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Show tNSECTA. · • 118 . . n· the palpl . . are sma ' • the maxillre and labtum • the thorax is comform in the neuters, f h maxillre the longest, f rnished, in the are filiform, and those oh t el.most ovoidal abdomendsu ometimes with 11 and t e a · g an 1 d Pressed lat{>ra y, . s with a sun ' . lar acid cal e f males and neuters, someume that secrete a parucu e . . . t of the anus, glands in the VlCtnl y tremely numer. uently ex d formic. unities which are_ [req individuals: males an They form com· ms c onst. s t s of three kmd. s of less v e'tned than those ous. Each specte . lled with long wtngs. d ry deciduous; and '· . h are furms . an ve . +emales WL'UC f this secuon, f les with 1mper· J · optera o ly em a of the other Hymenf . s which are mere 1 found within the . te o wmg • mere y neuters, desutu 1 and females are t their wings are . The rna es . be momen . h feet ovanes. . They leave tt .t . the females, and Wlt domicil in transttu; much inferior m ~lze to f undate them in the developed. The rna esll,er head and mandibles, dec soon after perish · ally sma ms an . a proportton f m numerous swar their presence 15 no air, whet·e the~ o: their natal hill, where l orne mothers, wan· without ret.u~·nmgT:e females, now ready t~ ::~ing detached their longer requisite. f their birth-place, anc 1 Some of those a distance rom d a new co ony. de. r to by means o f their fee. t,. f.o un f the ant· h'1l ls are arrested b.y wmgs h' h are 1·n the vtcm1ty o heir d om1'c 'll ' tear off thet.r however w , wlCh o r, oree them to re. turn. to t nd r, orce them to deposit the neuters t them from leavmg It, a l t they are violently ex-wings, preven . t . s thought, however, t la · gs there-1 1 • • ~ cted. . thetr eg ment that operation lS e e 1 by the want of wtngs pelled the roo . are distinct, not on Y th of their The neuters, whtch . f their head, the streng d Ocelli, but also by the stze o d and frequently knotted tholrahx, an dibles the.i r more c ompresls e have the sole charge o f al t e :n': their ~;~t:r~::~~;i~~~;:~ t:g:~earin~ o~c~:r:i:~n~~ th:h;.:,~: economy f h . nests Ol' ant-lulls va y . h. . the ground; nd form o t elr 11 estabhs 1t m ~:;::instinct or. the ,:;~~i::ly ~::;l:;•;a~icles ~f e~r~:~ ::;:~.~: in its constructl~n rs seize on fragments o vail 'n which entirely conc~al lt; ~th~ or dome-like hillocks over t.he s.po\:e trunks . th them ralse come a bl' sh their dwelling lD t . w1 are dom•l c.t h. ate d • Some e. sta l erforate . direcuon lD every they h ·nterior of wlnch they p h 1 particles are ~! ~:! :::~e~ :: a l~byrint~ :•PP:~!~~lyt~:r:;~~~r e~alleries lead to lo ed. V artous an also emp y . d ce of their young. ar to inter· the particular rest en din search of provisions, appe h and The neuters roam abroa . s b the senses of touc . communicate the success o~ th:l:c~b::er. y Fruit, Insects, or their sme1 1 , an d to aid and asstst HYMENOPTERA. 119 larvre, dead bodies of small quadrupeds and birds, &c., constitute their food. They feed the larvre with their mouths, transport them in fine weather to the external superficies of the hill, in order that they may receive additional warmth, and take them down again on the approach of night or had weather, defend them from their enemies, and look to their preservation with the greatest fidelity, particularly when the hill is disturbed. They pay equal attention to the nymphs, some of which are enclosed in a cocoon, and the others naked; they tear open the envelope of the former when the moment of their ultimate metamorphosis has arrived. I have observed neuters in various ant-hills, remarkable for a head much larger than common, and for the unusual fewness of their number. M. Dupont de Nemours, without being a naturalist, had also previously noticed this difference( I). M. de la Cordaire, whom I have already mentioned, has given me a neuter allied to the alta cepltalotes of Fabricius, and assures me that individuals of this kind were the defenders of their community, and apparently fulfilled the functions of Captains in their excursions, at which time they marched along the sides of the main body. The name of eggs is vulgarly applied to the larvre and nymphs; those of the F. rufa are eaten by young Pheasants. The neuters prevent the individuals with newly acquired wings from issuing forth until the proper moment has arrived, which is always determined by the heat of the atmosphere. T'hey then open a passage for them and let them go. Most ant-hills are wholly composed of individuals of the same species. Nature, however, has deviated from this plan with respect to the F. 'rouasatre or Amazon-ant, and that which I have called the aanguinea. Their neuters, by open violence, procure auxiliaries of their own caste but of different species, which I have designated by the names of noir-cendree and mineuse. When the heat of the day begins to lessen, and exactly at the same hour, at least for several days, the .!lmazons or Legionnai1·ea quit their nest, advance in a solid column, more or less numerous or according to the extent of the population, and march upon the Ant-hill they wish to attack. They soon penetrate into it notwithstanding the opposition of the inhabitants, seize the larvre and nymphs of the neuters peculiar to the invaded community, and transport them in the same warlike order to their own domicil, where they are attended to in common with the posterity of their conquerors, by other· neuters of their own species (1) See his Recherches sur les Fourmis Indigenes. |