Insects.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



379 



of stout cardboard, thickly covered with conical 

 knobs of various shapes, which are firm and solid. Its 

 inner structure bears great resemblance to that of 

 the last described, but the doors of access from story 

 to story are at the side of each platform. The ex- 

 ternal entrances are protected by knotted pent-roofs, 

 as a security against rain ; the combs or platforms 

 are fourteen in number, and many of the cells were 

 found to contain honey, but time had rendered it 

 nearly tasteless (p. 315 et seq ). Besides the species 

 belonging to this nest, several other South American 

 wasps store honey, as was observed by Azara, and 

 also by M. Auguste de St. Hilaire. The latter natu- 

 ralist found, as he states, near the river Urus^uay, an 

 ova! grey-coloured nest, of a papery consistence, like 

 that of the European wasps, suspended from the 

 branches of a small shrub, about a foot from the 

 ground. He and two attendants partook of the 

 honey, which was of very superior flavour, but which 

 produced poisonous effects on all three. The insect 

 he named Polistes Sechequana (' Ann. des Sc' 1824, 

 vol. iv. p. 33.5 ; and also Mr. White's paper above re- 

 ferred to). We may observe that the honey of bees 

 where poisonous plants abound has been known to 

 produce deleterious effects ; but whether the honey 

 of the wasp in question was noxious merely by acci- 

 dent, or whether such is always its nature, does not 

 appear to be ascertained. From social bees and 

 wasps we pass to anotherfaraily of insects, the labours 

 and instincts of which are well worthy of consider- 

 ation. We allude to ants, of which several species 

 are indigenous in our island. 



We need not say that these insects are gregarious, 

 multitudes uniting in the construction of nests or 

 dwellings, and in various works for the common good. 



The inhabitants of an anfs nest consist of males, 

 females, and workers ; besides eggs, larva;, and pupae. 

 The males and females have, when they first emerge 

 from the pupa state, four delicate transparent wings ; 

 the workers, or neuters, which are really imperfect 

 females, never have wings ; in some species the 

 neuters are of two dimensions, some greatly exceed- 

 ing the others in bulk, as in Formica rufa and F. 

 flava, but the duties which devolve upon them do 

 not appear to dift'er : they defend the community, 

 they nurse and feed the larvae, they forage for pro- 

 visions, they form roads, they build and repair the 

 nest or formicary, they guard the queens and attend 

 to their wants ; and in some cases they assemble for 

 the purpose of carrying on a warfare against the 

 tenants of other sertlements. 



Various are the modes in which the different spe- 

 cies construct their cities. The Turf-ant (Formica 

 caespitum), a small dusky brown species, frequent in 

 commons and fields, is usually found to select a tuft 

 of herbage or long grass, the stems of which serve to 

 support the top and walls, while the blades spread 

 over it. The structure of this tenement is very slight, 

 and consists of small grains of earth, piled up with- 

 out any other cement than water, or the dew and 

 moisture of the ground, which produces a sufficient 

 degree of adhesion between the particles. We have 

 seen it made almost wholly of grains of sand, which 

 were so skilfully arranged as to retain their position. 

 Internally are galleries and various chambers. 



The yellow ant, Formica fiava, uses the dust of 

 decayed wood or particles which it gnaws from 

 mouldering logs or frees, and mixes this material, by 

 means of its mandibles, with earth and spiilers' webs, 

 and with these materials it builds the chambers, 

 stages, and galleries of its edifice. 



The nest of the fallow-ant, horse-ant, or wood-ant 

 (Formica rufa), the largest of our British species, and 

 not uncommon in woods and pleasure grounds, pre- 

 sents a rude appearance ; externally it seems nothing 

 more than a hillock of sand and earth, with bits of 

 wood, dried particles of leaves, portions of twigs, and 

 even grains of corn, all as it were mixed together, 

 and forming a mound of considerable size. Inter- 

 nally it contains numerous chambers, arranged in 

 separate stories, some deeply excavated in the earth, 

 others near the centre and even near the surface of 

 the hillock, and communicating with each other by 

 means of galleries ; several passages lead to the out- 

 side, the entrances being kept open or closed accord- 

 ing to the state of the weather. 



The red ant (Myrmica rubra), common in gardens, 

 makes burrows and chambers under stones or in the 

 ground. 



The brown or ash-coloured ant (Formica fusca), 

 makes storied habitations of clay, in which it shows 

 equal ingenuity and industry. 



The societies of the fuligmous or jet ant (F. fuli- 

 ginosa) make their habitations in the trunks of old 

 oaks or willow8,inwhich,wilh theirstrong mandibles, 

 they work out horizontal galleries, separated from 

 each other by thin partitions, and communicating 

 with each other. Sometnnes these excavations look 

 like halls supported by rows of pillars, rising story 

 above story, presenting a delicate and elaborate spe- 

 cimen of carved-work stained black ; but whether 

 from exposure of the wood to the atmosphere, or from 

 some ''manation from the ants, or the action of formic 

 Vol. II. 



acid — a peculiar secretion found in these insects, is 

 not apparent. Fig. 3664 shows a portion of wood 

 chambered by these ants. 



