HYMENOPTERA 



255 



FIG. 404. Wheat straw-worm, spring genera- 

 tion. (Much enlarged) 



, />, larvae ; /, female. (After Riley, United States 

 Department of Agriculture) 



abdomen of true ants forms a sort of knot or tooth between the 

 thorax and abdomen. The males and females are winged and mate 



in their nuptial flight, 

 which may often be ob- 

 served on a warm summer 



^^k L WJWk J* day, when the air will be 



filled with them. After 

 this the males soon die, 

 but the females bite off 

 their wings and either 

 found a new colony or are 

 taken in bv some workers. 



J 



The workers, or neuters, 

 are wingless, undeveloped 

 females. They may upon 

 necessity lay eggs, but 

 these give rise to males 

 only. The workers do all 



the work of the colony, caring for the eggs and larvae, which they 



feed and bring up with all the nicety 



of the best-ordered nursery. The true 



females, or so-called queens, merely 



lay the eggs, having no control over 



the colony, which is managed on the 



most socialistic lines by the workers. 



There are frequently many different 



sizes and forms of workers, each of 



which has a particular sort of work. 



Thus the large-headed, strong-jawed 



individuals are naturally the soldiers, 



while others look after the larvae and 



eggs. Ants feed on various animal 



substances, being very fond of dead 



insects and sweets of all kinds. It is 



the latter taste which leads many 



species to take such care of the little 



FIG. 405. Ants attending aphids. 



green plant-lice (see page 127), which (Slightly enlarged) 



give off the sweet honey-dew of which (Photograph by weed) 



