which they appear destined, neither offers any proof of that courage
we should expect from their sex, nor of a laborious industry. We
know that in the class of insects with four membranous wings, the
males are destitute of offensive weapons, and do not possess that
admirable apparatus which the greater part of females put in use in
the establishment of their family; they have neither chisel-shaped
teeth, nor stings, nor ovipositors (_tarières_). The several arts
we remark among the greater number of bees and wasps, ichneumons
and tenthredines, &c. are exercised by the females alone, or by
the labourers, their representatives. The defence of the nest is
also confided to them: the males, after attending to the office of
reproduction, become useless to the family of which they are members.
The life of male ants cannot be of long duration; deprived of their
attendants, incapable of providing their own subsistence, and returning
no more to the ant-hill that gave them birth, how can it possibly be
of any long continuance? Their life is either naturally limited to a
few weeks, or hunger will speedily terminate it: whatever it be, they
disappear in a little time after the period of their amours; but they
never fall victims, as happens with bees, to the fury of the labourers.
At the period when the career of males is terminated, that of
the females is scarcely commenced: they bear the germs of future
generations, and these germs are fecundated. Their history is closely
connected with the history of ant-hills, and embraces several curious,
and hitherto unknown, particulars. Let us at first pass in review those
authors who have treated of it.
Swammerdam, to whom we are indebted for many excellent memoirs on the
metamorphoses of insects, and who was one of the first to point out
those which ants undergo, had never seen among them any winged females;
he, however, describes some of the species; he speaks of the males
being provided with four wings, and mentions several facts in their
history. Geoffry has witnessed wings upon females, but he denies their
ever being deprived of them. There are individuals who still believe,
as in the time of antiquity, that ants, at a certain age, acquire
wings. Linnæus, De Geer, Latreille, and other modern naturalists, agree
in stating, that the females of ants have wings, as well as the males,
and that in a little time after copulation, some are seen destitute
of these organs. This observation, repeated by so many learned
naturalists, is well entitled to our confidence. Swammerdam must,
therefore, have been deceived. By means of the glasses in my artificial
ant-hill, we have traced from its first commencement the developement
of their wings; we have seen the ants take flight, unite in the air
with the males, and hover in the midst of the swarm, which is almost
entirely composed of male insects. It would be difficult to be mistaken
in facts of this nature.
It has also been stated, that there are females without wings. Indeed,
every time I have opened ant-hills, I have found some entirely
destitute of these organs. Are these the females that are at one time
in the number of flying insects, and at another time reduced to the
condition of labourers? For what end, and how do these insects lose
their wings? In the following observations will, I think, be found the
solution of this problem.
One day, with the view of ascertaining the precise condition of the
females, I visited certain ant-hills, which I knew to be filled with
winged ants, of both sexes, and whose departure could not be very
distant. Scarcely had I reached the spot, when I saw pass over my head
several female ants, bearing the males behind them. I seized a few,
without injuring them, and found they belonged to the Brown Ant. Having
then approached the ant-hill, from whence I had seen them depart, I
observed several take flight, and quit their natal abode. The males
preceded them, and the labourers, as far as they could, accompanied
them. These females took a direction perpendicular to the horizon, and
were soon lost to sight. When they encountered the males sporting in
the air, they re-descended with their light burthen, and alighted upon
some shrubs. These couples soon separated.
I took eight females, still united with the males, and placed them in
a box, to observe them on my return; but a violent rain, which came
on at this moment, offered me a sight, as singular as unexpected. As
soon as the shower had passed, I saw the earth strewed with females
without wings. They were most likely the identical females I had seen
traversing the air. They were of the same species and colour as the
first. I had not quitted the place in which the ants had alighted.
Some still retained their wings; it was, therefore, an easy matter to
compare them.
