Evening star., 1934-02-18

~
AA eayesdrop at any -hen-party..
NJ There you win hear the short
comings Of the obstrepeross
male discussed with clarity.
Always showing o6 always demanding at-
sation always disrupting the best-laid plana
gin when they're little boys. walking on their
Ids to catch the attention Of the new little
with the yellow curis; pickering, blcodying
h others noses. Keep tt up - they gfoW
Ter; competing furiously for intrinsacahy use-
$ tokens, whether golf cups Or gold coins:
ncoursging shows Of vfolence IKE foot naA
and urise fhshts: ripping the world to pieces
with senseless wars. No doubt OF 1t, the male
Is nuisance. z.
And now there comes one Of their own n,ln-
Der, an eminent scientist who has devoted
long lifetime to the study Of societies among
all kinds of animals but especially those more
smooth-running ones that insects form to give
scholarly support to the Indictment against
the male.
His name Is DR.. william Morton Wheeler.
ana his researches have been conducted 1t the
Biological Institute Of Harvard University. He
discussed his findings, with acunen and humor,
OF Naturansts-
A TRUE scientist DR.. Wheeler presents the
N truth IS he finds It, whether It profits
his own side Of the case or not. And In the
long rum anyway, he intimates frank recog-
malian males viii be profitable.
n we know our own shortcomings and know
further that we can never wholly get nd OF
them, We may at least eventually learn how
TO direct more usefully part Of this tendency
10 'up and bust things" and possibly discover
surpls with Is little self-harm - possible. We
have pretty wen got rid Of duelins; maybe We
can eliminate or ut least limit war.
A. directed by Solomon long ago, Dr..
wheeler has gone to the ant to learn wisdom.
He has studied her ways. and the ways q ner
relatives. the wAsps and bees. and the ways Of
those other social insects the termites, which
are often called ants although they are not.
These two great groups Of insects the ant
bee-wasp folk and the termitess have de-
veloped the most nearly perfect societies IN
the world. There are never any internal wars.
never any duels never even IN interesting
bar room fight Though they do have their
bootleggersl)-never any Of the NOISY upsetting
behavior We have come to look upon as natural
TO males Of every species.
There isn't any ego in beehive or . ternlfte
nest Rugged indiyiduAlism, which has got our
own social order into such mess Just doesn't
exist for snts and wasps. The individual =
simply functional part Of the group. assert
YOURSELF" Il clear outside the whole behavior
pattern Of the social insects.
Il ISN'T because they are incapable Of ag-
erosion or fighting Ants are anything but
poC1dStSs their 10Cer-U1p0l Wa<8 ore. bne ulu8g
cruel and ruthless Of any that We know, and
many Of their species are heartie1 slave-raiders
~ well. And II you think the meekness Of their
winged kin extends to outsidef1 Just 80 poke
aistick into . beehive or hornets' nestl
mo; although their societies have been Or
eanised on the present basis Tor millions cS
years the social insects have not invented in-
teEnational peace But they do keep peace
among the members Of the same social group.
Again, why?
BECAUSE Dr. Wheeler says, al the orders
y of social insects have solved the problem
Of the male. The sex that rules the roost
among the backboned animals especially the
mammals and birds. Is practically ncn-existent
as social force. among the bees. ants and
wssps; and in the other great order Of social
Insects. the termites the males have been -
completely "socialized" as their meek sasterx.
No aggressive ser. no nghts It all very
simple.
But II you eliminate the males. how Do y0u
keep the group alive2 That question 1oo1D
Hike poser.
But the social insects Do nat ind y -
They have simply made reproduction pc