Identifier: antsbeeswaspsrec00aveb (find matches)
Title: Ants, bees, and wasps. A record of observations on the habits of the social Hymenoptera
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Avebury, John Lubbock, baron, 1834-1913. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Ants Bees Wasps
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ned away forthe loss of her companion. Some workers of F. cinerea lived in one of mynests from November 1875 to July 1881. In a nest of F.fusca, which I brought in on June6, 1875, and in one of Lasius niger brought inon July 25, 1875, there were no queens; and, asalready mentioned, no workers have been produced.Those now living (December 1881) are therefore theoriginal ones, and they must be more than six yearsold. The duration of life in ants is therefore muchgreater than has been hitherto supposed. Though I lose many ants from accidents, especiallyin summer, in winter there are very few deaths. I have given the following figure (fig. 2), whichrepresents a typical nest belonging to Lasius niger^because it is a good instance of the mode in whichmy ants excavated chambers and galleries for them-selves, and seems to show some ideas of strategy. Thenest is, as usual, between two plates of glass, the outerborder is a framework of wood, and the shaded part ARRANGEMENT OF A NEST. 43 Fig. 2.
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Ground plan of a typical nest of Lasiiis niger, reduced. a,narrow doorway ; h, hall ; c, vestibule ; d, main chamber : e, innersanctum ; /,/,/,/, narrow entrance passages to sanctum : //, ff, spe-cial pillars 44 AKRANttEMENT OF CHAMBERS. represents garden mould, which the ants have them-selves excavated, as shown in the figure. For thesmall doorway (a), indeed, I am myself responsible.I generally made the doorways of my nests narrow, soas to check evaporation and keep the nests frombecoming too dry. It will be observed, however, thatbehind the hall (b) the entrance contracts, and is stillfurther protected by a pillar of earth, which leaves oneither side a narrow passage which a single ant couldeasily guard, or which might be quickly blocked up.Behind this is an irregular vestibule (c), contractedagain behind into a narrow passage, which is followedby another, this latter opening into the main chamber(d). In this chamber several pillars of earth are left,almost as if to support the rooantsbeeswaspsrec00aveb

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