Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-11
Private Life Of Ants.
evening.

London Times: Sir John Lubbock,
NJ. p, delivered last week a lecture on
Ants" to the members of the Royal
British Nurses association, at the
rooms of the Geological society, Han
over square, w. The lecture was the
first of a series to be given on various
subject to the nurses during the ses-
sion. Sir Dyce Duckworth, a vice pres
ident of the association. presided, and
there was q large audience. Sir John
Lubbock commenced by describing MS
method OF observation, and said that
he had been able to make the ants un-
der investigation so comfortable that
they lived as nearly as possible under
natural conditions. Their life was
much longer than had been supposed.
He had kept many for several years,
two queens had reached the age of fif-
teen years. and these Were by far the
Oldest insects on record. Ants watched
over their young with skill and ten
derness which not even the royal
British nurses could excel. They never
quarreled, and no one had ever seen a
dispute between two ants belonging to
the same nest, yet they were very brave
and defended their homes like little SIX
legged Leonidases. Unlike the so-called
higher animals, they never turned
against weak or wounded companions.
One of his ants had come into the
world a cripple, but she was carefully
tended and fed for months by her COM
panions. All the ants OF a community
knew one another. and they would not
tolerate IL stranger. even of the same
species, in the nest. He had separated
a nest into halves and found that even
after eighteen months they still recog-
nlzed their old companions. They did
not. however, show any pleasure or
surprise at meeting them again. 1t had
been suggested that ants recognized
one another by n sort of password, but
this was not the case. He had made
fifty ants quite drunk and incapable
and then put them near nest to which
twenty-five of them belonged. These
twenty-five were carried back into the
nest, where, no doubt. they slept OF
the effects of their involuntary de-
bauch; the other twenty-five were
thrown into moat which surrounded
the ants park. The senses of ants DIFF
fered in many respects from those of
humanity. They probably heard sounds
which were inaudible to us. and saw
the ultra violent rays which were In
visible to us. Some species kept slaves,
and one kind had lost the instinct OF
feeding. and would starve IL lost by
He had found, however, they would
| live for weeks II they had a slave for
| every hour in the day to feed and clean
| them. Several species Kept nphides,
which they MIXED like cows. and he
had found that in the autumn they
collected the eggs of the nphldes and
| kept them all through the winter, al
| though they Were Of no use. and the
young aphides Matched from them gave
| none of tho sugary fluid till the follow
| ing May or June. so that the ants
showed more thrift and forethought
than many human beings. Their in
stincts, though so wonderful, were
very limited. and yet when ants were
watched building their nests. feeding
their young. defending their homes
making roads. tending their domesti,
| animals, and, In some cases. theli
slaves. II was difficult to suppose tina
they were unconscious automatic. ant
although their mental powers were. n,
doubt. greatly inferior to ours. the diff
ference was probably not so much II
| kind as In degree.