Fig. 242.—Tent moth, caterpillar and cocoon.
One of the best known of the moths is the tent moth (Fig. 242), the larva of which forms a tentlike web for its protection in the trees it affects. A richly tinted flyer is known as the goat moth (Fig. 243), the caterpillar being a large and beautiful creature.
Fig. 243.—Goat moth.
XXVIII. THE ANTS
If the question should be propounded which next to man is the most intelligent of animals, the reply might be, the ants; for after a careful study of all the ways and habits of these small insects, it will be very evident that the lives of many are conducted with more method than the lowest human lives.
The ants belong to the great group called Hymenoptera—insects with membranelike wings, including the gall flies, bees, and wasps.
Ants are found everywhere. Long lines are seen marching along, some coming, some going, in countless multitudes. Yet drop a strange ant into this highway and it is at once discovered and in danger. If water is poured into a nest of ants, the inhabitants come rushing out. Some come to fight, and others bear in their mouths the young (Fig. 244), countless thousands, to a place of safety.