THE EVOLUTION OF ANTS
By William Morton Wheeler
Professor of Entomology and Dean of the Bussey Institution for Research in Applied Biology, Harvard University
The term “evolution” is used by biologists to cover one of the aspects of “development,” which in turn merges into the universal phenomenon of “change.” Most people regard change as a matter of course, merely noting its occurrence and its various forms and adapting themselves to it, whether it occurs in their own lives, in the lives of other human beings, or in the lives of animals and plants, but to reflective observers, during the past three thousand years, change has always seemed so extraordinary as to constitute the basis of philosophy or the occasion for philosophical speculation. Since the wonderful complexity and diversification of the world is due to change, and since to us the outstanding features in this diversification are human beings and other organisms, it is easy to see why the origin and meaning of change should have been sought and discussed so ardently, and for so many centuries.
There are three groups of facts with which even the most casual observer of the constantly changing organic world is familiar. First, he knows of the development of animals from eggs and of plants from seeds. Second, he sees the possibility and the usefulness of making a rough classification of animals and plants, and he notes that among the various kinds of animals and plants there are in nature certain forms
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