HYMENOPTERA 



255 



abdomen of true ants forms a sort of knot or tooth between the 

 thorax and abdomen. The males and females are winged and mate 



in their nuptial flight, 

 which may often be ob- 

 served on a warm summer 

 day, when the air will be 

 filled with them. After 

 this the males soon die, 

 but the females bite off 

 their wings and either 

 found a new colony or are 

 taken in by some workers. 

 The workers, or neuters, 

 are wingless, undeveloped 



Wheat straw-worm, spring genera- females. They may upon 

 tion. (Much enlarged) 



a, b, larvae ; /, female. (After Riley, United States 

 Department of Agriculture) 



FlG. 404. 



necessity lay eggs, but 

 these give rise to males 

 only. The workers do all 



the work of the colony, caring for the eggs and larvae, which they 



feed and bring up with all the nicety 



of the best-ordered nursery. The true 



females, or so-called queens, merely 



lay the eggs, having no control over 



the colony, which is managed on the 



most socialistic lines by the workers. 



There are frequently many different 



sizes and forms of workers, each of 



which has a particular sort of work. 



Thus the large-headed, strong-jawed 



individuals are naturally the soldiers, 



while others look after the larvae and 



eggs. Ants feed on various animal 



substances, being very fond of dead 



insects and sweets of all kinds. It is 



the latter taste which leads many 



species to take such care of the little 



green plant-lice (see page 127), which 



give off the sweet honey-dew of which 



FIG. 405. Ants attending aphids. 

 (Slightly enlarged) 



(Photograph by Weed) 



