Origin of Species Variorum

→ which 1866

or of the same kind, which 1859 1860 1861

which, as I believe, 1869 1872

→ by 1859 1860 1861 1866

different from the fertile males and females through 1869 1872

→ as I believe to be quite possible, different 1859 1860 1861 1866

we may conclude 1869 1872

→ fertile males and females— in this case, we may safely conclude from the 1861 1866

fertile males and females,— in this case, we may safely conclude from the 1859 1860

OMIT 1869 1872

→ at first appear 1866

probably at first appear 1859 1860 1861

first arise 1869 1872

→ fertile parents 1859 1860 1861 1866

communities with females 1869 1872

→ have the desired 1859 1860 1861 1866

be thus 1869 1872

→ neuter insects of 1861 1866

neuter-insects of 1859 1860

in 1869 1872

→ species, in the same nest, 1859 1860 1861 1866

nest neuter insects, 1869 1872

It will indeed be thought that I have an overweening confidence in the principle of natural selection, when I do not admit that such wonderful and well-established facts at once annihilate

the

theory. In the simpler case of neuter insects all of one

caste

caste,

→which have been rendered →by natural selection, →as I believe to be quite possible, different from the →fertile males and females— in this case, we may safely conclude from the analogy of ordinary variations, that

the

each

successive, slight, profitable

modifications

modification

did not →at first appear in all the

~~individual~~

individual

neuters in the same nest, but in

some

few alone; and that by the

survival

long-continued selection

of the →fertile parents which

produce

produced

most neuters

having

with

the

advantageous

profitable

modification, all the neuters ultimately

come

came

to →have the desired

characterized.

characterised.

character.

According to

this view we ought occasionally to find →neuter insects of the same →species, in the same nest, presenting gradations of structure; and this we do find, even

often,

not rarely,

frequently,

considering how few

neuter-insects

neuter insects

out of Europe have been carefully examined. Mr. F. Smith has shown

that

how surprisingly

the neuters of several British ants differ

surprisingly from

from

each other in size and sometimes in colour; and that the extreme forms can

~~sometimes~~

sometimes

~~perfectly~~

perfectly

linked together by individuals taken out of the same nest: I have myself compared perfect gradations of this kind. It

sometimes

often

happens

happen

that the larger or the smaller sized workers are the most numerous; or that both large and small are numerous,

whilst

with

those of an intermediate size

are scanty

scanty

in numbers. Formica flava has larger and smaller workers, with some

few of

intermediate size; and, in this species, as Mr. F. Smith has observed, the larger workers have simple eyes (ocelli), which though small can be plainly distinguished, whereas the smaller workers have their ocelli rudimentary. Having carefully dissected several specimens of these workers, I can affirm that