The Iola register., 1886-11-25
HABITS OF ANTS.

HABITS OF ANTS.
How Almost Human They Are in Their
Passions and Amusements.
In spite of the multifarious duties and
tasks that are imposed on these tiny
burghers they still find time to clean
and adorn their worthy little persons.
No spot. no atom of dust or any thing
else uncleanly will they tolerate on
their bodies. They get rid of the dirt
with the brushy tufts on their feet or
with their tongue. They act, for all
the world. like domestic cats when they
clean and lick themselves; and they as
sist one another at the toilet precisely
like monkeys. Their sense of cleanli-
ness goes SO far that the naturalist
often finds, to his unpleasant surprise,
the colored marks that he had applied
with SO much care on his trial ants"
removed by their dirt-hating friends.
They keep their dwellings just as clean
ly. But the conveying away of their
deceased brethren. whose dead bodies
they appear to regard with the greatest
antipathy. gives them more trouble
than any thing else. When some men,
bers of an ant community. which | kept
imprisoned, died and could not be re-
moved. those remaining seemed affect
ed with the greatest horror. For DAYS
the itsects ran about seeking a way out.
and ceased ONLY when completely eX-
hausted. The ants belonging to the
camponotuS species seized the dead and
threw them into a water-pail, which
they converted into scpulcher. Ordi-
narily. though, the ants are said to
treat their dead with more reverence.
They even possess their own grave
yards, which lie in the vicinity of their
nests. They convey their deceased
companions thither. where they Law
them wn in orderly little heaps or
in rows.
1t is from life full of labor. hardship
and strife that death releases these active
! tile animals. When not engaged in
labor they are busy in defense. Senti-
nels posted in commandtng positions
guard them from surprises of every
kind. AS soon rs danger is threatened
the citizens of the state, at the alarm
signal of the pick, Is, dart out of their
hab:tat:ons. From nocturnal dangers
their houses protect them. since they
barricadc the entrances with leaves and
little sticks. And that is accomplished.
according to Mr.. Cook. in the fol ow ny
manner: The large workers first drag
up heavy material. and, having placed
II in pos ton, disappear ins ae of IT,
nest. Then the ants of med um size fol-
low with material CORE spending to the
strength. And finally the smallest men,
bcrs of the community br.ng up grains
of sand and fra agments of earth to COM
p!ete the barricade. The doors are
closed behind them until the dawn of
the next day. and then the exit occurs
in reverse order The small ones are
the first and the large ones the last of
the column. But ants arc not merely
acquainted with the earnest side of Life:
they are susceptible to its joys and
amusementS As well. just As kids in
the wantonness of youthful spirits chal-
lenge one another to mimic combat in
the meadow, so do the else so industri-
Gus emmets. With feelers and feet the
combative individual urges on its COM
panions until they accept the challenge.
on their hind feet they grasp
each other with the front ones and apply !
rapidly both head and jaws. Then they
let GO. turn rouNd and take hold again,
like boys wrestling. After having salts |
factoriiy tested their respective strength |
they separate peacefully.
When they fight in earnest the result |
of the duel is quite different. As with
the heroes of antiquity, the single COM
bats take place under the |
eyes of the opposing armies. Other
wise and especially when far away from
The hest, the hostile ants avoid each
other. OR the weaker surrender at dis I
cret:on. In the face of the emhattled
armies. however, where they find sup
port. the adverSaries rush upon each /
other fUrious,y. The antenn9 are thrown
back aad the jaws widely opened.
Amid biting and stabbing the desper- ,
ate scuffie goes on. Then there is a
pushing against one another. 4 showing
backward and forward, hurting to the .
ground and rolling over one another
until at last one OF tihe combatants sue
cUmbS, or the duel remains undecided,
ending with the complete exhaustion of
the antsgonists. The secretion of the
poison glands, the weli-known formic .
acid, serves as missile weapons in bat
tie. the jaws for gripping and striking
and the sting for stabbing.
ihese battles of the ants are obsti-.
nately fought and bloody in the extreme
with regard to territorial
thievish forays and invas-
ions for the purpose of procuring slaves
are generally the cccus 6elH. While
the battle is in progress. columns of
troops are constantly coming and going,
prisoners or bring up re-
1t is not rare for bat
tie to last an ent re day. and whole
armies are sometimes annihilated, so
that innumerable bodies of the dead
and wounded cover the tield.-PhiladeL-
pkia Times.
THE LOST FOUND.