, 1881-11-06
How They>Cut and Store Leaves.
and What For.
Grass-Seed Gatherers, Plant-sowers,
and Honey-Gatherers
Wholesale Foraging by the Military Ants
Of the Amazon.
Performances Eyincina Astonishing Powers OF
Observation and Reason.

1
| by Bates:
They mount a tree in 1nulttudes. - Each
one places itself on the surface OF u lear. ano =
cuts WITH its sAaEg M 3AWs s p neaa tn
takes the edge between its jaws. and hy q sharp
jerk tctaches the piece. Sometimes they let the
cnmulntes, until carried Oft by another relay OF
workers; bur generally each inarchcs olr with
rho piece it has operated on and, us all take the
s:lrlt road to tho colony, tho pnth they follow
hccOuaes In IL short time smooth and bnre. look
ing like tho ilnprcssi on Of cart-whcel through
the herbugc-
Other observers have since said that this
herbage is regularly fclled BY the ants III
order to make I. road. Each ant carries its
senlcircutar piece of leaf
UPRIGHT oy'E1. ITS HEAD,
So that the home-retnrnins train is rendered
very conspicuous. keener observation shows
that this home-returtng, or load-carrying,
train of workers keeps to one side OF the
road, while the outgoing. or empty-hatlded,
train keeps to tile otheer side; So that OIL
every road there is double train OF ants go
ing in opposit directions. When tho leaves
arrive ut the nest they are received by 4
smaller kind Of worker, whose duty it is to
cut up the pieces into still smaller fra slnents,
whereby the leaves seem to be better fitted
fur the purpose to which, rs VIC shall pres
emily see, they are put. These smaller work
crs never take any part III the outdoor
labor: but they occasionally leave the nest,
apparently for the sole purpose of obtaining
air and exercise. for wien they leave the
nt:<t they merely run about doing nothing,
and frequently, rs in mere sport, mount some
OF the seini-circular pieces of leaf wlicll the
carricr-ants are taking to the nest, and so get
Il ride home.
From lis continued observation of these
saff
this labor is Il highly remarkable ol1e. The
leaves when gathered do not themselves :lI}-
pear to bc of any service to the ants lis food;
but. when cut into small fragments and
rs !. indus for the growth of a minute kind
Df fungus Oh which the ants feed. We may
therefore call these insects gardening ants -
inasll'uch as all their labor is given to the
rearing, Of nutritious vegetables OIL artificial
ly-;,rcnared soil.
Ants Of this genus are very clever at max
ing tunnels. Tile Rev. II: Clark says that III
one c:lsc they have made 4 tunnel Of en0r-
nous length under the River l,arahylia,
where thtf is aS br9ad % as the Ilaes At
house which is Oh the opposit bank This
statement is not to be considered so increui-
bic as 1t at first sight unQucstlOnably appears,
for Bates has seen tic subtcrrancan passages
OF these ants extending to distCnce Of sew
cnty yards.
HARVESTING ANTS.
The harvesting ants belong almost ex-
cluSlyely to single Tf1luS. which, however,
comprises Il number Ut species distributed in
localized areas .;.il over tile four Quarters of
the globe. Their distinctive habits consist
in gathering nutritious seeds Of grasses dur
ing summer, alld storing them III granaries
fur winter consumption.
Mo:gridge found that from the nest i'll
various directions there proceeded outgoing
trains, which may be thirty Or more yards 1T
length, and each consisting Of 4 double
row Of ants moving i'll opposit di-
rectlons. Like the leaf-cutting ants,
those composing the outgoing train
the incoming train are laden. But here the
burdens are gr:lss-seeds. At their ter.nin:.-
lions in the 1ora1 1lus- ground or ailt-tields,
the insects composing lilese columns disperse
misunderstanding the seetl-yietllils grasses.
They then ASCEND the stems Of the grasses,
and. Seizing the seed or capsule III their jaws.
fix their linl-legs firmly rs pivot, rounu
which they turn ami turn till the stalk IS
twisted off. The ant then lcscenls the
again .s often us the clumsy and dispropor-
tiof1atc burden becomes wedged between the
thickly-sct stalks, and joins the line OF its
companions 10 the nest. -. Two ants
stations itself near the base of the peduncle,
a.t.l Enaws it at the point of greatest tension,
while the other hauls upon 1t and twists it.
:. | have occasionally seen ants, etl-
gagged III cutting the capsules Of certain
plants, drop them, and allow their cOnlpal1-
ions below tD carry them away; anu this cor
responds with the curious account given by
4tlian Of the manner in which the spikelets
OF corn are severed and thrown down ITO the
people below"
DR.. Ellcudorf made the experiment. of i'll
ants, will
THE INTERESTING RESULT
which lie thus describes in letter to Biicll-
ner:
Thick dry grass on either side of their narrow
road, So that thcy could not pass through it with
tha load On their heads l placed dry Brunch,
nearly foot in diameter: obiiluely across their
sra1na hs Fhsr sney co nor psss nndsr S
ad een se tried nI's to cnb t be ed
owing TO tho weight their heads. Meanwhile
tie uuuadet1 ants frn tho other side came ou.
aud when these succeeded In climbing over tho
boil@h there WIS such crush tl1nt the unadeu
Ants hid to clnubcr over tbs laden, und tho
result was IL terrible n1uddlc. | now walked
along tho tran aud found that all the ants with
their but1ncrets on their heads were standing
still, thickty pressed together, awaiting the
turned tack to the ohst,lcc, was astonisiled TO
scc that tho loads hut, been laid usit1e by more
than Il fonts length of the column one 1nitnt-
ing tho other. And now work began OIL both
sides of rhu branch. and i'll about half nn hour It
tunnel was made beneaih it. Each ant then
took up its burden again. and the march was re-
sunlctt In the most perfect order.
The operations here described show clearly
that these ants act upon the principle Of the
division of labor.
When the grain is taken into their nest by
the l,arvestcrs, it is stored III regular :srlna-
ries, bit noJ until it tas been dcluded Ut Its
:. itllsks' or ''cllatf'' The dcnlldng process,
which corresponds to thraslling, is carried
on below ground and the cha1f Is brought
up to tho surface, where it is laid in heaps to
bc blown, away by the wind. It is not yet
understood why the seed, when thus stored
in subterrallea1l chambers Just far enough
below the surface to favor Gcrnllilation,
DOES NOT GEKMINATE.
Probably the ants in the granaries do some
thing to the seeds for the express purpose Of
preventing termination; and, if so, it would
be interesting to butanists to ascertain what
this process ciatl be.
But, be this us it may, there is no doubt
that tile ants are fully aware Of the ilnpor-
ta1lcc in this connection of keeping their
zarneretl seeds us dry lis possible; for when
the latter prove oyer-moist after collection,
or have been subsequently wetted by soak
ing ra!l,s, the insects bring them up to the
surface ;llld spread them out to dry, to be
again brought into the nest after sufficient
exposure.
Lastly, Moggridge observed that the
process, whatever it is, whereby the ants
prevent termination. is not Invariably Sue