The habits of the ants are most interesting, and one of our greatest living naturalists, Sir John Lubbock, has devoted much of his time in elucidating their economy.
The nests are almost always chambered cavities, hollowed out either in the ground, in walls, and similar situations, or in dead and decaying wood.
One of the commonest examples in our own country is the Garden Ant (Formica nigra), which may be found everywhere in gardens making its nest in the ground.
Another common species is the pretty Turf Ant (Formica flava), which generally haunts commons and heaths, casting up small hills, which serve to throw off the rain; and this species in some localities makes its nest under stones. The Wood Ant (Formica lignipeda) is another familiar species.
Fig. 27.—Formica Lignipeda (Worker). (Mag.)
A very large group of ants belong to the section Myrmicinæ, the best-known species of which are the Red Ants, Myrmica rubra, and their allies.
Fig. 28.—Myrmica Rubra (Male). (Mag.)