140 



HABITS OP INSECTS. 



LESSON XXVIII. 



HABITS OF INSECTS CARPENTER ANTS BEES. 



MANY insects make themselves habitations with 

 great ingenuity and labour. The black carpen- 

 ter ant hollows out cells arid passages in the 

 trunks and roots of trees of very hard texture. 

 It eats away the fibres with its nippers, and 

 works with the utmost nicety. When a piece 

 of wood is examined which has been colonized 

 by these little creatures, it presents a most curious 

 appearance, being completely honey-combed, and 

 the partitions between the cells are far thinner 

 than paper. What is very singular is, that these 

 excellent carpenters never spoil their work nor 

 open one cell into another, every one being found 



