138 FECUNDATION OF ANTS. 
outside of this wood or plank, in which 
an opening had been made, I placed a 
variety of plants, chosen from among 
those which afford nourishment to the 
pucerons. We know that ants are very 
friendly to these insects, since they fur- 
nish them with their principal subsist- 
ence. It was in the superior part of the 
vessel that I placed the ants, their fe- 
male, their larva, and their pucerons. 
They gathered together a little earth, 
which they found scattered over the 
leaves, and constructed with it a little 
lodge, between the branches, where they 
conducted their queen. In a few days 
they discovered a narrow passage be- 
tween the glass and the border of the 
plank, and finding some moist earth un- 
derneath, they lost no time in construct- 
ing, in this place, lodges, paths, and 
vaulted chambers. ‘They transported thi- 
ther the greater part of the larve; but 
they could not so easily introduce the 
female. She had descended to the bor- 
der of the plank very willingly, and en- 
