90 EGGS, &C. OF ANTS, 
licitude for the ants, freshly transformed : 
they lie for some days under the necessity 
of watching and following them ; they ac- 
company them in their excursions, point 
out to them the paths and labyrinths of 
their habitation, and nourish them with 
the greatest care ; they also perform the 
‘difficult task of extending the wings of 
the males and females, which would 
otherwise remain folded up, and acquit 
themselves with such address, as not to 
injure these frail and delicate members. 
At one time, they bring together, in 
the same apartments, the males they find 
rambling ; at another time, act as guides 
never spin, and they would of course experience 
the same inconvenience as those I drew too hastily 
from their cocoon. To this I answer, that nature 
has provided for this case in another manner :— 
the body of these Ants is very different from that of 
others, their elongated peduncle gives greater 
liberty to the abdomen, to move, bend, and extend 
itself, than the peduncle of the first, which is closely 
attached to the corslet. They have, in addition, a 
sting, which may also facilitate their developement, 
for the pupz at first possess much strength and 
vivacity, although they soon after pass into a state 
of lethargy. — A. 
