The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-12-29
Something About Ants.

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An Englishman who had studied
insects 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 himself. 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, 80 that
the water could not 60 away into the
air. After while, when the ants
own nest grew dry, they went to the
moist earth, near the water, and be-
gan 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
friends cleaned it off, little by little.
Then he put on more. Ants, bees and
wasps belong to the great family of
membrane-winged insects. If you
look at a bee, you will see that its
wings are somewhat like those of a
fly, but that it has twice as many.
"But ants haye 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 fly. Sir John.
the man who observed the ants, is
busy and away from home much of
the time. but his young daughters
and their teacher help him, by look
ing at the ants every hour. Ants like
honey and meat, and in their 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 watch
ing ants behavior to each other. One
day working ant had been hurt, al.
though she was still able to feed.
After awhile another ant came up to
her, crossed antenn@ 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 drowned. 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
drowned ant, fourth picked her up
and carried her to the nest. One poor
ant had never had any antenn@, and
for long time did not leave the nest.
One day. Sir John found that she had
wandered out and lost her way. She
soon met some ants of another kind,
who attacked her and wounded her.
After a 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 nest, and after six weeks
marked one and put it in its old home
with stranger. The ants in the nest
flew at the stranger but took no no.
tlce of their old friend. He did the same
thing about once a week for a month
and every time the stranger was kill
ed or driven out. At last after year
and nine months, he put back three
ants into the old nest, and they were
not noticed at all. Sometimes these
ants were attacked by young ones
who had not known them. but were
killed or driven out of the nest.
Sometimes he put full grown ants in
to nest from which they had been
taken in the chrysalis state, and
found that they were almost always
kindly treated, while strangers were
attacked.
Gen. Simon Cameron has had talk