"
"I was rather fancifully describing her wings, dear, which she takes off
herself when she enters the nest, having no further use for them. There
are three kinds of ants in every nest: perfect males and females, and
the workers. There are many different races of ants, from the great
white ant of Africa--a terror to the natives, though in some respects
his good friend--down to the little red-and-yellow meadow ants so common
among us. The ants I have told you about, the Rufians and the Fuscans,
are natives of America, and are found in New England. The big black ant
so common here, sometimes called the jet ant, is a carpenter and a
wood-carver. His great jaws bore through the hardest wood, and his
pretty galleries and winding staircases penetrate through the beams and
rafters of many an old mansion. Not long ago I accidentally killed a
carpenter ant, and in a few minutes a comrade appeared who slowly, and
apparently with great labor and fatigue, bore away the body. I felt as
though I were looking on at a funeral.
"I wish I had time to tell you about the agricultural ant of Texas, and
the umbrella ants of Florida, who cut bits of leaf from the orange-trees
and march home with them in procession, holding each leaf in an upright
position.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101