The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-11

ly terms, while perpetual civil was will
be waged between two nests that are only
few inches apart.
Miss Fielde's answer is the only one yet
given to this problem. nevery case she
maintains, it is because there is differ
once month or more in their ages.
Mystery number two-why do ants like
red and dislike blue?
Several years ago Sir John Lubbock dis
covered that ants disliked blue. but was
unable to find out their reasons for doing
so.
l nthis experiment Miss F'ielde used
larger nest( with a glass cover which
could be taken off easily. Over the nest
she placed strips of colored glass. chang
in gthe coors frequently TO notice the
results.
During the IS days of the experiment
the colored pieces of glass were changed
so times. The result was that the ant.
moved 30 times under the red glass, IL
times under the green, 10 times under the
orange and not once under the blue
In every case when the blue glass was
placed over them they would scuttle away
TO some remote part of the nest. All ants
have natural hatred of the sunlight. and
prefer darkness always: but Miss Fielde
discovered that a family of ants would
settle down quite comfortably under
a roof of red glass and sometimes under
green or orange.
The two reasons given by Miss Fielde
for this choice of colors are as follows:
First. that the eys of the ant is so made
that it cannot tell the difference between
the colors that are darker than blue. The
long wave-lengths of the red rays seem
ing to them as same as black.
Second, that blue suggested rain or wa
ter to the ants. and thus made them anx-
ious to escape from it. Four times when
Miss Fielde put the blue glass over the
ant. they coaught up their eggs and piled
them on top of the food heap, as If to
keep them out Of the wet
1t was also proved that these tiny in
sects that spend the greater part of their
lives in the dark. can at once see any
thing that is white; for when Miss Field
cut some bits of white cord to the same
size as the eggs Of the ants and dropped
the little imitation eggs in the nest. they
We're picked up by the ants and carried
for several steps before the fraud was
noticed.
Mystery No. is: Have ants a memory
and If so how long can the carry their
memory
One curious fact about ants is that the
egg of some other nationality is placed
in their nest. the viii hatch it out and
rear the newcomer as one Of their chill
dren though they would iercely attack
any OF their adopted childs relation.
This fact was used by Miss Fielde in
her attempt TO discover whether the tiny
brain of an ant contained memory or
not
She took oore OF these adopted for
elgners" that had been living for three
weeks in enc OF he nests and removed IL
for 81 days to nest By itself. Al the
end Of that time when it was put back
it was received in the most friendly man.
Ter as ore OF the family had returned
from long journey
The same experiment WIS tried with
another nest and the adopted foreigner"
was kept away for 80 days and received
with great f-iendliness when placed back
in its former nest
During tire experiment other ants q Tire
same kind as the adopted one were put n
the nest and IN every case attacked and
driven out The two experiments thus
clearly show that ants can remember one
particular member OF their farlily for
period OF az least 80 days. even when that
member IS by birth one OF their neturs,
enemies.
Mystery No. { IS the query, Does the
father or mother have most influence IN
the ant hornes
This apparently unsnswerable problem