LETTER XV. 



HABITATIONS OF INSECTS 

 CONTINUED. 



1 HE habitations of insects which I shall not next pro- 

 ceed to describe, are those formed by the united labour 

 of several individuals. 



The societies which thus combine their operations may 

 be divided into two kinds : 1 st, those of which the object 

 is simply the conservation of the individuals composing 

 them ; and 2dly, those whose object is also the nurture 

 and education of their young. To the last head belong 

 bees, wasps, &c. : to the former the larvae of some spe- 

 cies of moths, whose labours being the most simple I 

 shall first describe. 



You cannot fail to have observed in gardens the fruit- 

 trees disfigured, as you would probably think them, with 

 what at first view seem very strong and thick spiders' 

 webs. If you have bestowed upon these webs the slight- 

 est attention, you must have likewise remarked that they 

 differ very materially in their construction from those 

 spun by spiders, inclosing on every side an angular 

 space, and being besides filled with caterpillars. These 

 are the larvae of Bombyx chrftorrhaa, and the web which 



