Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-10-21

Washington, oct. 21.--Did you ever
imagine what the world resembles 10
n bee or an ant2 Putting yourself
I'm an insects place Ia not just mat
ter Of picturing your normal self re-
duced a million or 80 times and walk
ing about seeing crumbs ms loaves of
bread and Jumps IN the carpet as
mountains. You must build up
new world. ono that is more fantastic
than II. O. Wells idea OF Mars. And
even then a human being can have
only n dim conception cf what life
would be II he had ak legs and depend
ed on his sense of smell more than his
eyes 10 tell him what the world Ia Ike.
II you fancy yourself a worker in
the bee world. for example, you must
imagine yourself recognizing hive
neighbors by their dlstinctlve odor.
Family resemblance Ia tho social order
Of bees In n matter OF a hive and family
odor rather than II peculiar appear
ance.
When you returned home after a
| long journey In search OF nectar the
| sentinel at the door would know you
| by the odor Of the hive which you
carried II by some mishap you be
| came lost or injured and did not re-
| turn 10 tho hive for several days the
| hive odor would gradually become
| faint and when you arrived the guard
ian Of the door would sXund tho warn
! ing that stranger was trying "a
break In. The result would be a trag-
/ lc ending Of your useful career.
Aa honey bee you would have mn
] f.,s
II n scientist got you in his power
and put you to work in his experiments
You would show him that bee cannot
be fooled by bitter salts IN candy. You
would be "a connoisseur to the extent
Of recognizing tho difference between
/ candy containing strychnine and candy
containing quinlne when tho scien-
tiet himself could not detect any differ.
ence in taste.
/ These random glimpees Of life in M
insccts world are gathered from tn,
experiments OF Or. ". =. McIndoo ot
the Bureau OF Entomology. DR.. Me
Indoo recently has published n pnpel
on tho senses IN which no explains
his latest observations md conclus
ions, especially those rslnting to tn,
ofactory senae.
Insects Have New Science.
I'm regard 70 odors," he saye. "in
eects have already evolved q new
science and are capable Of cIaeSifyin,
and snalyzing odors. many Of whicl
, arc unknown 20 uss Furthermore
, they have evolved special organs 70
: producing Odors and highly dcvelope,
ones for receiving them. In fact IN
olfactory sense Of ineects. perticplarl
, in rhe honeybee is 80 highly develope
r that we do not have any more conceD
. ton Of II than does tho honey Doe n
1t could think as We do) Of our won
derfully developed sense Of sigh
which ls able 70 distinguish accur
ately the size. form. and color OF oh
jects."
Science for centuries has puzzle
. over mysteries Of animal Ilfe an
wondered how some OF the tinv crea
lures are unerringly guided to thel
mates 10 food. and 10 their home
1t was proved long ago that sigh
plays n minor part In insect life. Som
scientists attribute the remarkab
feats OF insects TO in9t1nct and othe,
y believe that strange occult poyveo
guide them. SIN other entonoloris
are persuaded that one OF the a,
senses, highly developed, must III
insect activities as sight rules h1ynn5
d l.fe.
n DR.. McIndoo believes that a 70.
oifactory sense accounts for much
the extraordinary behavior OF insect