CLASS I. INSECTA: ORDEE 3. HYMENOPTEEA. 
567 
cells, as in tlie social bees and wasps. Tlie nest consists of numerous chambers, communicating 
by winding passages, excavated sometimes in tbe ground, sometimes in lieaps of cartla, or other 
matters raised above the surface, and, in some cases, in the trunks of old trees. Some exotic 
species build their nests on trees, walls, and the roofs of houses, composing them of earth mixed 
with other substances, of the excrement of animals, or of vegetable matters. In whatever manner 
the nest is constructed, however, the chambers in its interior serve for the protection of the larva?, 
and pupge, which are carried from chamber to chamber by the workers, so as to insure their 
exposure to the temperature best suited for their development. Thus at night the young 
auimals are carefully stowed away in the inuermost chambers of the nest ; every aperture being 
kept closed, to prevent the ingress of the cold night-air. But as soon as the rays of the morning 
sun fall upon the surface of the nest, the workers busily commence carrying their infant treasures 
to the upper chambers, where, close under the roof, they may enjoy the genial warmth. Not 
unfrequently they even place them for a time on the outside of the nest, exposed to the direct 
rays of the sun. At the approach of night, or of a shower of rain, the business is reversed ; 
every worker is engaged in carrying the larvae down into the lower chambers, and in closing up 
the entrances to the nest against the unwholesome cold or moisture. 
Although the ant has been, from time immemorial, the type of industry and providence, from 
a general belief that it laid up a store of grain in the summer season to serve for its support 
during winter, it is certain that most are decidedly carnivorous in their habits, although they often 
evince a great predilection for saccharine juices — as is well understood by housekeepers — and the 
aphides which yield the coveted honey-dew. It is not improbable that the idea of their prov- 
idence may have had its rise from their having been seen, as is often the case, carrying the 
cocoons in their mouths. So far are the ants from deserving to be regarded as furnishing a model 
of industry, that some of them occasionally get tired of their labors, upon which they go forth 
to attack a neighboring community, and, having conquered them, make slaves of their progeny ; 
they seize upon the eggs and cocoons, transport them to their hillock, and when they are hatched, 
charge them with all the labors of the community. It has been said that daring the winter the 
ants imprison some aphides, and feed on the honey they yield ; but this is improbable, as ants 
are torpid in winter. In some cases fierce battles between different communities of ants take 
place, in which thousands are engaged, manifesting the greatest rage and excitement. After 
one of these conflicts, the scene of the fight is usually strewed with heads, legs, bodies — broken 
and torn — bearing no inconsiderable resemblance to a human battle-field. 
The observations of naturalists leave little doubt that these insects have the power of 
intercommunication. This is seemingly not effected by any sound, but by touching each 
other with their heads or antennae, for on this being done, thousands will crowd to the 
point of danger. In the obstinate wars which one colony of ants will sometimes carry on 
against another, individual ants have been seen thus to give such signals as to change the 
route of a whole army ; and authors worthy of credit assure us that individual ants have been 
known to quit the main body, and repairing to the hillock, return with strong reinforcements. 
The ants with which we are acquainted in temperate climates — though some species are trouble- 
some — are innocent in comparison with several kinds found in tropical climates. Sometimes 
they come in swarms into the houses, from which they speedily expel the inmates, biting and 
stinging severely. One of these species, the Atta ceplialotes^ inhabits the West Indies and is 
called the Visiting Ant. 
THE ENTOMOPHAGA. 
This term, from the Greek entomos^ an insect, and jyliago, to eat, signifies Insect-eaters, and is 
applied to an immense number of creatui'es which have the constant habit of passing their larva 
state as parasites upon other insects. These are well known under the name of Ichneumon- 
Flies and Cuckoo-Flies. Insects of every order, and in every stage of their existence, are 
subject to the attacks of these creatures. They introduce their eggs into the bodies of their 
victims by piercing them with their long and slender ovipositors. Minute size is no protection, 
for many species lay their eggs even in aphides, cocci, and the larvas of other small insects. The 
ichneumons, with long ovipositors, as the European species, Ichneumon manifestator, seek the 
