FORMICA. INSECTS. 343 



to their accustomed dwelling. The impregnated females, on the contrary, lose their 

 wings ; those that return to their former dwelling are retained by the neuters till 

 they have deposited their ova ; and the others increase other or form new establish- 

 ments. The ova are small, round, ot'a whitish yellow colour, and in clusters ; and the 

 larvae are like small white worms, thick, short, of a conical form, destitute of feet, and 

 the body formed of twelve segments. The care of feeding the larvae is entrusted to 

 the neuters. They transport them in fine weather to the exterior of the habitation 

 to enjoy a warmer temperature, and remove them again at the approach of night ; 

 and when their dwelling is disturbed, seize and carry them to places of safety. 

 The pupae are similar to the perfect insect, but of a soft consistence, whitish or 

 yellowish, inactive, with the wings rudimentary, and are either naked or inclosed in 

 a silky cocoon. When about to undergo the last change, the neuters tear open the 

 cocoon, and set the complete animal free, retaining those with wings, however, till 

 the weather be favourable for their flight and fecundation. 



The greater part of ant-hills are composed only of individuals of one species. In 

 some, however, they are mixed, the neuters procuring supplies of population from 

 neighbouring ant-hills by expeditions undertaken and executed with all the precision 

 of military detail. If victors in the contest, they carry off" the larvae or pupae from 

 their parent community to their own establishment. When the expatriated insects 

 arrive at their perfect state, they either join in the common labours of their captors, 

 as in the mixed societies of the F. sanguined^ or sometimes they are doomed to do 

 the whole labour of the community, as among the Amazon ants, the neuters of which 

 confine themselves to the defence of the habitation. 



The form and the nature of the different habitations of ants varies according to the 

 species; but in general they are much more simple than those of other insects which 

 live in society. Some species lodge in old wood, which they hollow like a labyrinth ; 

 others have their dwellings under the ground ; while some rear their habitations 

 above the surface in the shape of cones, more or less elevated, composed not only of 

 earth and sand, but of wood, leaves, and other bodies, within their reach. In all 

 these habitations different roads or galleries are constructed, leading to a central cavity, 

 the chief abode of the family. Fruits, insects, or their larva?, and often the dead re- 

 mains of quadrupeds or birds, form the food of ants ; and if they appear hurtful to 

 vegetation in some instances, by destroying fruits or plants in the formation of their 

 subterraneous galleries, they aie not less useful in another view. The tribe is divid- 

 ed as follows : 



I. Pedicle of the abdomen formed of one scale or of one knot 



1. No sting ; acidiferous glands. 



Gen. FORMICA, POLYERGUS. The genus Lasius of Fabricius makes part of 

 the first. 



2. Neuters and females with a sting. 



Gen. ODONTOMACHUS, PONERA. 



II. Pedicle of the abdomen formed of two knots, almost equal, and separated by 

 deep strangulations. 



) . Antennae discovered. 

 Gen. ECITON, (ECODOMA, MYRMICA. 



2. First joint of the antennae lodged in a lateral groove of the head. 

 Gen. CRYPTOCEROS. 



Gen. FORMICA, Lat. 



Destitute of a sting ; antennae inserted near the middle of the 

 anterior face of the head ; mandibles strong, triangular, and 

 dentated ; pedicle of the abdomen with one ring, in the form 

 of a compressed and vertical scale. 



The insects of this genus live in society like bees and wasps ; and the community 

 is composed of three different Jdnds of individuals, viz. males, females, and workers 

 or neuters, the neuters being always apterous. The antennae in the neuters and 

 females are filiform, as long again as the head, of twelve joints ; their eyes are small, 



