J THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE ANT.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 18, Issue 45, 4 June 1907, Page 2

J THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE ANT.

An incident which indicates the .1 wonderful intelligence of the ant is , r recorded by Sir John Lubbock in >his ;• book, "The Beauties of jsature." Jle c writes : C I decided to intoxicate some of my i ants, to see whether they have a sign oi- pass-word by which they i recognise each other. This was less - easy than I thought. None of my anvs would degrade themselves by > , getting drunk. However, 1 got over 1 | the difficulty by putting them into ■ j whisky for a few moments. I took - , fifty specimens, twenty-five from one " j nest and twenty-live from another, - | made them dead drunk, marked each I of them with a spot of paint, and I ! put them on a table where other ! ants from one of the nests wrvu feed- ' j Jug- • | The table was surrounded as us- ' | ual. with a mote of water to prevent i i tlii'in from straying. The ants which '. j were H-eding soon notici-d those ' | which I had intoxicated. They seem- ' ! ed fjuite astonished to lind their coin--1 j rades in such a disgraceful condition. I After a while they carried them all i away. They took the strangers to - ' the edge of the moat and dropped 1 them into the water, while they bore - their friends home where J hey slept ■ off the effects of the spirit. Thus ) it is evident that they know their 1 friends even when incapable of giving ! anv siiru or nass-word.