RESEARCHES INTO THE ORIGIN OF MIXED OR COMPOUND ANT-HILLS.

The discovery of societies composed of different species, apparently living tranquilly together, was of but trifling consideration; an object of by far higher interest was, to ascertain the real nature and intent of this association, and to decide to which of the two casts the ant-hill appertained. The most effectual method of acquiring this information, was undoubtedly that of inspecting the interior of their common abode, and of thus coming to the fact, whether there were males and females of the two species, or of one only; as a previous step, it was however necessary to institute a comparison between the allied and rival ants, the Amazons, and the peaceable Ash-coloured Ants, and the latter intermixed with those of the same species, in simple ant-hills. The comparison, I would even say the confronting, of the Ash-coloured Ants in compound, with those inhabiting simple ant-hills, daily repeated, and often with the microscope, left me no doubt of their identity.

The Rufescent Ant, denominated by M. Latreille, _Fourmi roussâtre_, in every point answers the description of those that fell under my own observation. This author, having made, not only a genus apart, but a distinct class of these insects, from the simple inspection of their form, had, without knowing their manners, given the best proof of the distance which separates them from the dark Ash-coloured Ants. In the notes at the end of this work, a description is given of both species; I shall here, however, briefly describe them to prevent the trouble of recurrence. The former (_Fourmi roussâtre_) is one-third larger than the latter (_Fourmi noir-cendrée_); its head is of a square form, its abdomen short and globose, terminating in an obtuse point. It carries its head close to the ground, stands high upon its legs, and moves by a succession of jerks. The latter has a triangular-shaped head, which it carries in an horizontal position; its abdomen is an elongated oval, its feet are short, and its progressive movement more equal and uniform. The Rufescent Ant is of one uniform colour, from the antennæ to the extremity of the abdomen, of a red more or less falling into yellow, and more or less passing into a brownish tint according to its age; the whole of its body is, as it were, invested with a rich glossy varnish. The dark Ash-coloured Ant is sufficiently well described in its denomination; the rings of its body vary in colour from black to grey, the rest of the body is of an unpolished black, but that part lying between the thorax and abdomen (_l’etranglement_) is more frequently of the same colour; now and then it presents a yellow tinge, the feet are in colour a little paler. The mandibles or pincers of the Rufescent Ant, are very slender, arched, destitute of teeth, and present no concavity; those of the Ash-coloured Ant are large, broad, hollowed like a spoon, shaped as a gouge, and furnished with teeth on the margin. The eyes of the former species are very small, black, and round; those of the latter, rather large and oval. The scale is large and rounded in the one, large and triangular in the other; the Rufescent Ant is moreover provided with a sting, of which the dark Ash-coloured Ant is destitute. We see from this description how much these species differ.

Let us now pass on to the important research of the males and females, to determine who are the original tenants of the ant-hill, the Amazons, or the Negroes, for we must look upon those born there as the first occupants. From an inspection of the interior of one of these mixed ant-hills, I came to the knowledge of the singular composition of these republics. The Negro labourers, by far the most numerous, occupied the upper story of the building; they were guarding a multitude of pupæ, which appeared to be of two different species: some resembled those of the Negro Ants (probably what the Amazons had brought thither), others exhibited the perfect mould of the Martial Ants; these were larger than the preceding, their mandibles were slender and arched, their eyes small and black; added to this, they had every character of that species. There was also under the guard of the Negro Ants, a considerable number of larvæ, belonging to different species, admitting of easy distinction, from the curvature and thickness of the body. Descending another story, I perceived the Amazons collected in numerous groups, mingled with the Negroes; but what most interested me, and fully satisfied my curiosity, was, the finding among them little males, entirely black, with glittering wings, bearing no resemblance to those I had hitherto met with. At length I observed females of a large size, of an orange colour, whose similitude to the Rufescent Ants, clearly denoted their origin. The greater part possessed wings; in their body, eyes, and teeth, they closely resembled the Warrior labourers, but were of greater size. The males were not so large as those commonly found in simple Negro dwellings, and were unlike them, in not having either the feet or antennæ yellow.

In further examining the interior of this nest, which was of great depth and extent, I remarked that the Negroes were alone occupied in watching over these males and females, who allowed themselves to be conducted from place to place, as if they looked upon them as their natural parents. The Amazons, on the other hand, took not the slightest notice of them, but retired and hid themselves as quickly as possible. On looking around, I could see no traces of destruction, nor indeed any thing to justify a suspicion that the Legionary ants were endowed with a ferocious instinct, although one would be inclined to this belief from their martial disposition.

It seems sufficiently demonstrated by what we have seen of the contents of a mixed ant-hill, that _it belongs to the Amazons_, and that it is composed _of three sorts of individuals of that species_, and _of Negro labourers_. With all my care, I could perceive neither males nor females of this latter cast, but only young Negro working ants, and these I recognised by their colour. But whence does this proceed? Are the larvæ and pupæ taken away from the Negro Ants by the Amazons developed in the enemy’s encampment, and do they afterwards become house-stewards, and auxiliaries to the warlike tribe with whom they are associated? Every circumstance seems to prove that here rests the great mystery of their association with the Amazons: brought up in a strange nation, not only do they live sociably with their captors, but bestow the greatest care upon their larvæ and pupæ, their males and females, and even evince the same regard for them, transporting them from one part of the ant-hill to another, going in search of provisions for them, building their habitation; forming, as occasion requires, new galleries, and fulfilling the duties of sentinels, by guarding the exterior of their common abode, not once suspecting that they live with those very insects who have expatriated them.

Whilst the Negro Ants are thus engaged, the Amazons tranquilly wait at the bottom of their subterranean abode, the hour of departure, reserving their strength, their courage, and the tactic they so well know how to put in use, for the purpose of bringing in, from some neighbouring ant-hill, hundreds of larvæ, which they confide to those in charge of the household establishment; these, in their turn, are destined to become useful to the community.

The ants, whose habitation I had deranged, had already furnished me with some traits leading to a conjecture of these truths. When the Amazons, deceived by the strange appearance of their nest, were wandering over the surface, unable to find a retreat, the Negro Ants, who were incessantly occupied in forming new galleries, and who knew better than they the new localities of the ant-hill, drew them from their embarrassment by taking them up gently in their mandibles, and conducting them to the galleries already pierced. An Amazon was frequently seen to approach a Negro, and play upon its head with its antennæ, when the latter immediately seized it in its pincers, and deposited it at one of the entrances. The Amazon Ant then unrolled itself, caressed once more its kind friend, and passed into the interior of the nest. It now and then happened that a Negro Ant, engaged in carrying an Amazon, lost all knowledge of its route, wandering here and there without finding any entrance.

I observed one, after several ineffectual windings, take the precaution of laying on the earth the Amazon, who remained in the same spot until the Negro returned to its assistance, who, having well ascertained and examined one of the entrances, resumed its burthen, and bore it into the interior. If the entrance to any gallery was unluckily obstructed by a mass of earth, and the Negro Ant wished to introduce by that way one of the Amazons, it quickly deposited its load, and began clearing away the impediment; this was no sooner effected, than the Amazon was again taken up, and carried triumphantly into the nest.

If individual facts prove the harmony which reigns between these two species, living under the same roof, general facts fully illustrate what has been already stated.

We may readily see, from the appearance of mixed ant-hills, they are the sole work of the Ash-coloured Ants, although they are of greater extent than simple ant-hills, inhabited by that species, arising from their double population, and the prodigious number of auxiliary ants they contain. Their form, the architecture displayed in their construction, the substance of which they are composed, the interior arrangement, is altogether alike. I have frequently seen the Negro Ants of compound ant-hills take advantage of the rain to construct new stories upon their original domicile; they also often increase the extent of it by forming halls and chambers on the exterior margin; so that in three or four days they form, as it were, a new dwelling around the first enclosure.

The Legionaries never venture abroad, like the Ash-coloured Ants, during the rain, nor do they even, during that period, advance so far as the outer gallery; nor are any seen, as one would suppose, presiding over the masons, in their work; indeed, the Negroes require neither an inspector, nor the excitement of the sting, to induce them to labour; for they are eager to build whilst the rain continues, and their work advances rapidly, on account of their number being infinitely more considerable than that of the labourers in a simple ant-hill. Their operations being finished, they are extremely solicitous the Legionaries should enjoy the advantage; to this end, they lose no time in transferring the colony from the old to the new habitation. But if we are desirous of witnessing a still more curious spectacle, we must observe them when they are about to change their domicile for one more convenient, it being upon them alone the office falls of deciding the urgency of an emigration, and of choosing the situation best adapted (usually one where the soil is loose, admitting of greater facility of mining) for a new establishment. We see them at first engaged in carrying each other to the place destined to this object, where each Negro Ant either begins immediately clearing away the earth, or returns to bring away more of its comrades. When the new habitation is sufficiently advanced, they transport thither all the Amazons. We now see, in the road of communication between the old and new city, a file of Negro Ants, carrying the Legionaries, whose colour strikingly contrasts with that of their conductors. By these faithful guardians, the males and females are afterwards brought away in the same manner, and on their arriving at the entrance of the lodge prepared for them, are placed successively before the door, when other Negro labourers come forward and take them into the nest. The larvæ and pupæ are now taken away in their turn, and safely deposited in the new habitation.

In the morning these trusty servants go in search of provisions for the whole colony; at one time they bring back little dead animals, at another time return with their stomachs full of the liquor furnished them by the pucerons. They may be constantly seen going and coming on the road to the ant-hill. This is not the case with the Legionaries, for they never go in quest of the pucerons, and it is a rare circumstance should they venture forth during the early part of the day.

We have now taken a view of the Negro Ants or auxiliaries in the several offices of, procuring provisions for the republic, constructing a common abode, and conducting thither its varied inhabitants; the Amazons, a colony of soldiers, have, on the contrary, no other occupation, and no other talent than that for war; their manners are altogether distinct. They seldom leave their retreat, unless the temperature be above the 16th degree of Reaumur (67° of Fahrenheit) when placed in the shade. The general rendezvous commonly takes place a little before five in the evening: I have, however, sometimes seen them take their departure earlier, but never before two, nor later than five. They always return at six or half past six. They never quit their abode, unless the weather be fine.

These insects have but one object in their excursions, that of stealing the young from an industrious race, and making slaves of them; and these are the very individuals, who, after a time, labour for this Amazon colony, rear their young, and furnish them with provisions. This being the sole aim of the Amazons, they never seize any but larvæ and working pupæ, for the males and females would be useless. Nature would not assuredly allow the destruction of the habitations of Negro Ants, since this would be to involve in equal ruin those of the Amazons.

These warlike ants are sufficiently well acquainted with all the nests inhabited by Ash-coloured Ants in their neighbourhood, to each of which, in turn, they pay a visit. The route is every day varied, and, as already stated, the same nest is often pillaged several times successively; but they never destroy those ant-hills from which they have carried off the young. In the combats, that almost invariably take place, but very few Negro Ants perish, since their adversaries have no desire of making them prisoners, or of disputing the possession of their invaded city. I have sometimes seen the Amazons, when disposed in column, take one direction, then suddenly return to the garrison, and again proceed in a contrary direction. I have also witnessed their army, but very rarely, separate into two divisions, each taking a different route. The smallest division, however, on perceiving it is not in sufficient force, falls back, and rejoins the other; but when their force is nearly equal, each party goes to pillage separately, and returns to the garrison laden with booty. It is not so much by their real force, as by their impetuosity, that they succeed in spreading dismay among the Ash-coloured Ants; for I have seen an army, composed, at the most, of only one hundred and fifty Amazons, penetrate one of their habitations, and afterwards safely convey the purloined pupæ to their own citadel. What motive can possibly influence the Amazons in taking a certain route, or falling upon one ant-hill, in preference to another? To this I can give no direct reply. I once witnessed a Legionary Ant leave the nest before the hour of departure, apparently on a journey of discovery; I watched its movements for some time in the grass, and found it to visit every dry situation, and every place which seemed to announce the existence of an ant-hill, but I lost sight of it before its return. I have also seen a few return alone from a distant spot, and enter precipitately the garrison, when the army put itself in motion, and commenced a line of march precisely in that direction by which the couriers had arrived; however, I can, by no means, affirm this was the reason of their departure.

