CLASS I. INSECTA: ORDER 3. HYMENOPTERA. 567 



cells, as in the social bees and wasps. The nest consists of numerous chambers, communicating 

 by winding passages, excavated sometimes in the ground, sometimes in heaps of earth, or other 

 matters raised above the surface, and, in some cases, in the trunks of old trees. Some exotic 

 species build their nests on trees, walls, and the roofs of houses, composing them of earth mixed 

 with other substances, of the excrement of animals, or of vegetable matters. In whatever manner 

 the nest is constructed, however, the chambers in its interior serve for the protection of the larvae 

 and pupa% which are carried from chamber to chamber by the workers, so as to insure their 

 exposure to the temperature best suited for their development. Thus at night the young 

 animals are carefully stowed away in the innermost chambers of the nest ; every aperture being 

 kept closed, to prevent the ingress of the cold night-air. But as soon as the rays of the morning 

 sun fiill upon the surface of the nest, the workers busily commence carrying their infant treasures 

 to the upper chambers, where, close under the roof, they may enjoy the genial warmth. Not 

 unfrequcntly they even place them for a time on the outside of the nest, exposed to the direct 

 rays of the sun. At the approach of night, or of a shower of rain, the business is reversed ; 

 every worker is engaged in carrying the larvae down into the lower chambers, and in closing up 

 the entrances to the nest ag-ainst the unwholesome cold or moisture. 



Although the ant has been, from time immemorial, the type of industry and providence, from 

 a general belief that it laid up a store of grain in the summer season to serve for its support 

 during winter, it is certain that most are decidedly carnivorous in their habits, although they often 

 evince a great predilection for saccharine juices — as is well understood by housekeepers — and the 

 aphides which yield the coveted honey-dew. It is not improbable that the idea of their prov- 

 idence may have had its rise from their having been seen, as is often the case, carrying the 

 cocoons in their mouths. So far are the ants from deserving to be regarded as furnishing a model 

 of industry, that some of them occasionally get tired of their labors, upon which they go forth 

 to attack a neighboring community, and, having conquered them, make slaves of their progeny ; 

 they seize upon the eggs and cocoons, transport them to their hillock, and when they are hatched, 

 charge them with all the labors of the community. It has been said that during the winter the 

 ants imprison some aphides, and feed on the honey they yield ; but this is improbable, as ants 

 are torpid in winter. In some cases fierce battles between different communities of ants take 

 place, in which thousands are engaged, manifesting the greatest rage and excitement. After 

 one of these conflicts, the scene of the fight is usually strewed with heads, legs, bodies — broken 

 and torn — bearing no inconsiderable resemblance to a human battle-field. 



The observations of naturalists leave little doubt that these insects have the power of 

 intercommunication. This is seemingly not eff'ected by any sound, but by touching each 

 other Avith their heads or antennae, for on this being done, thousands will crowd to the 

 point of danger. In the obstinate wars which one colony of ants will sometimes carry on 

 against another, individual ants have been seen thus to give such signals as to change the 

 route of a whole army; and authors worthy of credit assure us that individual ants have been 

 known to quit the main body, and repairing to the hillock, return with strong reinforcements. 



The ants with which we are acquainted in temperate climates — thougli some species are trouble- 

 some — are innocent in comparison with several kinds found in tropical climates. Sometimes 

 they come in swarms into the houses, from which they speedily expel the inmates, biting and 

 stinging severely. One of these species, the Atta cejihalotes, inhabits the West Indies and is 

 called the Visiting Ant. 



THE ENTOMOPHAGA. 



This term, from the Greek entomos, an insect, and 2^hago, to eat, signifies Insect-eaters, and is 

 applied to an immense number of creatures which have the constant habit of passing their larva 

 state as parasites upon other insects. These are well known under the name of Ichneumon- 

 Flies and Cuchoo-Flies. Insects of every order, and in every stage of their existence, are 

 subject to the attacks of these creatures. They introduce their eggs into the bodies of their 

 victims by piercing them with their long and slender ovipositors. Minute size is no protection, 

 for many species lay their eggs even in aj^hides, cocci, and the larvae of other small insects. The 

 ichneumons, with long ovipositors, as the European species, Ichneumon manifestator, seek the 



