NOTES ON HYMENOPTERA. 0/ 



conveniently observe their operations. By some misfortune 

 the queen died ; " the ants, as if not apprised of her death, 

 continued their obedience. They even removed her from 

 one part of the box to another, and treated her with the same 

 court and formality as if she had been aUve. This lasted 

 two months, at the end of which, the cover being open, they 

 forsook the box, and carried her off." " Many" (says 

 Gould) "are the moral instructions arising from the sight 

 of a colony of ants ; affection towards the young might teach 

 us to value posterity and promote its happiness. The obe- 

 dience they pay their queen might read us a lecture on true 

 loyalty and subjection. Their labour shame the lazy part 

 of mankind. From their oeconomy we may learn prudence ; 

 from their sagacity wisdom." 



Ants are found in great numbers on the hilly districts of 

 Yorkshire, particularly those species that belong to the 

 genus Mynidca ; the nests are most commonly found be- 

 neath stones ; in such situations I found them in the month 

 of September last. In the places alluded to, nests of three 

 species of the genus Formica are of common occurrence, — 

 those of F.Jfava, F. nnjra and of F.fuaca. I found many 

 colonies of the latter ant under stones ; most of them con- 

 tained larvae, or pupee, but I was surprised to find, that in 

 almost every instance, the pupae were naked, not enclosed in 

 cocoons; precisely as we always find the larvse of the 

 genus Myrmica, One of the most distinctive characteristic 

 differences in the habit of the species of the two genera, and 

 one usually regarded as being constant, is, that the Formicidce 

 spin cocoons when about to change from the, larva to the 

 pupa state, whereas the 3Iyrmicidce undergo their metamor- 

 phoses naked, that is, they do not spin cocoons ; this is the 

 usual habit of our indigenous ants. 



This apparent anomaly is not easily, if it be even possible 



