78 EGGs, &c. OF ANTS. 
offer them nourishment, almost immedi- 
ately after they had themselves taken it ; 
perhaps honey and sugar dissolved in 
water. I presume, however, that the 
regimen is proportioned to the age and 
sex of each individual, that the aliment 
is more substantial the nearer the time 
of their metamorphosis, and that more 
is given to the larvee of females than to 
those of the workers and males; but the 
questions which have reference to the 
quality and quantity of these aliments 
are of difficult solution: however, as it 
is of some importance to ascertain if the 
nourishment which the larva takes has 
any influence upon the development of | 
the sexes in. the females of ants, as ob- 
tains in bees, I purpose making some ex- 
periments by nourishing myself the lar- 
vee of different species. Let us at pre- 
sent follow the workers in the last care 
they bestow upon the larvae; it is not 
sufficient to lay them in the sun and give 
them food; it is still necessary to keep 
them remarkably clean. ‘These insects, 
