42 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



flight, very shortly after settling on the ground, 

 they tear off their wings and begin their maternal 

 duties. The worker Ants show the greatest 

 respect and affection for their queen, a retinue 

 always attending upon her, feeding her, caressing 

 her with their antennae and displaying in various 

 ways their pleasure at her presence. The very 

 minute, oval-shaped, whitish eggs, directly they 

 are deposited by the queen, are taken under 

 the care of the nurse workers, who place them 

 in special chambers, keep them clean and 

 sufficiently moist by licking, and carry them 

 alternately to the upper and lower stories of the 

 nest, so that they are never exposed to too great 

 heat or cold, but kept at a uniform temperature. 

 When the larvae hatch out, they require even 

 more care and attention, for they are weak 

 legless grubs, unable to forage for themselves, 

 and capable of very little movement beyond a 

 slight curving and elongation of the anterior 

 part of the body when demanding food. There- 

 fore the workers have not only to clean them, 

 but also to feed them and carry them from one 

 part of the nest to another. Early in the morning 

 the workers bring the baby larvae from the 

 night-nurseries, situated fairly deeply in the nest, 

 to the day nurseries, which are situated in the 

 upper part of the nest. Should the morning be 

 warm and sunny, they may bring their precious 

 charges out on the top of the nest. We then 

 have an opportunity of watching how the workers 

 clean the babies by most carefully licking them 

 over and rubbing them down with their palpi. 

 The babies receive from time to time a supply 



