so 
EE Tele ce A Syite 
Sa 
Fig. 1.—The little black ant, Monomorium minimum. A, male; 
, eggs; H, group of workers in line of march. A to G much enlarg 
me kinds of ants an even larger type of worker, the 
Idier, is present. The soldiers are very much larger 
an any of the other workers and usually have ex- 
‘mely long mandibles armed with sharp teeth. The 
mary function of the soldier caste is to protect the 
St; the soldiers do not take care of the brood. In 
me ant species individuals that look like soldiers because 
their larger eyes and much enlarged heads are 
tually specialized forms that crack plant seeds gathered 
t food. These nutcrackers are sometimes called the 
ller caste. Ants in other regions have evolved differ- 
t castes that are modified workers; that is, they never 
ve wings and cannot reproduce. All worker and 
dier castes are females. 
slony Formation 
At specific times of the year (different times for 
ferent species) a large number of winged males and 
B, pupa; C, female; D, female with wings; E, worker; F, larva; 
ed; H, about three times natural size. 
(From USDA) 
females are produced in each colony. These winged 
ants appear to take no part in the colony activities 
except for being fed. After they have matured in the 
nest, these winged forms fly out in great swarms, and 
it is during these flights that the males and females 
mate. The males take no further part in the history 
of the nest, but the fertilized winged females alone start 
new colonies. The males die soon after mating, usually 
by being devoured by birds, other ants, or predaceous 
insects. 
Colony formation is extremely interesting. The 
fertilized female first nips off her wings, then burrows 
into wood or soil, makes a small cavity, and begins 
laying a few eggs. When these hatch into the first 
larvae of the colony, the female feeds them by re- 
gurgitation. The food stores used by the female are 
her fat bodies, formed while she was maturing in the 
parent nest, and the large wing muscles that are digested 
