The Dawn of Reason Part 10

From certain observation I am inclined to believe that psychical traits which are the result of thousands of years of experience before they become part and parcel of the human _psychos_ may become psychic actualities in ants, bees, and wasps in the course of a few generations.

The facility with which these creatures adapt themselves to new environments--in which their very organisms, physical and psychical, are changed to a certain extent--is abundant proof of the truth of this conclusion. All experiments with the Hymenoptera amid changed surroundings indicate an intelligent adaptation of themselves to such environment.

The ant is the only animal, except man, which has slaves and domestic animals. Their intelligence is so highly developed that they make a perfect success in rearing their cattle and capturing their slaves. The cattle of the ants are of the order _Aphididae_. The herdsmen of these aphidian cattle can be seen patrolling the shrubs on which the aphides are grazing. On them devolves the care of the herds. They bring them out in the morning and carry them back at night. They gather the eggs of the aphides, carry them into a specially built nursery, attend them carefully until the young aphides are hatched out, and then carry them to the shrubs most liked by them for food. Some strange sense enables them to recognize one another--an ant of the same species, but coming from another nest, is immediately recognized as a stranger, and at once attacked. If the eggs of one ant colony are hatched out in another of the same species, the young ants are at once known to be strangers and intruders. This far transcends our intelligence. What mother could recognize her infant if it were born in the dark and she had never seen it? Again, if the larvae of ants are removed, hatched outside of the nest, and then returned, the ants at once recognize them as kinsmen and receive them into the nest.

When we take into the consideration that an ant's brain has gray matter a.n.a.logous to the gray matter found in the cortex of the human brain, we should not feel surprised when we find striking evidences of ratiocination in these little creatures. The better creatures are able to communicate ideation or thought, the stronger and more frequent are the evidences of their possession of reason. Ants can undoubtedly communicate; how and in what manner, it is not generally agreed.

Some time ago I crushed an ant in a path usually taken by the inhabitants of a nest (which was situated in a hollow tree) in their journeys to and fro. A soldier ant came along presently, and, smelling the blood[78] of her murdered companion, was seized by a sudden terror and fled away into the nest. She soon returned, however, with thirteen other soldier ants, and made a careful examination of the body and its surroundings. Her companions also examined the corpse, and, having satisfied themselves that their comrade was dead, and that her murderer was not to be found, returned to the nest. Soon afterwards a large worker ant, guarded by two soldier ants, came out, and, proceeding to the body, picked it up, carried it down the tree and away beneath the gra.s.s, where I lost sight of them.

[78] In order to avoid technicalities I think it best to use synonyms with which the general student is familiar. The non-technical reader will know at once what is meant by the "blood" of the ant.--W.

In this instance there is every evidence of complex reasoning; the discoverer of the murder hurried away into the nest, where she gave the alarm; the police of the community--the soldier ants--went immediately to the scene of the tragedy, made an examination, and then returned and gave in their report; the undertaker, in the shape of the large worker ant, then went out, got the body, carried it away and buried it; the two soldier ants followed the body to the grave in order to protect it from cannibal ants.

It has been my good fortune to have witnessed several pitched battles between large bodies of ants. In a battle between some black ants and some yellow antagonists of another species, I saw many evidences of intelligent communication. The yellow ants had a commissariat and an ambulance corps; and I frequently saw them drop to the rear during the battle, and partake of refreshments or have their wounds attended to. The blacks, which composed the attacking army, were in light marching order, and had neither of these conveniences and necessary adjuncts. The yellow ants frequently sent back to their village for reenforcements; the ants that had been out on hunting expeditions when the battle was joined were notified as soon as they arrived at the nest, and immediately hurried off to join in the fray.

The blacks had discovered a herd of aphides belonging to the yellows, and had sought to surprise the guards and steal the herd; hence the battle. I am glad to report that the black horde was defeated by the brave yellow warriors and had to decamp, leaving many of its number dead upon the field of battle.

On another occasion I saw an army of red ants besieging a colony of small black ants. The object of the red ants was the theft of the pupae or young of the black ants. These pupae they take to their own nest and rear as slaves, the enslaved ants to all appearances becoming entirely satisfied with their condition, and working for their masters willingly and without demur. The besieged ants evinced a high degree of reason and forethought, for, as soon as the presence of the besiegers was noticed, strong guards were posted in all of the approaches to the nest, both front and rear. The red ants sent a detachment to surprise the colony from the rear; but they found that surprise was impossible, for they were met by a strong party of their gallant foes which vigorously opposed them. The red ants were, however, eventually victorious, and sacked the town, carrying away with them a large number of pupae.

