CHAPTER VIII. 



ANTS AND TERMITES. 



THE Ants are indeed " a little people wondrous 

 wise," and no one can watch their rapid, alert 

 movements, their tireless energy, and equanimity in 

 surmounting the most disheartening problems and 

 difficulties, without becoming filled with admiration 

 and wonder. 



Any one who has, in the course of a summer ramble, 

 passed through the sunny margin of a pine wood will 

 probably be familiar with the outward appearance of the 

 dome-shaped nests of the great Wood Ant (Formica 

 rufa), the largest of our British species. According 

 to the numerical strength of the colony and the season 

 of the year, so the height of the dome will vary from 

 a few inches to over two feet, while the circumference 

 of the base will vary in proportion. The Wood Ant 

 is an expert miner as well as a builder, for the first 

 duty of the dome of the nest is to form a shelter to 

 keep out the rain from the nurseries ; and should we 

 clear away the great heap of material which the ants 

 have collected in its construction, we should find the 

 openings to galleries or shafts driven down to a con- 

 siderable depth, and leading to chambers set aside for 

 special purposes. 



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