IV 



SOCIAL HOMES 



nigh invariably, their ceilings present uneven surfaces, 

 being in fact the natural condition of the soil after the 

 sandy pellets and pebbles have been abstracted by the 

 workers. The evenly-spread earth is adapted for 

 gangways ; the roughness of the ceilings enables the 

 honey-bearers to cling to them as to a perch. 



FIG. 24. Nest of a Tree Ant ((EcoJ>hylla smaragdina) from India. ^ 



In the homes of the Harvesting Ants of Europe 

 (Atta structor and barbard] elevations above the soil 

 are wanting. The large mounds frequently seen at 

 the entrances are rubbish-heaps, the kitchen-middens 

 of the establishments (see Fig. 21). Earth pellets and 

 grains of gravel brought out in forming the subter- 



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