I cheerfully bear witness to the fact that the great myrmecologist, Huber, was correct in his description of his experiment with the black slave.[79]

[79] Huber, _The Natural History of Ants_, p. 249; quoted also by Lubbock, _Ants, Bees, and Wasps_, p. 83; Romanes, _Animal Intelligence_, p. 65; Kirby and Spence, _Entomology_, p. 369 _et seq._

Our species of blacks and reds differ but very little in form and habits from their European kin; so the experiment may be easily performed by any one at all interested in this remarkable instance of "slave master, and master slave."--W.

Like Huber, I put some of these red slave-owners into a gla.s.s jar in which I placed an abundance of food. Notwithstanding the fact that this food was easy of access, being in fact immediately beneath their jaws, they would not touch it! I then placed a black slave in the jar; she at once went to her masters, and, after thoroughly cleansing them with her tongue, gave them food. These red ants would have starved to death in the midst of plenty, if they had been left to themselves.

This, at first glance, would seem to indicate an utter absence of reason in these red slave-owners. Such a conclusion, however, is by no means true. The facts indicate mental degeneration. So utterly subservient had they become to the ministration of the slaves, that they had even lost the faculty of feeding themselves!

Here, we have an example of degeneration in the mentality of an animal incident to the enervating influence of slavery. Sir John Lubbock's remarks anent the four genera of slave-making ants are so interesting that I may be pardoned for quoting them entire. Says he:--

"These four genera" (_Formica sanguinea_, _Polyergus_, _Strongylognathus_, _and Anergates_) "offer us every gradation from lawless violence to contemptible parasitism.

"_Formica sanguinea_, which may be a.s.sumed to have comparatively recently taken to slave-making, has not yet been materially affected.

"_Polyergus_, on the contrary, already ill.u.s.trates the lowering tendency of slavery. They have lost their knowledge of art, their natural affection for their young, and even the instinct of feeding. They are, however, bold and powerful marauders.

"In _Strongylognathus_ the enervating influence of slavery has gone further, and told even on the bodily strength. They are no longer able to capture their slaves in open warfare. Still they retain a semblance of authority, and, when aroused, will fight bravely, though in vain.

"In _Anergates_, finally, we come to the last scene of this sad history.

We may safely conclude that in distant times their ancestors lived, as so many ants do now, partly by hunting, partly on honey; that by degrees they became bold marauders, and gradually took to keeping slaves; that for a time they maintained their strength and agility, though losing by degrees their real independence, their arts, and many of their instincts; that gradually even their bodily force dwindled away under the enervating influence to which they had subjected themselves, until they sank to their present degraded condition--weak in body and mind, few in numbers and apparently nearly extinct, the miserable representatives of far superior ancestors, maintaining a precarious existence as contemptible parasites of their former slaves."[80]

[80] Lubbock, _Ants, Bees, and Wasps_, pp. 88, 89.

This is truly a wonderful picture of mental and physical degeneration incident to the enervating influences of slavery. That it is a true one, an abundance of data most emphatically declares. The influence of slavery on the human race (the masters) shows very plainly that man himself quickly, comparatively speaking, loses his stamina when subjected to it.

This fact is but another proof of the kinship of all animals, and the similarity, nay, the sameness, of mind in man and the lower animals; mind is the same in kind, though differing in degree.

When an animal is placed amid new and unfamiliar surroundings necessitating the evolvement of intelligent action in order to meet the necessities of such environment, such an animal evinces ratiocination.

I have seen many instances of such action on the part of ants. The following data concerning the natural history of the honey-making ant (_Myrmecocystus mexica.n.u.s_) are taken from my note-book.

During the summer of 1887 I spent several weeks in New Mexico, and while there had the great good fortune to discover a colony of honey-making ants. I found these ants in a little valley debouching out of Huerfanos Park, a government reservation, I believe, at that time. The nest was situated on the sandy sh.o.r.e of a small creek, and was a perfect square of three or four feet, from which all gra.s.s, weeds, etc., had been carefully removed. Around three sides of this square, viz., north, east, and west, a column of black soldier ants continually patrolled night and day.

Near the southeast corner of this open s.p.a.ce the entrance to the nest was situated. The south side of the square was not guarded, but was left open for the entrance and exit of the hundreds of dark yellow workers which were engaged in bringing food to the village. No sooner was a burden put down than it was seized by black workers, which then carried it into the nest. At no time did I see a black worker bringing food to the centre of the square, nor did I ever see a yellow worker carrying food into the nest; the blacks and the yellows never interfered with one another's business.

