Page:Harper's New Monthly Magazine - v109.djvu/658

606 hind legs she goes, smoothing out ruffled hairs and removing atoms of soil invisible to human eyes. Her toilet is ended at last. A few leisurely finishing-strokes and she rises, stretches herself, calmly climbs down her pedestal, and is immediately infected with the fervor that lashes on the surging throng around her, and is lost in the crowd. Meanwhile other workers have dropped out of the lines, and may be seen here and there at their ablutions. Thus it goes in the field, as one may easily see if he have tact and patience.

But artificial nests give the best opportunity for careful observation, although one must allow for the unnatural surroundings. No doubt with ants, as with man, artificial conditions of society induce greater attention to personal appearance. Thus the writer's imprisoned ants would invariably be drawn out from their underground lodgings by the light and heat of lamps at night. They would gather in clusters against the glass of the formicary next the lamp, and after some preliminary jostling and skirmishing for position, would begin to wash themselves. Slight elevations, afforded by irregularities in the surface, were favorite seats. The modes of operating are so various that it is difficult to describe them, much more to fix the attitudes with the pencil. But typical poses at least may be described.

In cleaning the head and fore parts of the body the insect often sits upon the two hind legs and turns the face to one side. Then the fore leg is raised and passed over the face from the vertex to the mandible—that is, from the top of the head to the mouth. Meanwhile the head is slowly turned to expose both sides to manipulation; and if this is not satisfactory the position is reversed and the opposite leg brought into play. In "doing up the back hair"—as one may say—the head is further dropped and the leg with its movable spur-comb, which has free play like a comb in a human hand, is thrown quite behind the vertex, and moved forward again and again through the tuft of hairs growing there. In these and other cleansing movements the leg will be drawn through the jaws at intervals, to moisten it or to wipe off the dust caught in the comb. The action reminds one of the alternations of pussy's paw between mouth and neck when washing the back of her head and ears.

Cleaning the abdomen and the stinging organs at the apex, which is surrounded by circles of hairs, places the ant in grotesque attitudes; although herein also one notes a miniature of the ways of domestic animals. For example, the hind legs will be thrown backwards and well extended; the middle pairs set nearly straight outward from the thorax and less extended, so that the body is nearly erect.