This looks very like a power of reasoning, as it is decidedly beyond instinct.

If they were to carry out the eggs every morning, wet or dry, it would be an effort of instinct to the detriment of the eggs; but as the weather is uncertain, it is an effort of reason on the part of the ants to bring out the eggs to the sun, especially as it is not an every-day occurrence, even in fine weather.
In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turning the reasoning powers of the large black ant to advantage.
White ants are frequently seen passing in and out of a small hole from underneath a building, in which case their ravages could only be prevented by taking up the flooring and destroying the nest.
The negroes avoid this by their knowledge of the habits of the black ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white.
They accordingly pour a little treacle on the ground within a yard of the hole occupied by the white ants.

The smell of the treacle shortly attracts some of the black species, who, on their arrival are not long in observing their old enemies passing in and out of the hole.

Some of them leave the treacle; these are evidently messengers, as in the course of the day a whole army of black ants will be seen advancing, in a narrow line of many yards in length, to storm the stronghold of the white ants.

They enter the hole, and they destroy every white ant in the building.