The signal they adopt is extremely varied; sometimes they strike against each other with their forehead or mandibles previous to the commencement of their march; at other times they appear to excite, by the play of their antennæ, a warlike ardour among their companions; it would appear that in this way a knowledge of their route is communicated, for it seems to be fixed at the moment of departure, since the army proceeds straight to its purpose. What is remarkable in the arrangement is, that none of the ants composing the troop move constantly in the same direction; on their arrival at the head of the column, they make a little circuit _en forme de boucle_, and re-enter the main body, then, as before noticed, return to the rear-guard, for the purpose of giving instruction to those behind. Eight or ten of the Amazons seek every opportunity of outstripping their comrades; these form the front of the battalion, but this they scarcely attain before they fall back into the general mass, and thus the advanced guard sustains a continual renovation.

I have never seen Amazon females in these armies: the neuters alone, as in all the other species, subject themselves to the chances of war. They do not march by groping or feeling their way, but run after their companions in arms, without any fear of straggling, and even should they do so, which is rarely the case, they are then brought back to the ant-hill by some of the Negro Ants, who, upon discovering them, seem sufficiently to understand the nature of their situation.

I was once present when the whole army appeared to be deceived in its route. It commenced its march after the ordinary manner; in place, however, of following a straight line, it described a curve, and reached a distance of about fifty paces, halting several times. After diverging on all sides, without discovering any of the usual objects of attack, they fell again into column, and returned by the same road to their garrison, reaping no advantage from their expedition. The decision they took of returning would furnish ample matter for reflection. I shall not now, however, enlarge upon this subject, but limit myself to the question, how can this fact be explained on the supposition of a blind instinct?[1] But here is a fact still more extraordinary. Upon their return our Amazons met with no flattering reception from the Negroes in the mixed ant-hill, who individually assailed, buffeted and dragged them to the outside of the nest, where they even obliged them to act on the defensive: this hostile disposition, however, continued only a few moments, when the Amazons were allowed to re-enter their citadel. Are we to conclude that the Negro Ants were surprised at seeing them arrive without their accustomed booty, or did the larvæ, &c. serve in their eyes as passports for those with whose fate their own was so intimately linked?

[1] There are few terms of more extensive signification than that of _instinct_. In its ordinary acceptation, it implies that principle which determines the conduct of animals in their several operations. Admitting, however, _all their ordinary operations_ to be regulated by such a power, what have we to say touching those instances (and many such are on record) where, from existing circumstances, the habits of the animals have undergone _a complete change_, and _recourse has been had to certain means to attain certain ends_. Man fondly arrogates to himself an active principle pervading his nature, denominated _mind_: that he should feel justly proud of this distinction, of that intellectual superiority which places him so high in the scale of animal existence, excites little surprise; but let him have the candour to imagine, that he, perhaps, is not the only being thus gifted; let him but allow a small portion of the same influence upon the lower order of beings, and we shall then have a rational theory to account for those occasional deviations from their natural habits that are inexplicable on the ground of instinct alone.--T.

The Legionaries never take animal food. I have often cast among them living insects, such as caterpillars, worms, &c., but never observed they touched them. I have also placed before them small pieces of meat, raw and roasted, from which they turned away with equal indifference, the Negro Ants seizing upon it at the moment.

Another experiment, which I frequently repeated, was that of placing my hand before the army when in march; the Amazons passed between my fingers, unalarmed at my presence; none attempted to pinch or sting me. We could not put to the same proof, with impunity, all other species of ants.[2]

[2] The Red Ants of this country, on being disturbed, become excessively angry, and fasten upon the hands and uncovered parts of the body, where they produce an almost intolerable itching, not much unlike that occasioned by the stinging nettle. From Perceval we learn, that the large Red Ants of Ceylon, which live on trees, and build their nests among the branches, bite very severely. This seems, also, to be the case with a black ant found in the same island, which, according to Knox, “bites desperately; as bad as if a man were burnt by a coal of fire.” Anderson, in his account of the natural productions of Van Diemen’s Land, states, among other insects, he met with two that were excessively troublesome, the mosquito, and a large black ant, whose bite, he observes, occasioned very severe pain. Sir Joseph Banks notices a green ant, which he saw in New South Wales, that produces a pain equal to the sting of a bee; and Stedman informs us, that, at Surinam, the Fire Ant (so called from the burning sensation it occasions) greatly annoyed the soldiers, making them leap about, as if scalded with boiling water.--T.

I have never seen the Amazons take nourishment but from the mouth of the Negroes. I have presented to them honey and fruit, which they left untasted. When hungry, they approach their auxiliaries, and these disgorge in their mouths the juices they have obtained in their daily intercourse with the _pucerons_.

An experiment that I tried upon the Legionaries convinced me of their dependance upon their humble companions, both for nourishment and habitation. I enclosed thirty of these ants, with several pupæ and larvæ of their own species, and twenty pupæ belonging to the Negroes, in a glass box, the bottom of which was covered with a thick layer of earth: I placed a little honey in the corner of their prison, and cut off all association with their auxiliaries. At first they appeared to pay some little attention to the larvæ; they carried them here and there, but presently replaced them. More than one-half of the Amazons died of hunger in less than two days. They had not even traced out a dwelling, and the few ants still in existence were languid, and without strength. I commiserated their condition, and gave them one of their black companions. This individual, unassisted, established order, formed a chamber in the earth, gathered together the larvæ, extricated several young ants that were ready to quit the condition of pupæ, and preserved the life of the remaining Amazons. This result needs no commentary: I leave to each the liberty of drawing his own conclusions.

CHAP. IX.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE AMAZON ANTS.

If any proof were still wanting of the origin of auxiliary ants in mixed ant-hills, the discovery of other habitations of this kind would, doubtless, throw much light upon this subject. I had not long been occupied, before I discovered such, in which the Amazons were the same, but the auxiliaries different, being of that species denominated Mining Ants.

The Mining Ants (_Fourmi mineuse_), who build after the manner of Negro Ants (of which I have already treated in the chapter on architecture), are a little larger than the latter, from which they also differ in the colour of the breast, which is of a bright red. The feet and antennæ are also of a reddish cast; in regard to the rest of the body, there is a close resemblance: but for the real distinction between these two species, we must look to their character. The Mining Ants possess great vivacity, are very courageous, and live upon animal food. The Negro Ants are, on the other hand, timid and pacific. It was not, therefore, without astonishment, that I saw, for the first time, an ant-hill, composed of Legionary and Mining Ants; it was at least thrice the size of the simple Miner ant-hills, and contained a vast number of inhabitants of the two casts. Among the individuals of this society, the same kind of intelligence seemed to reign as among those which had fallen under my previous notice.

The Mining Ants go forth in a crowd, from morning until evening, for the purpose of foraging in the neighbourhood, and thus providing for the wants of the colony: on their return they share the fruits of their industry with the Amazons, who are as idle in this community, as in that of compound Negro ant-hills. The Mining Ants, moreover, are alone employed in establishing a new domicile, and transporting thither the Rufescent Ants, their pupæ, their larvæ, and the rest of the colony, whenever they wish to change their abode; in a word, they are equally excellent labourers as the Negro Ants, and display much more zeal in defending their nest.

If compound ant-hills owe their existence to the pillage of the pupæ, the object of the Amazon Ants in their excursions would be, to attack the dwelling of Mining Ants, when their associates were of that cast, and of Negro Ants when they lived with ants of that species.

In the neighbourhood of the mixed ant-hill of which I have just spoken, comprising a circumference of more than fifty paces, there was no habitation of Negro Ants: but, of the Miner ant-hills there was great abundance. This, therefore, was a sufficient reason for believing, that the ants of that species, living with the Amazons, drew their origin from these several colonies. To be assured of this, I visited a compound Miner ant-hill, between four and five in the evening, a time when the army usually commences its march: the Amazons were already assembled on the nest, and ready to set forth; they proceeded like a torrent along a deep dyke, and marched in a more compact body than ordinary. In a short time they reached the nest they proposed to attack, which was inhabited by Mining Ants. As soon as the Legionaries began entering the subterranean city, the Miners rushed out in crowds, and whilst some fell upon the invaders with great spirit, others passed through the scene of contest, solely occupied in bearing off to a place of safety their larvæ and pupæ. The surface of the nest was for some time the theatre of war. The Legionaries were often despoiled of the pupæ they had seized by the Miners, who darted upon them with amazing spirit, fighting body to body, and disputing the ground with an exasperation I had never before witnessed. The Amazon army was, notwithstanding successful, and recommenced its march in good order, laden with pupæ and larvæ: instead, however, of proceeding in file, it now maintained close rank, forming a compact mass, a precaution the more necessary, as the courageous insects upon whom they had made this attack, hastened in pursuit, and even harassed them, to within ten paces of their citadel.

During these combats the pillaged ant-hill presented, in miniature, the spectacle of a besieged city: hundreds of its inhabitants were observed to quit it, carrying here and there the pupæ, larvæ, and young females they were anxious to preserve from the fury of their enemies. The major part mounted the neighbouring plants, bearing the young between their teeth; others deposited them under the thick bushes. When the danger was entirely gone by, they brought them back into the city, and barricaded the gates, near which they posted themselves in great number to guard the entrance. All was calm, however, in the mixed ant-hill; the Amazons had entered quietly their abode, and had been received by the auxiliary ants as the real proprietors.

Immediately after, the Legionaries again departed, and proceeded towards a Miner ant-hill of considerable extent, considering themselves in sufficient force to cope with the guardians of that habitation: they threw themselves _en masse_ upon one of the galleries indifferently guarded; but their number not permitting them to enter all at once, the Mining Ants that were without, immediately precipitated themselves upon the invaders: and whilst they were engaged in desperate combat, their fellow-citizens in considerable number, losing, perhaps, every hope of defending their abode, and the little ones confided to their care, left the nest with the pupæ, larvæ, and youngest ants, took flight in every direction, and literally covered the ground to a considerable distance. The contest became every moment warmer: here the Amazons were endeavouring to seize the pupæ, which the Miners were removing from the seat of war; there the besieged were observed to wrest from the conquerors the fruit of their rapine. Confusion was at its height; Legionaries and Miners attacked each other impetuously, and often in the excess of their fury, deceived as to their object, fell upon their companions, whom, however, they immediately released. This commotion was confined to the rear-guard of the Legionary army; the main body, richly freighted, left the devastated city, and forming into square battalion, retraced their steps to their own citadel, constantly assailed by the Miners, who, for some time, continued the pursuit. It is only by their address, the rapidity of their movements, and the use of their sting, that the Legionaries are enabled to disengage themselves. I have often remarked, during these combats, the females of the Miners take flight, bearing off the pupæ in their mouths, acting in this respect like simple workers; but have never known them to take any share in defence of their nest. The pillage and skirmishes are not of long continuance; for in less than a quarter of an hour, we find the Amazons on the road to their garrison. Notwithstanding the courage and exasperated state of both parties, but a trifling number of ants perish.[1]

[1] If, according to our author, but few ants perish on the field of battle, I am inclined to think, that a considerable number die of the wounds and injuries they receive, shortly after their return to the nest.--T.

This scene, brilliant for its extent, was renewed as often as the Amazons found the temperature friendly to their departure. The purloined pupæ are soon developed: and not knowing their real family, (like the Negro Ants in mixed ant-hills,) bestow all their care upon the offspring of the Amazons.

Here then are two distinct species of auxiliary ants, in whose form and character we trace no resemblance, affording a favourable opportunity for solving the question, relative to the composition of these ant-hills. If in compound Negro ant-hills, and in compound Miner ant-hills, we find males and females _of but one species_, we must, of course, conclude, they have no relation to the auxiliary ants, but only to the Amazons; indeed those which I saw carried on several occasions by the Mining workers, in their emigration from one nest to another, in every respect resembled the little males and large females, met with in mixed Negro ant-hills: and I have looked in vain for others in the same habitation. I have even been present at the time of their leaving their abode, and can affirm, notwithstanding researches the most assiduous, attention the most unwearied, I never yet perceived any which were not in every respect like those I have described. Their departure and the circumstances attending it is by no means a point of indifference. For several successive days they come to the surface of the nest, surrounded by the Mining Ants, who form their escort, and take the same care of them as the workers in simple ant-hills, of the males and females of their own species. At length they quit the nest and commence their aërial excursions.

On the 31st July, at half-past ten in the morning, I saw several little black males issue from a compound Negro ant-hill, accompanied by a considerable number of Negro Ant labourers. The number of males were continually increasing; several Amazons on this occasion also left the nest, and came among them, although it was to them an unaccustomed hour; they approached the males and licked them after the manner of the Negro Ants. At length the large females came forth from the citadel, climbed the neighbouring plants, and in their turn received from the Negro Ants and the Amazons, the same attention as the males. At eleven o’clock the males became extremely restless, ran against and overturned each other, beat the air with their wings, and finally finished their gambols by taking flight. The females followed their example. More than fifty females, and four times as many males, quitted the nest. I kept guard for some time thinking they would return; but I never saw them more.

