We have thus some idea of that masonry which erects the abodes familiar to every eye, though the execution may not be familiar to many minds. The second chapter contains an account of the eggs, larvæ pupæs; and here other marvels are unfolded. In the ants nest are males whose sole business is to perpetuate the species and die; females who are waited upon like peeresses in their own right, who neither toil nor spin, but are served by neutrals, labourers, who tend their innumerable eggs, nourish and unfold the larvæ, and in short, do all the duties of mothers, nurses, and menials. The author devised means to observe their internal economy; and he says—

"Let us now open the shutter which conceals from us the interior of the ant hill, and let us see what is passing there.

"Here the pupæ are heaped up by hundreds in their spacious lodges; there the larvæ are collected together, and guarded by workers. In one place, we observe an assemblage of eggs, in another place, some of the workers seem occupied in following an ant of larger size than the rest;—this is the mother, or at least one of the females, for there are always several in each ant-hill:—she lays as she walks, and the guardians, by whom she is surrounded, take up her eggs, or seize them at the very moment of her laying them; they collect them together, and carry them in little heaps in their mouths.[2] On looking a little closer, we find that they turn them continually with their tongues; it even appears, they pass them one after the other between their teeth, and thus keep them constantly moistened. Such is the first apercu which my glazed aparatus offered.

"Having directed my close attention to these eggs, I remarked they were of different sizes, shades and forms. The smallest were white, opake, and cylindrical; the largest, transparent, and slightly arched at both ends; those of a middle were semi-transparent. In holding them up to the light, I observed a sort of white oblong cloud; in some, a transparent point might be remarked at the superior extremity; in others, a clear zone above and underneath the little cloud. The largest presented a single opake and whitish point in their interior. There were some whose whole body was so remarkably clear as to allow of my observing very distinctly the rings. In fixing my attention more closely upon the latter, I observed the egg open, and the larva appear in its place."

"I have been enabled to observe through the glasses of my artificial ant-hill, the great care taken of these little worms, which bear also the name of Larvæ. They were generally guarded by a body of ants, who, raised upon their feet, with their abdomen brought between these members, were prepared to cast their venom upon all intruders, whilst here and there, other workers were engaged in clearing the passages, by removing the materials which were out of place: a great number of their companions taking at the same time their repose, and appearing to be fast asleep: but a busy scene occurred at the moment of transporting their little ones to enjoy the warmth of the sun. When the sun's rays fell upon the exterior portion of the nest, the ants, who were then on the surface, descended with great rapidity to the bottom of the ant-hill, struck with their antennæ the other ants, ran one after the other, and jostled their companions, who mounted at the moment under the bell glass, and redescended with the same speed, putting in their turn the whole colony in motion, so that we could observe a swarm of workers, filling up all the passages; but what proved still more their intention by these movements, was, the violence with which the workers sometimes seized, with their mandibles, those who did not appear to understand them, dragging them forth to the top of the ant-hill, and immediately leaving them, to go and seek those still remaining with the young.

"As soon as the ants had intimation of the appearance of the sun, they occupied themselves with the larvæ and pupæ; they carried them with all expedition above the ant-hill, where they left them exposed to the influence of the heat. Their ardour suffered no relaxation; the female larvæ (which are heavier, and much larger than those of the other cast) were carried passages, leading from the interior to the exterior of the ant-hill, and placed in the sun, by the side of those of the workers and males. After remaining there a quarter of an hour, the ants again took them up, and sheltered them from the direct rays of the sun, by placing them in chambers, situated under a layer of straw, which did not entirely intercept the heat.

The workers, after having fulfilled the duties imposed upon them in regard to the larvæ, did not forget themselves; they sought, in their turn, to stretch themselves in the sun, lay upon each other in heaps, and seemed to enjoy some repose, but it was of no long duration. I observed a great number constantly employed on the surface of the ant-hill, and others engaged in carrying back the larvæ, in proportion as the sun declined. The moment of nourishing them being at length arrived, each ant approached a larva, and offered it food. "The larvæ of ants," observes M. Latreille, "resemble, when they quit the egg, little white worms destitute of feet, thick short, and in form almost conical; their body is composed of twelve rings: the anterior part is slender and curved. We remark at the head two little horny pieces or hooks, too distant from each other to be regarded as true teeth; under these hooks we observe four little points or cils, two on each side, and a mamelon, or tubercular process, almost cylindrical, soft, and retractile, by which the larva receives its food."

FATA MORGANA.

This singular and curious phenomenon, which is occasionally seen near the Bay of Naples, and which is nearly allied to the mirage, so well known in the east, was observed in Huntingdonshire, during the late hot weather. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and the light vapours arising from the river Ouze, were hovering over a little hill, near St. Noet's when suddenly the village of Great Paxton, its farm-houses, barns, dispersed cottages, and indeed the whole of its beautiful and picturesque scenery were distinctly visible in these vapours, forming a splendid aerial picture, which extended from east to west for several hundred yards. This natural panorama lasted for about ten minutes, and was visible from a neighbouring declivity, about half a mile from Great Paxton.

WONDERS OF NATURE.—ENTOMOLOGY.

ORDER IV.—NEUROPTERA.

The neuroptera, or nerve-winged insects, have four wings, which are membranaceous, naked, and so interspersed with delicate veins, that they have the appearance of beautiful network. Their tail has no sting; but that of the male is frequently furnished with a kind of forceps or pincers. The genera