. Elementary entomology . Fig. 404. Wheat straw-worm, spring tion. (Much enlarged) a, b, lar\'ae; /, female, (.\fter Riley, United States Department of Agriculture) abdomen of true ants forms a sort of knot or tooth between the thorax and abdomen. The males and females are winged and mate in their nuptial flight, which may often be ob- served on a warm summer day, when the air will be filled with them. After this the males soon die, but the females bite off their wings and either found a new colony or are taken in by some workers. The workers, or neuters, are wingless, undeveloped females. The
. Elementary entomology . Fig. 404. Wheat straw-worm, spring tion. (Much enlarged) a, b, lar\'ae; /, female, (.\fter Riley, United States Department of Agriculture) abdomen of true ants forms a sort of knot or tooth between the thorax and abdomen. The males and females are winged and mate in their nuptial flight, which may often be ob- served on a warm summer day, when the air will be filled with them. After this the males soon die, but the females bite off their wings and either found a new colony or are taken in by some workers. The workers, or neuters, are wingless, undeveloped females. They may upon necessity lay eggs, but these give rise to males only. The workers do all the work of the colony, caring for the eggs and larvae, which they feed and bring up with all the nicety of the best-ordered nursery. The true females, or so-called queens, merely lay the eggs, having no control over the colony, which is managed on the most socialistic lines by the workers. There are frequently many different sizes and forms of workers, each of which has a particular sort of work. Thus the large-headed, strong-jawed individuals are naturally the soldiers, while others look after the larvae and eggs. Ants feed on various animal substances, being very fond of dead insects and sweets of all kinds. It is the latter taste which leads many species to take such care of the little „ a . .. j- u-j ^ Fig. 405. Ants attending aphids. green plant-lice (see page 127), which (Slightly enlarged) give off the sweet honey-dew of which (Photograph by weed)
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1912
