244 INSECT ARCHITECTURE. 



of bees and wasps, are their jaws or mandibles ; but 

 though, these may not appear so curiously constructed as 

 the ovipositor file of the tree-hopper (^Cicada), or the rasp 

 and saw of the saw-flies {Tenthredinidoe), they are no less 

 efficient in the performance of what is required. Among 

 the carpenter-ants the emmet or jet-ant (F.fuliguwsa) holds 

 the first rank, and is easily known by being rather less in 

 size than the wood-ant, and by its fine shining black 

 colour. It is less common in Britain than some of the 

 preceding, though its colonies may occasionally be met 

 with in the trunks of decaying oak or willow trees in 

 hedges. 



" The labourers," says Huber, " of this species work 

 always in the interior of trees, and are desirous of being 

 screened from observation : thus every hope on our part is 

 precluded of following them in their several occupations. 

 I tried every expedient I could devise to surmount this 

 difficulty ; I endeavoured to accustom these ants to live 

 and work under my inspection, but all my eff"orts were 

 unsuccessful ; they even abandoned the most considerable 

 portion of their nest to seek some new asylum, and spurned 

 the honey and sugar which I offered them for nourishment. 

 I was now, by necessity, limited to the inspection only of 

 their edifices ; but, by decomposing some of the fragments 

 with care, I hoped to acquire seme knowledge of their 

 organization. 



" On one side I found horizontal galleries, hidden in 

 great part by their walls, which follow the circular direc- 

 tion of the layers of the wood; and on another, parallel 

 galleries, separated by extremely thin partitions, having 

 no communication except by a few oval apertures. Such 

 is the nature of these works, remarkable for their delicacy 

 and lightness. 



" In other fragments I found avenues which opened 

 laterally, including portions of walls and transverse par- 

 titions, erected here and there within the galleries, so as 

 to form separate chambers. When the work is further 

 advanced, round holes are alwaj^s observed, encased, 

 as it were, between two pillars cut out in the same wall. 



