380 THE INSECT WORLD. 



the building, provisioning, and rearing of the larvae in fact, all the 

 care of the hdusehold, and the defence of the nest. Deprived of 

 wings, they are bound to the soil, and condemned to work. As com- 

 pensation, to them belong strength, authority, power : nothing is done 

 but through them. " Born protectors of an immense family still in 

 the cradle," says M. Victor Rendu, " by their vigilance, their tender- 

 ness, and their solicitude, without being mothers themselves, they 

 share in the duties and joy of maternity. Alone, they decide on 

 peace or war ; alone, they take part in combats : head, heart, and 

 arm of the republic, they ensure its prosperity, watch over its defence, 

 found colonies, and in their works show themselves great and perse- 

 vering artists." 



The nests of ants (Figs. 361, 362) are known under the name of 

 ant-hills. They vary very much, both as to their form and the mate- 

 rials employed in making them wood and earth are the principal. 

 That which strikes one at first sight, is the size of these dwellings, 

 which form a curious contrast to the smallness of their builders. Each 

 species of ant has an order of architecture peculiar to it. The Red 

 Ant (Formica rufa), one of the commonest in our woods, constructs a 

 little rounded hillock with all kinds of objects fragments of wood, 

 bits of straw, dry leaves, the remains of insects, &c. This hillock, the 

 base of which is protected by material of greater solidity, is nothing 

 more than the exterior envelope of the nest, which is carried under- 

 ground to a very great depth. Avenues, cleverly contrived, lead from 

 the summit to the interior. The openings vary in width ; and, as 

 night approaches, are carefully barricaded. They are opened every 

 morning, except on rainy days, when the doors remain shut, and the 

 inhabitants confined within. 



The ant-hill, or formicarium, is at first simply a hole hollowed out 

 in the soil, the entrance to which is masked by the building materials. 

 But the miners do not cease to hollow out galleries and chambers, 

 arranged by stories. The earth and rubbish are carried out, and 

 serve to construct the upper edifice, which rises at the same time that 

 the excavation grows deeper. It is a labyrinth bored in all directions. 

 It contains corridors, landings, chambers, and spacious rooms, which 

 communicate with each other by passages which are often vertical. 

 All the corridors lead to a large central space, loftier than the others, 

 and supported by pillars ; it is here that the greater number of the 

 ants congregate. These ant-hills often rise to a height of fifteen 

 inches above the ground, and descend to an equal depth. Fig. 362 

 shows the interior of an ant-hill, drawn from Nature. Outside it are 

 to be seen some ants occupied in sucking plant-lice. 



