EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 77 
several species of bees and other insects, 
which provide before-hand for the wants 
of their little ones ; they give them every 
day the nourishment best suited to their 
condition; the instinct of the larve is 
sufficiently developed, to enable them to 
demand and receive their repast, in the 
same way as the young of birds receive 
it from their parents. When hungry, 
they erect their body, and search with 
their mouth that of the workers, who 
are appointed to nourish them. ‘The ant 
then separates its mandibles, and allows 
them to take from its very mouth the 
fluids they seek. 
I know not if these fluids undergo any 
change in the body of the workers, but 
I am far from believing it to be the 
case, since I have often seen the ants 
———— 
beetle that flits along at even-tide, lay in a worm- 
like state for a considerable period, locked up in 
the caverned chambers of the earth, and — but why 
proceed, when the whole insect tribe, generally 
speaking, undergo such developements. — T, 
E 3 
