402 SKETCHES OF INSECTS, 



notice in the economy of the ant-hill, and the satirist may here 

 find a pabulum to give force to his sarcasms upon the pursuits 

 of life. 



What a difference do we perceive in the results arising from 

 the commonwealth of the bees. Here continued industry is de- 

 voted to purposes of manifest utility; — order and arrangement 

 is discernible; hexagonal cells constructed upon mathematical 

 principles meet our view ; honey is gathered ; wax is fabricated ; 

 the whole community is sustained ; and not only are the " non- 

 productive classes" (as a political economist would say) main- 

 tained by the labour of the rest, but an ample store is provided 

 in magazines, which is reserved for the dreary time when no 

 flowers appear, or the cold renders an excursion hopeless or 

 useless. Will any one, then, be so hardy as to contend that 

 bees furnish no trace of economy or utility ? 



The Termites, or white ants of the tropics, display in their 

 economy and history many of the arts and arrangements of a 

 civilized nation. They live in immense communities in habita- 

 tions that, their size considered, are far more remarkable and 

 extraordinary than any structure ever raised by man, not even 

 excepting the pyramids. The king and queen occupy a central 

 chamber, attended by guards and servants, who, though they 

 treat them with every respect, will not permit their egress from 

 the royal apartment. The fecundity of the queen exceeds that 

 of any animal at present known, as she lays 80,000 eggs every 

 day,^ which the labourers of the nest convey to the nurseries, 

 where the young are hatched, fed, and carefully tended. The 

 nests are twelve feet in height, in shape like a sugar-loaf, arched, 

 so as to bear the tread of any animal, and impervious to the 

 rain. Within are innumerable arched rooms, passages, and 

 galleries; a central dome supported by Gothic arches, spiral 

 geometrical staircases leading to the summit of the building ; 

 and in many instances galleries are connected with each other by 

 elegant elliptic bridges ; while subterraneous passages of great 

 extent radiate all around the central building. These insects 

 constantly maintain a standing army, whose only duty is to fight 

 when required, leading a slothful luxurious life at other times. 

 Should the nest be attacked, all the labourers immediately dis- 

 appear — the soldiers mount the breach, fight with desperate 

 valour, never relaxing their hold upon an enemy — and the 

 moment the confusion and warfare is over, the soldiers retire to 

 refresh themselves, while the labourers return to repair damages 

 in the walls. 



Thus, then, a contemplation of the economy of this tribe of 

 insects only, furnishes abundant evidence that the study of 

 insects is not undeserving the attention of the most intellectual ; 



* At least at certain seasons. Whether this is continued throughout the year 

 is as yet unknown. 



