The natural history of ants : from an unpublished manuscript in the archives of the Academy of Sciences of Paris / by René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur ; translated and annotated by William Morton Wheeler.

  • Réaumur, René-Antoine Ferchault de, 1683-1757.
Date:
1926
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The natural history of ants : from an unpublished manuscript in the archives of the Academy of Sciences of Paris / by René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur ; translated and annotated by William Morton Wheeler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of their peculiar social behaviour, that they have played an important rôle in the folk-lore as well as in the rudimental zoological science of all peoples. The more or less mythical views of early observers and writers in regard to them may, therefore, interest the ethnologist and archæologist even when they have little or no interest for the biologist. In the essay on Reaumur’s life and work I have endeavoured to reinstate him as the greatest and from our present point of view the most modern-minded naturalist of the eight¬ eenth century. This essay is frankly addressed to our young entomologists in the hope that some of them may be per¬ suaded to undertake a more searching inquiry into Reau¬ mur’s life, labours and influence. Of course, such a quest will have to be pursued in France and will involve a scrutiny of unpublished documents belonging to the first half of the eighteenth century. I have appended to the annotations a full bibliography of Réaumur’s writings, because its mere perusal gives a more satisfactory picture of the extraordinary range of his investigations than any of his biographies. I am indebted to my friend, Dr. E. B. Holt, for carefully reading my translation of the Histoire des Fourmis and sug¬ gesting many improvements in diction. To my friends Pro¬ fessor Bouvier and Professor Maurice Caullery I am under lasting obligations for the interest they have shown and the assistance they have given me, in connection with my study of Reaumur and my other occupations in Paris. I wish also to thank Dr. George Sarton, lecturer in the History of Science at Harvard University, for certain biblio¬ graphical references, and M. P. A. Lemoisne, director of the Cabinet des Estampes, for his kindness in sending me the photograph of Simonneaux’ likeness of Réaumur in the Bibliothèque Nationale for use as the frontispiece of the volume. W. M. Wheeler Bussey Institution, Forest Hills, Boston, Massachusetts, December 31st, 192.5.