To test the reasoning powers of these ants, I partially disabled a centipede and threw it into the square a short distance from the patrol line. For a moment or two the line was broken by the warriors hurrying out to do battle with the squirming intruder. But only for a moment or two, for orders were issued by some ant in authority (so it seemed, and so I believe), and the line was established, though somewhat thinned by the absence of soldiers. The messenger was sent to headquarters and reenforcements were sent out, and soon the line was as strong as ever, though hundreds of soldiers were warring with the centipede. The latter was soon killed, and its body was removed piecemeal by the yellow workers, which carried the fragments far beyond the boundaries of the square.

Again, with my hunting-knife I dug a deep trench across the border of one side of the square. The ants seemed dazed at first, but rapidly adapted themselves to their new surroundings. They extended their patrol line until it embraced the entire trench; then a countless horde of yellow workers went to work, and in a day's time filled up the deep excavation level with the surrounding surface! The patrol was then reestablished on the old line as though nothing had occurred to interrupt the ordinary routine of the colony. Before leaving the valley I dug up the nest and examined the peculiar individuals whose enforced habits give to these interesting ants the name of "honey-makers." Each one of these curious creatures was confined in a separate cell, the entrance to which was very small. Here they lived in absolute seclusion, being fed by the black workers with pollen, the nectar of flowers, tender herbs, etc.

Through some wonderful chemical process this food was turned into a delicious honey, the flavor of which (I ate of it freely) was distinctly winy and aromatic.

Apparently, they had no a.n.a.l orifices, these pa.s.sages probably having been obliterated. These imprisoned honey-makers were merely animated bags of honey, and were kept by the other ants solely for the purpose of furnishing a never failing supply of sweet and wholesome food.[81]

[81] Compare Romanes, _Animal Intelligence_, p. 111 _et seq._ At the time when these details were written in my note-book I was unacquainted with Captain Fleeson's and Mr. Edwards's observations, nor had I read Romanes's work on _Animal Intelligence_. I had heard of _Myrmecocystus_, of course, but knew nothing of its natural history.

Comparison will show that my observations differ from those of the gentlemen mentioned above. I saw nothing whatever of the web described by Captain Fleeson: the honey-making _solitaires_ were simply confined in cells, where they rested on the bare ground; they were not perched upon "a network of squares, like a spider's web." The "outside"

workers observed by me were not black, but very dark yellow, while the "inside" workers were bright yellow in color.--W.

The rapidity with which these ants set to work to fill in the trench made by my hunting-knife showed that they recognized, at once, the calamity that had befallen them, and that they used rational methods in remedying the evil.

The fact that they have evolved the idea of setting aside certain members of the colony as honey-makers, and that there is a distinct recognition of a division, or divisions, in the labor of the inhabitants of the nest, evinces very high psychical development.

In a colony of _Termes_, or white ants, so-called, there are five kinds of individuals. _First_, the workers. These do all the work of the nest, collecting provisions, waiting on the queen, carrying eggs to the nurseries, feeding the young until they are old enough to care for themselves, repairing and erecting buildings, etc. _Second_, the nymphs.

These differ in nothing from the workers, except that they have rudimentary wings. _Third_, the neuters. These are much less in numbers than the workers, but exceed them greatly in bulk. They have long and very large heads, armed with powerful mandibles, and are the sentinels and soldiers of the colony. These neuters are blind. _Fourth_ and _Fifth_, the males and females. These are the perfect insects, capable of continuing the species. There is only one each in every separate society. They are exempted from all labor, and are the common father and mother of the community.

Termes inhabit tropical countries, and the first establishment of new colonies takes place in this way: In the evening, at the end of the dry season, the males and females, having arrived at their perfect state, emerge from their nest in countless thousands. They have two pairs of wings, and with their aid mount immediately into the air. The next morning they are found covering the ground, and deprived of their wings.

They then mate. Scarcely a single pair in many millions escape their enemies--birds, reptiles, beasts, fishes, insects, especially the other ants, and even man himself. The workers, which are continually prowling about their covered ways, occasionally meet one of these pairs. They immediately salute them, render them homage, and elect them father and mother of a new colony. All other pairs not so fortunate perish.

As soon as they are chosen king and queen, or rather, father and mother, they are conducted into the nest, where the workers build around them a suitable cell, the entrances to which are large enough for themselves and the neuters or soldiers to pa.s.s through, but too small for the royal pair. Thus they remain in prison as long as they live. They are furnished with every delicacy, but are never allowed to leave their prison. The female soon begins to oviposit--the eggs, as fast as they are dropped, being carried away into the nurseries by the workers. As the queen increases in dimensions, they keep enlarging the cell in which she is confined. Her abdomen begins to extend until it is two thousand times the size of the rest of the body, and her bulk equals that of twenty thousand workers. She becomes one vast matrix of eggs. I once saw a queen which measured three and one quarter inches from one extremity of her body to the other. There is continual oviposition, the queen laying over eighty thousand eggs in twenty-four hours, or one egg every second. As these females live about two years, they will lay some sixty million eggs.