The appearance of this ant-hill was both satisfactory and pleasing; the contrast of females of a fine yellow colour, with little males entirely black; of winged insects with neuters destitute of wings; and of Amazon labourers, living in friendly union with such a number of Ash-coloured Ants, presented a picture full of interest, notwithstanding the trifling size of the objects that composed it.

In compound ant-hills I have now and then observed some very remarkable individuals which may be seen delineated in Pl. 2. fig. 1. These are Rufescent Ants, equalling, in size, females of the same species, differing only in the form of their thorax, which is not enlarged, and destined to bear wings; it resembles that of the labourers. These individuals are, from their size, classed with females, but they do not possess wings. I should have assigned them a place among the labourers, had I ever seen them take part in their excursions.[2] Here then is another example of those transitions we have remarked between the females and labourers of some insects of the same genus. Among bees there are several modifications of queens; there exist, also, among humble bees fecund labourers of different degrees of size, resembling, in almost every respect, females. This fact comes in support of those already given, and must convince us, that females and labourers are originally of the same order, and do not owe their form and real character, but to the more or less complete developement of their organs. I know not if the individuals, of which I have just spoken, are capable of laying, nor can I state the purport of their creation; be this as it may, they are extremely rare, and have no relation with the Ash-coloured and Mining Ants, in mixed ant-hills, where we equally find them.

[2] “It is remarkable,” says Gould, “of common yellow and hill-settlements, (alluding to the nests of _F. flava_ and _F. rufa_,) that you will find two sizes of workers in most of them, the larger exceed the less about one part in three; but there is no apparent difference as to contexture or other circumstances. They are mutually interspersed all over the colony, and carry on the same offices of labour and employment.” This observation of Gould is confirmed by specimens in the cabinet of Mr. Kirby. This gentleman informs us, that he saw them labouring in the colony, and that the large workers of _F. rufa_ are nearly three times, and of _F. flava_ twice the size of the small ones.--T.

Let us now return to the winged females. A little time after quitting their natal abode, they lose their wings like the ants of other species, traverse the ground, and seek a place of shelter. I could have wished it were possible to follow them; for their history, especially that part of it which relates to their new progeny, strongly excited my curiosity. To ascertain how these several colonies exist on their first formation, is a task of extreme difficulty: how, at this period, can they associate themselves with auxiliary ants, not being in sufficient force to make the necessary incursions to procure them? How, under these circumstances, do they act or can they do without them? Not being able to answer these questions, I shall adduce some proofs, showing that the Amazons are more skilful in the domestic arts than idlers, or those habituated to a life of ease.

Monsieur Latreille, more fortunate than myself, found one of these newly formed ant-hills. After giving a description of the Rufescent Ant, (of which we have been accustomed to speak under the name of Legionary or Amazon Ant,) he observes, “This species is exceedingly rare; I never observed it in society but once, and this society consisted only of a few members. It runs remarkably quick, and makes its nest, I believe, in the earth.” Had there been any association with the auxiliary ants, this careful observer would doubtless have noticed and been much struck with it.[3] I look upon it, therefore, as an almost certain fact, that the Rufescent Ants, before they are accustomed to the services of the Ash-coloured and Mining Ants, can put in use faculties which lie dormant when they become associated with these auxiliaries. It even happens they will sometimes assume their office, that is, change parts with them: a fact of which I have been once, and once only, a witness.

[3] Since this passage was written M. Latreille has frequently witnessed these mixed societies, or the association in one common abode of the Rufescent Ants with its auxiliaries, (the Ash-coloured and the Mining Ant). He takes the opportunity of paying a high compliment to our Author for this discovery.--T.

A compound ant-hill was established a short time since, on the terrace of the house in which I resided. I carefully observed the excursions of the Amazons, and one day remarked, they directed their route to a deserted ant-hill: the ants who had previously occupied it, pillaged doubtless too often by their so much dreaded neighbours, had taken the precaution of decamping with arms and baggage. The Amazons, who were perhaps badly lodged, profited by this circumstance. After having visited it, they returned, took up in their mouths the Negro Ants of the mixed ant-hill, and transported them to the new habitation. This operation lasted some hours, and the emigration was completely effected in this manner.

In this instance I saw the inverse of what I had hitherto observed, but never experienced the gratification of witnessing a repetition. The Amazons carried the Ash-coloured Ants as the latter usually carry them. The whole colony being transferred to the new lodging, they there rested, and each species again returned to their ordinary duties.

We see, from this example, that it is highly probable the Amazons know more than they would seem to know; and if we have seen them perish of hunger rather than take the trouble of providing for themselves, we must attribute it to the custom of their receiving nourishment immediately from the Ash-coloured Ants, and never going themselves in search of it.

Those who live in small numbers with their maternal parent, not being as yet accustomed to an idle life, do not, probably, confine themselves to the sole occupation of war, but engage in domestic duties; for during a certain period, the ant-hill is entirely composed of Amazons. But when their number shall have given them confidence, they are then seen to sally forth to procure the pupæ of the Ash-coloured and Mining Ants; which, under their management, become auxiliaries and useful companions. These are only conjectures, and perhaps very distant from the truth. I know, however, of none more plausible to explain the formation of new Amazon ant-hills.

As to the preservation of compound ant-hills, I believe it consists, as in all other ant-hills, in reserving some pregnant females to keep up the population. I have often seen in these habitations, and in all seasons, females destitute of wings. I opened, in the middle of April, some of these dwellings, where I found a considerable number of eggs, agglutinated together, assiduously guarded by Negro Ants. I also noticed some Amazon females, surrounded by the same guardians. They inhabited the most elevated part of the building, and the eggs were collected near them. In the month of June I first perceived the male pupæ in their enveloping membrane; their larvæ being in the number of those that spin: the female pupæ were rather later in appearing. They were liberated from their envelope, by the Negro labourers, in the same manner as the pupæ of Ash-coloured and Mining Ants, a little time before their last transformation. It is only in the month of July they pass into that state which puts them in a condition for flying. The pupæ of the Amazon Labourers were at that time very numerous in all their nests, but I no longer found there the pupæ of Ash-coloured and Mining Ants. The pupæ which the Legionaries had purloined the preceding year, were developed before autumn; their last invasions occurring in September. These warrior ants have only two months and a half to collect all the pupæ of which they stand in need. The temperature is often sufficiently high in May and the beginning of June to allow of their departure; they do not, however, venture abroad until their males are on the point of undergoing their transformation: they sometimes leave the nest individually, and are then always stopped by the Negroes, who bring them back to the ant-hill. I know not from what motive this conduct on the part of the auxiliaries arises; I have often remarked it, and it is a certain fact, that the Legionaries never go to pillage before that period. If they began earlier to purloin the larvæ and pupæ belonging to the Negro Ants, they would make great booty; it would, however, be in a great degree composed of the pupæ of males and females, and these it seems, they are not permitted to seize. Nature, aware of the serious inconveniencies that would arise from an attack made at this time by the Amazons, particularly guards against it, by producing the males and females of those ant-hills destined to pillage at a much earlier period than the males and females of the martial ants, and in not permitting the latter to be engaged in acts of rapine, until the metamorphosis of the winged insects has taken place.

The Ash-coloured and Mining Ants, are to be considered then as the negroes of the Amazons; it is from among them the latter procure slaves; they kidnap them at an age when their instinct is not developed; and these insects, on being brought up by the Amazons, divide with them the fruit of their industry. Can we sufficiently admire the prudence and wisdom these insects display in the establishment of such an institution! We here trace neither servitude nor oppression, nor do the ants themselves, taken from perhaps twenty different dwellings, entertain the slightest suspicion of their being in a foreign nest: they live under the same roof in brotherly and sisterly union, and if they regard the Amazons, it is but to show them greater attention. Nature, profound in her combinations, seems fully aware that old ants would never live sociably with those of another species, but that young ants may, especially if they have been accustomed in early life to see and receive from them some attention. She seems, also, aware, that no aversion is excited in the breasts of those who witness their birth. It is in this way, she has instituted mixed or compound ant-hills: it is on this account the Amazons in their expeditions never carry off adult ants, only larvæ and pupæ; for the same reason, they never seek the destruction of their enemies, their only aim being to steal from them their little ones.

An important truth relative to the moral condition of these insects, rests upon these facts--that their instinct is capable of receiving several modifications. Ants, carried away in their youth, may become familiar, and even live with an hostile species; it is in the first period of their life those impressions are formed which they always preserve. The very same objects that would naturally have excited their hatred, now only inspire them with a sentiment of love.

CHAP. X.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A MIXED ANT-HILL IN A GLASS APPARATUS.

I had often established, with success, artificial ant-hills, and am indebted to them for several interesting observations on the Fallow, Yellow, and other ants. I now resolved upon making the attempt of fixing, in an apparatus of the same kind, a colony of Amazon Ants, with their auxiliaries. The knowledge I had already acquired upon mixed ant-hills greatly facilitated my views. In describing the particulars of this experiment, the manners of these two species will be completely developed.

I constructed an apparatus, to which, for the sake of abridgement, I shall, as formerly, give the name of _ruche_. It consisted of a double vertical frame, twenty inches in length, by ten in depth, glazed on both sides; the distance between the two frames was only ten lines. I found this, however, too great, and, therefore, lessened it by placing a sheet of tin, drilled in numerous places, parallel with the two glasses. On the fore-part of the _ruche_ was a vertical portcullis, which could be raised or lowered at will, thus answering as a door. (This apparatus should not be raised upon feet, like those I have before described, but should be so constructed as to rest immediately upon the earth, by means of two very strong _liteaux_, inserted in the bottom of the _ruche_, and projecting, on each side.) Two wooden shutters excluded the light, and several holes, drilled in the upper part of the apparatus, allowed of my presenting honey to the ants, or pouring water into the interior, as often as it should be judged necessary. It was in this _ruche_, of which we may see a figure in Plate 1. that I thought of establishing a mixed ant-hill; and was desirous the ants should settle there of their own accord. To render them less sensible of the singularity of their abode, I filled the lower half of this apparatus with fine and slightly moistened earth, and deposited honey in several places.

These preparations being finished, I chose one of the most populous mixed ant-hills, in which were many males and young Amazon females. I removed a great part of this nest, placed it in a large linen bag, and then carried it to my study.

I established between my prisoners, and the lodging they were to occupy a free communication by means of a little canal of wood glazed on its upper surface, having one of its extremities inserted into the bag, and the other into the door of the _ruche_. This done, I left the ants to themselves. On the following morning I saw some of the Ash-coloured Ants leave the bag and enter the _ruche_ through the glazed canal. In the evening more passed. The second day they commenced carrying each other into the apparatus. Their number augmented hourly. At length the canal scarcely sufficed for the crowd of insects going and returning; it was obstructed by the recruits, and these were, for the most part, engaged in transporting the Legionary Ants from the bag to the _ruche_.

Having this glazed conduit, I was not obliged to open the shutters to see what was passing. The advantage of this arrangement was, that of not alarming the ants, whilst it assured me of their forming an establishment in the artificial ant-hill, preparing lodgings there, and removing the useless materials, such as flints or pebbles, and pieces of earth too dry to be put in work. I found from this, that it was necessary to moisten the earth in the interior, and, therefore, poured water through the holes in the upper part of the apparatus, which completely answered (as will be presently seen) all my wishes.

By the fourth day, the whole of the ants appeared to know the road, and had ceased to carry each other. But as I observed many re-enter the bag, I was fearful they might take the whim of fixing themselves there: I, therefore, obliged them to return into the _ruche_. With this view, I separated the bag from the glazed canal, and scattered gently all the earth it contained upon the floor near the artificial ant-hill. I constructed all around a brick wall, and reduced between my fingers the several clods; so that the ants could not conceal themselves. I then re-fixed one end of the glazed canal to the door of the _ruche_, placing the other end on the ground; forming an inclined plane, in such a way that the ants could go out and find their companions roving in the enclosure. The Ash-coloured Ants actually descended by this passage, and immediately brought back into their new abode the stragglers. They looked for them in every corner, visited the smallest clod of earth, examined scrutinously the remains of their former nest, and thence drew their companions of both species, taking them up in their mouths and transporting them immediately to the _ruche_. This operation finished, I went out to find the rest of the nest which I had left in the field, and then dispersed it in my study; a few of the Ash-coloured, or Negro Ants, in the _ruche_, perceiving fresh arrivals wandering about the floor, came out, and carried them into the new habitation. I was much astonished on seeing several ants leave the apparatus at the same time, as if they had been told there were many ants still to bring in. They immediately put themselves to work, constantly arriving with their companions of both species suspended by their mandibles, or setting off in file to seek those who still remained unsheltered: whilst these were thus engaged, their companions constructed galleries in the heap of earth I had brought in, and disengaged a great number of labourers, larvæ, and pupæ, which were there imprisoned. They worked with indefatigable activity. I was struck by their zeal. They brought to my recollection those famous dogs, who appear associated in charity with their masters, for the purpose of extricating from underneath the snow of the Alps engulphed travellers.

