Rensselaer Union, Volume 10, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 January 1878 — Human Nature Among Ants. [ARTICLE]

Human Nature Among Ants.

Wars among the ants have very much causes as among men. It is a piece of territory that is coveted, and the stronger tribe goes out in force, vanquishes and ejects the weaker; or it is the possession of its flocks and herds, which one colony wishes to wrest from another; or in theslave-makingspecies, a colony pew relay of servcase a number of Formica rufa'of'Formica sanguinea muster and advance against a nest of Formica nigra, after a desperate battle—for the red ants are. very brave, and the black ones, though cowardly, are fighting for their young —the aggressors, who are almost' always victorous, bear off the pupie of the black ants to their own nests. When they hatch out into perfect insects the slaves take upon themselves the whole care of the colony; they tend the young, take charge of the nest, and even feeu and carry about their lazy masters, who will often die of starvation rather than help themselves, even when food is close at hand. The slaves, however, have something to say in the nest. They detain their masters when they desire to go out on a slavemaking expedition, till after the time that tqe males andfemalesof the negro colonies shall have taken flight, so that the species shall not be exterminated. When the rod ants come home without booty, the slaves treat them with .contempt, and cometimes even turn them out of doors. They are willing to work for their masters so long as they can In these combats the ants often manifest a singular resemblance to human beings in the effect which battle produces in the case of raw recruits. An ant which at first seemed fearful and hesitating, after a time becomes excited ana shows a frenzy or courage, recklessly throwing away its life without accomplishing anything. When an ant which has reached this condition of insensate fury happens to fall in with a body of self-possessed workers, they quietly lay hola of it, several of them holding its different feet, gently touching it all the while with their antennas till it calms down and is able to “ listen to reason.” — Mrs. Herrick, in Scribner s Monthly. The peculiar manner in, which a man's hand clings to the door-knob in the morning indicates that the molasses oandy party is surging through thejand. —Fulton (N. Y.) Timet.