286 HYMENOPTERA. 
Mother, No ; they transfer their care 
to the pnpee, which are carried out into 
the air on mild, soft days, or placed 
higher or lower in the nests, according as 
the heat or cold of the weather vary. 
Lucy, What constant trouble! And 
how long do they remain in the pupa 
state ? 
Mother, Something more than a 
month. In August the nest is full of 
young ants of all the three ranks. The 
females are more than twice as large as 
the males, and both are furnished with 
wings ; but the neuters, or labourers, have 
none, and are of a size between the 
others. 
Lucy, The labourers, I suppose, bring 
home food to the larvae, as bees do ? 
What do they chiefly eat ? 
Mother, They eat fruit, dead insects, 
and flesh of all sorts : with surprising 
dexterity each individual cuts off a little 
piece to carry home ; or many ants, unit- 
ing their strength, drag the whole mass 
to the nest. I have often seen a great 