The Legionary Ants took no active part in this interesting scene: the Negro Ants were particularly careful of them, often conducting them into the interior of the nest, but sometimes contenting themselves with laying them down at the entrance of the glazed canal, going immediately in search of others. The Rufescent Ant, in this case, remained, for a moment, curled up, without movement; it then unrolled itself, and looked around, on all sides, without knowing where it was, or what direction it should take. I saw it, then, approach the Ash-coloured Ants, and implore their assistance, by the aid of its antennæ, until one that had little to do, seized and carried it into the nest.

In eight days the _ruche_ was completely peopled, and I was in hopes I had acquired a sure means of observing what passed in the interior of these singular republics. I hastened, then, to submit it to the proof. For this purpose, I carried out my _ruche_, and placed it upon the grass, allowing its inhabitants the full liberty of leaving it. I confess this was not done without some degree of apprehension; for I might thus lose, in one moment, the fruit of all my care; but I was encouraged by the hope that the Ash-coloured Ants attached to their work, would not abandon it so readily.

The first day, the Negro Ants, availing themselves of their liberty, visited the environs of their abode. They returned, just as I could wish. Some individual Amazons, also, went out, but were quickly brought back by their auxiliaries. On the day following, the Ash-coloured Ants guarded their door very assiduously; they heaped up many pieces of stone, &c. to narrow it, and thus oppose the entrance of certain ants attracted thither by the odour of the honey. They went, also, in search of the _pucerons_.

In the evening, the air being extremely warm, and the sun shining upon the ant-hill, I saw the Amazons prepare for an expedition. The whole army descended by means of the glazed canal. The signal being given, they set forward in an entire body, and fell upon a nest of Ash-coloured Ants, situated a few paces from the _ruche_. The Amazons returned with the success usually attending these incursions. Each disposed of his load at the door of the artificial ant-hill, into which the Ash-coloured Ants immediately introduced it. The warlike ants returned directly to carry off the rest of the larvæ; and, as it was only a trifling distance to the scene of pillage an uninterrupted chain of Amazons was established; some going to seek the pupæ, whilst others were bearing them away. At length they re-entered their own habitation, but came out in a quarter of an hour, and made their last attack upon the ant-hill, purloining, this time but a very few larvæ, and retiring tranquilly to the _ruche_.

I was greatly pleased on seeing the Amazons return to the artificial ant-hill, and confide their booty to their auxiliaries. This was a flattering omen for the success of my experiment, and from this period I indulged the hope of seeing the manners and habits of these insects fully developed. That I might not alarm them by the introduction of a strong light before they had fully established themselves in the _ruche_, the shutters were kept, for some time, completely closed. I was, however, extremely impatient to witness the interior, and it was now time to ascertain the extent of their labours, and observe the immediate consequences attending the capture of the pupæ. When I opened the shutters, I was agreeably surprised in viewing, at one glance, the whole of the interior of the ant-hill. The ants had mined the entire mass of earth. The glass, on one side, and the sheet of tin on the other, served as walls to the several chambers they had excavated. All their passages, their halls, even to the smallest apartments, were distinctly visible. They constituted irregular stories, some larger than others, the former were of greater elevation, the latter more elongated or narrowed. It was evident the ants had _mined_, and not _masoned_, or worked up the earth: what they had drawn from the interior, was heaped up upon the last ceiling or roof. The walls were rendered so compact and solid as to run little risk of being thrown down by the weight of the materials they supported.

Here the pupæ and larvæ were collected in the large chambers. There the Amazon army was stationed. In another place, the main body of auxiliaries were assembled. I had scarcely time to make these observations, the ants being much alarmed by the sudden introduction of the light. The Amazons left their garrison, and ran over the glass, but re-assembled, in a short time, in the most elevated part of the building, and formed themselves in groups close to the vault or roof. The Negro Ants, at the same moment, seized the larvæ and pupæ, carried them to the darkest places, passed through the holes in the sheet of tin, and reached the side opposite to that where I was taking my observations, the shutter of which had not been opened. By degrees, I was enabled so to manage the light that it should no longer alarm these insects, or at least so triflingly, that tranquillity might be speedily restored. I could thus follow them in their operations (which was absolutely necessary) at my ease.

The Amazons always grouped on or affixed to the ceiling of their underground chambers[1], did not quit their position, but to approach the Ash-coloured Ants, whose assistance was a point of vital importance. I saw none of them approach the larvæ or pupæ, or touch the provisions I had placed within reach; nor did meat and honey ever tempt them. I witnessed, in its fullest extent, the great care with which the auxiliaries treated them; the latter were constantly occupied in nourishing and brushing them; carrying them from one quarter of the ant-hill to another; conducting them where the temperature was highest, reassembling them with their companions, &c. I also observed a large body of the auxiliaries surrounding a Rufescent female without wings, for whom they expressed great solicitude; the rest of the males and females were on the outside of the ant-hill, attended by a numerous _cortége_ of Ash-coloured Ants, and by some Amazons; they soon took flight and were never seen to return.

[1] The ceiling or roof of the chambers in which these insects are lodged, appears to constitute their favourite residence. This I found to be the case with some female ants I kept in confinement. It is highly probable this position against gravity is maintained by means of an apparatus similar to what Sir Everard Home has observed in regard to the house-fly, of which he has given a full description, in the _Philosophical Transactions_, for 1816. It is, no doubt, upon this principle, that ants are enabled to walk perpendicularly up walls, bearing in their pincers insects (of which we have many instances) considerably larger and heavier than themselves.--T.

Every day the Legionaries made fresh incursions on the neighbouring ant-hills, and thus considerably increased the number of their pupæ: but when once placed within the _ruche_ they were no longer the objects of their attention. It was now the business of the auxiliaries to attend and convey them to the different chambers, which is regulated by the hour of the day and direction of the sun. Some of the pupæ were still enveloped in their cocoon; others had been extricated from them: the Negro Ants often came, notwithstanding my presence, to liberate them from their imprisonment. The cocoon of the Amazon pupæ, consisted of a browner silk than that of the Ash-coloured pupæ, and was also one third longer; but their number did not equal those of the pupæ of the other cast. The larvæ of both species were placed in different apartments, for they had, without doubt, wants relative to their age; but the Ash-coloured Ants alone took care of and nourished them, &c. I once, however, saw an Amazon engaged in removing the last pellicle from one of the Ash-coloured pupæ; the Amazon took it up with the same delicacy as other ants, and the labourer, the object of its care, evinced no symptom of fear on its being so close to this warrior, who did it no injury, and left it as soon as it was liberated. This affords another instance, that the Amazons are not absolutely unqualified for labour.

The _ruche_ exhibited a greater population every day, and a considerable number of Ash-coloured Ants was developed there: these I recognised by their grey colour. I also saw young Amazon Ants, which were a little paler in colour than the old of the same species; both received every attention from the auxiliaries. Tranquillity and unanimity reigned in this mixed colony. The ants appeared perfectly happy in their abode, yet thought, however, of quitting it. The Ash-coloured species, wearied perhaps by the frequent opening and closing of the shutters, began to emigrate, and formed a little cavity in the turf, a few paces from the _ruche_. I deranged their operations and suspended their emigrations, by placing the _ruche_ in another situation; but some days after they discovered another dwelling, and recommenced their recruiting, when I took the precaution of closing the door, and bringing the artificial ant-hill back to my study. I there kept it a considerable time, and the confirmation was greater, from day to day, of what I had hitherto acquired. When the weather was favourable, (between the hours of three and five), I took it out and placed it on the grass, and always observed the Legionaries pay a visit to the neighbouring ant-hills. At length, expecting no further information, I resolved upon trying an experiment I had frequently meditated, and as often dismissed, on account of my close attachment to my prisoners: this was to bring into immediate combat two Legionary armies.

With this view I waited till I saw the Amazon Ants, inhabiting another mixed ant-hill, which was situated in the garden, quit it; when I hastened to place my artificial ant-hill full in front of their advancing column. After a trifling combat, which took place at the door of the _ruche_, those in the interior went out in force, when the enemy’s column appeared desirous to avoid battle, taking at first another direction, then returning and re-entering their nest. Several ants from the _ruche_ put themselves in pursuit: some went even as far as the enemy’s garrison, where they were retained; two or three only escaped, and these I observed returned in great haste. The entire army now left the _ruche_, and proceeded to the mixed ant-hill; I looked forward to a general battle, but when the column had arrived to within a few paces of the entrance, it fell back, with the exception of a small body, composed of about three hundred Legionary Ants, who continued their route, until they reached the ant-hill. The Amazons assembled on the surface appeared extremely agitated, as if they had foreseen the attack with which they were threatened. The combatants fought body to body; but the strangers threw themselves into a gallery with so much impetuosity, that the others could not restrain them. This courageous incursion did not succeed; they all perished, not however, without making great havoc; for when I saw the Amazons of the natural ant-hill resume their expeditions, I found their army reduced to one half its original number. The _ruche_ had not suffered so great a diminution. I replaced it upon the grass, and allowed the Ash-coloured Ants the liberty of emigrating, which they did, in the manner we have already described.

CHAP. XI.

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SANGUINE ANTS.

The Sanguine Ants present us compound ant-hills of a different kind. From their analogy to the Legionary Ants, they will be found to corroborate the preceding facts, and will still elucidate this subject, by the contrast of their conduct with that of the Legionaries, who pass from a state of combat to a state of ease.

They owe the name they bear to the colour of the head and thorax: the abdomen is ash-coloured and slightly bronzed; the feet of a blood-red. These ants are larger than the Legionaries, whom they resemble only in manners. In the general form of the body they have a greater similarity to Fallow Ants, than to those of any other species.

If I attribute the discovery of the Amazons entirely to chance, I owe the knowledge I have acquired of the manners and customs of the species now under consideration to observation alone.

In examining, one day, the interior of their nest, with the view of observing its arrangement, I noticed Ash-coloured mingled with the Sanguine Ants; they were, however, much less numerous than in Legionary ant-hills. The same intimacy appeared to exist between them and the Sanguine Ants, as between the auxiliaries and Amazons in mixed colonies. There is no difficulty in verifying this remark, since these ant-hills are more common than those of the Legionaries; they are also more within view, the Sanguine Ants coming to the surface of their nest more frequently than the mason ants of any other species. These habitations are, for the most part, situated near hedges which have a southern aspect. The earth of which they are composed, is mixed up with fragments of leaves, stalks of plants, moss, and little stones, which form a species of mortar difficult to break. This composition of the ant-hill, and its varied form, would have soon convinced me it was not the sole work of the Ash-coloured or Negro Ants, even had I not seen the Sanguine Ants, like them, occupied in going out during the rain, and profiting by it, in giving greater extent and elevation to their abode.

The Sanguine then take a share in the labours of the Negro Ant; they go out also, at times, in search of _pucerons_, but this duty principally devolves upon the auxiliaries; and upon them also the office rests, on their leaving the ant-hill in the morning, of re-opening the several doors that lead to it; for in this species, particular care is taken to close every evening, all the avenues, by blocking them up with whatever materials they find proper for the purpose.

One of the ordinary occupations of the Sanguine Ants, is the going in chase of certain little ants, which constitute their food. They never go out alone; they assemble in little troops, lie in ambuscade near the ant-hill, wait until some unwary inhabitant quits it, and then dart forth and secure their prey. The insects they meet on their road experience a similar fate, whenever they fall in their power.

