CHAPTER II 

 NESTING ARCHITECTURE HOUSING THE COMMUNE 



THE housing of the commune is a duty that springs 

 up side by side with the existence of the commune. 

 In the typical beginning of an arit community by the 

 single fertilized queen, the first act of the incipient 

 foundress is to scoop out and heap around her, in earth 

 or wood, a cell whose diameter is somewhat greater 

 than the length of her own body. This is the rudimen- 

 tary house of the commune the primitive cave which 

 bounds the architectural aim of most animals, and 

 which is the starting-point with man himself (Fig. 16). 



With great numbers of species, this cave will be found 

 under a stone. A flat stone, not too large and not 

 deeply imbedded in the ground, if lifted up in the early 

 spring, or at any time during summer, will be found to 

 serve as a rocky roof which overspreads the vestibule 

 and protects certain galleries, halls, and passages into 

 an underground formicary. The mere fact of choosing 

 such a location for a nest is significant; for, besides the 

 protection and defence afforded, the stone absorbs the 

 sun's ravs and serves thus as a natural furnace, con- 



. 



tributing to the warmth of the ants and of their imma- 

 ture young. 



Like the ancient catacombs of Rome, which served 

 primitive Christians equally for home, for sanctuary, 

 and for cemetery, these subsurface chambers and 



v f 



17 



