in zoology. See Formica and Termes.

Ant-Bear, or Ant-eater, in zoology. See Myrmecophaga.

Ant-Egg, a name popularly given to a kind of little white balls found in the banks or nests of ants, ordinarily supposed to be the ova of this insect.

Late naturalists have observed, that these are not properly the ants eggs, but the young brood themselves in their first state; they are so many little vermiculi wrapped up in a film, or skin, composed of a sort of silk, which they spin out of themselves as silk-worms and caterpillars do. At first they are hardly observed to stir; but, after a few days continuance, they exhibit a feeble motion of flexion and extension; and begin to look yellowish and hairy, shaped like small maggots, in which shape they grow up till they are almost as large as ants. When they pass their metamorphosis, and appear in their proper shape, they have a small black speck on them close to the anus of the included ant, which Mr Lewenhoeck probably enough imagines to be the feces voided by it. Dr Ed King opened several of these vulgarly reputed eggs; in some of which he found only a maggot in the circumstances as above described; while in another the maggot had begun to put on the shape of an ant about the head, having two little yellow specks, where the eyes were to be. In others, a further progress was observed, the included maggots being furnished with every thing to complete the shape of an ant, but wholly transparent, the eyes only excepted, which were as black as bugs. Lastly, in others, he took out every way perfect and complete ants, which immediately crept about among the rest. These supposed ants eggs are brought up every morning in summer, near the top of the bank, where they are lodged all the warm part of the day, without... Ant-hills the sun's influence. At night, or if it be cool, or like to rain, they carry them down to a greater depth; so that you may dig a foot depth e'er you come at them.

The true ants eggs are the white substance which, upon opening their banks, appears to the eye like the scatterings of fine white sugar, or salt, but very soft and tender. Examined by a microscope, it is found to consist of several pure, white appearances, in distinct membranes, all figured like the lesser sort of birds eggs, and as clear as a fish's bladder. The same substance is found in the bodies of the ants themselves. On this spawn, when emitted, they lie in multitudes, to brood, till in some time it is turned into little vermicles as small as mites, commonly called ants eggs.

Ant-Hills, are little hillocks of earth, which the ants throw up for their habitation and the breeding of their young. They are a very great mischief to dry pastures, not only by wasting too much land as they cover, but by hindering the scythe in mowing the grass, and yielding a poor hungry food pernicious to cattle. The manner of destroying them is to cut them into four parts from the top, and then dig into them so deep as to take out the core below, so that, when the turf is laid down again, it may lie somewhat lower than the level of the rest of the land: by this means it will be wetter than the rest of the land; and this will prevent the ants from returning to the same place, which otherwise they would certainly do. The earth that is taken out must be scattered to as great a distance every way as may be, otherwise they will collect it together and make another hill just by. The proper time for doing this is winter; and if the places be left open, the frosts and rains of that time of the year will destroy the rest: but in this case care must be taken that they are covered up early enough in the spring, otherwise they will be less fertile in grass than the other places.

In Hertfordshire they use a particular kind of spade for this purpose. It is very sharp, and formed at the top into the shape of a crescent, so that the whole edge makes up more than three-fourths of a circle; this cuts in every part, and does the business very quickly and effectually. Others use the same instruments that they do for mole-hills. Human dung is a better remedy than all these, as is proved by experiment; for it will kill great numbers of them, and drive all the rest away, if only a small quantity of it be put into their hills.

Acid of Ants, an acid produced by distilling millions of these insects, either without addition, or with water. It resembles vinegar in many respects; but differs from it in forming crystals with magnesia, iron, and zinc. Its attractions are not yet determined, but are supposed to coincide with those of vinegar.