ORDERS OF INSECTS. 



161 



the duties necessary for the preservation of the colony, such 

 as procuring food, building the nest, and feeding the young. 

 As there is only one set, or " caste," of neuters, the duty of 



FIG. 72. Gooseberry Saw-fly (Tenthredo grossulari<%\ larva, pupa, and imago. 1 



defending the nest falls to the lot of all the workers, and is 

 not delegated to a special class of soldiers. The queen is the 

 founder of the colony, and her sole function, after starting the 

 community, is to lay eggs. The drones, or .males, do no work, 

 as a rule, and they either die, or are killed by the workers, as 

 soon as the female is fertilized. 



The Ants likewise form communities, consisting of males, 

 females, and neuters. The males and females, like those of 

 the very different "White Ants," or Termites, are winged 

 (Fig. 73, a), and are produced in great numbers at particular 

 times of the year. They then quit the nest and pair, after 

 which the fecundated females lose their wings and form fresh 

 societies. The workers (Fig. 73, b) are sometimes all of one 

 kind, but they are often divided into two, or even three, 

 distinct classes or "castes." The Ants exhibit many most 

 extraordinary and interesting instincts and habits, of which 