In the Sanguine, as in other mixed ant-hills, we find neither males nor females belonging to the auxiliaries. The females of the Sanguine tribe are conspicuous for their varied colour; they have the head and thorax of a brilliant red, inclining to scarlet; the abdomen brown, the feet of a dark red. The males are black, with the exception of their feet, which are yellow; they closely resemble the males of the Ash-coloured Ants, but have a larger body; they leave their habitation at the same time as the females, accompanied, like those of the Legionary Ants, by a double _cortége_. There are so many points in which these ants agree, that I was led to suspect they procure the Negro Ants, much in the same way as the Legionaries. I watched their movements from day to day, and was, at length, a witness to several of their expeditions, which differ, in many respects, from those described in the preceding chapter. The following will convey a just idea of their tactics.

On the 15th July, at ten in the morning, a small division of the Sanguine Ants was dispatched from the garrison, and arrived in quick march, near a nest of Negro Ants, situated twenty paces distant, around which they took their station. The inhabitants, on perceiving these strangers, rushed forth in a body to attack them, and led back several prisoners. The Sanguine Ants made no further advance; they appeared to be waiting for some reinforcement. From time to time, little companies of these insects came from the garrison to strengthen the brigade. They now advanced a little nearer, and seemed more willing to run the risk of a general engagement; but in proportion as they approached the Negro dwelling, the more solicitous did they seem to dispatch couriers to the garrison, who arriving in great haste produced considerable alarm, when another division was immediately appointed to join the army. The Sanguine Ants, although thus reinforced, evinced little or no eagerness for combat, and only alarmed the Ash-coloured Ants by their presence. The latter took up a position in front of their nest of about two feet square, where nearly their whole force was assembled to await the enemy.

Frequent skirmishes take place all around the camp, the besieged always attacking the besiegers. The Negro Ants, judging from their number, announce a vigorous resistance; but distrusting their own strength, they look to the safety of the little ones confided to their care, and in this respect show us one of the most singular traits of prudence of which the history of insects can furnish an example. Even long before success is in any way dubious, they bring the pupæ from the subterranean chambers, and heap them up on the side of their nest, opposed to that where the Sanguine army is stationed, in order to carry them off with the greater readiness should the fate of arms be against them. Their young females escape on the same side. The danger becomes more imminent; the Sanguine Ants, sufficiently reinforced, throw themselves in the midst of the Negroes, attack them on all points, and arrive to the very gates of their city. The latter, after a brisk resistance, renounce its defence, seize upon the pupæ deposited on the outside, and convey them to a place of safety.[1] The Sanguine Ants pursue, and endeavour to steal from them their treasure. The whole body of Negro Ants are in flight; some few pass through the enemy’s rank, and at the hazard of their lives, enter once more their habitation, and expeditiously carry off the larvæ, that would otherwise remain devoted to pillage. The Sanguine Ants descend into the interior, take possession of the avenues, and appear to establish themselves in the devastated city. Little bands of troops continually pour in from the garrison, and begin taking away the remainder of the larvæ and pupæ, establishing an uninterrupted chain from one ant-hill to the other: thus the day passes and night comes on, before they have transported all their booty. A considerable number of Sanguine Ants still remain in the Negro residence, and on the following morning, at break of day, recommence the transfer of the rest of its contents. When they have taken away all the pupæ and larvæ, they then carry each other to the garrison, a few only remaining behind.

[1] Is it not surprising that the Ash-coloured, when attacked by the Sanguine Ant, should follow a different line of conduct to what they pursue, when they have any engagement with the Legionaries. The impetuosity of the latter allows them no time for defence. The tactics of those besieging being different, those of the besieged will always be so. But can we form any idea how Nature has taught them to take precautions proportionate to the danger?--A.

But I perceive some ants moving in a different direction; their number increases; a new resolution has doubtless been taken by these truly warlike insects; a considerable recruiting takes place on the compound ant-hill, in favour of the pillaged city: and in this they at length establish their residence. Every thing is transported thither with the greatest promptitude; pupæ and larvæ, males and females, auxiliaries and Amazons; indeed, every thing the garrison contains, is removed to the habitation acquired by conquest; and the Sanguine Ants renounce for ever their natal abode. They establish themselves on the spot, and in place of the Negro Ants, and from thence undertake new incursions.

I was a witness to several such scenes, but shall content myself with describing one only. I established a Sanguine compound ant-hill in a glazed apparatus, such as that described in the preceding chapter. This I one day placed at a little distance from a Negro dwelling, which soon became the object of a regular siege. After the Sanguine Ants had driven away its inhabitants, and conveyed to their glazed habitation or _ruche_, a part of the pupæ, they came to a sudden decision of changing their domicile, and in a few hours removed the whole of its contents, and established themselves with their auxiliaries in the enemy’s habitation. They do not, however, change their abode on each invasion of a Negro ant-hill; but it is of rare occurrence if they quit not in the course of the year the one they occupy.

One of the principal features of the wars levied upon Ash-coloured Ants, seems to consist in exciting fear; and so effectual does this prove, that the Negro Ants on no occasion return to their besieged capital, even when the oppressors have retired to their own garrison; they, perhaps, well know they could never remain long in safety, and would be continually liable to the attacks of their unwelcome visitors. This new species of Amazon, almost invariably follows the same route; hence, it happens, that on the least signal, they know what direction they are to take. They sometimes go a hundred and fifty paces distance, in search of a Negro habitation, and their attacks are always made by small divisions; which, as before stated, succeed and assist each other by means of couriers, evidently sent off for that purpose to the garrison.

The invasions of the Sanguine Ants, although so destructive to the peace of their enemies, are yet, happily, less frequent than those of the Legionaries. They pillage only five or six ant-hills in the course of a summer; and the time appropriated to this object, is much more limited; for they must, in the period of one month, bring in all the pupæ they may want. The Sanguine Ants, endowed with a considerable share of activity, are content with a much less number of slaves or domestics than the Rufescent Ants. The pupæ, purloined by the Sanguine Ants, are developed some time in August: and at that period we find in their nest a greater number of auxiliaries. The Sanguine Ants could scarcely do without them; occupied continually in the chase, and now and then called upon to go forth in an entire body, to the assistance of their compatriots, they would be obliged to leave their little slaves at home unattended; moreover, the Negro Ants are better qualified than they to take care of the larvæ; to them, therefore, is entrusted this important duty.

When the Sanguine Ants change their domicile, they take especial care to convey with them their auxiliaries; for whom, when their dwelling is attacked by other ants, they evince the strongest affection. I have seen the Sanguine, when besieged by the Fallow Ants, carry off, in haste, to the subterranean apartments their auxiliaries; when the latter, on being left, seemed to fulfil the intention of their protectors, by closing and barricading with care all the avenues, making use of such materials as were immediately within reach.

I shall now give an instance of their prudence and foresight, upon which I slightly touched in the chapter on war. In case of disaster, they always take care to provide a retreat, and whilst one party is engaged in defending the colony, another party bear away the Negro Ants or auxiliaries, who immediately begin constructing a new dwelling, at a considerable distance from the scene of combat.

We have noticed, among Rufescent Ants, two species of auxiliaries--Ash-coloured and Mining Ants. The latter are also highly useful to the Sanguine Ants, who attack their habitations in the same way, and much under the same circumstances as the nests inhabited by Negro Ants. But what is highly worthy of remark is, that there should exist ant-hills composed of three different species of ants--the Sanguine, the Ash-coloured, and the Mining Ant. This has been fully confirmed by my having observed an army of Sanguine Ants form into two divisions, when the one attacked a Mining and the other a Negro ant-hill.

I shall now bring these observations to a close by stating a fact, which fully demonstrates the influence of habit upon the natural disposition of ants. I placed, in a box, a few pupæ of the Sanguine and Rufescent Ant, under the guard of some Ash-coloured labourers. These pupæ became adult ants, and although Amazons, lived together in great amity under the same roof, thus corroborating the facts formerly mentioned.

The history of Amazon Ants and their auxiliaries still proves, that if education can efface the hatred existing between different species, and consequently enemies, it effects no change in their instinct and character, since the Amazons and their slaves, brought up with the same care, and under the management of the same nurses, live in the mixed ant-hill under very different laws.

My readers are, perhaps, inclined to believe, that I have been led aside by a love of the marvellous, and that, to give more interest to my narrative, I have added something, by way of embellishment, to the facts I have observed. But the more I am attracted by the wonderful display of nature, the less am I inclined to alter it by any _mélange_ of the imagination.

I have endeavoured to cast aside every illusion, prejudice, or ambition of saying any thing new, prepossessions in favour of cursory observations, love of systems, &c. holding to that disposition, which I may term neutral; ready to admit every fact of whatever nature it be, provided it be confirmed by close observation.

If the facts adduced afford ample proof that ants are endowed with higher faculties than we have hitherto granted them, we must attribute it to the subject itself; hence the necessity under which I have laboured, of employing many terms and comparisons, that, on a first glance, appear rather bold, although founded on the close connection between the human race and the insect living in society.

Among those I have taken to witness the discovery of mixed or compound ant-hills, I may mention the learned professor Jurine.[2] This gentleman had the kindness to identify their existence, by examining, separately their contents.

[2] This celebrated naturalist, who resided at Geneva, has within these few weeks breathed his last. His writings, together with his splendid cabinet of insects, furnish ample proof of his talents and industry.--T.

To this honourable testimony I shall add but one more--Nature herself! who is ready to answer every doubt, every objection; it is easy to interrogate her: I have put my reader in the way, by describing my means of observation, and I dare assure naturalists, who will deliver themselves over to this study, they will meet a full recompense for the trouble and time they devote to it by the inexhaustible pleasure of discovering new truths.

CHAP. XII.

OBSERVATIONS ON THOSE INSECTS THAT LIVE IN REPUBLICS.

Although we have yet much to learn respecting the manners and habits of insects; we may still, I think, from the observations which have been brought together, attempt their distribution according to the developement of their instinct, so as to be enabled to rectify mistakes, when subsequent discoveries shall have adduced fresh information.

This classification does not exactly answer to the chain in which Bonnet has ranged all living beings, by tracing resemblances between their organization: still less does it correspond with those systematic divisions, established by distinguished naturalists; it, however, serves to show us the true plan of nature, in proving, that she is not always subject to that material order which strikes our senses; that she has varied _ad infinitum_ her combinations; and that there are general rules founded upon moral characters, divisions and subdivisions in the intellectual, as well as in the physical part of creation, which, I hope, one day, fully to demonstrate. I shall detach from this plan only a few opinions, having reference to those insects which live in society; they form a separate class, of which we have not yet well ascertained the nature and the relation. Pre-eminence, if such exists between these republics, cannot be determined, until we have compared with much care and attention, the spirit, labours, character, and laws of each.

To assign as nearly as possible, the place they occupy in the class of insects, let us set aside those animals, whose size, strength, usefulness, and even ferocity, impose upon our judgment; let us suppose for a moment, that man himself did not exist, and let us see what part these different colonies would then act upon this globe, (whose members are associated for one common interest,) in the midst of that crowd of isolated beings, which display only a limited instinct, having habitudes rather than manners, subjected to rules rather than laws, and unconscious of either country or family.

In the first rank would appear those societies of industrious flies, which are established in hollow trees, and in the crevices of our rocks: they feed upon the nectar of flowers, and secrete honey and wax; they never employ their arms but to defend their country, the treasures they have accumulated, and the young they are rearing; the outside of their habitation presents nothing grand or imposing, but the interior is formed upon a regular plan, uniting elegant proportions with the most rigid œconomy.

That family whose colouring is more brilliant, lives by carnage and rapine: its empire extends over every insect it can pierce with its sting, and every kind of fruit that its teeth enable it to penetrate; its dwelling, like to a balloon, is sometimes suspended in the air, from the branches of a tree; at another time, resembles a fortress, of which nothing indicates the existence without, hidden in the earth, and tenanted by a highly dreaded race.

At length come those colonies which cover the surface of the earth, and whose republics are so numerous, that the globe would not suffice them, had not Nature set just limits to their production. A multitude of insects become their prey. The small size of the individuals is compensated by their number; but force is not their principal reliance. Neither the flowers nor fruits furnish them with their ordinary food; this is the object of a taste more refined. The colonies of which we are now speaking, go and collect it from certain pacific beings, which live in societies, and bestow upon them, unconstrained, the juices they extract from plants. These colonies possess the art of making themselves understood, of assembling these insects in their habitation, and of defending them against the attacks of their enemies.

