Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction

CHAPTER XXIV.

SOCIAL INSECTS (Continued).

A curious Ant from India (Myrmica Kirbii).—Locality of its Nest.—Description of the Nest, its Material, and Mode of Structure.—A nocturnal Misadventure.—The Driver Ant of Africa.—Description of the Insect.—Reason for its Name.—Its general Habits.—Destructive Powers of the Driver Ant.—How the Insects devour Meat and convey it Home.—How they kill Snakes.—Native Legend of the Python.—Their Mode of March.—Fatal Effects of the Sunbeams.—An extemporized Arch.—Method of escaping from Floods.—Site of their Habitation.—Modes of destroying them.—Living Ladders and their Structure.—Method of crossing Streams.—Tenacity of Life.—A decapitated Ant.—Mode of Biting.—Description of the Insect.—Curious Nest of a Brazilian Wasp.—Weight of the Nest and Method of Attachment.—Variety of Polistes Nest.—Polistes aterrimus and its singular Nest.—Beautiful Structure of an unknown Polistes. 468

CHAPTER XXV. PARASITIC NESTS.

Various Parasites.—Parasitic Birds.—The Cuckoo and its Kin.—The Cow-bird and its Nest.—Size of its Egg.—Comparison between the Cuckoo and the Apteryx.—The Æpyornis.—The Blue-faced Honey-eater or Baplin.—General Habits of the Bird.—Singular Mode of Nesting.—The Sparrow-Hawk and its parasitic Habits.—The Kestrel, its Quarrel with a Magpie.—The Purple Grakle or Crow Blackbird.—Its curious Alliance with the Osprey.—Wilson's Account of the two Birds.—The Sparrow as a Parasite.—Curious Behavior of the Stork.—Parasitic Insects.—The Ichneumon Flies.—The Parasite of the Cabbage Caterpillar.—Its Numbers and Mode of making its Habitation.—Trap-doors of the Cells.—The Australian Cocoon and its Parasites.—The Oak-egger Moth, its Cocoons and Enemies.—The Puss Moth.—Its remarkable Cocoon.—Powerful Jaws of the Parasite.—Ruby-tailed Flies and their Victims.—Modes of Usurpation.—The Cuckoo Flies or Tachinæ.—Parasites within Pups.—Parasites on Vegetables.—The Gall Flies and their Home.—British Galls, their Shapes, Structures, and Authors.—Foreign Galls, and their Uses. 487

CHAPTER XXVI.

PARASITIC NESTS (Continued).

The Oak-tree, and its Aptitude for nourishing Galls.—Compound Galls, or one Gall within another.—The Sensitive Gall of Carolina.—The Fungus of Wine-vaults.—Galls and the Insects which caused them.—Colors of Galls.—Whence derived.—The Galls of various Trees and Plants.—The Cynips parasites upon an Insect.—Galls produced by other Insects.—Mr. Rennie's Account of the Berry Gall of the Hawthorn.—The Berry Gall of the Thistle.—Dipterous Gall-makers.—Leaf-miners and Galls.—Size of the Larvæ of Leaf-miners.—The perfect Insects and their Beauty.—Method of displaying the Insect.—Social Leaf-miners.—Dipterous Leaf-miners.—Animal Galls.—The Chigoe and its Habits.—Its curious Egg-sac.—Difficulty of extirpating it.—The Penalty of Negligence.—The Breeze Flies and their Habitations.—Worbles and their Origin.—Their influence upon Cattle.—The Œstrus and its Ravages among the Hives.—The Rhipiphorus, its remarkable Form, and the difference between the Sexes.—The curious Habitation which it makes. Page 517

CHAPTER XXVII. BRANCH-BUILDING MAMMALIA.

The Dormouse in Confinement and at Liberty.—Nest of the Dormouse.—Its Position, Materials, and Dimensions.—Entrance to the Nest.—The winter Treasury.—The Loir and the Lerot.—Man as a Branch-builder.—Moselekatze.—His Conquests.—Effects upon the People.—Branch-houses.—Their Approaches. 531

CHAPTER XXVIII.

FEATHERED BRANCH-BUILDERS.

The Rook and its Nesting-place.—Materials and Structure of the Nest.—Some Habits of the Rook.—The Crow.—Difference between the Nest of the Rook and the Crow.—The Heron and its Mode of Nidification.—The Heronry at Walton Hall.—Rustic Ideas respecting the Heron's Nest.—The Chaffinch.—Locality and Structure of its beautiful Nest.—Mode of obtaining Materials.—The Goldfinch and its Home.—Distinction between the Nests of the Goldfinch and Chaffinch.—The Bullfinch.—Locality and Form of its Nest.—Variability of Structure.—The Blue-eyed Yellow Warbler.—Curious Materials of its Nest.—Its remarkable Habits.—The Bald-headed Eagle.—Why so called.—Wilson and Audubon's Account of its Nest.—The Golden Oriole and its beautiful Nest.—Mode of catching the Bird.—The Red-winged Starling, its Value and Demerits.—Its gregarious Habits.—Locality and Structure of its Nest.—The Yellow-breasted Chat and its odd Ways.—Its Courage and Affection for its Nest and Young.—Structure of its Nest.—The Ringdove and its curious Nest.—The Whitethroat.—Description of the Locality and Structure of the Nest.—Reasons for its various popular Names.—The Mocking-bird.—The Water Hen and its Nesting.—Its habit of covering the Eggs. 538

CHAPTER XXIX.

FEATHERED BRANCH-BUILDERS (Continued).

