II FOOD OF INSECTS 51 



to the third member of the trio of communal Hymen- 

 optera, the ants, which are believed to live from day 

 to day from hand to mouth. It would be almost super- 

 fluous for ants to store food, it is commonly asserted, 

 since, like most insects, they become stupid and 

 hybernate so long as the cold months last. Whether 

 this generally received opinion is altogether correct 

 remains to be seen. 



A native ant of Mexico (Myrmecocystns Mexicanus) 

 has recently been found plentiful in that section 

 of the country known as the Garden of the Gods, 

 Colorado, by the naturalist Dr. McCook. Early in 

 life certain numbers of its workers begin to show 

 unusual distension of the abdomen, gradually in- 

 creasing as time goes on, until this part of the body 

 assumes prodigious proportions in comparison with the 

 upper portion, the head and the legs. In perfect 

 cases it varies from the size of a large currant to 

 that of a tiny grape ; its appearance resembles a 

 transparent bubble. The external covering mem- 

 brane of this globe of tissue is excessively thin, and 

 one can see what is contained inside. The inflation 

 is due to a great accumulation of syrupy-like liquid, 

 which is sometimes whitish in colour, more commonly 

 of an amber shade. These ants are the living cells 

 or storehouses of food for the community. A com- 

 plete analogy may be established between the economy 

 of this remarkable structure and habit and that of 

 the bee in the storage of honey within the comb. 

 The rotund ants do not elaborate the secretion, they 

 are charged with it by those workers which are 

 honey gatherers, who, when they return to the nest 



E 2 



