Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-10-21
Washington, D. c., Oct. 1s.-Did
ever imagine what the world re-

Sembles to a bee or an ant? Putting
yourself in an insects place Is not
just a matter of picturing your nor
NAL self reduced a million or so times
and walking about seeing crumbs as
loaves Of bread and Jumps in the car
pet as mountains. You. must build
up a new world. one that is more fam
tastic than H. G. Wells idea of Mars.
And rel then a human being can
have only a dim, conception of what
lifc would be IL he. had six legs and
depended on his sense of smell more
than his eyes to tell him what the
world. is like. va
If you fancy yourself a worker in
the bee world. for example, YOU must
imagine yourself recognizing hive
neighbors by their distinctive odor.
Family resemblance in the social or
der Of bees is a matter of a hive and
family odor rather than Of peculiar
appearance.
When you returned home after "a
long journey in. search Of nectar the
sentinel at the door would know you
by the odor CT the hive which you
carried. If by some mishap you be-
came lost or injured and did not re-
turn to the hive for several days the
hive odor would gradually become
faint and when you arrived the guard
San Of the door would sound the warn,
ing that a stranger was trying to
break in. The result would, be a trag-
ic ending Of your useful career.
As a honey bee you would have an
intense passion FOR sweet things. and
If a scientist got you in his power and
put o to work in his experiments
you would show him that a bee can
not be fooled by bitter salts in candy.
You would be a connoisseur to the
extent Of recognizing the difference
between candy containing strychnine
and candy containing ,quinine whe
the scientist himself could not detect
any difference in taste.
These random glimpses of life in an
insects world are gathered from the
experiments of DR.. N: e. McIndoo of
the bureau Of entomology. DR.. Nc
Indoo recently has published a paper
on the senses of insects in which he
explains his latest observations and
conclusions. especially those relating
to the %olfactory sense.
Insects Have q New Science.
"In regard to odors," he says. .in.
sects have already evolved a new sci
ence and are capable .of classifying
and a%nalyzing doors. many q which
are unknown to us . Furthermore,
they have evolved special organs for
producing odors and highly developed
ones for receiving them. In fact, the
olfactory sense Of insects, particularly
in the honeybee Is SO highly developed
that we do not have any more con
/ ception Of it than does the honeybee
III it could think as we do) of our
wonderfully developed sense OF sight,
which Is able to distinguish accurate
ly the size, form, and color Of OBJ
|tects."
Science for centuries has puzzled
over mysteries Of animal life and
wondered how some of the tiny crea:
lures are unerringly guided to their
mates, to food, and to their homes
It has proved long ago that sight
plays q minor part in insect life. Some
scientists attribute the remarkable
feats Of insects to Instinct and otferl
believe that strange occult powers
lguide them. Still other entoMologistl
ARE persuaded that one OF sthe five
senses, highly developed, must rule
insect activities as sight5rules human
life.
Dr. McIndoo believes that keer
olfactory sense accounts for much o.
1.-THE extraordinary behavior OF insects
mates from miles away. 4
DR.. SMcIndoo carried $50 Prone.
THEA cocoons from Massachusetts II
small Islands of the Florida Keys
The moths were then sufficiently fai
from their regional home.sthes doctor
tfigured. ia that anoftothers specimen
would interfere with his observations
The female moths were Kept In glass
Vars, some turned upside down on ths
sand, and soms with netting over thu
top. II . .,s ss. 3 j