Those insects which live in republics, yield doubtless to many others in size, strength, and swiftness. Nature, in a lower degree, produces its monsters: the spider, dung-chafer, rove-beetle, scorpion, like so many ferocious beasts, retired to their covert, await the passage of flies, worms, butterflies, caterpillars, which they attack and destroy, experiencing no kind of resistance. Our astonishment is again excited at the gigantic proportions of those dung and stag-beetles, whose peaceable dispositions strongly contrast with the arms with which they are provided. Here the diversity of the production arrests our attention; this insect lives in corrupted matter, that insect dwells on the body of another animal; these have but an ephemeral existence, those pass their life in idleness, flitting by thousands from flower to flower, without being conscious either of an habitation or a single relation. Shall we compare to insects, organised in a republic, those processionary caterpillars, whose sole talent consists in their knowing how to spin, in common, a web, in which they undergo their transformation, and in their leaving behind them in their march, threads which serve to guide their companions, or those swarms of crane-flies, collected in the air, by the sole attraction of the sexes, or those myriads of ephemeræ, which have but one day, one hour, to quit the waters, congregate, and die? Or shall we place in the same rank those clouds of locusts, without laws, without police, whose assembling appears to have no other object than the devastation of the countries they traverse, and those regular societies that know how to establish a common abode, adapted to the rearing of their young, and their own safety? If these wandering insects inspire us with any interest, it cannot be by placing at their side objects, whose comparison would be disadvantageous to them; let us, therefore, return to the parallel of those, whose manners and habits announce a certain degree of civilization.

Can we sufficiently admire the skill the bee displays in the distribution of that ductile substance, with which it constructs its combs, in forming that double rank of hexagonal cells with pyramidal bottoms, (the base of which serves as a partition for three other cells,) those parallel streets, and those magazines, which it fills with provision for the winter, &c.? This is the insect which amasses real provision, inclosing it and guarding it with care.[1]

[1] We have, at all times, admired the structure of the combs of bees: the angles of the cells have been measured by skilful geometricians; but we are yet ignorant of the manner in which these industrious insects construct them. My father, after assiduous researches, has at length discovered the secret of their architecture, and will, ere long, present to the public a very extensive memoir upon this subject.--A. I need scarcely add, that this memoir has been since published, and contains much interesting information on the subject; indeed, it is very generally known in this country, and merits the highest commendation.--T.

The wasp, by a particular art, is enabled to avail itself of the oldest and driest wood, in the formation of a substance similar to the finest pasteboard, with which it fabricates its nest: the cells which it constructs, are placed horizontally, suspended from each other: less skilful than the bee in measuring the angles of these cells, it does not form them in double rank, although the substance it employs is of much less value. It envelopes these cells in a common covering, which it can enlarge commensurate with its wants. By means of a juice or liquid, that proceeds from its mouth, it is enabled to unite and glue together the several particles of which its habitation is composed.

The nests of humble-bees present different appearances: here, we find these insects dwelling under a roof of moss; there, under a vault of wax. Their provisions are not collected to any extent, and are so exposed, that any may go and obtain refreshment when they like; but what is singular, the cells which contain their honey, have not been fabricated expressly for this purpose; the webs which they spin, in the first state of their existence, serves for this new use, and the coarse wax they elaborate, is employed in narrowing or lengthening these reservoirs, in constructing new cells for their young, and in forming an envelope which preserves the nest from humidity.

Let us now approach that hillock of straw, which we observe in the midst of the forest; under that inclined roof, a numerous republic finds an asylum against the injuries of the air. By a well-regulated police, the gates are closed during the night, and guarded through the day; several avenues lead to the bottom of this subterraneous city; it is found to contain numerous stories, both above and underneath the surface of the ground, and is so constructed that the water can never gain admittance.

Farther off, I observe a crowd of masons (ants) occupied in raising a building of immense size for insects so diminutive; they neither employ in its construction, like the bee, a valuable material which they have themselves formed, nor a light and thin substance resembling the finest pasteboard, such as that the wasp uses in the formation of its nest; its mortar is already prepared, the earth, rain-water, and the benefit of the sun, is all that is required in their masonry. The foundations of a new story are laid, walls are raised, ceilings are constructed, and their abode is arranged, with a view rather to convenience than regularity.

Here I observe, proceed from the trunk of a tree, a file of ants; they have hewn out in the solid wood vast chambers, a multitude of lodges and stories, corridors and colonnades, to which the air has free access.

On removing to another country, I observe a certain species of ant, availing itself of the down of a cotton-plant to shelter, more warmly and commodiously, the little ones confided to its care. No insect, indeed, presents such a variety in their dwellings; a particular talent seems to be displayed in the labours of each, indicating to them the nature and use of the several substances within reach.

Let us pass from their architecture to the cares they bestow upon the rising generation. What a contrast is there not afforded between the social insects, and those that lead a solitary existence; the latter are, for the most part, unacquainted with their family; they provide for their necessities, establish their dwelling, but very few will see the egg to which they give birth. This affixes its eggs around a branch; that trusts them to a fragile leaf; another abandons them to the current of the waters: some place them in the sand, like the ostrich, leaving them to be brought to perfection by the heat of the sun; others, the isolated mothers, prepare themselves (before laying) the food for the larvæ which will proceed from their eggs; some, furnished with an instrument for this purpose, deposit them in the body of a living fly, in the larvæ of other insects, or in the skin itself of the larger animals; others, by means of a double saw, lodge them in the bark of trees. These form subterraneous caverns, in which they arrange caterpillars near their offspring, who, on quitting the egg, find the food they require; others form a chamber in the earth, which they adorn with rose and poppy-leaves: they prepare for the nourishment of their young a paste, composed of honey and the pollen of plants; they deposit their eggs; their task is finished; they die.

The greater number of solitary insects, guided by a blind instinct, assure themselves of the existence of the succeeding generation, but they do not live sufficiently long to see the developement of their young; we cannot, therefore, refer their conduct to motives of affection.

Those insects which live in society are devoted to the care of their family; there reigns between them an intimate bond of union, from which result relations that cannot exist among the former. What an interesting scene is there not offered to us on viewing this hive of bees, that nest of humble-bees, those wasps, and, particularly, these ants. I see the humble-bee prepare a cell for its young, which it partly fills with the food necessary for their preservation, under a fear, perhaps, of not being able, alone, to satisfy their wants: if their provisions are exhausted, the mother nourishes them herself; she visits the flowers, and then returns to her nest, bestowing upon the larvæ which are disclosed the most assiduous attention: she enlarges their cell, and watches over their safety, until they become themselves real workers, capable of assisting her in taking care of those to whom she is about to give birth. A society is established between the mother and her young: each day the circle of her relations is extended, and the union is rendered more perfect.

Among bees, properly so called, an innumerable crowd of workers are produced from a single mother. If, however, maternal feelings and the delights of love are denied them, they do not the less evince their affection and solicitude for the young of their common mother; they nourish them, and defend them with a zeal and disinterestedness truly praiseworthy.

The ants carry still further this devotedness for their charge: they take care of and nurture them, even in the state of eggs, and give them _mouth-provision_ in that of larvæ: when the latter are become pupæ, they procure for them an agreeable temperature, and when they are ready to undergo their transformation, these are the common parents, who extricate them from their cocoons, taking care of them until they are in a condition to fly, or discharge the duties to which they are respectively called.

In consequence of these attentions to them in their infancy, there arises a reciprocal affection between these insects. Hence the nature of the society which we observe among them. Thus what principally distinguishes them from those insects which live in solitude, is the attention they bestow upon the education of their young.

But what a prodigy is that in nature, of being able to receive advantage from sterility itself, to ensure the preservation of the species; of inspiring the labourers with unbounded affection for the offspring of another mother, and confiding to them the charge of their education. The mother, too fecund to rear, unassisted, all her young, finds in her society, a number of assistants, who take upon themselves the several labours: these are endowed with the highest degree of industry, activity, zeal, and courage: fecundity alone is denied them.

In what rests the secret of this organisation, incomplete as to sex, perfect as to industry? Admirable combination of an incomprehensible nature! It has been fully proved, that bees can, in time of need, elect a queen from among the youngest larvæ; that the education, nourishment, and size of the cell destined for her, give rise to her being endowed with amazing fecundity, devoted to a state of repose, and receiving the homages of a numerous republic. Had it, however, been reared, like the other larvæ, it would have participated in the labours and dangers which fall to the lot of the workers. Can we conceive how means so simple should produce such powerful effects?

From such an institution arise those intimate and mutual relations, those assiduities which the education of the young requires, that assemblage of labours, that love for the country, that language, &c. we so much admire in these colonies. Every where else, each female lives separately. The only relations between solitary insects are occasioned by difference of sex; but, regarding those who live in society, we observe, a family more or less numerous, more or less powerful; all the members of which, of whatever order they be, understand each other, and yield mutual assistance; living, in common, upon the provision the workers bring in. This constitution is one of the wonders of nature; thus has she been pleased to establish several kinds of republics upon the same principle.

Among bees and ants, a multitude of workers are born each year; but in these republics there are but a small number of females. Let us now attend to those astonishing circumstances with which their impregnation is accompanied.

The mystery of the fecundation of the queen bee, has, from time immemorial, excited the attention of naturalists; it has, therefore, been the subject of the most profound researches; their respective authors passing from error to error, from conjecture to conjecture, came to doubt of the queen’s having sexual intercourse with the male. It was reserved for a mind eminently endowed with all those qualities which constitute the philosopher and naturalist, that penetration, that logic, that extension of thought, so uncommon, of interrogating nature by the organ of another[2], of, at length, decyphering those lines of the great book, which contain the surprising phenomenon, of which bees offer the only example.

[2] I rather think the author here alludes to the distressing state of his father, who has, for many years, laboured under the greatest of bodily privations--loss of sight. His ardour in the investigation of his favourite subject, suffered no diminution. A faithful domestic attended, and gave him information of what was passing in the interior of his glass-hives.--T.

At this period we observe a vast number of males in the hives; they quit them in a large body, and disperse. The young queen alone, without followers, leaves her abode, goes forth to be impregnated in the air, and returns to her numerous family, bringing back not only titles to the consideration of her subjects, but the indisputable proof, that the favoured male has lost his life in performing this last duty. A thousand curious circumstances attend this brilliant discovery.

Shall we at present speak of the combat of the queens; of their imprisonment; of the expulsion of the supernumeraries? Let us rather leave to the reader the pleasure of learning these astonishing truths in the original, and let us see what passes, under the same circumstances, with ants. In this instance, the males and females are distinguished from the unprolific race, by the faculty of flying. When the day of their departure arrives, they quit the nest in a crowd, accompanied by a numerous retinue of workers, who cannot follow them to any distance. They take flight, complete their junction in the midst of the swarms they form in the air, and never return to their original abode. The males in a short time perish; for they know not how to provide for their necessities; but the females are destined to extend the republics of their species; they are, therefore, under the necessity of going and establishing the foundations of them alone, and unassisted. One would be inclined to believe that the wings, with which they are provided, would be of advantage to them in their labours; but Supreme Intelligence has ordered it otherwise; for as soon as they are impregnated, they renounce that prerogative, which no longer agrees with their new condition, and tear away of their own accord, and with effect, those members which appear to us a gift from Heaven.

For what purpose has Nature required from them this sacrifice? Did she wish, in this way, to render them more sedentary? Or was it not rather in order to prevent their return to the natal ant-hill? This latter conjecture seems to me the most plausible. What would have happened did they possess the power of returning to their original family? That the ant-hills would not have been scattered, that they would have constituted but one immense habitation, which would soon have exhausted the resources of its neighbourhood. This inconvenience would have existed with bees, who do not reject their wings, had not that wisdom which regulates the universe, guarded against it, by inspiring the queens with mutual aversion and insurmountable dread of each other; so much so, that the oldest quits her abode, and leads off with her a part of her subjects, to found a new colony.

Humble-bees and wasps have not the power of re-assembling for the purpose of forming one entire colony. Nature, without depriving them of the use of their wings, guards against their abuse by dissolving every year their republics.

What admirable variety in her productions, and in her laws! What resources! With what care does she avoid repetition! It appears, that every possible combination exists at the same time. There, the republics are permanent; here, they are renewed every year. One of these nations sends off, each year, several colonies, and the numerous swarms go to tenant the woods and rocks; the other never divides; it rests entire; allowing the departure of only a few individuals, who go forth, separately, to found new societies. It was not sufficient to multiply these societies, it was still necessary to provide for their duration. These, then, are the means employed to sustain their population, from age to age. In the case of bees, one single female reigns over a numerous colony; her size, and especially her remarkable fecundity, secure her the homage of her subjects. She keeps up the population of the hive, and suffers none to dispute her authority. However, at the period when she gives birth to males, the bees, who are aware, perhaps, that she bears also the germs of females, prepare royal cells: in these she deposits her eggs; and the larvæ, when disclosed, become queens. The mother does not regard, without aversion, these individuals, who may contend with her for pre-eminence: she endeavours to destroy the objects of her anger; but the workers prevent her reaching those cells which contain their forthcoming chiefs. The queen, agitated with the fear of seeing them quit their cells, abandons the hive, accompanied by a numerous colony, leaving behind her several females destined to be her successors, who, after having disputed the empire, or induced one part of the inhabitants to desert with them, resign to one of their rivals, the sovereignty, or, at least, the right of depositing her eggs alone, in the hive which witnessed their birth.