Fig. 3665 represents a section of the chambers and 

 gallery of the red garden-ant, which often makes its 

 nest under garden-walks. 



Figs. 3666, 3667, and 3668 represent various sorts 

 of apparatus used by Huber for studying the habits 

 of these insects ; they are artificial formicaries. 

 Many ants, ui the warmer parts of the globe, make 

 wonderful structures, which have attracted the notice 

 of travellers. Malouet saw, in Guiana, ant-hills liom 

 fifteen to twenty feet in height, and from thirty to forty 

 feet in circumference at tlie base, but was deterred 

 from approaching them within forty paces by the 

 fear of being devoured. Stedman, when in Surinam, 

 passed ants' nests six feet in height, and one hundred 

 in circumference. Mr. Darwin says, " A person, on 

 first entering a tropical forest (in South America), is 

 astonished at the labours of the ants ; well-beaten 

 paths branch off in every direction, on which an army 

 of never-failing foragers may be seen, some going 

 forth, others returning burdened with pieces of green 

 leaf, often larger than their own bodies." Dampicr 

 describes a small yellow ant of South America, whose 

 sting is like a spark of fire, and which makes nests in 

 great trees, placed on the trunk between the large 

 bifurcations, often equalling a hogshead in size ; 

 these nests are their winter retreats ; great paths 

 through the woods, of the breadth of four inches, are 

 trodden by them, and thousands maybe seen return- 

 ing with portions of green leaf so large that he could 

 scarcely see the insect for its burden : the path looked 

 like a moving line of green. In Australia a species 

 of ant builds a curious nest by bending down several 

 adjacent leaves, and gluing them together so as to 

 form a purse ; they sting with great severity. Another 

 species, of a black colour, in New South Wales, ex- 

 cavates the branches of trees by working out the pith 

 almost to the extremity of the slendeiest twig — the 

 tree at the same time flourishing as if it had no such 

 inmates; on breaking off a branch the traveller is 

 covered with them, and also experiences their stings. 

 Other species, again, make iiuge nebts of clay in the 

 trees, conspicuous at a great distance. 



To return to the European ants. If in the month 

 of August or September an ants'-nest be watched 

 some glowing day, thousands of winged ants will 

 be seen issuing forth, rising in the air with a slow 

 movement, and settling on gates, stones, and posts. 

 These are the males and females, which have just 

 emerged from the pupa state, and attained tlieir 

 complete development. Astonishing clouds of these 

 are sometimes seen: — the swarms of a whole dis- 

 trict seem to assemble together, and rise in the air 

 like columns of vapour, whirling and twisting about 

 as the living myriads composing the mass change their 

 position. Various instances of tliis extraordinary 

 swarming of ants are on record ; but want of space 

 precludes our citing them. It is now that the males 

 and females pair ; and were it not for the destruction 

 that takes place, greatly reducing the numbers of 

 the females, ants would become one of the pests of 

 mankind ; as it is, in some countries they are suffi- 

 ciently obnoxious. Birds prey upon them, and 

 myriaids are driven into rivers, ponds, and lakes. 

 With respect to the males, the end of their exist- 

 ence being accomplished, they all perish ; they have 

 neither sling for defence nor strong jaws for needful 

 labour and the acquisition of food. All the females, 

 which may be known by their size and the expan- 

 sion of their wings, and all the males, do not leave 

 the original nest ; or if they do, the workers scatter 

 themselves abroad in quest of fertile females, and 

 taking them prisoners, reconduct them to the nest, 

 dragging them along by force, and vigilantly guard- 

 ing them, lest they should escape which they seem 

 always disposed to do. In a short time they lose 

 their wings, which either fall off, or, as Huber says, 

 are purposely plucked of?, and the process of laying 

 the eggs commences. Numerous females, however, 

 escape, and become the founders of distinct colo- 

 nies. They lose or tear away their wings, construct 

 a cell, lay their eggs, and are soon accompanied, as 

 in the case of the wasp, by a crowd of workers. 



With respect to the imprisoned females, of which 

 there are sometimes several in a single nest, they 

 are attended each by a worker, who supplies their 

 wants. They exhibit no rivalry, but crowds follow 

 in their train ; and when they lay their eggs these 

 are taken by the workers, and arranged in the cham- 

 ber she is at the time occupying. According to 

 Huber, when a female is acknowledged as a parent, 

 the workers begin to pay her homage, very similar 

 to that which the bees render to their queen ; they 

 press round her, oft'er her food, conduct her by 

 her mandibles through the labyrinthine galleries, 

 and cany her over the steep and difficult passages, 

 while she coils herself up, so as to incommode her 

 bearers as little as possible. " In whatever apart- 

 ment." says Mr. W. Gould (' Account of English 

 Ants,' 1747), "a queen condescends to be present, 

 she commands obedience and respect. A universal 



gladness spreadsitself ttirough the whole cell, which 

 is expressed by particular acts of joy and exulta- 

 tion." "She is generally encircled by a cluster ot 

 attendants, who, if you separate them from her, soon 

 collect themselves into a body, and enclose her in 

 the midst." According to Huber, even il she dies, 

 they sometimes continue for months the same at- 

 tention to her ; brush her, lick her, and treat her with 

 the same courtly formality as if she were alive. 



