THE SOCIAL INSECTS 



most primitive of human societies. Their most marked 

 characteristic is that within the limits set by the abilities of 

 the species, everything appears to be done for the good of 

 the community and only the necessary minimum for that of 

 the individual. Such societies are well worth studying, not 

 because we are ever likely to wish to imitate them but because 

 of the light they throw on the general principles of organisa- 

 tion and because of the fascination of their extraordinary 

 behaviour. It is, moreover, a field in which many striking 

 discoveries have recently been made, suggesting how much 

 more still awaits the patient investigator. 



HOW INSECTS WORK 



All the many kinds of insects are built on a rather uniform 

 common plan, very different from the one seen in the 

 mammals. In the diagram of a queen ant on this page, the 



Fig. i 

 Queen ant (Lasius), to show the parts of the body. 



16 