On my return home, I placed my eight prisoners, with some moistened
earth, in a garden vase, covered with a glass receiver. It was nine
o’clock in the evening; at ten all the females had lost their wings,
which I observed scattered here and there, and had hidden themselves
under the earth. I had allowed the occasion to pass by, of witnessing
the separation of these fragile members, and of determining, if
possible, what had produced it.
On the following day, I procured three other females in union with
their males, and this time I observed them with the greatest attention,
from the moment of their fecundation, until nine in the evening;
a period of five hours. But during this time nothing was done to
denote the approaching loss of their wings, which remained still
firmly affixed. These females appeared to be in excellent condition:
they passed their feet across their mouths, then glided them over
the antennæ, and rubbed the legs one against the other. I could not
conceive what could retard the fall of their wings, whilst the other
ants had lost them so readily. It is true, that I placed those of which
I am now speaking, in a very strong box, completely closed, whilst
the former were deposited in a transparent vault, offering not the
slightest appearance of a prison, and upon a ground more natural than
the bottom of a sand-box, where there was no earth. I had no idea that
a circumstance so trifling would have any influence upon these ants;
however, having learned that it was necessary to place them as the
first, I took some earth, and strewed it lightly over the table, and
then covered it with a bell-glass. I yet possessed three fecundated
ants, one of which I introduced under the recipient. I induced her to
go there freely, by presenting to her a fragment of straw, on which she
mounted, and upon this I conveyed her to her new habitation without
touching her; scarcely did she perceive the earth which covered the
bottom of her abode, than she extended her wings, with some effort,
bringing them before her head, crossing them in every direction,
throwing them from side to side, and producing so many singular
contortions, that her four wings fell off at the same moment, in my
presence. After this change she reposed, brushed her corslet with her
feet, then traversed the ground, evidently appearing to seek a place
of shelter; she seemed not to have the slightest idea that she was
confined within a narrow enclosure. She partook of the honey I gave
her, and at last found a hiding-place under some loose earth, which
formed a little natural grotto.
If I was surprised at seeing this female strip herself of her wings
voluntarily, I was even more so, on finding that she did not appear
to suffer from it, and that, after an act which would seem to us any
thing but natural, she delivered herself peaceably to her appetite,
and sought a retreat, as if nothing out of the ordinary course had
happened. This fact merited confirmation.
I introduced a second female under the bell-glass about two hours after
the first, and with the same precaution, adding to the dry earth,
strewed over the table, a little water, in order to allow these insects
to undertake any labour to which their instinct might prompt them.
When she perceived that she stood upon moistened earth, she advanced
a few paces, then stopped to touch the ground with her antennæ. This
done, she took a position to facilitate the dispossession of her wings;
resting on her abdomen, she opened them in disorder, extended them in
every direction, passed her legs behind them, and pressed them closely
towards the ground. When she had succeeded in disembarrassing herself
of these organs, I observed her walk about tranquilly in her enclosure,
and begin constructing a grotto in the earth: thus, this second
experiment had all the success of the first.
I still possessed one pregnant female, which I reserved for the
following morning; she had not lost her wings before the experiment. I
introduced her under the recipient fifteen or sixteen hours later than
the others: she appeared to be in excellent condition, and apparently
had not suffered by this delay. Scarcely had she touched the ground,
than she hastened to get rid of her wings, employing the method already
described. I repeated the like experiment on several females of
different species, and always obtained the same result.[4]
[4] For the discovery of the female ants voluntarily depriving
themselves of their wings, after impregnation, we are certainly
indebted to our present author; but, as far as regards the simple
fact of these insects losing their wings, Linnæus, De Geer, &c. were
fully acquainted with it; to which indeed our author alludes. Gould
himself conjectured, that the females which fell under his notice once
possessed wings. After a few remarks on the condition of what he terms
ant-flies, he says, “If you strip a large ant-fly of its wings, when a
week old, or more, which is very easily done, for they will come off
by the most gentle touch imaginable, and then place it in a microscope
with a queen, you will perceive no manner of difference as to their
frame; the like indented places, or little hollows in the breast where
the wings commonly lie, will be found in each; from whence, there is
great reason to believe the queen was originally adorned with such
gaiety, and appeared in the character of a fly. It is also observable,
as a strong confirmation of this sentiment, that abundance of the large
ant-flies, just before or soon after leaving the colonies, actually
drop their wings, and, except a small difference in complexion, which
has not yet attained its true gloss, are not to be distinguished from
the queens. You may, the latter end of July, and great part of August,
often meet with these unwinged ants, travelling about, as it were, at
random. If you place a number of large ant-flies in a box, the wings of
many of them will, after some time, gradually fall off like autumnal
leaves. This circumstance is peculiar to the large sort; for if you
confine the small ones ever so long, their wings will continue fixed,
and cannot be separated without some difficulty.” In another place, he
observes, “the casting of their wings is an instance peculiar to the
large ant-flies. These are to other insects their highest decorations,
and the want of them lessens their beauty and shortens their life.
