The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1901-12-20

Man looks entirely to the outside
world about him for the means of ac-
complishing his purposes; insects, on
the contrary, drawing upon the re-
sources of their own natural constitu-
tons, often adapt themselves to the
conditions and requirements Of their
lives by structural notifications.
For instance, men make the tools
they require for carving or for digging,
insects grow them; vessels being need
ed as receptacles for liquid food, man
learns the art of the potter, but the Gu
rions honey ants transform themselves
into living bottles, to which the work
ing members of the commune resort for
refreshment.
The tools of insects, exquisitely fash
Toned and finished, are much more per-
fectly adapted for the purpose they
serve than are any contriyed and man.
ufactured by human beings, but there
is disadvantage connected with them
they cannot be laid aside. The tools
dominate the tool-bearers, and check
development In any direction not con-
nected with their use
This leads to the extreme speeializa-
ton we find among insects The egg
producer, the queen of the termltes,
although she possesses the usual num-
br of limbs belonging to her species, is
totally incapable Of locomotion, as are
the living bottles of the honey ants
The queen lays eggs, she can do moth
ing else; the living bottles store up and
yield food to other members of the for
mcary, and are as Incapable of per-
forming other uses as If they were
mere lifeless cells In a honeycomb
Among the ants this tendency to spe-
cialization has resulted In establishing
species limited to particular Industries
or to particular methods of living.
Some species of slave-making ants, for
instance, confine themselves so entire
ly to military affairs, and have so en-
tirely lost the arts of peace and eff
cheney In domestic affairs, that they
are not only obliged to depend upon
their slaves to care for the young in
the formicary, but to have the food |
placed In their own warlike mouths, |
and would starve in the midst Of plen-
ty were this not done.
The mandibles of these ants are en-
tirely untitled for work. They can
neither crush, cut, nor saw, but, being
sharply pointed and curved, they make
most serviceable weapons.
The workers of the East Indian phei-
dologeton dlyersus have among them
gigantic soldier ants, hundred times
as large as themselves, and 1t would
naturally be supposed that these big
creatures with enormous heads would
prove formidable defenders of the for
micary while the truth is that, so far
from this being the case, they cannot
bite at all, even when provoked to do
So
Ard yet the smaller members of the
pheidologeton commemorative find a
use for the great creatures. Numbers
of them may often be seen riding about,
as human beings do upon elephants,
upon the heads and backs of their gi-
gantic confreres.
But the Colobopsis ants, which bur-
row in branches, seem to have dlscov-
cred how to proftably employ the big
heads among them. They are placed
at the entrances of the formlcan dwell
ings, their great heads fitting in and
filling the doorways.
AS worker belonging to the house
hold approaches she is recognized by
"the animated and intelligent front
door," which draws back sufficiently to
admit the entrance to its friend and
then resumes Its double office of sentry
and Notwithstanding American.