144 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



almost incredible extent — so vast, indeed, and so complicated, 

 that they have never been fully investigated. A conjecture as to 

 their size may be formed from the fact, that when sulphur smoke 

 was blown into a nest, one of the outlets was detected at a dis- 

 tance of seventy yards. The Saiiba has often done considerable 

 damage to property, having pierced the embankment of a large 

 reservoir, and let out all the water before the damage could be 

 detected. 



The winged class is composed of the perfect male and female, 

 which take their departure from the nest in January and Febru- 

 ary. They are quite unlike the other workers and soldiers, be- 

 ing larger and darker, with rounder bodies and a more bee-like 

 aspect. The female is a really large insect, measuring more than 

 two inches in expanse of wing, and the body being equal in size 

 to a hornet; but the male is much smaller, as is generally the 

 custom with the insect race. Of the hosts which pour out of the 

 nests, only a few individuals remain after a space of twelve hours, 

 the nest having been devoured by birds and other insect-eating 

 creatures. Those which survive address themselves to the found- 

 ing of new colonies; and so prolific are these insects, that, in spite 

 of the vast destruction wrought among the winged individuals, to 

 whom alone the task of reproduction belongs, man often has to 

 retire before them, and even his art can not conquer them. 



The Saiiba is one of the very few ants that does not attack 

 other creatures. The real Driver, or Visiting, or Foraging 

 Ant, of which there are several species, belongs to another 

 genus, Eciton, which will be described among the building -in- 

 sects. 



Most of the British ants are among the burrowers, hollowing 

 out subterranean abodes of great extent, and constructing them 

 upon some intricate plan, the principle of which is not very evi- 

 dent. The Dusky Ant {Formica fused) generally prefers banks 

 with a southern aspect, in which it forms its elaborate dwelling. 

 Like many other ants, it is somewhat of a builder as well as a 

 miner, and can raise story upon story, as well as add them by ex- 

 cavation. This task is achieved by covering the former roof with 

 a layer of fresh and moist clay, and converting it into a floor for 

 the next story. Dry weather has the effect of retarding the ants 

 in their labors, because they find a difficulty in procuring suffi- 

 cient moisture wherewith to mix the clav. 



