THE ANTS. 257 



period of repose j tliis^ liowever, is soon cast^ and the 

 young Ant is ready to assist its late nurses in tlieir 

 labours. The pupae of the Ants which are furnished 

 with a true sting are not enclosed in cocoons^ but the 

 reason of this difference in habit is not known. 



This is the process throughout the greater part of 

 the summer, but at a particular period a great number 

 of the pupse produce males and perfect females which^ 

 as already stated^ are furnished with wings. They 

 do not however quit the nest immediately after their 

 exclusion, but are detained by the workers for a longer 

 or shorter period^ until the arrival of a favourable day 

 for their aerial evolutions, for which they generally 

 select a warm, still afternoon. When the happy mo- 

 ment has arrived, the males and females rise at once 

 from the nest and hover for a time in the air, often 

 presenting the appearance of a floating cloud, to 

 which their shining mngs frequently give a glittering 

 aspect. This is the period of their short courtship ; 

 the union of the two sexes takes place in the air, and 

 when it is over they fall to the ground, the males and 

 many of the females becoming the prey of various 

 birds, whilst those which fall upon the surface of the 

 water are greedily devoured by fishes. When the 

 weather has been unfavourable for a time, a single 

 fine day appears to bring out the whole of the males 

 and females of a district simultaneously, and the air 

 is then sometimes so completely filled with them that 

 they become a perfect nuisance to the inhabitants. 

 The numbers evolved on such occasions are almost 

 incredible ; Kir by and S pence record one instance in 

 which a mass of Ants, measuring five or six miles in 

 length, eight or ten feet broad, and about six inches 

 in height, was observed floating down the Medway. 