The Sedge Warbler.—Its Nest and Loquacity.—The Reed Warbler.—Use of its peculiar Tail.—Localities haunted by the Bird.—Song of the Reed Warbler.—Its deep and beautifully-balanced Nest.—Color of the Eggs.—The Indigo Bird.—The Carocier.—Familiarity of the Bird.—Le Vaillant's Experiments.—How the Nest is made.—Division of Labor.—Lover's Quarrels.—Structure of the Nest.—Humming-birds again.—The Fiery Topaz.—Its nocturnal Habits.—Appearance of the Nest.—Its Shape, and the Materials of which it is made.—The Hermit Humming-birds and their Nests.—The Ruby-throated Humming-bird.—Variable Dimensions of the Nest.—Concealment.—Mr. Webber and his Discoveries.—Variable Form and Positions of the Nest.—Materials of which it is made.—Its deceptive Exterior.—Feeding of the Young.—The Vervain Humming-bird.—How the Nest assumes its Shape.—The Red-backed Shrike.—Use of the Shrike in Falconry.—Their singular Mode of Feeding.—Impaled Prey.—Conspicuous Character of the Nest.—Popular Ideas concerning the Red-backed Shrike.—Structure of the Nest.—The Hedge Sparrow.—Its proper Title.—Carelessness about its Nest.—Foes of the Hedge Sparrow.—Its Fecundity. Page 564

CHAPTER XXX.

BRANCH-BUILDERS.

SPIDERS AND INSECTS.

Remarkable Spider Nests in the British Museum.—Seed-nests and Leaf-nests.—Nests of the Turret Spider.—Form and Coloring of the Spider.—Its curious Limbs.—Nests illustrative of the Hexagonal Principle.—Nest of the Icaria.—The Equal Pressure and Excavation Theories.—Nest of Mischocyttarus and its remarkable Form.—Nest of the Raphigaster.—Summary of the Argument.—The Processionary Moth.—Reasons for its Name.—How the Larvæ march.—Damage done by them to Trees.—A natural Remedy.—The Calosoma and its Habits.—The Gipsy Moth.—Its Ravages upon Trees and Mode of destroying it.—The Social Principle among Caterpillars.—Mr. Rennie's Experiments.—The Lackey Moth.—Supposed derivations of its popular Name.—The Eggs, Larvæ, and perfect Insects.—Habits of the Moth.—The Brown-tailed Moth.—Locality where it is found.—Its Ravages abroad.—Nests of the Icaria as they appear in Branches.—The Apoica: its remarkable Nests.—Singular Nests from the British Museum.—Nests discovered by Mr. Lord. 582

CHAPTER XXXI. MISCELLANEA.

The Polyzoa and their varied and beautiful Forms.—The Raft Spider.—Why so called.—Mode of obtaining Prey.—Mice and their Homes.—The Campagnol or Harvest-mouse.—Its general Habits.—Its winter and summer Nest.—Its Storehouse and Provisions.—Entrance to the Nest.—The Wood Mouse and its Nest.—Uses of the Field-mice.—The Domestic Mouse.—Various Nests.—Rapidity of Nest-building.—A Nest in a Bottle.—The Cell of the Queen Termite.—Its Entrances and Exits.—Size of the Inmates.—The Formica Ant and its singular Home.—Material, Structure, and Size of the Nest.—The Clothes Moths and their various Species.—Habitations of the Clothes Moth, and the Method of Formation and Enlargement.—The Elk and its winter Home.—The Snow Fortress and its Leaguers.—Its Use, Advantages, and Dangers.—The Albatross and its Mode of Nesting.—Strange Scenes.—The Edible Swallow.—Its Mode of Nesting.—Origin of its Name.—Description of the Nest.—Curious Legend respecting the Bird.—The Eagle and its Mode of Nesting.—Difficulty of reaching the Eyrie.—The Nightingale and its Nest.—Other ground-building Birds and their temporary Homes.—The Noddy.—Perilous Position of the Eggs and Young.—The Coot, and its semi-aquatic Nest. 608

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

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HOMES WITHOUT HANDS.

CHAPTER I. BURROWING MAMMALIA.

Introduction.—Man as a Burrower.—The Mole and its Dwelling.—Difficulty of observing its Habits.—Complicated structure of its Fortress, and its Uses.—Character of the Mole.—Adaptation of its Form to its mode of Life.—Common Objects.—The Shrew Mole, Elephant Shrew, and Musk Rat.—The Arctic Fox.—Structure of its Limbs.—Form of its Burrow.—Its Character, Fur, and Flesh.—The common Fox.—Mode of Burrowing and economy of Labor.—The young Family.—The Weasel, and some of its Habits.—The Badger and its Burrow.—The Prairie Dog, or Wish-ton-Wish.—Dog-towns.—Unpleasant Intruders.—The Rabbit, and the Warren.—Self-sacrifice.—Study of animal Life.—The Chipping Squirrel.—Curious form of its Dwelling.—Its subterranean Treasures.—The Woodchuck, the Pouched Rat, the Canada Rat, the Mole Rat, and the Sand Mole.—The White Bear.—Its curious Dwelling.—Snow as a Shelter.—The Pichiciago.—Its Form, Armor, and Burrow.—The Armadillos and their Habits.—The Manis.—The Aard Vark, its Food and Dwelling.—The Maliahconé.—Its strange Habits and its Burrow.—The Porcupine Ant-eater.—Its burrowing Powers.

At some period of their existence, many of the higher animals require a Home, either as a shelter from the weather, or a defense against their enemies. Of all forms of habitation, the simplest is a burrow, whether beneath the surface of the ground, or into stone, wood, or any other substance.