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
Further experiments proved, as we might have expected, that although an
ant is able to communicate to her friends in the nest that she has found
treasure somewhere outside, she is not able to describe to them its
precise locality. Thus, having exposed larvæ and placed an ant upon them
as before, Sir John watched every time she came out of the nest with
friends to assist her, but instead of allowing her to pilot the way, he
took her up and carried her to the larvæ, allowing her to return with a
larva upon her own feet. Under these circumstances the friends, although
evidently coming out with the intention of finding some treasure, were
never able to find it; but wandered about in various directions for a
while, and then returned to the nest. Thus, during two hours she brought
out in her successive journeys altogether no less than 120 ants, of
which number only 5 in their unguided wanderings happened to find the
sought-for treasure. This result seems to prove, as we might have
expected, that the communication is of the nature of some sign amounting
to no more than a 'follow me.' Other experiments confirmed this result,
and also brought out the fact that 'some species act much more in
association than others--_Formica fusca_, for instance, much less than
_Lasius niger_.' Thus Sir John Lubbock placed some honey before a marked
specimen of the former species; but although she visited and revisited
the honey during an entire day, she brought out no friends to share it;
and although in her journeys to and from the nest she happened to pass
and repass many other individuals, they took no notice of each other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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