In the royal cell there are always some soldiers on guard and workers administering to the royal pair. The activity and energy of these workers is truly wonderful. In New Mexico, where I found a family of insects closely resembling true _Termes_, I once had an opportunity of observing this extraordinary energy. I broke off a portion of their dome-shaped nest, and in an incredibly short time they had mended the breach and restored their domicile to the same condition it was before I had molested it. If you attack a termite building and make a slight breach in its walls, the laborers immediately retire into the inmost recesses of the nest and give place to another cla.s.s of its inhabitants, the warriors. Several soldiers come out to reconnoitre, they then retire and give the alarm. Then several more come out as quickly as possible, followed in a few moments by a large battalion. Their anger and fury are excessive. If you continue to molest them, their anger leaps all bounds.

They rush out in myriads, and, being blind, bite everything with which they come in contact.[82] If, however, the attack is not continued, they retire into the nest, with the exception of two or three which remain outside. The workers then appear and begin to repair the damaged wall.

One of the soldiers remaining outside acts as overseer and superintendent of construction. At intervals of a minute or two it will strike the wall with its mandibles, making a peculiar sound. This is answered by the workers with a loud hiss and a marked acceleration in their movements.

Should these ants again be disturbed, the laborers would vanish, and the warriors would take their places, ready and willing to fight to the death in defence of their community.[82]

[82] Compare Kirby and Spence, _Entomology_.

While it is undoubtedly true that instinct can be highly differentiated, so that in its action it seemingly approaches reason, it is also equally true that instinct, fundamentally, is but a blind impulse. The impulse to fight on the part of these soldier termites is, unquestionably, instinctive, but the psychical habitudes which originate division and part.i.tion of labor, which set apart certain individuals (in no wise different from their fellows) as officers and overseers, which, beyond peradventure, are able to incite the laborers to greater effort by commands that are clearly understood and intelligently obeyed, surely such psychical characteristics cannot be embraced in the category of instinctive impulses--mere blind followings-out of inherited impressions!

Instinct is the bugbear of psychology and does more to r.e.t.a.r.d investigation than any other factor. As long as people of the creationist stamp wield the instinct-club, just so long will they be unable to grasp the idea of intelligent ratiocination in the lower animals. A company of men rebuilding a wall which has been overthrown by a tempest are said to be governed and directed by reason, while a company of ants doing precisely the same thing, and with just as much intelligence, are said to be directed by instinct![83]

[83] It is often the case that animals find themselves amid surroundings in which they are required to evince original ideation and fail so to do. But, is man any different? How often do we find ourselves checkmated and puzzled by trivial circ.u.mstances, which, on being explained, are seen to be exceedingly simple!--W.

In the neighborhood of h.e.l.l's-Half-Acre, a desolate and rocky valley a short distance from Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1887, I discovered several communities of harvester ants, and closely and carefully observed their habits. The first time I noticed them was early in the spring, when they seemed to be engaged in planting their grain. They were bringing out the little gra.s.s-seeds by the hundreds and thousands, and carrying them some distance from the nest, where they were dropped on the turf. It is possible that these ants were only getting rid of spoiled grain, but I think not, for several of the seeds secured and planted by me germinated.

I observed them again in about a month, and the gra.s.s was growing finely on the plat where they had deposited the seeds. Not a single stalk of any other kind of gra.s.s and not a single weed were to be seen in this model grain-field. The ants had evidently removed every plant that might interfere with the growth of their grain.

I saw them again in August when they were reaping the crop and storing the grain away in their nests. The ants would climb the gra.s.s-stems until they came to the seeds; these they would then seize in their mandibles, outer sheath and all, and, by vigorously twisting them from side to side, would separate them from the stalk; they would then crawl down and carry them into the nest. I did not notice here the roads and pathways so generally found leading to the nests of the Texas variety of the harvester. Around the nests the surface of the ground was smooth and bare, but there were no highways or roads leading to them.

Among the workers I saw some ants whose heads and mandibles were very large. These ants never engaged in any of the agricultural pursuits of their sisters; they were the soldiers and the sentinels of the community.

One nest migrated while I had them under observation, and I had the pleasure of witnessing the behavior of these fearless little warriors when on the march. The ants were moving nearer to their grain-fields, and were carrying with them their young, etc. The route, from the old home to the new, was patrolled on either side by soldiers. Every now and then I saw one of these individuals rush aside, elevate herself on her hind legs, shake her head, and clash her mandibles. She acted as if she saw some danger menacing the marching column and would ward it off.

Others climbed little twigs or tufts of gra.s.s and scanned the surrounding country from these elevated and commanding positions. Others hurried up the laggards and stragglers, and even carried the weak and infirm.