"The ants are extremely well sheltered in their chambers, the largest of which is placed nearly in the centre of the building; it is much loftier than the rest, and traversed only by the beams that support the ceiling: it is in this spot that all the galleries terminate, and this forms, for the most part, their usual residence."
"Those ants who lay the foundation of a wall, a chamber, or gallery, from working separately, occasion now and then a want of coincidence in the parts of the same or different objects. Such examples are of no unfrequent occurrence, but they by no means embarrass them. What follows proves that the workman on discovering his error, knew how to rectify it.
"A wall had been erected with the view of sustaining a vaulted ceiling, still incomplete, that had been projected from the wall of the opposite chamber. The workman who began constructing it, had given it too little elevation to meet the opposite partition upon which it was to rest. Had it been continued on the original plan, it must infallibly have met the wall at about one-half of its height, and this it was necessary to avoid. This state of things very forcibly claimed my attention; when one of the ants, arriving at the place, and visited the works, appeared to be struck by the difficulty which presented itself; but this it as soon obviated, by taking down the ceiling and raising the wall upon which it reposed. It then, in my presence, constructed a new ceiling with the fragments of the former one.
"When the ants commence any undertaking, one would suppose that they worked after some preconceived idea, which indeed would seem verified by the execution. Thus, should any ant discover upon the nest, two stalks of plants, which lie cross-ways, a disposition favourable to the construction of a lodge; or some little beams that may be useful in forming its angles and sides, it examines the several parts with attention, then distributes with much sagacity and address parcels of earth, in the spaces, and along the stems, taking from every quarter materials adapted to its object, sometimes not caring to destroy the work that others had commenced; so much are its motions regulated by the idea it has conceived, and upon which it acts, with little attention to all else around it. It goes and returns, until the plan is sufficiently understood by its companions."
"From these observations, and a thousand similar, I am convinced that each ant acts independently of its companions. The first who conceives a plan of easy execution, immediately gives the sketch of it: others have only to continue what this has begun, judging, from an inspection of the first labours, in what they ought to engage. They can all lay down plans, and continue to polish or retouch their work as occasion requires. The water furnishes the cement they require, and the sun and air hardens the materials of which their edifice is composed. They have no other chisel than their teeth, no other compass than their antennæ, and no other trowel than their fore-feet, of which they make use in an admirable manner, to affix and consolidate the moistened earth."
We have thus some idea of that masonry which erects the abodes familiar to every eye, though the execution may not be familiar to many minds. The second chapter contains an account of the eggs, larvæ pupæs; and here other marvels are unfolded. In the ants nest are males whose sole business is to perpetuate the species and die; females who are waited upon like peeresses in their own right, who neither toil nor spin, but are served by neutrals, labourers, who tend their innumerable eggs, nourish and unfold the larvæ, and in short, do all the duties of mothers, nurses, and menials. The author devised means to observe their internal economy; and he says—
"Let us now open the shutter which conceals from us the interior of the ant hill, and let us see what is passing there.
"Here the pupæ are heaped up by hundreds in their spacious lodges; there the larvæ are collected together, and guarded by workers. In one place, we observe an assemblage of eggs, in another place, some of the workers seem occupied in following an ant of larger size than the rest;—this is the mother, or at least one of the females, for there are always several in each ant-hill:—she lays as she walks, and the guardians, by whom she is surrounded, take up her eggs, or seize them at the very moment of her laying them; they collect them together, and carry them in little heaps in their mouths.[2] On looking a little closer, we find that they turn them continually with their tongues; it even appears, they pass them one after the other between their teeth, and thus keep them constantly moistened. Such is the first apercu which my glazed aparatus offered.
"Having directed my close attention to these eggs, I remarked they were of different sizes, shades and forms. The smallest were white, opake, and cylindrical; the largest, transparent, and slightly arched at both ends; those of a middle were semi-transparent. In holding them up to the light, I observed a sort of white oblong cloud; in some, a transparent point might be remarked at the superior extremity; in others, a clear zone above and underneath the little cloud. The largest presented a single opake and whitish point in their interior. There were some whose whole body was so remarkably clear as to allow of my observing very distinctly the rings. In fixing my attention more closely upon the latter, I observed the egg open, and the larva appear in its place."
"I have been enabled to observe through the glasses of my artificial ant-hill, the great care taken of these little worms, which bear also the name of Larvæ. They were generally guarded by a body of ants, who, raised upon their feet, with their abdomen brought between these members, were prepared to cast their venom upon all intruders, whilst here and there, other workers were engaged in clearing the passages, by removing the materials which were out of place: a great number of their companions taking at the same time their repose, and appearing to be fast asleep: but a busy scene occurred at the moment of transporting their little ones to enjoy the warmth of the sun. When the sun's rays fell upon the exterior portion of the nest, the ants, who were then on the surface, descended with great rapidity to the bottom of the ant-hill, struck with their antennæ the other ants, ran one after the other, and jostled their companions, who mounted at the moment under the bell glass, and redescended with the same speed, putting in their turn the whole colony in motion, so that we could observe a swarm of workers, filling up all the passages; but what proved still more their intention by these movements, was, the violence with which the workers sometimes seized, with their mandibles, those who did not appear to understand them, dragging them forth to the top of the ant-hill, and immediately leaving them, to go and seek those still remaining with the young.