The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-09-20
THE INTELLIGENCE OF ANTS.
Trt<rr~sing Experiments Made with III,
by Sir JoIan Lubbuck.

AT the meeting Of the British Associa-
tion in Dublin, on Aug. l6, Sir John
LRbbuck read = paper on :. The Habits
u AnIs.r A great desire 10 hear it was
expressed, and the reading OF il was
interrupted by the efforts of crowd OF
disappointed people to get into the
room, which was complained Of as too
small;
Sir John Lubbock stated that he had
been for some years watching the hab-
its Of ants, and had kept nnder, observa-
ton about thirty species. Though liy-
ing In captivity, they werss~in good
health, and he dad In one ue2 queen
which had rived with him since 1874.
He could confirm the statements which
had been made with respect TO the ar
cniieerupl skill Of ants, uheir attention
to their BONG, their ren2rk4ble organ
ization, their possession Of domestic an
finals, and even the institution Of slav-
cry. He had also watched several 9TH
er insects which lived in association with
them OF which "a. Andre calculated that
there were SIS species. In some cases
the association Was accidental, in Others
twas because the nests afforded shelter
10 other insects, and there we're also
some uncomfortable companions which
attached themselves to ants, and could
not not be got rid Of.
The common house ant was to be
found sometimes in association with
other anti, but the cases were excep-
iional, and he had never seen an in
stance. A nearly allied species, how
ever. the sanguinea, was sometimes
found in association with Others, gener-
allv the fusca. In such cases the nest
belonged to the sanguinea- The queen
and the young were Of that species,
and the fGscas were slaves, though free
to come and 20, as there was no fugitive
slave law, and they seemed to be quite
reconciled to their position. They as
sisted in the household duties, and in
foraging for provisions They kept the
aphides in corn, and derived consid.
cradle share Of their sustenance from
them In the winter, when they were
OF no uke, they were still tended with
great care, until the srring, when they
became again useful, an instance Of
prudence and forethought unexampled
In the animal kingdom There was one
species which took no part whatever in
the duties Of the household, and would
even starvc in the midst Of plenty il the
food were not put into their mouths
He had confirmed Huber's remarkable
experiments on this point, and had kept
some alive and in health for months By
allowing them slave for an hour . day
to feed and clean them
To test their intelligence he suspend
ed some honey about half an inch owe.
the nest, which could only be reached
by paper bridge ten feet long. He
then made small heap Of earth By
which they could reach il. They soon
swarmcd over the earth and began &
eat. but when he removed some
Of the earth it never occurred I,
them to heap il up again, though they
tried 70 stretch up I'd the honey, and
they went round By the bridge. III
made similar experiment BY piacin.
honey which could only be reached by
crossing q chasm over which he had LAID
as bridge bit of straw. He slightly
moved the bridge, and they tried II
vain 70 stretch over, but never though
Of putting the straw back, which the,
could easily have done. Every on'
knew thar II an ant or bee found a stor,
Of honey Others would soon collec
about il; but very little intelligence wa
implied II the ants and bees only &C
coiapanied their friends.
The ease was different II they couls
describe the locaiity aud send thei
friends 10 Il. They did not, however
appear 10 DC able 70 communicate n
much Al that 70 their friends. III a fis
cas- nest were disturbed and one Of then
found place Of conceaimcnt, she wa
anxious that her friends should come u
u. She went up TO ono Of them an,
took - BY the mandible. The secon,