(B) Ants - Definition

Familiar Ants (Formica) vs Termites/White Ants.

ANT. The insects included under this name are divisible into two distinct groups, which exhibit important differences not only in structure but also in habits. The familiar ant (Formica), found in Britain and Europe generally, belongs to an order of insects known as the Hymenoptera, of which division the bees, wasps, hornets, are also well-known examples. But the Termites or white ants-insects which also live in social communities, and which inhabit tropical regions-belong to a different order, that of the Neuropterous insects, and exhibit differences in several important respects from the ordinary ants. To both species or kinds of these forms it will be necessary to direct attention, and the familiar ants naturally fall to be considered first.





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Ant - Table of Contents