ANNULOSA: INSECTA. 



359 



ova which are to give origin to females the "queens " of future colonies 

 are placed in cells of a peculiar construction, and the larvse are fed by 

 the workers with a special food. The ova which are to produce males are 

 likewise placed in cells, which are slightly larger than those allotted to the 

 workers. It is asserted, however, that this is not the sole or true cause of 

 the production of the males ; but that the ova which are intended to pro- 

 duce drones are not fertilised by the female with the semen which she has 

 stored up in her spermatheca, and are therefore produced by a process 

 of parthenogenesis. That the males are produced parthenogenetically 

 in some, at any rate, of the Hymenoptera, appears to have been placed 

 beyond a reasonable doubt by the researches of Von Siebold. (See 

 Introduction. ) 



In the Bumble-bees (Bombidce), and in the Wasps (Vespidcz), we have 

 societies essentially the same as in the Honey-bee. In a large community 

 of Wasps, or "vespiary," there may be several hundred females, of which 

 few survive the winter, and live to found fresh colonies next spring. The 

 number of males is about equal to that of the females, but, unlike the 

 drones of the Bees, the males work actively and defend the nest. As 

 amongst the Bees, solitary species are not uncommon. 



The Ants (Formicidce} likewise form communities, consisting of males, 

 females, and neuters (fig. 192). The males and females, as we have seen 



Fig. 192.- 



Winged male of Ant ; b Wingless worker of Ant ; c Pupa of Ant ; d Lavra 

 of Ant, enlarged ; e The Great Saw-fly (Sirex gigas). 



in the case of the Termites, are winged, and are produced in great num- 

 bers at a particular period of the year. They then quit the nest and pair, 

 after which the males die. The females then lose their wings and fall to 

 the ground, when they become the queens of fresh societies. In some 

 Ants, as }n the Termites, the neuters are divided into two classes the 

 workers aftd the soldiers of which the former perform all the duties neces- 

 sary for the preservation of the society except defending the nest, this being 

 left to the soldiers. In other cases, as many as three distinct orders or 

 " castes " of neuters may be present in the same nest. 

 Amongst the more singular of the habits and instincts of Ants two may 



