73 
CHAPTER VII. 
BURROWING INSECTS. 
HYMENOPTERA. 
The Sauba Ant and its habitation — Use of the ‘parasol’ leaves — Mr. Bates’ 
account of the insect — Enormous extent of the Dwelling— The Dusky Ant 
Its Strength and Perseverance — Man and Insect Contrasted — The Brown 
Ant — F orm of its Habitation — Regulation of Temperature — Necessity of 
Moisture — How the Ant constructs Ceilings — Mining Bees — The Andrena 
and its burrowing Powers — The Scolia, its Burrows and its Prey — The 
Humble Bee — Its general Habits — Locality of its Dwelling — Development 
of the Young — The Lapidary Bee, its Colours, Disposition and Habits — 
The Wasp — Its Food and Habitation — Materials and Architecture of the 
Nest— Disposition, Form, and Number of the Cells — Biography of a Queen 
Wasp, and History of her Nest. 
The burrowing Insects now come before our notice. 
Were this work to be arranged according to the rigid systems 
of zoological schoolmen, the list of burrowing insects must have 
been headed by the beetles ; but, as the subject of the book is 
to describe the peculiar dwellings which are needful for the 
welfare of various animals, a different arrangement is necessary, 
so that a well-built home takes precedence over a well- 
developed animal. If we wish to select an order of insects 
which surpasses every other in the variety and excellence of 
their burrows, we turn at once to the Hymenoptera, a large 
and important group of insects, which includes the wasps, bees, 
ants, sawflies, ichneumons, and one or two other families. The 
greater number of these insects burrow in the ground; but 
others are remarkable for their wonderful powers of excavating 
the hardest wood, and of forming therein a series of beautifully 
made cells, for the protection of the future brood. 
Turn we first to some exotic Ants which inhabit tropical 
America. 
