5^2 INSECTA. 



sexes takes place in the air, where the winged individuals form large swarms, after which the males 

 sooD die, without a^^^aiii entering their former al)ode. The females, now ready to become mothers, quit 

 the neigldiMurhiioil, and, having first [>nllfd nffllieir wings with their feet, become the foundresses of 

 new and di>>taiit cnlonifs. Some ari_-, however, made prisoners by the neuters of the jiarent colony, 

 who strip them of their wings, in order that they may deposit their eggs, after which it is believed 

 tha( they arc driven off. 



The n-niti-rs, distinct not only by their want of wings and ocelli, but also by the size of the head, 

 the strength of the jaws, the thorax more compressed and often nodose, and the legs proportionaljly 

 longer, arc alone charged with the works of the nest and rearing of the young, the nature and form of 

 the former of which varies according to the instinct of the different species. They are more generally 

 established in the ground, some using only particles of earth, and having their nests entirely hidden, 

 and others covering their nests with bits of stick, straws, &c., ibrming a conical mound. Some inhabit 

 the trunks of old trees, wdiich they pierce in every direction. The neuters ftred the young grubs, and 

 move them on fine davs to tlir outer surface of the nest, in order to give them heat, a)id removing 

 theiu back acain at the ap[)ninch uf night or bad weather; they defend them from their enemies, and 

 take the greatest care of them and of the pnpic, esjiccially when the nests are disturbed. Some of ihe 

 Iatt(.'r are inclosed in a cocoon, whilst others are naked; the neuters also tear open the cocoon when 

 the ])eriod uf the tiiial change arrives. 



Different nests have exhibited to me neuter individuals (few in number) reuiarkable for having a 

 much larger head than tlie ordinury neuters ; M. Lacordaire also gave me a neuter Ant allied to .itta 

 cephalotes, Fab., assuring me that the individuals of this kind are the defenders of tlie society, and 

 I appear to perform the duty of captains in their excursions. 



i The name of Ant-eggs is commonly given to the larvce and pupse. Those of T. fiava are used for 



I feeding young Pheasants. The neuters prevent the perfect insects, which have recently acquired their 



wings, from leaving the nest until a favourable opportunity, dejicndcnt u]ion the heat of the 

 atmosphere. 



The maJDrlty of Ants' nests are entirely composed of a single species, but Nature has departed from 



this plan in F. {Pohjerym) rufescem; or the Amazon Ant, and F. saagu'mea. The neuters of these two 



j species seize by violence auxiliaries or slaves of their own casie (^neuters), but of dilferent species, 



j namely, F. cunicidarUi, Latr., and F. fasca, Linn. M'hen the heat of the day begins to dechne, and 



i regularly at the same hour, at least during several days, the Amazon Ants quit their own nests in a 



' close and numerous column, and direct their course to the ant-hill they intend to attack, and which 



: they enter, in spite of (bo opposition of the owners, and carry off in their ja\\s the larvx and pup;e of 



I the neuters of these Ants, and which they take to their own nest, where they are tended by other 



neuter slave Ants of the same species, which have been previously stolen in a similar manner, and 



which also take charge of the young of these amazon conquerors. Such is the composition of a 



mixed Ant-nest. 



' It is know n (hat Ants are verv' fond of the saccharine hquid which exudes from the bodies of Aphides 



\ and Coccuhr^ ; four or five species also collect the Aphides, and even their eggs, wdiich they keep at 



I the bottom of their nests, csjiecially in bad seasons. Others construct galleries of earth from their 



I nests along the stems of Iiranches of trees, as far as the twigs peopled by tlie Plaut-liee. 



I The winged Ants perish at the commencement of the cold weather, but the neuters p;iss the winter 



' dormant in their nests ; their prudence, so much celebrated, has no other eml than to augment and 



consolidate their habitati-.m with all kinds of matters ; for a store of food would be useless lu a season 



! when tlie insects could not use it. 



I The habits of exotic, and especially tropical Ants, are almost unknown. The Visiting Ant performs 



i some service to our colonists by driving away Kats, and a quantity of other obnoxious insects ; but 



1 other species are obnoxious from the destruction which they make, and which it is impossible to prevent. 



I divide the ^fenus Formica in the following manner : — 

 ; 1. Formica proper, destitute of a stJnp; ; the antenu;t; inserted near the foreliead ; maiidiljles triangular and den- 



ticulated ; the abdominal peduncle consists of a sinj^le knot. Formica nifa, Linn, [the j,'-re;it Horse Ant, or IMs- 

 I mire], common in woods, wliere it forms nests like a large sugar loaf or dome, composed of eartli, fra-i-nients of 



I wood, &c., and which ore often of large size ; the winged individuals appear in sprin^;;. F. fi(-vi-a, aoiicularia, and 



a great number of species. 



