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ssss1 Æsopicæ Fabulæ (Tauchnitz edition), p. 92.

Messrs. Kirby and Spencessss1 discuss the matter in the following terms:—"When we find the writers of all nations and ages unite in affirming that, having deprived it of the power of vegetating, ants store up grain in their nests, we feel disposed to give larger credit to their assertions. Writers in general have taken ... (this) ... for granted. But when observers of nature began to examine the manners and economy of these creatures more narrowly, it was found, at least with respect to the European species of ants, that no such hoards of grain were made by them; and, in fact, that they had no magazines in their nests in which provisions of any kinds were stored up."

ssss1 Entomology, ed. 7 (1856), p. 313.

They then proceed to explain how easily the white pupæ, which the ants carry about in their jaws, may have been mistaken for grains of wheat, and to inform us that the accurate observations of Mr. Gould, published in 1747, were among the first which led to the correction of this error. "However," they continue, "it may be otherwise with exotic ants, for although during the cold of our winters they are generally torpid and need scarcely any food, yet in warmer regions, during the rainy seasons, when they are probably confined to their nests, a store of provisions may be necessary for them."