80 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 
ants have also another occupation; that 
of extricating them from their cuticle, 
which becomes distended and soft at the 
period of their transformation. 
Previous. to changing this skin, the 
the nest contained pup only. In an after-visit to 
this nest, I reversed the experiment, by carrying 
away some of the pupae, and placing them in the 
nest from which I had before taken the larve. 
This done, a similar scene took place. The pupe 
were at first regarded with indifference. Some 
of the inhabitants then attempted a removal, to 
which there was, fora time, strong opposition. In a 
few minutes, however, they were carried off to the 
subterranean chambers. In these experiments, 
there was this slight difference: in the former in- 
stance, the ants retired, as it would seem, to de- 
liberate; in :the latter, they remained the whole 
time within sight, a little distance from the pupe. 
Had the larve or pupe been suffered to remain 
where first placed, this would have greatly em- 
barrassed the ants in their daily operations, this be- 
ing the spot where. they were in the habit of bring- 
ing their young to enjoy the sun’s warmth. But 
why they should take them. under-ground, in pre- 
ference to carrying and depositing them beyond the 
nest, is a question I can only answer by supposing 
they there conveyed them to insure their certain 
destruction, and thus prevent further molest- 
ation. — T. 
