26 



HANDBOOK OF ANTS, BEES, ETC. 



One of the commonest examples in our own country is the 

 Garden Ant {Fo?'/nica nigra), which may be found everywhere 

 in gardens making its nest in the ground. 



Another common species is the pretty Turf Ant {^Formica flavd), 

 which generally haunts commons and heaths, casting up small 



Fig. 27. — Formica Lignipeda (.Worker). (Mag.) 



hills, which serve to throw off the rain ; and this species in some 

 localities makes its nest under stones. The Wood Ant {Formica 

 lignipeda) is another familiar species. 



A very large group of ants belong to the section Myrmicince, 

 the best-known species of which are the Red Ants, Alynnica rubra, 

 and their allies. 



A very minute species which has been introduced into this 

 country, probably from Brazil or the West Indies, is the Horse 

 Ant {Myrmica molesta). It is a very small brownish-yellow 



Fig. 2S.— Myrmica Rubra (Male). (Mag.) 



species, which seems to have been first observed in England in 

 1828. It takes up its abode in houses, frequently in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the kitchen fireplace, and when it multiplies becomes 

 such a pest as to render the house uninhabitable. Some of the 

 metropolitan districts have been particularly infested. 