But there are other duties to which the workers 

 have to attend. The minute eggs, scarcely per- 

 ceptible by the naked eye, which the females lay 

 from time to time, are carefully collected and 

 moistened by the workers (a plan which seems ne- 

 cessary to their development), and laid in heaps in 

 separate apartments, or carried from one to another, 

 as they may require a warmer or a moister situation, 

 or as the weather may render needful. In a few 

 days the young grubs are disclosed, and require the 

 most unremitting care. Not only fiave they to be 

 fed, and to be removed on the approach of evening 

 to the lower range of cells, and in the sunny morn- 

 ing to those above, that they may enjoy the genial 

 warmth ; but upon every vicissitude of weather, a 

 shower, or approaching storm, tliey require some 

 change of situation, which renders the colony a 

 scene of bustle and excitement. The devotion of 

 the workers to the helpless larvse is indeed extreme, 

 and they spare neither labour nor their own lives 

 in the care and protection of their charge. The 

 larvae of most species, when fully grown, envelop 

 themselves in a cocoon of silk, and so assume the 

 pupa state; and still, however, they require the 

 same attention as previously, while other eggs and 

 larva; at the same time demand their services. 

 During all this time the settlement has to be kept 

 clean and in thorough repair ; fresh additions 

 have to be made, and food has to be found and 

 brought in. 



When the development of the perfect insect is at 

 hand, the aid of the workers is again in requisition. 

 They have an instinctive knowledge of the precise 

 moment when the insect inclosed in its shioud re- 

 quires their aid in eft'ecting its liberation. Three or 

 lour mount upon one cocoon, and gradually and 

 carefully open the silken envelope where the head 

 lies, and gently extract the prisoner. It is still 

 enwrapt in a thin delicate pupa-case, and they care- 

 fully and cautiously free it from this slough, clear- 

 ing the wings of the males and females, and the 

 limbs of both these and the workers. The new- 

 born brood is still watched and fed, till the workers 

 acquire strength and intelligence, and the males 

 and females are ready to take wing. Some of these 

 latter are detained, or, as we have said, captured : 

 but the greater number taketheirflight, the females 

 founding other colonies. In the case of a female 

 founding a colony, she has to undergo most onerous 

 duties ; for unless she can attract a few stray workers 

 to assist her, she has to attend to her first young 

 brood herself: these, however, are mostly, if not 

 exclusively, workers, and destined to take the burden 

 and toil from off her hands for the future. 



We cannot doubt that ants are capable of com- 

 municating their wants and desires to each other. 

 Were this not the case, there could be no order in 

 the community. They are ever using their antenna;, 

 touching each other with them in various ways, and 

 appear thus to have a certain set of signals, univer- 

 sally understood by the species. They exhibit great 

 attention and sympathy towards the wounded of 

 their own colony, assist each other in difficulties, 

 or in carrying or dragging heavy burdens, ami ap- 

 pear to demonstrate pleasure on meeting their 

 comrades after absence. 



The food of ants is various, and consists alike of 

 animal and vegetable substances ; they are extremely 

 partial to saccharine matters, and to ripe fruit, as 

 plums, &c. ; but they do not hoard up grain lor winter 

 use, as has been loi!g believed, for they pass the- 

 cold season in a state of torpidity ; but as long as. 

 the temperature is moderate they pursue then- 

 usual avocations. But though ants do not form 

 magazines, they act in a still more extraordhiary 

 manner, which, were not the facts attested by the 

 highest authorities, might staggerthe most credulous. 

 It is well known that a sweet juice, called honey- 

 dew, exudes from the bodies of the aphides; and u\ 

 this saccharine exudation the ants are very fond. 

 In fact, as Kirby and Spence say, the aphides are 

 their milch-cattle, whicii willingly render to them 

 their liquid honey. They dispute among themselves 

 for the possession of these aphides, and a colony 

 often claims a right to the aphides of a neighbouring 

 plant or tree, and resists the attempt of any other 

 colony to poach on their manor. Sometimes they 

 enclose a group of aphides, on a branch, within a 

 cell of earth, and keep them in a sort of stable or 

 cow-house, as theirexclusive properly. The yellow 

 ant is stated to be one of the species most noted for 

 this kind of farming. It makes a mound-like nest 

 in the fields, and, desirous of having a herd of its 

 milch-cattle ready at hand, collects them in its under. 



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