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Ant. An insect belonging to the same order as the bees and wasps. Like bees, the ants form communities, consisting of males, females, and workers. The males and females are at first winged, and are produced in great numbers at certain times of the year. They then leave the nest and take flight, in swarms, into the air where the fertilization of the females takes place. In a few hours they return to earth where the males soon die, and the females tear off their own wings and become the mothers of new colonies. The workers perform all the labor of the colony, feed the young, defend the nest and carry on war with other ant societies. Many singular habits and instincts of ants have been observed. Two of the most interesting are the instinct of making slaves, and that of milking, so to speak, the little plant lice. As regards the former, it is found that certain ants capture the pupae of other species of ants (i.e., when they are in the quiescent or pupae stage), and bring them up as slaves.

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