Observation has revealed most remarkable phenomena in the lives of these Insects. Indeed, we can scarcely avoid the conclusion that they have acquired in many respects the art of living together in societies more perfectly than our own species has, and that they have anticipated us in the acquisition of some of the industries and arts that greatly facilitate social life. The lives of individual ants extend over a considerable number of years—in the case of certain species at any rate—so that the competence of the individual may be developed to a considerable extent by exercise; and one generation may communicate to a younger one by example the arts of living by which it has itself profited. The prolonged life of ants, their existence in the perfect state at all seasons, and the highly social life they lead are facts of the greatest biological importance, and are those that we should expect to be accompanied by greater and wider competence than is usually exhibited {136}by Insects. There can indeed be little doubt that ants are really not only the "highest" structurally or mechanically of all Insects, but also the most efficient. There is an American saying to the effect that the ant is the ruler of Brazil. We must add a word of qualification; the competence of the ant is not like that of man. It is devoted to the welfare of the species rather than to that of the individual, which is, as it were, sacrificed or specialised for the benefit of the community. The distinctions between the sexes in their powers or capacities are astonishing, and those between the various forms of one sex are also great. The difference between different species is extreme; we have, in fact, the most imperfect forms of social evolution coexisting, even locally, with the most evolute. These facts render it extremely difficult for us to appreciate the ant; the limitations of efficiency displayed by the individual being in some cases extreme, while observation seems to elicit contradictory facts. About two thousand species are already known, and it is pretty certain that the number will reach at least five thousand. Before passing to the consideration of a selection from what has been ascertained as to the varieties of form and of habits of ants we will deal briefly with their habitations and polymorphism, reserving some remarks as to their associations with other Insects to the conclusion of this chapter.