ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS. 
SS oe CHAPTER 
INTRODUCTION. 
THE Anthropoid apes no doubt approach nearer to 
man in bodily structure than do any other animals; 
but when we consider the habits of Ants, their social 
organisation, their large communities, and elaborate 
habitations; their roadways, their possession of domestic 
animals, and even, in some cases, of slaves, it must be 
admitted that they have a fair claim to rank next to 
man in the scale of intelligence. They present, more- 
over, not only a most interesting but also a very ex- 
tensive field of study. They are divided into three 
families: the Formicide, Poneride, and Myrmicide, 
comprising many genera and a large number of species. 
In this country we have rather more than thirty kinds ; 
but ants become more numerous in species, as well 
as individuals, in warmer countries, and more than a 
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