INSECTS. 



335 



of the young larvae, feeding them on the debris of fruit, 

 and on honey which is but little inferior to that of 

 bees. The adults live as foragers in orchards, where 

 their depredations often occasion serious loss. Their 

 stings are painful, and sometimes not without danger. 



Ants are social in their habits, like the preceding spe- 

 cies ; there are several thousand species, distributed all 

 over temperate and tropical countries: the termite, or 

 white ant, belongs to an entirely different order. They 



FIG. 298. 



A COMMON ANT (Lasius flavus). a, queen ; 6, worker ; c, male ; d, larva ; e, pupa. 

 (After Lubbock.) 



occur, as we shall see do also the bees, in three different 

 forms, males, females, and workers, and the latter are 

 without wings. The workers feed the Iarva3 and take 

 care of the pupae, carrying them into the sunshine, or 

 moving them from place to place when danger threatens. 

 The various species construct their nests of different 

 materials and in different manners ; most live in cham- 

 bered galleries ; some simply burrow under stones. The 



