THE ANT. 



817 



have a share, who seemed to enjoy and suck 

 the moisture. 



When the young maggot is corne to its full 

 growth, the breast swells insensibly, it casts 

 its skin, anil loses all motion. All the mem- 

 bers which were hidden before, then begin 

 to appear; an aurelia is formed, which re- 

 presents very distinctly all the parts of the 

 animal, though they are yet without motion, 

 and, as it were, wrapped up in swaddling 

 clothes. When at length the little insect has 

 passed through all its changes, and acquired 

 its proper maturity, it bursts this last skin, to 

 assume the form it is to retain ever after. 

 Yet this is not done by efforts of the little 

 animal alone, for the old ones very assiduous- 

 ly break open with their teeth the covering 

 in which it is enclosed. Without this assist- 

 ance the aurelia would never be able to get 

 free, as M. de Gear often found, who tried 

 the experiment by leaving the aurelia to 

 themselves. The old ones not only assist 

 them, but know the very precise time for 

 lending their assistance : for, if produced too 

 soo.i, the young one dies of cold ; if retarded 

 too long, it is suffocated in its prison. 



When the female has done laying, and the 

 whole brood is thus produced, her labours, 

 as well as that of the male, become unne- 

 cessary: and her wings, which she had but 

 a short time before so actively employed, 

 drop off! What becomes of her when thus 

 divested of her ornaments is not well known, 

 for she is seen in the cells for some weeks 

 after. ' The males, on the other hand, having 

 no longer any occupation at home, make use 

 of those wings with which they have been 

 furnished by nature, and fly away, never to 

 re: HIM or he heard of more. It is probable 

 they perish with the cold, or are devoured 

 by t!ir- birds, which are particularly fond of 

 this petty prey. 



In the mean time, the working ants having 

 probably deposed their queens, and being 

 deserted by the males, that served but to clog 

 the co'iitnunity, prepare for the severity of 

 the winter, and bury their retreats as deep 

 in the earth as they conveniently can. It is 

 no'-v found that the grains of corn, and other 

 substances with which they furnish their hill, 

 are only meant as fences to keep off the ri- 

 gours of the weather, not as provisions to sup- 



port them during its continuance. It is found 

 generally to obtain, that every insect that 

 lives a year after it is come to its full growth, 

 is obliged to pass four or five months without 

 taking any nourishment, and will seem to be 

 dead all that time. It would be to no pur- 

 pose, therefore, for ants to lay up com for the 

 winter, since they lie that time without mo- 

 tion, heaped upon each other, and are so far 

 from eating, that they are utterly unable to 

 stir. Thus, what authors have dignified by 

 the name of a magazine, appears to be no 

 more than a cavity, which serves lor a com- 

 mon retreat when the weather forces them to 

 return to their letliargic state. ' 



What has been said with exaggeration of 

 the European ant, is however true, if assert- 

 ed of those of the tropical climates. They 

 build an ant-hill with great contrivance and 

 regularity, they lay up provisions, and :>s 

 they probably live the whole year, they sub- 

 mit themselves to regulations entirely un- 

 known among the ants of Europe. 



Those of Africa are of three kinds, the red, 

 the green, and the black ; the latter are 

 above an inch long, and in every respect a 

 most formidable insect. Their sling pro- 

 duces extreme pain, and their depredations 

 are sometimes extremely destructive. They 

 build an ant-hill of a very great size, from six 

 to twelve feet high ; it is made of viscous clay, 

 and tapers intoa pyramidal form. This habita- 

 tion is constructed with great artifice ; and 

 the cells are so numerous and even, that a 

 honey-comb scarce exceeds them in number 

 and regularity. 



The inhabitants of this edifice seem to be 

 under a very strict regulation. At the slight- 

 est warning they will sally out upon whatever 

 disturbs them ; and if they have time to arrest 

 their enemy, he is sure to find no mercy. 

 Sheep, hens, and even rats, are often destroy- 

 ed by these merciless insects, and their flesh 

 devoured to the bone. No anatomist in the 

 world can strip a skeleton so completely as 

 they ; and no animal, how strong soever, 

 when they have once seized upon it, has 

 power to resist them. 



It often happens that these insects quit 

 their retreat in a body, and go in quest of 

 adventures. ' During my stay." says Smith, 

 " at Cape Coast Castle, a body of these ants 



