122 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



insects, which includes the wasps, bees, ants, sawflies, ichneumons, 

 and one or two other families. The greater number of these 

 insects burrow in the ground; but others are remarkable for 

 their wonderful powers of excavating the hardest wood, and of 

 forming therein a series of beautifully made cells, for the protec- 

 tion of the future brood. 



Turn we first to some exotic Ants which inhabit tropical 

 America. 



I HAVE felt considerable doubt whether the Sauba, or Coushie 

 Ant {(Ecodoma cephalotes), ought to be reckoned among the bur- 

 rowers or the buUders, inasmuch as it makes large excavations 

 below the ground, and raises dome-like edifices on its surface. 

 As, however, the burrows are very much larger than the build- 

 ings, I shall place it with the former class, reserving for the 

 corresponding example of the building-insects the Teimites, 

 whose edifices are more important than their burrows. It must 

 first be mentioned that, although this species has often been 

 described as the Visiting Ant, it is in reality a distinct species, 

 as will be seen in the course of a few pages. 



The Saiiba Ant is restricted to tropical America, where it 

 exists in such vast profusion, that it oftentimes takes forcible 

 possession of the land, and drives out the human inhabitants 

 who have cultivated and planted it. Broad columns of these 

 ants may be seen marching along, each individual carrying in 

 its jaws a circular piece of leaf, about the size of a sixpence, 

 which is held vertically by one of its edges. In the British 

 Museum there is a specimen of a Saiiba Ant, with the leaf still 

 grasped in its jaws, the ruling passion strong in death. From 

 this curious habit the creature is sometimes called the Parasol 

 Ant, and many persons have thought that the leaves are earned 

 in order to protect the insect against the hot simbeams. The 

 real reason, however, has been discovered by Mr. H. W. Bates, 

 who has studied with great care the habits of this remarkable 

 insect, and has disentangled its history from many doubts and 

 difficulties. 



There are, as is usual with aU ants, three distinct ranks 

 — namely, the winged, the large-headed, or soldiers, as they are 

 popularly called, and the ordinary workers. The large-headed 

 individuals are sub-divided into two classes, namely, the smooth- 



