Ants, bees, and wasps : a record of observations on the habits of the social hymenoptera / by Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury).

  • Lubbock, John, Sir, 1834-1913.
Date:
1929
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Ants, bees, and wasps : a record of observations on the habits of the social hymenoptera / by Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    very unlikely that the result is produced in one way in the case of bees, and in another in that of ants. It is also a strong argument that in none of my nests, though thousands of workers and males have been produced, had I ever observed a queen to be so until the year 1879. On the whole, then, though I differ from so excellent a naturalist with much hesitation, I cannot but think that ants, like bees, possess the power of developing a given egg into either a queen or a worker [see Note 12]. I have already mentioned that the previous views as to the duration of life of ants turn out to be quite erroneous. It was the general opinion that they lived for a single year. Two of my queen ants lived, the one nearly fourteen, the other nearly fifteen years, viz. from December, 1874, to July, 1887, and August, 1888, respectively. During the whole time they enjoyed perfect health, and every year have laid eggs producing workers, a fact which suggests physiological conclusions of great interest. I have, moreover, little doubt that some of the workers now in this nest were among those originally captured, the mortality after the first few weeks having been but small. This, however, I cannot prove. A nest of F. sanguined, which M. Forel kindly forwarded to me on 12th September, 1875 (but which contained no queen), gradually diminished in numbers, until in February, 1879, it was reduced to two F. sanguinea and one slave. The latter died in February, 1880. One of the two mistresses died between 10th May and 16th May, 1880, and the other only survived her a few days, dying between the 16th and 20th. These two ants, therefore, must have been live years old at least. It is certainly curious that they should, after living so long, have died within ten days of one another. There was nothing, as far as I could see, in the state of the nest or the weather to account for this, and they were well supplied with food ; yet I hardly venture to suggest that the survivor pined away for the loss of her companion.