Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1884-12-25
WATCHING AN ANT AT WORK.

Iho ingenuity anu SaSaclty tuas COh
WINGED a Naturalist that Ants Can
} Reason.
IF ever any one says to you chat an
ant cannot think and reason and form
plans and carry them out as well as any
human being, just send him to me, and
Hi tell him what Isaw one do this very
afternoon. If that don't convince him
what he thinks on any subject can be
of no consequence whatever" said the
naturalist to Sun reporter; "but for
fear may not be within reach when
such person expresses his doubts to
you about the reasoning intelligence of
Che ant I'll tell you what it was 1 saw,
and then you can settle him with it your
self.
II was at High Bridge this afternoon,
and wandered up in the wooded hih be-
yond the tower, and lay down in the
Shade. Presently my attention was at
tracted by the struggles OF a short but
fat caterpillar in web some designing
spider had spun, and which spread its
Cossamer meshes between two small
dImosG Invisible guy ropes wndcn the
marvellous engineering instinct of the
spider teaches it are necessary for the
safe anchorage of its web. The bottom
OF the silken trap was about three inches
from the ground, to which it was also
secured by three guys. The caterpil-
lar's struggles were all in vain, and
presently it resigned itself to its fate,
and lay perfectly motionless in the web.
Extending upward from the spiders
web to the lower branch of young oak
tree, at least five feet immediately above
it, ran two silken strands. They were
much larger than the strands of any
other part of the web, and were doubt
less intended by the spider for entrances
or exits from his house, in case he had
business up in the tree, which he evil
denly had, for there was similar web
woven on one of its branches higher up.
The spider was not at home, and, know
ing that his meeting with the caterpillar
when he returned would be attended
with interesting incidents, resolved to
wait until he came. lay there looking
listlessly up at the leaves and branches
and patches of sky that here and there
showed through them, when nv eyes
He'll upon large wood ant, moving
down the trunk with that apparent un-
certainty of thoroughfare characteristic
of ITS kind, but at the same time throw
ing into its movements an earnestness
and eagerness OF purpose which left no
doubt that it had important business of
some kind to attend to. When the ant
reached the foot of the tree it hurried
through the grass directly toward the
shrubs to which the spiders web was
secured, spot some four feet from the
trees trunk. When the ant reached
the web it stopped directly beneath it,
and apparently gazed intently at the fat
worm imprisoned above. The inspec-
ton occupied only second or two, and
then the ant ran frantically to one of
the ground anchorages, and the next
second was making its way out to it on
the web.
ARRIVING on the outer boundary of
the SPIDERS net the ant paused, reached
out its fore legs, and then evidently
suspecting that to enter there was to
leave hope behind, rushed back TO the
ground again, and climbed one of the
shrubs. At the junction of every one of
the silky anchorages the ant stopped to
inspect it, and showed the intensity of
its desire to possess the captive worm
by making mid air tour to the web on
every connecting strand. Satisfying
itself that its object could not be at
tanned from the one shrub, it descended
to the ground and tried all the avenues
to the net on the other shrub. When
it reached the top guy the ant paused.
1t remained in one place for three or
four seconds, turning its body in various
directions, as if surveying the surround
ings and laying plans for future action
1t was while thus looking over the field
that the ant first discovered the long
strands of web leading to the branch
above. All its subsequent movements
demonstrated this beyond doubt. Its
first movement was to begin what I first