Animal Intelligence: The International Scientific Series, Vol. XLIV. — John Shaqi
Animal Intelligence: The International Scientific Series, Vol. XLIV.Romanes, George John
Science
Animal Intelligence: The International Scientific Series, Vol. XLIV.
Romanes, George John
Animal behavior; Animal intelligence
Sept. 21.--I then repeated the experiment, putting
three ants from another nest in a bottle as before.
The same scene was repeated. The friends were
neglected. On the other hand, some of the ants were
always watching over the bottle containing the
strangers, and biting at the muslin which protected
them. The next morning at 6 A.M. I found five ants
thus occupied. One had caught hold of the leg of one
of the strangers, which had unwarily been allowed to
protrude through the meshes of the muslin. They worked
and watched, though not, as far as I could see, with
any system, till 7.30 in the evening, when they
effected an entrance, and immediately attacked the
strangers.
Sept. 24.--I repeated the same experiment with the
same nest. Again the ants came and sat over the bottle
containing the strangers, while no notice was taken of
the friends.
The next morning again, when I got up, I found five
ants round the bottle containing the strangers, none
near the friends. As in the former case, one of the
ants had seized a stranger by the leg, and was trying
to drag her through the muslin. All day the ants
clustered round the bottle, and bit perseveringly,
though not systematically, at the muslin. The same
thing happened all the following day.
On repeating these experiments with another species
(viz., _Formica rufescens_) the ants took no notice of
either bottle, and showed no sign either of affection
or hatred. One is almost tempted to surmise that the
spirit of these ants is broken by slavery [_i.e._ by
the habit of keeping slaves]. But the experiments on
_F. fusca_ seem to show that in these curious insects
hatred is a stronger passion than affection.
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