On the reverse, a large ant-fly gains by the loss, and is afterwards
promoted to a throne, and drops these external ornaments as emblems of
too much levity for a sovereign.”--T.
We see, then, that the females of ants lose their wings, but we little
expected they would themselves be the voluntary authors of it. Would
it not appear that nature takes delight in sporting with our judgment
in the variety and superiority of her plans, in the detail as well as
in the aggregate? We only judge from known facts; but nature does not
follow, and indeed is under no necessity of following, any invariable
rule: the fruitful source from which she receives her laws knows no
limits: every species has its own manners, every individual its own
particular constitution; hence arise the innumerable errors into which
we fall, the moment we leave the high-road of observation to be guided
by what appear to us general rules. But let us return to the history
of ants, which furnishes us many examples of the inefficiency of our
conjectures.
What will be the destiny of those ants who have been united with the
males in the air, and who have just mutilated themselves? We already
know they never return to their natal abode.
As soon as they have lost their wings, we observe them running over
the ground seeking an asylum. It would be extremely difficult at this
time to follow them, on account of the several turnings and windings
they make in the fields, and among the grass. I have not succeeded in
tracing them at the moment of their first establishment, but I rest
perfectly assured, from some experiments, that those females who are
not called upon to discharge any duty in the natal ant-hills, and
who appear incapable of acting by themselves, animated by maternal
love, and the need of putting in use all their faculties, become
industrious, and take care of their little ones with the same sedulous
attention as the common labourers.
I enclosed several pregnant females in a vessel full of light humid
earth, with which they constructed lodges, where they resided; some
singly, others in common. They laid their eggs and took great care of
them; and, notwithstanding the inconvenience of not being able to vary
the temperature of their habitation, they reared some, which became
larvæ, of a tolerable size, but which soon perished from the effect of
my own negligence.
I afterwards placed some other females in a similar apparatus, and
delivered to them some pupæ (labourers), to ascertain if their instinct
would teach them to open the covering in which they were enclosed.
Although these females were virgins, and provided with wings, they
laboured so well, that I found, on the following morning, three workers
among them. Some days after I saw them occupied in delivering other
labourers from their last envelope: they acted in the same way as
ordinary ants, and did not appear embarrassed in the part which they
now performed for the first time.
It is, therefore, evident, that females, in case of necessity, are
enabled, unassisted, to educate their family. If I have endeavoured to
assure myself of this fact by proofs still more positive, it was less
to remove any doubts on this point, than to satisfy my curiosity on the
composition of these new colonies.
After long researches, I discovered the retreat of these females, and
the nascent ant-hills they had established. They were situated at a
little depth in the earth. A small number of workers were seen by the
side of the mother, and some larvæ which they nourished. I have seen
two examples of these newly established colonies. One of my friends, M.
