The ants enjoy a superiority over all other insects, 
inasmuch as they are less specialized by their mode 
' of life, their nourishment, and the instruments of their 
industry. Generally, they adapt themselves to all 
conditions, and work in all climates; nor in all Nature 
do more energetic agents in purification and 
cleansing exist. They are, so to say, the facto¬ 
tums of Nature. 
The termites, at least the majority 
? of them, work in the darkness, under 
the earth; the ants both above and 
below. 
Like the termites, they build, at least in tropical countries, the 
most remarkable edifices,—domes under which their chrysalides enjoy 
16 B 
V 
