BRANCH ARTHROPOD A; CLASS INSECT A : THE INSECTS 225 



remarkable robber-ant (Ecitori], found in tropical and sub- 

 tropical regions, most of the workers are soldiers, and no 

 longer do any work but fighting. The whole community 

 lives exclusively by pillage. Some kinds of ants go even 

 farther than mere robbery of food-stores: they make 

 slaves of the conquered ants. There are numerous species 

 of these slave-making ants. They attack a nest of 

 another species and carry into their own nest the eggs 

 and larvae and pupae of the conquered community, and 

 when these come to maturity they act as slaves of the 

 victors, collecting food, building additions to the nest, 

 and caring for the young of the slave-makers. 



As with the honey-bee the larval ants are helpless 

 grubs and are cared for and fed by nurses. The so-called 

 44 ants' eggs," the little white oval masses which we often 

 see being carried in the mouths of ants in and out of an 

 ants' nest, are not eggs, but are the pupae which are 

 being brought out to enjoy the warmth and light of the 

 sun or being taken back into the nest afterward. 



There are in this country numerous species of ants 

 showing much variety of habit and offering excellent 

 opportunities for most interesting field observations. For 

 an account of several of the common species see Corn- 

 stock's 4< Manual of Insects," pp. 633-643. Ants may 

 be readily kept in the schoolroom in an artificial nest or 

 formicary and their life-history and habits closely watched. 

 For full directions for making and keeping a simple and 

 inexpensive formicary see Comstock's 44 Insect Life," 

 pp. 278-281. For an interesting account of some of the 

 habits of the social insects see Lubbock's "Ants, Bees, 

 and Wasps. ' ' 