A constitution, widely different, obtains with ants: several females equally divide the important functions of procreation; they do not evince that hatred, nor do we perceive any of that jealousy, of which we have an example in bees; they also receive, in common, the homages of the other casts. When the young females depart, for the purpose of founding new states, the inhabitants of each city, endowed with admirable prudence, retain some few to supply the place of those about to terminate their career. It is thus the population of each republic is sustained and increased.

The terms of Queens, of Subjects, of Constitution, of Republics, must not be taken according to the strict letter. The unity or plurality of females presents but a poor image of our different forms of governments: in truth, each of these orders follows the laws of its own instinct, without being conscious of any subordination; it, notwithstanding, happens, that some few possess over the rest a certain degree of influence, independent of any authority, properly so called.

The Termites, inhabitants of southern climates, also effect their union in the air, fall upon the ground, and lose, as we are informed, their wings. But who can teach us the secrets of their astonishing society? why nature has produced amongst them four sorts of individuals?--one single mother, who, when pregnant, becomes a hundred times more bulky than at first; winged males; apterous neuters, appointed to the household management, and the construction of their gigantic edifice; and others, instructed only in the arts of war. Reaumur, De Geer, Bonnet, &c. found without going any distance, subjects worthy of exciting their attention. All our riches in this department have not been yet explored. The wars of bees, already sung by a great poet,[3] would furnish their historian with a rich and brilliant subject. Hitherto, we have not been enabled to compare those in which ants engage, to those of any other species of animals.

[3] _Vide_ Virgil’s Georgics, 4th Canto. These combats have been described with great accuracy by the poet.--A.

If it be true, that war is one of the consequences of social order, what shall we be induced to think, on perceiving regular armies issuing from the gates of two rival cities, and going to the rencontre upon an eminence, where battle is given, and where equal courage and carnage are displayed on each side? What shall we say of those bodies of troops, who only wait the signal of danger, to come to the assistance of the advanced guard? of those champions, which struggle in pairs? of those chains of wrestlers, who balance their strength, and seize the favourable moment to destroy the equilibrium? of those prisoners led away to the enemy’s camp, &c.? Is not this a strong image of our serious quarrels?

But how strikingly does it contrast with our manners, that the arms, courage, military skill, should, in these republics, rest with the female sex[4]; whilst feebleness, idleness, and exile, fall to the lot of the males. Those of bees, still worse treated, are put to death, as soon as they have fulfilled their only functions. With wasps and humble-bees, they are also destitute of arms, and show no industry; but they are not the object of the fury of the workers: the severity of the winter, as they know not, like the females, how to shelter themselves, produces, generally speaking, their death. By what art are the workers charged with the defence of the republic, enabled to reconnoitre, understand, assist, and succour each other? The subtlety of their senses, or rather that unbounded affection which exists between them teaches them to distinguish, in their contests, their companions from their enemies: a language, significant and extremely rapid, informs them of the danger of their companions, or the success of their enterprise. This language is the bond of that union, you remark in this numerous family; it is not by sounds, or visible signs, but by contact alone, that it is manifested, more particularly by the antennæ, those organs which distinguish insects from all other living beings: these serve, in those species collected in societies, the noble purpose of communicating, from one individual to another, the impressions, situation, and necessities of each: the antennal language is, without doubt, imperfect, if we compare it with our wants, but amply suffices for those of ants.

[4] It must be remembered that the workers are not neuters, but females, whose moral, if I may use this expression, has been developed at the expense of their physical condition.--A.

Bees also make use of signs, although they are no strangers to sounds. When the queen wishes to lead away some part of the metropolis, to found a new city, she passes from rank to rank, striking and exciting each worker she meets, to accompany her: the movement is, at length, general through the whole hive, and the swarm rush into the open air.

Should any strange animal, or insect, attempt to enter their abode, the alarm is in an instant given, and a thousand lives are ready to be sacrificed; but when their queen, as yet a prisoner, emits a shrill, piercing cry, a general stupor immediately pervades the whole of the bees, they all incline their head, and seem as if paralysed.

Wasps are also acquainted with the mode of imparting information to their companions. When a single wasp discovers a strong-hold of sugar, honey, or other article of food, it returns to its nest, and brings off, in a short time, a hundred other wasps; but we are yet ignorant, if it be by visible, or palpable signs, they are mutually informed of this discovery.

It was in the nature of things, that all those beings living in society, should have a language; but ants, who appear, in several respects, to merit the pre-eminence over other insects, extend this faculty even to the pucerons, from whom they obtain their nourishment. The art, still more surprising, of rendering them domestic, has nothing analagous in the other republics of which we have spoken: this prerogative appears to touch upon the domain of man. But the Author of all things has limited the power of these petty republics, in not permitting them to make use of other arms than those with which they are naturally provided; the inventive faculties have been denied them, notwithstanding we have witnessed a few traits, which seem to announce some species of combination. Their wants and their means have been calculated beforehand, so that their instinct is not susceptible of being brought to higher perfection.

In the number of those magnificent views of creation, which it is permitted us to observe, we perceive man, so placed in the general scale, that under the guidance of his own genius, and proud, perhaps, of his brilliant faculties, he does not see any of those minute chains by which he is surrounded. If delivered over, in some degree, to himself, he sometimes meets in his institutions, and in his arts, with the laws and proceedings nature has dictated to animals; it amounts to a certain proof of his relation with disposing Intelligence: the works of the latter, however, bear the impress of Infinite Wisdom, and the conceptions of man, the seal of imperfection. In regarding those colonies, which exist at our very feet, and where so much harmony and order prevail, I think, I perceive the Author of nature, tracing with his all-powerful hand, the laws of a republic exempt from abuse, or framing the model of those compound societies, where servitude is allied to a common interest.

The Author of nature has so willed it, that certain ants should associate in their labours other workers of an industrious species, upon whom is to devolve the office of rearing their young, and providing their subsistence; whilst they themselves, abandoned to warlike enterprise, and passing from a state of combat to one of ease, are to enjoy the industry and share the affection and attention of these strange ants. This institution, wisely combined, fulfils every desirable condition. The slaves of the Amazons, carried away in their infancy, perceiving no change in their country, attach themselves to their captors, display their usual natural activity, and, unacquainted with forced labours, and subject to no kind of oppression, have even, as we have seen, a sufficiently extensive authority in the city which has adopted them.

This great trait, in which is displayed unbounded wisdom, in calling to our mind the abuses to which a similar institution is subject, among several civilised nations, induces us to admire the mildness of those laws, by which Providence rules these colonies, of which, she has reserved to herself the entire direction; and shows us, that, in delivering man to his own guidance, she has subjected him to a great and heavy responsibility. If natural history had only served to prove this truth, it would have attained the most dignified end of which the sciences may boast--that of endeavouring to ameliorate the human species, by the examples it lays before us.

APPENDIX.

NOTES

RELATIVE TO THE SPECIES.

The manners and habits of ants are so extremely varied, that it is necessary to know, to what species we must refer each trait of their industry,--each particular of their history.

With the view of distinguishing them more particularly, I have transcribed several descriptions from Latreille; some extracted from his Essay, upon the History of the Ants of France, “_Essai sur l’Histoire des Fourmis de la France_;” others, from his Natural History of Ants, “_Histoire Naturelle des Fourmis_.”

I feel proud in being able to add to this work the observations of my esteemed friend and fellow citizen, Professor Jurine, so well known to Naturalists, by his Memoirs upon Insects, “_Méthode nouvelle de classer les Insectes_,” _&c._ and by his fine collection.

Not relying on my own judgment for a classification of ants, I begged this gentleman would have the kindness to describe several species, hitherto undescribed, concerning which it was necessary, more particularly, to know the characters.

To these descriptions I shall add a few remarks, which my experience has suggested.

DESCRIPTION

OF

THE SEVERAL ANTS

MENTIONED IN THESE RESEARCHES.

+The Herculean Ant.+

(_F. Herculanea_, Linn.)

W.[1]--Black. _Thorax_, base of the _abdomen_, _thighs_ of a blood-red. _Length_, five to six lines.

F.--Black. Sides of the _thorax_, _scale_, base of the _abdomen_ of a bay-red. _Superior wings_, entirely of a smoky black.

M.--Very black. _Superior wings_, smoky black. _Scale_, thick, emarginate. _Tarsi_ and _knees_ ferruginous.

+Latreille+, _Essai sur l’Hist. des Fourmis de la France_.

[1] The Males, Females, and Workers, are here designated by their initial letters.

+The Ethiopian Ant.+

(_F. Nigra._)

W.--Elongate, very black, shining. _Mandibles_ and _legs_ of a blackish brown. _Abdomen_ hairy. _Length_, three to five lines.

F.--Very black, shining. _Mandibles_ and _legs_ of a blackish brown. _Scale_, nearly cordiform. _Abdomen_, short, oval, hairy. _Wings_ white, a marginal point in the superior.

M.--Very black. _Scale_, truncate, emarginate. _Abdomen_ pubescent. _Wings_ white, a marginal point in the superior.

+Latreille+, _Essai_, &c.

Obs. _Both these species inhabit hollow trees, where they form shapeless grooves, or furrows; they also make use of the worm-holes in the wood._

+The Fuliginous Ant.+

(_F. Fuliginosa_, Lat.)

W.--Short, very black, shining. _Antennæ_, at their geniculation, _knees_ and _tarsi_ of a testaceous brown. _Head_, large, emarginate posteriorly. _Scale_, small. _Abdomen_, globose. _Length_, one line three-quarters.

F.--Very black, short. _Mandibles_, _antennæ_, and _feet_, rufescent. _Wings_ and _scale_, as in the male.

M.--In colour like the worker. _Scale_ entire, nearly oval. _Superior wings_, obscure at their base.

+Latreille+, _ibid._

Obs. _This species constructs admirable labyrinths in trees._

+The Brown Ant+,

(_F. Brunnea_.)

W.--Deeply ferruginous. _Eyes_, summit of the _head_, and _abdomen_ blackish. _Scale_, quadrate, almost bidentate. _Length_, one line two-fifths.

F.--Brown, blackish. _Mandibles_, _antennæ_, and _feet_, ferruginous. _Scale_, bidentate. _Abdomen_, large. _Wings_, long, some obscure nervures upon the base of the superior.

+Latreille.+

M.--Size of the worker, of a blackish colour, passing to brown. _Wings_ extremely diaphanous; their nervures scarcely visible; their point slightly yellowish. _Scale_, quadrate, almost bidentate.

+Jurine.+

Obs. _This is the most skilful of the indigenous Mason Ants._

+The Yellow Ant+,

(_F. Flava_, Lat.)

W.--Of a reddish yellow. _Eyes_, black. _Scale_, small, nearly quadrate, entire. _Body_, slightly pubescent. _Length_, one line three-fifths.

F.--Testaceous, obscure (deep reddish brown), relucent. _Antennæ_ and _feet_, pallid. _Scale_, emarginate, quadrate, hairy. _Abdomen_, large; margin of the rings yellowish, more shining. _Superior wings_, slightly obscure at their base.

M.--Blackish, shining. _Antennæ_ and _feet_, pallid. _Scale_, slightly emarginate. _Abdomen_, feebly tomentose. _Wings_, transparent.

+Latreille.+

Obs. _This species constructs hillocks of earth._[2]

[2] I shall here add an observation, which I omitted to insert in the chapter on Architecture, which was communicated to me by the inhabitants of the Alps.

Those little Yellow Ants, that are in possession of the _pucerons_ or _aphides_, serve the purpose of a compass to the Mountaineers, when they are enshrouded in thick fogs, or have lost their way during the night. Their habitations, which are more common, and more elevated in mountains than elsewhere, take an oblong and almost regular shape. They lie in a direction east and west. Their summit, and the greatest slope, always faces the east: but they incline also on the opposite side. I have verified, upon thousands of these ant-hills, this observation of the shepherds. I found a trifling number of exceptions; but only in those instances, where these hillocks had been deranged by men, or other animals. They do not preserve this form in the plains, where they are more exposed to such accidents.--A.

