AXT COMMUNITIES 



in order to get to the surface. But gradually the burrow 

 grows as the queen cuts off and squeezes together little 

 balls of earth, which are deported beyond the entrance. 

 When the terminal chamber is finished, the tubular 

 entrance is sealed up. Later a little packet of eggs is 

 laid. Beside it appears a small heap of loose white 

 substance which gradually enlarges until it reaches 

 the form of the spherical or elongated masses of gray 

 comb-like matter heretofore described. And now the 

 transparent pyriform globules of fungus - hyphse begin 

 to bud out, which Moller has called "kohlrabi." On 



Fig. 51 A 



PIECE OF LEAF-PULP WHICH FORMS THE MUSHROOM 



GARDEN (After Moller) 



these the ant feeds frequently. In truth, this is her 

 fungus garden. It becomes in time the source of her 

 food, just as an artificial mushroom cave or cellar pro- 

 duces nourishment for men (Fig. 51). 



In time the first workers are hatched, and they too are 

 fed upon the kohlrabi. As they increase in number 



96 



