232 INSECT ARCHITECTURE. 



earth. They require for their complete consolidation 

 nothing but the heat of the sun. It sometimes, however 

 happens that a violent rain will destroy the apartments 

 especially should they be but slightly arched; but under 

 these circumstances the ants reconstruct them with won- 

 derful patience. 



" These different labours were carried on at the same 

 time, and were so closely followed up in the different 

 quarters, that the ant-hill received an additional story in 

 the course of seven or eight hours. All the vaulted ceilings 

 being formed upon a regular plan, and at equal distances 

 from one wall to the other, constituted, when finished, 

 but one single roof. Scarcely had the ants finished one 

 story than they began to construct another ; but they had 

 not time to finish it — the rain ceasing before the ceiling 

 was fully completed. They still, however, continued their 

 work for a few hours, taking advantage of the humidity of 

 the earth ; but a keen north wind soon sprung up, and 

 hastily dried the collected fragments, which, no longer 

 {)0ssessing the same adherence, readily fell into powder. 

 The ants, finding their efforts ineffectual, were at length 

 discouraged, and abandoned their employment ; but what 

 was my astonishment when I saw them destroy all the 

 apartments that were yet uncovered, scattering here and 

 there over the last story the materials of which they had 

 been composed ! These facts incontestably prove that 

 they employ neither gum, nor any kind of cement, to bind 

 together the several substances of their nest ; but in place 

 of this avail themselves of the rain, to work or knead 

 the earth, leaving the sun and wind to dry and consolidate 

 it."* 



Dr. Johnson of Bristol observed very similar proceed- 

 ings in the case of a colony of red ants (^Myrmica I'uhra?), 

 the roof of whose nest was formed by a flat stone. During 

 dry weather, a portion of the side walls fell in ; but the 

 rubbish was quickly removed, though no repairs were 

 attempted till a shower of rain enabled them to work. As 

 soon as this occurred, they worked with extraordinary 

 * ]M. P. Hul3er on Ants, p. 31. 



