The Hawaiian gazette., 1875-08-25
An interesting Chapter Upon Ants,

4
Such marvellous stories are told of the
sagacity of ants, that one is prepared to
hear almost anything concerning their in
tellectual achievements but when we are
/ told that there is q species living down in
! Texas that actually sows, reaps, and hives
/ grain for its winter use, the statement is
! almost too much for human credulity.
However, we have it on the authority of
/ DR.. Gideon Lincecum, student of science
whose observations are accepted by the
savants as careful and trustworthy. In a
recent paper communicated by him to the
/ Smithsonian Institute, and published by
permission OF Professor Henry in the Nat
( irdliSt. there are many interesting par
! ticulars of this singular ant Its scientific
name is Nyy0icd moletdciens.
This ant lives in populous communities,
builds paved cities, constructs roads, and
sustains large military forces. For the
I first year and half after colony is foun-
ded its operations are conducted under
ground. And ants then appear above the
/ surface, and begin to build their public
works and cultivate their estates. All
grass, heritage, and other distractions are
/ cleared away to the distance of three or
four feet around the entrance to their city,
and a circular pavement, consisting of a
pretty hard crust, about half an inch
thick, is constructed of coarse sand and
| grit. This pavement is sometimes Is feet
/ in diameter To avoid the inundation
which would be likely to overflow this
pavement in the rainy season, Z" at least
six months previous TO the coming of the
rain they commence the erection of a
mound or pyramid, which rises foot or
more from the centre OF the pavement.
The mound is occupied with neatly-con-
structed cells, in which the eggs, young
ones, and their stores of grain are carried
in time of rainy seasons. The pavement
is kept clear of every growing herb, ex-
cept a grain-bearing grass, the GStridd
Stricta When ripe this grain is harvested,
the chaff removed, and then it is stored in
the dry cells, The grain from several
other species of grass, as well rs seeds
from various kinds of herbaceous plants,
is also gathered and garnered. DR.. Lince-
cum declares the ants even sow the grain
of the astrida Strictd, which he calls ant
rice. Despite their precautions, he says,
sometimes during rainy seasons, the
ground about their city becomes saturated
and the water penetrates into their grana-
ries and sets their seeds to sprouting.
Then there is a turmoil in the colony. All
the damaged grain is brought out the first
fine day, and exposed to the sun. When
night comes every seed that has not actu-
ally sprouted is taken in again. DR.. Lin
cecum states that one day he saw these
ants have out on fiat rock as mucn as a
gallon of wheat, summing. He watched
the operation on its return to the cells
again, which the ants accomplished at
nightfall in Just five minutes.
When DR. Lincecum first went, in ls4S,
to Long Point, Texas,-the place where
he mas studied these ants-there was but
one of their cities within a mile OF the
town. This was situated on the summit of
a nearly barren knoll, where there was but
scanty vegetation TO interfere with the pc
euliar industry of the little agriculturists
Their plantations of ant-rice were flourish
ing in a regular circle inside the pave
ment, and there were patches of the same
grass scattered around on a little glade,
which had doubtless been planted there
by some experienced ant, for it had neatly
been cleared of all other vegetation. The
country surrounding Long Point was
everywhere, but in this single spot, COW
cred with a rich black soil, which bore a
heavy turf of grass through which the ants
could not travel, and they were therefore
confined to their single city But when,
in the course of a couple of years, a path
passing near their pavement had got we'll
trodden, they were able to run over it,
and erect new cities on its borders.
Three years after, their cities were seen
rising at intervals OF so yards for the dis
lance of mile along this path.
As we have said for the first eighteen
months after city is began its builders
keep themselves hid from their enemies.
At the end of that time they have gained
sufficient strength to sustain themselves
in the struggle for existence with other
tribes of their race, and dare announce
their intentions to the world above. When
the ants wish to send off a new colony
they assemble in swarms from the sur
rounding cities, and celebrate a grand
marriage festival, which continues for
three or four hours The queen of the
colony then spreads her wings and flies
with the wind until she is tired, or is
thrown to the ground by a counter cur
rent. She now runs about in eager haste
to select proper location where to lay
the foundations of the city. This she
does by digging a small hole, from which,
after it has reached a certain depth. she
withdraws, and deliberately bites off her
wings with her sharp mandibles She
then renews her digging until she has
made an excavation of six or seven inches
deep, with small cell at the bottom, in
which she ensconces herself, closes the
aperture, and deposits twenty or thirty
eggs. The inmates of these eggs are all
workers, and when they have reached
maturity, they set about the labors of
their lives The queen keeps them con-
stantly employed, while she adds toetheir
numbers. When her colony is numerous
enough, they commence their outer forti-
fications and the cultivation of their fields
of grain.
DR.. Linceeum describes one of the mar
rage festivals of the agricultural ants
which he witnessed in 1858. a space of
ground, l07 yards in length and 10 yards
in width, was covered with the tiny crea-
lures. These csrousals are so dissolute
and exhausting as to prove fatal to the
If = I