Mason-Ants. 289 



strong brush into water, and passes his hand backwards and 

 forwards over the hairs for the purpose of producing a fine 

 artificial shower. Huber successfully adopted the same 

 method to excite his ants to recommence their labours, which 

 had been interrupted for want of moisture. But sometimes, 

 when they deem it unadvisable to wait for rain, they dig 

 do\fai (as we remarked to be the practice of the mason-bees) 

 till they arrive at earth sufficiently moist for their purpose. 

 They do not, however, like these bees, merely dig for mate- 

 rials ; for they use the excavations for apartments, as well as 

 what they construct with the materials thence derived. They 

 appear, in short, to be no less skilful in mining than in 

 building. 



Such is the general outline of the operations of this 

 singular species ; but we are still more interested with the 

 history which M. P. Huber has given of the labours of an 

 individual ant. " One rainy day," he says, " I observed a 

 labourer of the dark ash-coloured species (Formica fusca) 

 digging the ground near the aperture which gave entrance to 

 the ant-hill. It placed in a heap the several fragments it 

 had scraped up, and formed them into small pellets, which it 

 deposited here and there upon the nest. It returned con- 

 stantly to the same place, and appeared to have a particular 

 design, for it laboured with ardour and perseverance. I 

 remarked a slight furrow, excavated in the ground in a 

 straight line, representing the plan of a path or gallery. The 

 labourer (the whole of whose movements fell under my im- 

 mediate observation) gave it greater depth and breadth, and 

 cleared out its borders ; and I saw, at length in which I 

 could not be deceived that it had the intention of establish- 

 ing an avenue which was to lead from one of the stories to 

 the underground chambers. This path, which was about 

 two or three inches in length, and formed by a single ant, 

 was opened above, and bordered on each side by a buttress 

 of earth. Its concavity, in the form of a pipe (gouttiere), was 

 of the most perfect regularity : for the architect had not left 

 an atom too much. The work of this ant was so well fol- 

 lowed and understood, that I could almost to a certainty 



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