. Ants, bees, and wasps. A record of observations on the habits of the social Hymenoptera . ll (a) containingseveral hundred larvse. From this cell I allowed a slipof paper (p) to hang down to within -^ of an inchof the upper surface of the nest. At one side I putanother block of wood (c) with a lateral projection(d) which hung over the cell containing the larva?.[ then made a connexion between d and a, so that ants 246 WANT OF INGENUITY could ascend C, and, passing over D, descend upon thelarvae. I then put some specimens of Lasius niger tothe larvae, and soon a large number of ants were en-g
. Ants, bees, and wasps. A record of observations on the habits of the social Hymenoptera . ll (a) containingseveral hundred larvse. From this cell I allowed a slipof paper (p) to hang down to within -^ of an inchof the upper surface of the nest. At one side I putanother block of wood (c) with a lateral projection(d) which hung over the cell containing the larva?.[ then made a connexion between d and a, so that ants 246 WANT OF INGENUITY could ascend C, and, passing over D, descend upon thelarvae. I then put some specimens of Lasius niger tothe larvae, and soon a large number of ants were en-gaged in carrying off the larvae. When this had con-tinued for about three hours, I raised D -^ of an inchabove A. The ants kept on coming and tried hard toreach down from D to a, which was only just out oftheir reach. Two or three, in leaning over, lost theirfoothold and dropped into the larvae; but this wasobviously an accident; and after a while they all gaveup their efforts, and went away, losing their prize, inspite of most earnest efforts, rather than drop -^ of an inch. Fig. 11. o. At the moment when the separation was made therewere fifteen ants on the larvae. These could, of course,have returned if one had stood still and allowed theothers to get on its back. This, however, did notoccur to them ; nor did they think of letting themselvesdrop from the bottom of the paper on to the or three, indeed, fell down, I have no doubt, byaccident; but the remainder wandered about, until atlength most of them got into the water. After a timethe others abandoned altogether as hopeless the attemptto get at the larvae. I waited about six hours, and then again placed the a COJSSTKUCTING BBIDGES. 24? glass (a) containing the larvae so as to touch the pieceof wood (d), and again put some ants to the a regular string of ants was established; when Iagain raised the wood (d) t3^ of an inch above the glass(a), exactly the same result occurred. The ants bentover and made e
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbees, booksubjectwasp
