THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



95 



BRITISH ANTS— By G. C. BIGNELL. 

 (Continued from page 79.) 



I shall assume that the reader is able to 

 recognise an ant when he sees one. The 

 only insects likely to be mistaken for ants 

 would be some of the apterous ichneumons 

 of the genus Pezomachus, or the Mutillida ; . 

 but these are always found singly. The late 

 F. Smith placed the latter with the ants, 

 and they are generally known by the name 

 of "Solitary Ants." This classification, 

 however, seems unwarranted, for the 

 insects mentioned have neither the habits 

 nor the structure of the ants. For in- 

 stance, they are not known to possess a 

 second form of female (worker) ; they 

 are solitary, and are parasitic on bees. 

 Mutilla Europoea has been found in the 

 nests of Bombus muscorim, and I have seen 

 Myrmosa melanocephala entering the nest of 

 Osmia cenea. The wingless Pezomachi are 

 parasitic, often on spider's eggs, and may 

 be easily distinguished by the numerous 

 joints of the antennae and projecting 

 ovipositor (or aculeus.) 



The first three species are stingless ; the 

 remainder are provided with stings (aculei), 

 i.e. the females, and workers ; the males are 

 not provided with that weapon (Bees 

 included). 



The pupss of the first four species are 

 generally contained in silken cocoons,* the 

 others are naked. All the species possess 

 three forms, viz., males, females, and work- 

 ers. The males and females have wings ; 

 the worker, which is an undeveloped female, 

 is always apterous. The female after im- 

 pregnation breaks off her wings and settles 

 down to the business of continuing her race. 



• Formic t fusca often, and sometimes others, departs 

 from this rule, but this is an unsolved problem. On the 

 11th September, 1S79, the -writer found a colony of fusca 

 under a slate-stone in Cann quarry, near Plymouth. 

 Some pupae were naked, and others were in silken 

 cocoons. Why some of the same family under one 

 stone should weave a cocoon and others should not is 

 to me inexplicable. 



It is rather a difi5cult task for the female to 

 break off her wings. M. P. Huber carefully 

 watched a female perform the operation. He 

 states that " she extended her wings with 

 some effort, bringing them before her head 

 crossing them in every direction, throwing 

 them from side to side, and producing so 

 many singular contortions, that her four 

 wings fell off at the same moment in my 

 presence." He watched several females 

 with the same result. In old colonies they 

 are removed by the workers, who are con- 

 stantly in attendance on the queens. It 

 may here be mentioned that there are 

 generally several queens in a numerous 

 colony. I took out seven and left several 

 others in a rather small colony of Formica 

 rufa on the 19th of November last. These 

 were about thirty inches below the top of 

 the nest, and eighteen inches below the 

 surface of the ground. I found a queen in 

 each chamber surrounded with workers to 

 keep her warm. 



M. P. Huber has found " incipient colo- 

 nies in which were only a few workers 

 engaged with their mother in the care of a 

 small number of larvae." M. Perrot once 

 discovered "a small nest, occupied by a 

 solitary female, who was attending upon four 

 pupae only." Such are the foundation and 

 first establishment of these populous nations 

 of ants with which we everywhere meet. 

 The female lays about 5000 eggs or more, in 

 the course of the season, in regularly formed 

 colonies. This seems to be the principal 

 office of the female. Sir John Lubbock 

 observes that the larvae "are often sorted 

 according to age. It is sometimes very 

 curious in my nests," he says, " to see the 

 larvae arranged in groups according to size, 

 so that they remind one of a school divided 

 into five or six classes. When full grown 

 they turn into pupae, sometimes naked, 

 sometimes covered with a silken cocoon, 

 (Continued on page in.) 



Typographical error, page 79, line 27, Tapinonia read 

 Tapinoma. 



