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 anal orifices, these passages 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