Ants 



transport, as we have seen in the case of the eggs. Some 

 grubs have hooked hairs, and these are very useful, for 

 by their means the workers simply hang the youngsters 

 to the wall of the nest out of harm's way, much as an 

 Indian squaw hangs her baby to her tent. - 



Now the grubs are so helpless that they give their 

 nurses no end of trouble. In the first place, they are 

 quite unable to feed themselves, so their nurses supply 

 them with nourishment from their own mouths, which 

 may consist of partly digested food, masticated insects 

 caught by the workers, portions of seeds or other vegetable 

 matter. In some communities, the soldier ants, which 

 we shall speak of later, are appointed carvers and cut up 

 tough-skinned insects for the grubs ; in other communities 

 the soldiers act as official nut-crackers to the colony. 

 For a month or more the nursing continues, and during 

 all this time the nurses are kept very busy. In order 

 that the grubs may develop into healthy, well-grown ants 

 it is necessary that during their various stages of growth 

 they should be surrounded with an atmosphere of constant 

 temperature and humidity ; they require different condi- 

 tions at different stages of development To bring this 

 about the nurses remove their charges from place to 

 place within the nest. They are arranged in piles 

 according to their ages : this alone is a heavy task for the 

 nurses. In addition, the grubs are constantly cleaned 

 by licking : particles of soil must not be allowed to stick 

 to their delicate bodies. The nurses' saliva also acts as 

 a waterproof and an antiseptic covering for the grubs. A 

 further duty consists in protecting the youngsters from 

 light and enemies. Usually they are stored in the 

 darkest recesses of the nest ; however, the nurses of one 

 Texan species are in the habit of bringing their charges 

 to the surface after nightfall, and slowly promenading up 

 and down with them, after the manner of human beings. 



At length the grubs reach the stage at which it is 

 necessary to change into chrysalids. Here again the 



