ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS. 



CHAPTER 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Anthropoid apes no doubt approach nearer to 

 man in bodily structure than do any other animals ; 

 but when we consider the habits of Ants, their social 

 organisation, their large communities, and elaborate 

 habitations; their roadways, their possession of domestic 

 animals, and even, in some cases, of slaves, it must be 

 admitted that they have a fair claim to rank next to 

 man in the scale of intelligence. They present, more- 

 over, not only a most interesting but also a very ex- 

 tensive field of study. They are divided into three 

 families : the Formicidse, Poneridge, and Myrmicidse, 

 comprising many genera and a large number of species. 

 In this country we have rather more than thirty kinds ; 

 but ants become more numerous in species, as well 

 as individuals, in warmer countries, and more than a 

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