CHAPTER Ii. 
THE ANTS :-—THEIR DOMESTIC ECONOMY— 
THEIR NUPTIALS. 
inasmuch as they are less specialized by their mode § 
of life, their nourishment, and the instruments of their 
industry. Generally, they adapt themselves to all ; 
conditions, and work in all climates; nor in all Nature 
do more energetic agents in purification and | | 
cleansing exist. They are, so to say, the facto- | 
3 
tums of Nature. 
of them, work in the darkness, under 
the earth; the ants both above and 
} 
The termites, at least the majority : 
below. | 
Like the termites, they build, at least in tropical countries, the 
most remarkable edifices,—domes under which their chrysalides enjoy 
16 B 
