ANTS 257 



busy themselves with the larvae and also with the 

 nymphs, carrying them with all possible expedition 

 into the open air and placing them where they will 

 best be exposed for some time to the benign influence 

 of the sun's heat. After this sun-bath they are re- 

 turned to the darkness and stowed away in chambers 

 expressly prepared for them. And now is the time 

 for feeding the nurslings. 



"Just as little birds receive the beakful of food, 

 so do the larvae take their nourishment. When they 

 are hungry they raise themselves a little and seek 

 the mouth of some one of the workers engaged in 

 ministering to them. The nursing ant opens its 

 mandibles and lets a tiny drop of sweetened liquid be 

 taken from its mouth. Thus, one suck at a time, 

 the nutritive juice is distributed until the entire 

 brood is fed. 



"But carrying the larvae into the sun and feeding 

 them will not suffice: they must also be kept in a 

 state of extreme cleanliness. The workers bestow 

 upon their charges the same tender care that the 

 mother cat exercises toward her kittens. Over and 

 over again they lick the nursling's body to give it 

 perfect whiteness, and they tug cautiously at the 

 wrinkled skin when the transformation draws near. 



"Before casting this skin the larva spins itself a 

 cocoon of silk, elongated and cylindrical in shape, 

 pale yellow in color, very smooth, and compact in 

 texture. Under cover of this protecting sac, the 

 worm becomes a nymph. In this form the ant as- 



