The antennæ appear to be the most important of the sense-organs, as their removal produces an extraordinary disturbance in the intelligence of the animal. An ant so mutilated can no longer find its way or recognise companions, and therefore is unable to distinguish between friends and foes. It is also unable to find food, ceases to engage in any labour, and loses all its regard for larvæ, remaining permanently quiet and almost motionless. A somewhat similar disturbance, or rather destruction, of the mental faculties is observable as a result of the same mutilation in the case of bees.[45] FOOTNOTES: [19] While this MS. is passing through the press Sir John Lubbock has read another paper before the Linnæan Society, which contains some important additional matter concerning the sense of direction in ants. It seems that in the experiment above described, the hat-box was not provided with a cover or lid, i.e. was not a 'closed chamber,' and that Sir John now finds the ants to take their bearings from the direction in which they observe the light to fall upon them. For in the experiment with the uncovered hat-box, if the source of light (candle) is moved round together with the rotating table which supports the box, the ants continue their way without making compensating changes in their direction of advance. The same thing happens if the hat-box is covered, so as to make of it a dark chamber. Direction of light being the source of their information that their ground is being moved, we can understand why they do not know that it is being moved when it is moved in the direction of their advance, as in the experiment with the paper slip. [20] It is to be noted that although ants will attack stranger ants introduced from other nests, they will carefully tend stranger larvæ similarly introduced. [21] _The Naturalist in Nicaragua_, 1874, p. 26. [22] See _Leisure Hour_, 1880, p. 390. [23] _Introduction to Entomology_, vol. ii. p. 524. [24] Vol. vii. pp. 443-4. [25] Büchner, _Geistesleben der Thiere_, pp. 66-7. [26] _Origin of Species_, 6th ed. pp. 207-8. [27] _Loc. cit._ p. 121. [28] _Loc. cit._ p. 123. [29] _Origin of Species_, 6th ed. p. 218. [30] _Geistesleben der Thiere_, pp. 145-9. [31] _Loc. cit._ [32] _Loc. cit._ p. 337. [33] _Loc. cit._ p. 97. [34] _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders_, London, 1873 and Supplement, 1874. [35] _Journal Linn. Soc._, vol. vi. p. 29, 1862. [36] _Agricultural Ant of Texas_, Philadelphia, 1880. [37] _Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond._, i. 103, 1836. [38] _Madras Journ. Lit. Sc._, 1851. [39] For this see Moggridge, _loc. cit._ pp. 6-10, where, besides Prov. iv. 6-8, and xxx. 25, quotations are given from Horace, Virgil, Plautus, and others. [40] Proc. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci., xii. p. 445. [41] Agricultural Ant of Texas (Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, 1880). [42] _Missionary Travels_, p. 328. [43] _Animal Biography_, 'Ants.' [44] Büchner, _Geistesleben der Thiere_, English translation, p. 49.