Perrot, of Neufchatel, a very excellent naturalist, whose observations
claim my greatest confidence, discovered, one day, in a little
underground cavity, a female ant, living solitarily with four pupæ, of
which she appeared to take great care.[5]
[5] “Upon frequent opening of mole-hills,” says Gould, “amongst them,
I met with three, in each of which was a cluster of large female ants,
amounting to six or seven in a cluster. They lay near the surface, but
had no regular apartment. Upon examining, and comparing them with a
queen, there was an exact agreement in colour, form, and structure.
Upon dissection, several of them had parcels of eggs in their insides.
I deposited one of the clusters in a box with some earth, under which
they concealed themselves, and united together, but did not work
any lodgement. Some time after, three or four of these females laid
a few eggs, but did not seem to take any great notice of them. For
curiosity, I placed in the box a cell of workers of the same species;
and it was surprising to observe what fondness was expressed. The
common ants immediately surrounded the females, took care of the eggs,
and, in a short period, made an apartment in the earth fit to receive
them. It may also be observed that there were no common ants in the
hills where I found the above clusters. In all probability they were
originally large ant-flies, which, having been expelled their colonies,
and not falling victims to their adversaries, associated together in
this manner, and survived the winter.”--There is no doubt but these
mole-hills were fixed upon by the females for the establishment of new
colonies; and from their consisting of loose earth, and presenting
several cavities, the labour of these insects in constructing a
dwelling must be considerably lessened. It is highly probable, they
had lately arrived there, and, therefore, had no time to commence
their architectural operations, it being remarked they had no regular
apartment. It would seem, by the above statement, that the females
go in small parties to found new colonies, as well as singly; which
must have happened with the female which fell under the notice of M.
Perrot. The female which this gentleman saw, was engaged in tending
her young. This certainly appears, on a first view, at variance with
Gould’s remark, that the females which laid eggs “did not seem to
take any great notice of them.” But it must be recollected, that the
females were not placed under similar circumstances: the former having
been discovered with her young in her own residence; the latter having
produced their eggs in confinement, and doubtless fully conscious of
it.--T.
There still remains another important question to solve--Would those
females, who had not received the addresses of the male also deprive
themselves of their wings, or would they continue to use them?
I took, at the end of April, from a nest of Yellow Ants, several
young females; their wings were unfolded, and of a whitish hue, like
those recently removed from their envelope. They enjoyed full liberty
in their habitation; which proves, as we shall presently see, that
they were still virgins. We know, moreover, that it is a very rare
occurrence should the males impregnate them in the interior of the
nest. I enclosed them in a glazed ant-hill, with some labourers of the
same family, and observed their conduct during several months. The
labourers were far from evincing the same degree of interest for them
as for pregnant females: they appeared to treat them with indifference;
and this was the more natural, as these females had adopted the manners
and character of the neuters. Their timidity had disappeared, and
given place to a sort of boldness, or rather irascibility, which I
perceived every time I opened the door to give them nourishment; they
darted forth upon my hands, and even pinched me more strongly than
the labourers: they knew, also, how to follow and catch the flies
I introduced into their nest; and did it with much promptitude and
dexterity: but they did not lose their wings, notwithstanding the long
proof to which I subjected them.
At another time, I placed several female virgins of the species of
Brown Ants, with a portion of their nest, under a bell-glass. They
remained there peaceably without taking up the choleric disposition of
the preceding; but these also preserved their wings.
I also placed ten other ants, equally virgins, in a vase, where I left
them six weeks. During this long captivity, they did not even attempt
to dispossess themselves of these members, which were still left to
fulfil the object of their destination.[6]
[6] I kept in captivity, upwards of a month, four female ants, two of
the Yellow and two of the Brown species: they still retained their
wings. These members would seem to be employed on no other occasion
than when they seek the males in the air, and search for a situation
favourable to a new establishment. I have often endeavoured, in their
natal residence, by irritating them, to induce them to take flight; but
never could succeed. It was, however, in this instance, scarcely to be
expected, since the _amor patriæ_ would restrain them. I have removed
them to a distance from the ant-hill, and placed them in the sunshine;
but all to no purpose. It, therefore, appears, they neither dispossess
themselves of these members until their impregnation has been effected,
nor make use of them, unless for the sole purpose of meeting their
paramours in the air, and seeking a place for the establishment of a
new colony.--T.
