84 THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 



taining the queen ant. On examination, this indi- 

 vidual will be found enormously distended with 

 eggs, which she deposits in great numbers daily, and 

 which are removed by the working ants, who find 

 ingress and egress to this state apartment through 

 small apertures for that purpose, and for supplying 

 their royal leader with food ; for she is a prisoner 

 for life, dependent solely upon her subjects. The 

 larva, or eggs, are deposited in ante-chambers and ul- 

 timately mature, and being provided with wings they 

 take their flight in a swarm like bees, but finally be- 

 come separated, and each female ant choosing a lo- 

 cation, is made the nucleus of another community. 

 She first casts off her wings and builds her own 

 tenement, which is at first very small, but wander- 

 ing ants adopt her as their sovereign, and relieve her 

 from all duties but to furnish subjects, which she 

 does at a rate beyond the comparison of any other 

 animal. Fortunately for other animated species, these 

 young ants, in their first flight, are mostly destroyed 

 by rain or birds, and other animals. I have known 

 them to accumulate on a window in the evening in 

 immense quantities, to which they were attracted 

 by the light of a candle, and on the following morn- 

 ing they were mostly found dead on the ground be- 

 neath it. 



These commonwealths of ants appear to be go- 

 verned by the most perfect system ; they have not 

 only a king and queen, but are said to be divided into 

 soldiers and laborers ; the first acting as a body 

 guard to their majesties. These white ants wage 



