THE FORMIC IDEE. 
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when it is necessary — being influenced by the instinct of doing 
a certain definite duty ; at least this appears to be consistent 
with correct observation. Many authors have imagined that the 
industrious insects that live in communities obey certain chiefs, 
and have, as it were, a sort of government. The opinion appears 
to have originated in a very simple manner — because such a 
state of things exists amongst men, and appears to be necessary ; 
but all the best established facts relating to insects which live in 
communities, such as ants, wasps, and bees, prove that every one 
has an equal share in the government of the commonwealth, and 
that the so-called kings and queens, which are the objects of 
particular attentions, have no authority, and are in no way con- 
cerned with the occupations and labours of the rest of the tribe. 
The ants, like almost all the Hymenoptera , are born in a very 
rudimentary condition, for their development within the egg has 
not progressed much. The larvae are even incapable of taking 
the food which is within their reach, for their mouth-pieces are 
very small and feeble, so that it is necessary that the nourishment 
should be placed inside their mouths. Thus they may be said 
to be constant objects of care and anxiety to others of the 
community. The nursing, which is attended to with wonderful 
perseverance, is carried out by the workers, who are first-rate 
nurses, and at the same time admirable architects and builders 
of spacious and comfortable nurseries. 
The united species of ants constitute the family of the Formi- 
cidce , and are very readily distinguished from other Hymenoptera. 
They have a triangularly-shaped head, bent antennae, the first 
joints of which, always very long, are stalk-like; they have a large 
upper lip, strong mandibles, and the jaws and lower lip are short ; 
the legs are long and slender, and the abdomen, which is more or 
less oval, is attached to the thorax by a short and narrow waist. 
The ants without wings, which are most commonly observed 
by everybody, and which run about roads and paths, and which 
have a very narrow thorax, are the workers, or neuters ; they 
crawl over plants and up walls, and are found everywhere. But 
the males and females are only to be noticed at certain times of 
the year, and can be distinguished at once from the workers by 
their possessing wings, and a very broad thorax. There are a 
