Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1898-10-07
INTELLECTUAL ANTS.
THEY ARE SAID TO BE THE MOST IN
TELLloENT OF INSECTS.


They Have Political and Social Organise
tiOns That May BE Ldkened to Those Of
Man-sOme work, While Others Do No
Labor. but Live sumptuously.
GO to the ant, thou sluggard; con-
slider her ways and be wise, said Solo,
mon over 5000 years ago, and the re-
searches Of modern naturalists have
only confirmed the excellence Of the
wise mans advice in holding up the ant
as an example for man, for among in
vertebrate animals the ant holds tho
same position that man does among the
vertebrate The ant is the most intel
lectual Of all insects
Ants are truly wonderful insects.
They build houses, train soldiers, en-
slave ants and other insects inferior to
themselves; they are capable agrioul-
turists, for they keep a species Of milk
kline, clear the ground, SOW grain, reap
and gather into barns They are social
insects, and in many respects arc exam
Piles in miniature Of nan. They have
theft monarchs, pride themselves on
their aristocraoy, and sls1 indulge to
excess in Intoxicating liquors.
Ants are divided into three classes-
males, females Cor queens) and neuters
(workers). The two former arc winged,
and their sole duty in life is to multiply
their species. Immediately after pairing
the male ants die, and the queens, re-
nouncing the pomps and vsnities of this
world. henceforward devote themselves
TO the duties of maternity. TO the lot
of the neuters falls oil tie work. Some
of them are told Off to wait on the
queens, whom they feed and care for
with the greatest attention. Each batch
Of eggs, as soon as they are laid, are
carried away aud deposited i'll the hatch
ing chambers opeu to the rays of the
sun. The workers nurse tho ant babies
when they appear, putting them in the
warm upper galleries by day and re-
moving them at night into the snuggest
lower chambers.
After several months careful nursing
and feeding, tho larva passes into the
pupa stage, aud spins itself into CO.
coon, from which it emerges q full
grown ant. 1t is these cocoons that are
sold rs 'ants' eggs;' the real eggs are
so minute that evun the ants themselves
could not pick them up in their mandi-
bles were not several fastened together
by natural gum. Qaeon ants, accord
ing to Sir John Lubbock, live as long as
ten years, while DR.. DAllinger states
that worker ants live from fonr to six
years. The queen ants are treated with
the utmost reverence, and while the
corpse of a worker ant is usually imme-
diately disposed of the body of queen
is often preserved as long as Is months
after its death.
Tho ant has three simple and two
compound eyes, the latter consisting of
from $50 to 1900 lenses each. In pass
ing, it may bo mentioned that tie ordi-
nary house fly has 1900 lenses, the gad-
fly l, 900 and the dragon fly 90, 900
lenses to each eye. Physically, as well
as intellectually. ants are the giants Of
the insect world; they can easily carry
even ten times their own weight.
The ant houses arc most marvellous
examples Of construction. Part Of the
nest is above the ground and part below
it. These houses are often 40 stories in
height, and are built of stones, leaves
sticks and earth. The subterranean part
is honeycombed into passages and cells
and all the tunnels and galleries run
into ono common center-the public
hall of the ant colony. The government
is a republic, and various colonies have
been known to mass together for the
purpose of defense. A Swiss scientist
has discovered q regular empire of ants,
covering an area of 200 square yards,
and containing 200 colonies or republics
with a population Of 40, 900, 0o0 ants.
There are many species of ants which
are incapable of managing their own
nests or Of rearing their young, and
these in consequence impress into their
service the workers of other species Of
ants and leave oil the rough work to
their captives. Periodically the master
ants set Off on slave hunting expedi-
tion. They find out the nest of special
ant whose tid they need They raid it
and, overcoming it's defenders, enter and
bear Off triumphantly the pup@. These
are carried to the masters nest, where
they are speedily Matched, and knowing
no other home and forced by instinct
to work they toll industriously for their
masters. So lazy and dependent upon
their willing slaves do the master ants
become that at length they are unable
TO feed themselves. Food has been
placed before these lords of the ant Gre
alton, and they would not even take the
trouble to eat. Then some slave ants
were introduced. They tidied up the
place aud fed their masters.
The ants have some method Of know
ing members of their own tribe. II an
ant is put into strange colony, it is in
stantlY killed as an intruder while IL