It appears to me, then, certain, that the females do not reject their
wings, but after fecundation; and that this act is, on their part,
completely voluntary, when they are to change their mode of life, and
withdraw to take all due care of the colony of which they bear the
future germs.
3. _The Conduct of Labourers towards the Pregnant Females._
All the females do not quit the metropolis: it is necessary some few
should remain to keep up the population. We shall now see in what
manner nature guards against that desertion of females with which the
ant-hill is threatened.
In speaking of the swarms of ants, I avoided making an observation,
which required some developement, and which comes in now in its
proper place. It is this: that the union of the sexes does not always
take place at a distance from the ant-hill. It ordinarily happens,
that the males, before setting off, leave in the ant-hill a few
impregnated females. The labourers, as if fully aware of the importance
of preserving females capable of maintaining the population of the
republic, carefully retain these valuable depositaries of a future
generation. Of this remarkable feature of their foresight or instinct,
I have been a frequent witness; not only on natural ant-hills, but
even in my glass apparatus, where I observed it under more detail. I
removed the bell-glass which was placed over them, because I perceived
it concentrated the rays of the sun upon the nest to that degree, that
its inhabitants could not support it, and removed my glazed ant-hill
to the garden, where I could observe the winged ants as if they were
in full liberty. The greater number of the females quitted the nest,
and never returned to it. A few remained upon the nest, and were there
impregnated. One, after copulation, was about to take flight, when the
labourers retained her by her feet, kept her down by main force, tore
off her wings, and conducted her back to her residence, where they
obstinately guarded her. Several others were seized by the labourers,
even in the very act of copulation, and immediately carried off to
the bottom of the frame, where I saw them mutilated, and retained in
captivity.[7]
[7] De Geer observed in a nest of Red Ants that the workers compelled
some females, that were come out of the nest, to re-enter it. I visited
twice or thrice a day, for some time, a colony of Red Ants, and never
observed any male or female in it. The workers were engaged in taking
care of the pupæ, which were in considerable number. What was my
surprise, to observe, at length, a mass of eggs apparently just laid,
which the workers, on my disturbing their abode, carried off with
amazing expedition. It does not seem likely that any female, after her
excursion in the air, should have alighted on their dwelling, since
they generally go and found new colonies. It is more probable this was
one of the females born in the nest, and, at the time of the males
and females taking their departure, had been retained by the workers,
in one of the lower apartments, for the sake of maintaining its
population.--T.
It is more especially with the Fuliginous Ants, that we can the more
readily observe this proceeding, since the departure of the winged
individuals of that species does not take place for a very considerable
period; previous to which the male and female insects go out each day
from their labyrinths, from two or three o’clock in the evening, until
the middle of night, walking along the trunk of the tree they inhabit.
The movement of those insects whom the labourers lead out of the nest,
progressively increases, and resembles a national fête, in which all
the individuals of the ant-hill take an active part: it is destined
to favour the rencontre and union of the sexes. I have often seen, in
those numerous gatherings, females retained by the workers, mutilated
in my presence, and carried back to the interior of the trunk; and,
although I have not surprised them in their embraces, I have no doubt
their imprisonment took its origin from their fecundation, which
I conjecture must have taken place, from the other ants remaining
perfectly free, from analogy with those ants of which I have before
spoken, and from my having several times seen the males follow the
females to the surface of the tree.
We see, then, that this numerous _cortège_ of labourers, which we have
often observed, without knowing their purport, is not a homage they
render the winged ants, but is destined to favour the seizure of those
females whose impregnation takes place upon the very nest.