LETTERS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 85 
the line of march, and acted as sentinels, became 
much more numerous before he quitted the spot. 
The larvae and neuters of this species are furnished 
with eyes. 
I shall now give you some account of my little 
favourites, the English ants, of which, according 
to Gould, there are five species : viz. 1st, the hill 
ant (formica rufa) ; 2. the jet ant (formica fuli- 
ginosa) ; 3d, the red ant (myrmica rubra), which 
is the only species armed with a sting, whereas 
the others make a wound with their forceps, and 
inject the poison into it ; 4th, the common yellow 
ant (formica flava) ; and 5th, the small black ant 
(formica fusca). The societies of ants differ from 
those of termites, in having inactive larvae and 
pupae, the neuters being at the same time soldiers 
and labourers. The foundation of their colonies 
differs from that of the termites in tnis respect, that 
the female, after losing her wings, does all the 
work usually performed by the neuters, and is 
soon assisted by her infant progeny. However, 
the females are not always at liberty to leave the 
nest they were born in, and the workers pull off 
their wings and forcibly detain them till they 
are reconciled to their fate : they then go where 
they please, attended by a single ant. When 
the female has laid her eggs, the workers begin 
