The Author's Experiences-Sir J. Lubbock witnesses Polyergus in Captivity carrying off the Pupæ of F. fusca-Other Slave- makers-Forel's Account of S. testaceus-A Conflict between a Mixed Community of S. testaceus and T. cæspitum and an Independent Colony of T. caspitum-Strange History of Aner- gates atratulus-Two Alternatives proposed for the Solution of The Variety in the Architectural Designs of the Ants-Habitation of the Common Yellow Ant described-F. aliena (L. alienus) a Miner and a Mason-Typical Nest of Formica-Dimensions F. rufa and F. sanguinea take in Lodgers-Distinct Species found in the Nests of other Ants also-The Jet Ant both a Carpenter and Wood-carver; sometimes a Miner-The Garden Ant dis- covered to be a Wood-carver-The Author also discovers F. umbrata (L. umbratus) as a Wood-carver and Carpenter- The Plasterer and Tent-maker from Sierra Leone-The Umbrella Ant-The Thorn-nests of Pseudomyrma modesta The White Ants of Tropical Climes-The Four Classes found in the Colony of the White Ants described-The Destructiveness of the White Ants-How the True Ant as well as the "White LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE FIG. The Slave-maker (F. sanguinea) attacking the nest of Male (back view) 29 45 74 75 16. Myrmica (Pheidole) lavigata; House Ant of Madeira 93 22. Pupa of Myrmica lævinodis, with pellicle partially removed 130 FIG. 23. Front view of pupa of Myrmica ruginodis (female) in 25. Ants rescuing a buried companion 26. 1, Wingless aphis; 2, Aphis with rudimentary wings, an tennæ bent back; 3, Winged aphis . PAGE 130 137 147 167 27. Rose-branch with aphides 169 28. 1, Aphis bred from nest of F. flava (L. flavus); 2, Aphis on Shirley Common. 34. Slave-makers returning home after a victorious expedition 35. Section of nest of Formica rufa 36. Nest of Formica exsecta, Boscombe, near Bournemouth 218 221 226 227 228 ANTS AND THEIR WAYS. "A LITTLE PEOPLE," BUT EXCEEDING WISE." CHAPTER I. The Interest that clings to the Study of Ants-Their Classical Association-Their Biographer of the last Century-Their Prehistoric Origin Their Connection with Amber-The Ancestry of the White Ant-The Formation of Amber-Dr. Livingstone and Sir John Kirk on the Copal Gum of Africa-The Kauri Gum of New Zealand— The Fossil Resin of Galicia. AN entrancing charm undoubtedly clings to the marvellous history of ants, most appositely designated by the inspired naturalist as "a little people," but "exceeding wise." From the time of Solomon to the present the movements and economy of this lilliputian race have awakened in the observant mind feelings of the deepest interest, well-merited respect, and unfeigned astonishment. Whether it be in the record of revealed truth, in the chronicles of heathen mythology, in the pages of historians, in the songs of poets, in the enchanted ground of elf-land, amid the graphic records of travellers' experiences, in the letter-press of the British essayists, between the B attractive covers of serials and periodicals, in the columns of newspapers, in the archives of governments, in the popular literature on natural history, in the more systematic registration of the wonders of natural science, and in the faithful observation and patient investigations of the diligent student of physical phenomena, the power of their influence is felt, and the marvel of their presence is realised. Would the classic Jove accede to the petition of Æacus, king of Enopia, to re-people his kingdom, which had been depopulated by a pestilence, with a thrifty, industrious, and valiant race? According to his expressed desire, we learn from the Metamorphoses of Ovid, the ants in an old oak-tree were changed into men, called by their monarch, myrmidons, from μúpμn, a Greek word signifying an ant. According to Strabo, however, "they received their name from their industry, because they imitated the diligence of the ants, being continually employed in cultivating the earth, at first having no other retreat than dens, and the cavities of trees, until Eacus brought them together and settled them in more commodious habitations." Gould,1 the biographer of those races of the little people inhabiting our island-home, who published the results of his careful observations about one hundred and thirty years ago, when little more than oneseventh of the species of the ants now recognised as British were discovered and distinguished, thinks that the warlike myrmidons must have been descended from the red ants, because of their sting. In contra 1 An Account of English Ants, by the Rev. William Gould, A.M., of Exeter College, Oxon., Lond. 1747. |