able to conceive 
the idea, the possibility, the project of such a community of goods 
and interests, which is among ants a reality. 
How do these insects manage to make themselves understood 
in such various ways, asking for help, giving advice, giving invi- 
tations? They must have a language of their own, or else they 
must communicate their impressions by the play of their antenne. 
When an ant is hungry, and does not wish to disturb itself 
from its work, it tells a foraging ant as it passes, by touching it 
with its antenne; the latter approaches it immediately, and 
presents it, on the end of its tongue, some juice it has disgorged 
for this purpose. The antennew, then, are used by the ants for 
the purpose of making themselves understood by each other. Dr. 
Ebrard, who studied these insects attentively, is of opinion that 
they use them in the same way as a blind man does his stick, 
to feel their way with, for their sight is not good. The age 
to which ants live is not well known. It is believed that the 
workers live many years. 
Ants eat all sorts of things. One sees them eating meat, fresh 
or decaying, fruits, flowers, particularly everything which is 
sugary. They attack living insects, and kill them and suck their 
blood. Like many insects, they are very fond of sugary liquids, 
honey, syrups, pure sugar, &c. Dupont de Nemours relates 
in his Memoirs that, to guarantee his sugar-basin against the 
invasion of ants, he had found no better plan than to place it “in 
an island,” that is to say, in the middle of a basin full of water. 
He felt sure that he had thus made the fortress safe against any 
attack ; but listen to the stratagem made use of by the besiegers. 
The ants climbed up the wall to the ceiling, exactly perpen- 
dicularly over the sugar-basin. ‘rom there they let themselves 
fall into the interior of the place, penetrating thus by main force, 
and without injuring any one, into the magazine. As the ceiling 
was very high, the draught caused them to deviate from the 
straight line, and thus a certain number fell into the fosse of the 
eitadel, that is to say, into the water in the basin. Their com- 
panions, stationed on the bank, made all efforts imaginable to 
fish out the drowning ants, but were afraid of taking to the water 
of such a large lake. All that they could do was, to stretch 

