Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . f moist sand taken from theirnative hill, and placed in a sloping position, in order * J. R. MASON-ANTS. 271 to see whether they would bring the nearly vertical,and therefore insecure, portion to a level by were delighted to perceive that they immediatelyresolved upon performing the task which had beenassigned them, though they did not proceed verymethodically in their manner of building; for insteadof beginning at the bottom, and building upw
Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . f moist sand taken from theirnative hill, and placed in a sloping position, in order * J. R. MASON-ANTS. 271 to see whether they would bring the nearly vertical,and therefore insecure, portion to a level by were delighted to perceive that they immediatelyresolved upon performing the task which had beenassigned them, though they did not proceed verymethodically in their manner of building; for insteadof beginning at the bottom, and building upwards,many of them went on too add to the top of the outersurface, which increased rather than diminished thesecurity of the whole. Withal, however, they seemedio know how far to go, for no portion of the newlybuilt wall fell; and in two days they had not onlyreared a pyramidal mound to prop the rest, but hadconstructed several galleries and chambers for lodgingthe cocoons, which we had scattered at randomamongst the sand. The new portion of this buildingis represented in the figure as supporting the upperand insecure parts of the We are sorry to record that our ingenious littlemasons were found upon the third day strewed aboutthe outside of the building dead or dying, either fromover fatigue or perhaps from surfeit, as we had sup-plied them with as much honey as they could small colony of turf-ants have at this moment(July 28th, 1829) taken possession of the premisesof their own accord.* * J. R. Chapter XV. Structures of the Wood-ant or Pismire, and of Carpenter-ants. The largest of our British ants is that called the Hill-ant by Gould, the Fallow-ant by the English trans-lator of Huber, and popularly the Pismire; but whichwe think may be more appropriately named the Wood-ant (^Formica rufa, Latr.) from its invariable habitof living in or near woods and forests. This insectmay be readily distinguished from other ants by thedusky black colour of its head and hind
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