+The Fallow Ant+, (_black back_,)

(_F. Rufa_, Linn.)

W.--Of a fallow red, smooth. _Antennæ_, posterior part of the _head_, back of the _thorax_, superior margin of the _scale_, and _abdomen_, black. Three small _ocelli_. _Scale_, nearly oval. _Length_, three lines.

F.--Colour of the worker. _Scale_, entire. _Abdomen_, short, swoln, red at its base. _Superior wings_, smoky black.

M.--Of an unpolished black. Extremity of the _abdomen_ and _feet_, fallow. _Scale_, thick, truncate. Exterior margin of the _superior wings_, blackish.

+Latreille+, _Essai, &c._

_I thought it proper to make of the Fallow Ants two species, as they are distinguished from each other by very remarkable characters, and by a difference in their habitations; some being infinitely larger than others: the former, are situated in forests; the latter, alongside hedges and meadows. To the second species, I shall give the name of the Fallow Ant with the red back_, (Fourmi fauve, dos rouge) _which dwells by preference in the woods_.

+The Fallow Ant+, (_red back_,)

(_F. Rufa_, Linn.)

W.--Of a blood-red. Upper part of the _head_, _eyes_, _antennæ_, _abdomen_, and _feet_, blackish. _Scale_, slightly emarginate.

F.--Of a blood-red. Upper part of the _head_, _eyes_, _antennæ_, superior _thoracic plate_, and _abdomen_, blackish. _Scale_ thick, oval, entire. _Wings_ very smoky at their base. The first segments of the _abdomen_ have a slightly reddish tint.

M.--Black. Last segment of the _abdomen_ testaceous. _Feet_, reddish. _Thighs_, slightly blackened at their base. _Wings_, slightly smoky.

+Jurine.+

_It appears to me, that M. Latreille has described an individual of this species, or, if you please, variety, in his History of Ants_, “Histoire des Fourmis,” _whilst speaking of the female. A very remarkable difference between them, is, that the rings of the female of this latter species have infinitely more lustre than those of the former. The fallow colour is also more bright. The denominations of_ dos noir _and_ dos rouge _have been given from the colour of the worker_.

+The Red Ant+,

(_Myrmica Rubra_, Lat.)

(_Formica Rubra_, Linn.)

W.--Reddish, slightly shagreened. _Thorax_, armed with two points, traversing the first knot. Upper part of the _abdomen_, blackish. _Length_, two lines and a half.

F.--A little larger than, and closely resembling, the worker. Summit of the _head_, some lines upon the back of the _thorax_, base of the _superior wings_, upper part of the _abdomen_, blackish. _Spines_ moderate.

M.--As large as the worker. _Head_ and _thorax_, black, slightly shagreened. _Mouth_, base of the _antennæ_, _knots_, _abdomen_, _feet_, for the most part piceous. Rest of the _rings_ and _tarsi_, obscurely testaceous. _Spines_ of the _thorax_, short. _Wings_, blackish at their base. _Feet_, hairy.

+Latreille+, _Essai, &c._

_This species constructs its nest in the earth, or in trees. It emits a very pungent odour, and lives by rapine._

+The Turf Ant+,

(_F. Cæspitum_, L.)

W.--Of a blackish brown. _Antennæ_, _thorax_, sometimes _feet_, of a lighter colour. _Thorax_, entirely shagreened. _Spines_ short. Two tubercles at the insertion of the _abdomen_: the latter shining.

F.--Black, brown, hairy. _Antennæ_ at their geniculation, _feet_, testaceous, obscure. _Thighs_ and _legs_, a shade deeper. _Spines_, short. _Wings_, white, marginal point slightly marked. _Abdomen_, shining.

M.--Black, brown, nearly bare. _Antennæ_ and _feet_, palish yellow. Head, rounded posteriorly. Back part of the _thorax_, obtuse. _Wings_, white, without any point. _Abdomen_, shining, _feet_, elongate.

+Latreille.+

_This ant constructs its nest, sometimes, in the grass, sometimes on the naked ground, sometimes in the sand._

+The Dark Ash-coloured Ant+,

(_F. Fusca_, Linn.)

W.--Of a shining dark ash-colour. Base of the _Antennæ_, and _feet_, reddish. _Scale_, large, nearly triangular. Three small _ocelli_.[3]

In shape it resembles the Fallow-Ant. The _body_ is black, of a slight ash-colour, shining, nearly smooth, and elongate. The first joints of the _antennæ_, and the two or three following joints, are of a deep reddish colour. The fore-part of the _head_ is carinated. The three small _ocelli_ are visible.

The _scale_ is large, between an oval and triangular form. The middle of the superior margin is slightly elevated, slightly concave. The _abdomen_ is nearly globular, feebly covered with hair at the extremity. The feet are of a deep reddish colour, with the base of the _thighs_, of an obscure brown. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 9.

F.--Of a shining black: by reflection slightly bronzed. The first joint of the _antennæ_ is of a blackish brown, the second black. The _scale_, large, nearly quadrate, the superior margin straight, slightly concave. _Feet_, the same as in the worker. _Wings_, slightly obscure, with the nervures and the marginal point of the superior, blackish. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 8.

M.--Black, very shining, nearly smooth. _Antennæ_, commonly black, sometimes of an obscure yellow, or half black and half fallow. _Scale_ thick, nearly quadrate, the superior margin longer, almost straight, slightly concave. _Anus_ and the _feet_ a palish yellow, _haunches_ black. _Superior wings_, slightly obscure, with the nervures deeply yellowish, and the stigma blackish. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 8.

[3] I give a more extended description of the Auxiliary and Amazon Ants, on account of the importance of the subject.--A.

_The male and female are figured of the size represented in the Plate, but larger than Latreille has them. This Author speaks of a variety in which the brown parts are much more fallow than in the above. This he has described in his little work, under the name of the Black Ant._ (Fourmi noire.) _The_ Fourmi noiratre _of his monograph appears to me to be the same_.

_Be this as it may, these three varieties, whose manners and habits are precisely the same, ought to be comprised under the denomination of_ noir-cendrées.

_They build after the same manner. They open the cocoons of their pupæ a few days after they have spun, under the form of larvæ, and are all equally exposed to the invasions of the Amazon Ants._

+Latreille+, _Hist. Nat. des Fourmis_.

+The Mining Ant+,

(_F. Cunicularia_, Lat.)

W.--_Head_ and _abdomen_, black. About the _mouth_, upper part of the _head_, first joint of the _antennæ_, _thorax_, and _feet_, of a pale fallow. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 12.

It resembles the worker of the Fallow Ant. The _antennæ_ have their first joint yellow, and the second of a blackish red. The _head_ is black, with the parts surrounding the _mouth_; the inferior part reddish. The _forehead_ bears an impressed line. Three apparent _ocelli_. _Thorax_, of a much paler yellow than in the Fallow Ants, and no black upon the back (on this account they closely resemble the Fallow Ants, with the _red back_). The _scale_ is fallow, nearly oval; having the middle of its superior margin retuse, as if truncate. The _abdomen_ is of a black ash-colour, pubescent. The _feet_ are fallow. _Length_, two lines and a half.

F.--_Body_, elongate, about three lines and a half, much resembling that of the Fallow Ant. _Antennæ_ and _head_, same form and colour as in the worker. _Thorax_, fallow, with three marks or stains upon the back. _Scutellum_, and the mark upon each side, under the wings, black. _Scale_, fallow, cordiform, strongly emarginate. _Abdomen_ black. _Feet_, fallow. _Wings_, diaphanous, with the nervures of a yellowish brown, and the stigma deeper in colour. _Length_, three to four lines, sometimes even four and a half. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 11.

_There is a variety of this female, in which the fore-part of the abdomen is fallow; the back is black, with two red rays. Length, three lines._

M.--About three lines in length. It has the carriage of the male of the Fallow Ant. The _body_ is black, more shining, slightly sericeous on the _abdomen_. The _scale_ is strongly emarginate. _Anus_, of an obscure reddish brown. _Feet_, blackish. _Wings_ slightly obscure; the nervures of the superior of a yellowish brown; the stigma black. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 13.

_M. Latreille brings under the denomination of_ mineuse, _the_ effacée _of his monograph, which is only a variety. These ants, like the Ash-coloured Ants, tear the cocoons spun by the larvæ, as soon as the latter have undergone their transformation._

+The Rufescent Ant+,

(_F. Rufescens_, Lat.)

_Fourth family._ Fourmi ambigue: _thus called, because it holds an intermediate rank between two other families_.

W.--Of a pale red. _Mandibles_, slender, arcuate, scarcely denticulate. _Ocelli_, three, small. _Thorax_, elevated posteriorly. _Length_, three lines.

The _body_ is elongate, of a pale red, nearly smooth, having only a few hairs upon the _head_, _scale_, and _abdomen_. The _antennæ_ are inserted near the mouth, the part between them is not elevated, as in the ants of the former families (like the preceding.) The _head_ is rather large, nearly quadrate, rounded posteriorly. The _mandibles_ are arched, slender, scarcely denticulate, terminating in a point, much resembling those of the +Tiphiæ+. This character is unique in the indigenous ants. The middle of the _forehead_ bears a small impressed line. The _eyes_ are small and black. The three small _ocelli_ are very apparent. The _thorax_ is narrow, gibbous, and rounded anteriorly, sinking in the middle of the back, and afterwards terminating in a rounded elevation. The _scale_ is large, very thick, rounded at the superior margin, shaped like the segment of a circle, whose extremity is truncated, serving as the base. The _abdomen_ is small, globose, conical. The _sting_ very evident. The _tarsi_ are slightly hairy.

F.--It closely resembles the worker. The _thorax_ is nearly cylindric, elevated, and rounded at its posterior extremity, which is separated from the rest of the back, by a transverse furrow. The _scale_ is of the same form as in the worker. The _abdomen_ a little larger.

_The wings were wanting in the individual our author possessed. This excellent description agrees, in every respect, with our Legionary Ants. M. Jurine describes the individuals I presented him, as follows._

W.--Reddish. Last segment of the _abdomen_ more pale. _Eyes_, black. _Vide_ Pl. II. fig. 2.

F.--Larger than the worker, of a deeper red. _Thorax_ extremely round posteriorly, and projecting. _Scale_, large, thick, and rounded. _Abdomen_, oval, shortened. _Wings_, slightly smoky. _Vide_ fig. 1.

M.--Size of the worker; black. _Abdomen_ oval, elongate. _Sexual parts_, testaceous. _Thighs_, black; whitish at their base and extremity. _Legs_ and _tarsi_, pale. _Scale_, moderately thick, emarginate. _Wings_, extremely diaphanous. _Vide_ fig. 3.

_Apterous female._ Blood-red. Anterior part of the _thorax_, reddish brown. _Scutellum_, projecting, rounded. _Scale_, thick, oval entire, much resembling the female of the Rufescent Ant, (_F. Roussâtre_) and equally large. _Vide_ fig. 4.

+The Sanguine Ant+,

(_F. Sanguinea_, Lat.)

F.--Blood-red. _Eyes_ and _abdomen_, black. Upper part of the _head_, slightly tinged with black. _Scale_, oval, less emarginate than in the worker. _Wings_, strongly smoky towards their base. _Vide_ fig. 5.

M.--Black. _Feet_, reddish. _Wings_, smoky black towards their base. _Scale_, emarginate. _Vide_ fig. 7.

W.--Like the female, but the _head_ of a deeper red; and the _thorax_ more contracted. _Vide_ fig. 6.

+Jurine.+

_M. Latreille only describes the worker, and in the following terms._ Of a blood-red. _Eyes_ and _abdomen_, black; very small _ocelli_. _Scale_ oval, slightly emarginate.

FINIS.

Printed by A. and R. Spottiswoode, Printers-Street, London.

Transcriber’s Notes

In the .txt version, surrounding characters have been used to indicate _Italics_ and +Smallcaps+; formatting for superscript has been omitted. Minor typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been corrected only when one form is overwhelmingly dominant; otherwise inconsistencies have been retained. Inconsistent Chapter and Section titles have been retained. Period spellings have been retained. Placement of Plates has been retained. (Descriptive or Alt text) has been added for each Plate. Footnotes have been moved to immediately follow the paragraph from which they are referenced, and have been marked with numbers rather than an asterisk.