INSECTA. 363 



Family XVI. Heterogyna. Females (amongst the solitary) or 

 neuters (amongst the social) apterous ; males less than females. 

 Wings not plicate, with cells often few, incomplete. First joint of 

 posterior tarsi not dilated. Females and neuters in some furnished 

 with a sting, in others with anal glands that secrete a peculiar 

 acid. Ligula small, membranous, round, excavated or hooded. 

 Antennas geniculate. 



Phalanx I. Socialia or Formicaries. Males females and neuters, 

 or abortive females. Neuters apterous, without ocelli, with head 

 very large, and labium large, descending under the mandibles. 

 Mandibles strong, often denticulate. Antennas filiform or subin- 

 crassated towards the apex, with first joint very long, cylindrical 

 or obconical. Petiole of abdomen formed of one or two globose 

 nodes. 



Formica L. 



Ants (fourmis, Ameisen, miereri}. The females have wings that 

 easily fall off, or are stript off by themselves after copulation. The 

 sexless individuals on the contrary are without wings, and without 

 simple eyes (ocelli) also ; they are, like the working bees, imperfect 

 females, as appears also from the observation of HUBER, who fre- 

 quently saw males copulate with them, but the act always caused 

 the death of the neuters. The males and females are found as per- 

 fect insects in the nests for a short time only, for they desert them 

 as soon as they have gotten their wings. The males are smaller 

 than the females, and have also a smaller head and smaller upper 

 jaws, but larger eyes. These animals live together socially, construct 

 for themselves nests of earth, leaves, straw 1 , &c., in which other insects 

 and their larvae often reside, as those of Cetonia and other Coleoptera, 

 especially Brachelytra, which in these last times has given occasion 

 to much inquiry among entomologists 2 . Above the place where 

 they dwell the ants raise small hillocks or round heaps of earth. 

 Other species live in hollow stems of trees. Along straight roads 



1 Hence there exists a species of vegetable manure and a high temperature in an 

 ant's nest, which continues even after it has been deserted by its inhabitants. ROBERT, 

 Ann. des Sc. not. sec. Se'rie, xvm. Zool. 158. 



2 On insects living in ants' nests, see amongst others : MANNERHEIM, Bulled, de la 

 Soc. imp. de Moscou, xvi. 1843, pp. 70 78, M^EKLIN, ibid. xix. 1846, pp. 157 187, 

 and especially FR. MAERKEL in GERMAR'S Zeitschr. /. d. Entomol. in. 1841, pp. 20 

 ii$,ibid. v. 1844, s. 193 271. 



