Chapter XV. 



Structures of tlie Wood-ant or Pismire, and of Carpenter-ants. 



The largest of our British ants is that called the Hill- 

 ant by Gould, the Fallow-ant by the English trans- 

 lator of Huber, and popularly the Pismire; but which 

 we think may be more appropriately named the Wood- 

 ant {Formica riifa, Latr.) from its invariable habit 

 of hving in or near woods and forests. This insect 

 may be readily distinguished from other ants by the 

 dusky black colour of its head and hinder parts, and 

 the rusty brown of its middle. The structures reared 

 by this species are often of considerable magnitude, 

 and bear no small resemblance to a rook's nest thrown 

 upon the ground, bottom upwards. They occur in 

 abundance in the woods near London, and in many 

 other parts of the country: in Oak of Honour wood 

 alone, we are acquainted with the localities of at 

 least two dozen, — some in the interior and others on 

 the hedge-banks on the outskirts of the wood.* 



The exterior of the nest is composed of almost 

 every transportable material which the colonists can 

 find in their vicinity ; but the greater portion consists 

 of the stems of withered grass and short twigs of 

 trees, piled up in apparent confusion, but with suf- 

 ficient regularity to render the whole smooth, conical, 

 and sloping towards the base, for the purpose, we 

 may infer, of carrying off rain water. When within 

 reach of a corn-field, they often also pick up grains 

 of wheat, barley, or oats, and carry them to the nest 



* J. R. 



