The Baltimore County union., 1883-11-17
SOMETHING ABOUT ANTS.

An Englishman who had studied in
sects and plants for many years, has
just written book about ants. He says
that he had read so many stories about
them that he thought were not true,
that he decided to watch them for him
self. He made some nests of glass,
with one side OF wood, and kept them
in boxes or on stands; then he went
out Of doors and dug up an ants nest,
and put it over one Of his nests, which
had water around it, and was between
two plates Of glass, so that the water
could not go away into the air. After
while, when the ants own nest grew
dry, they went to the moist earth, near
the water, and began to dig new home.
One family has lived in the same glass
case for eight years, and two queens
have lived all that time; longer than
some Of you. But, you say, how did
the man know that they were the same
queens?
He marked their backs with paint
which lasted long time, until their
frieris cleaned % Of, little by little
Then he put on more. Ants, bees and
wasps belong to the great family Of
membrane winged insects. II you look
at bee, you WILL see that its wings are
somewhat like those of fly, but that il
has twice rs many. "But ants have no
wings" you say. Some ants never
have them. The queens and workers,
who take care of the young, are without
them. The males, however, can hy.-
Sir John, the man who observed the
ants, is busy and away from home much
Of the time, but his young daughters
aad their teacher help him, by looking
at the ants every hour. Ants like
honey and meat, and in thei. wild state
live on other insects, or the sweet juices
which are found in plant. lice, which
are sometimes called ants COWS.
Sir John spent much time in watching
ants behavior TO each other. One day
4 working ant had been hurt, although
she was still able to feed. After awhile
another ant came up to her, crossed
antenna with her and began to feed.-
Afterwards three other ants went to get
their syrup, but not one Of them took
any notice of their poor sick sister.
The same thing happened several times.
One day an ant had been almost drown
ed, and some of the others, whose backs
Sir John had painted, went by eighteen
or twenty times without noticing it,
On another day, after three had gone
by without noticing another half.drown.
cd ant, fourth picked her up and car
r:ed her TO the nest. One poor ant had
never had any antenna, and for long
time did not leave the nest. One day,
Sir John found tha, she had wandered
out and lost her way. She soon met
some ants OF another kind, who attack
cd her and wounded her. After while
one OF her own family came by, picked
her up and carried her home.
Ants know their friends after they
have been separated from them for a
long time. Sir John took half the ants
from a nest, and after six weeks marked
one and put il in its old home with
stranger. The ants in the nest flew at
the stranger, but took no notice their
old friend. He did the same thing
about once week for a month, and
every time the stranger was killed or
driven out. At last after a year and
nine months, he put back three ants in
to the old nest, and they were not no.
ticed At all. Sometimes these ants
wore attacked by young ones who had
not known them, but were never killed
or driven out of the nest. Sometimes
he put full grown ants into a nest from
which they had been taken in the
chrysalis state, and found that they
were almost always kindly treated, while
strangers were attacked.