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 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.