Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-11-22
In TATIoN OF INSTINCT.
,, ,,cE of the Invsntlvs Facsiity ~ 49,
INC Kids of Insects.

a, ina Inventive Faculty In All
A"' Kids of Insects.
Side BY side with the wonderful IN
s.a,ces recorded of the intelligence OF
,be lower animals are to be found
f,cts betrayiug their apparent stnpidi-
~ Instinct is u good servant, acting
nnder the ordinary conditions OF lie.
bu, when circumstances become un-
usual, then her weakness is evident.
Sir John Lubbock gives numerous IN
stances OF the entire lack OF the IN
yon,ivc faculty in insects. One species
Of the sphex. or wasp, prey upon a
large grasshopper. Having disabled
her victim. she drags 1T along by one
Of the antenna, but If bo>h these DO
ont off close to the head. it never oc-
ours to her TO grasp leg. She sim
nlv leaves her victim in despair.
Arain. when this wasp had once
proyisioned cell with grasshopper
and laid an egg there. both eggs ana
prasshopper were removed. Inc
sphex was allowed to return, put.
though she went into the empty cell
and must have known it to be vacant.
she calmly proceeded to stop up the
opening, as if nothing had happened.
The mason bee constructs an earthen
cell. through which, when 1t has
maturity, the young insect eats It's
wav. Monsieur Fabre found that II
he pasted piece of paper round the
cell the insect had no difficulty In eat
ing through it, but If he also inclosed
the cell in a paper case, so that there
was an air space between the cell and
paper. the insect made no attempt to
penetrate the outer paper. Instinct
taught it to bite through one inclosure,
Init it had not wit enough to attempt a
second.
Bees are supposed to show high
order of intelligence, as compared
with other insects, but even they have
narrow limitations There is species
of bee which builds cells of masonry
and fills them with honey as she goes.
raising the rim little, then making a
few journeys for honey, and, when the
cell is full, covering the top with a
last load OF mortar.
Monsieur Fabre once chose nearly
completed cell, and broke away por-
ton of the wall. The bee mended the
place on her return, the operation
coming in the natural order OF hel
work. Then the naturalist pierced q
hole in the bottom of the cell, but.
though the honey exuded through 1t,
the poor bee continued bringing al
ternate honey and mortar. as If moth
ing had happened.
On another occasion he made a still
larger hole, but, though the little
worker examined it, even pushing hel
antenna through it, she had no idea o.
: making repairs, but continued to pou
in at the top load after load OF honey
which, of course, Immediately ran GU
below.
Nor was this all. After hours o
fruitless labor, when she had brough
the usual amount of honey, she lai,
her egg and carefully sealed up tn
: empty cell.
Another instance of the resemblance
of instinct to mere habit is to be found
in the case OF caterpillar whicl
:, makes complicated sort of hammock
- If caterpillar was taken from a ham
mock which it had finished up to tn,
! sixth stage of construction. and place.
= in one which was completed to tn
= third stage, it finished its work with
:. out difficulty. On the other hand,
y one which had reached the third stag
were placed in one which had reache
y the sixth, instead OF feeling the benef
a of such progress, it became bewilt
- cred and seemed forced to return t
the point where it had been intel
- rupted. y outh's Companion.