Evening star., 1949-08-01
This and That
By Charles Z. Trdce,peu

unless one Is Fabre the watching of IN
sects at work becomes distressing.
These living things are not such living
things as one knows best.
Their ways are not our ways. Insects in
no way resemble dogs, or cats, or even slugs.
insects live their own lives in their own
world. without thought of mankind.
If they threaten us, as they do. they do
1t instinctively. without malice-and that
makes 1t all the more terrible.
We humans can understand malice Each
one OF us. no matter how sunny the DISPOSE
tion has few percent malice in the makeup.
The wasps in the window are protected by
the composition Of their outer cases.
1t is natures plastic.
1t is one Of the reasons why these things
do threaten us.
Cased in plastic, our wasps fear little we
ing about DDT)
Timeless. they have no dread Of death, in
the totalitarian -communistic state in which
they live.
Americans. free in democracy. despite its
shortcomings would do well to study insects,
especially bees, wasps, and hornets. to see If
this is the sort of thing they would like.
We imagine countless "pinks." hesitating,
would be thrown back breathlessly into the
arms of democracy, If they would 60 to the
insects-and watch them.
Our wasps really have little if any brains.
They do not need brains. All they need
has been provided by their super state.
What intelligence they have is enough for
them, but it looks sadly lacking to the human
observer.
A dog, given q problem, may work 1t out.
Even the cat, properly handled, is able to
solve problem.
Wasps, If they solve something out Of the
ordinary. do 80 by chance.
We watched one wasp-really hornet-hy
along between the screen and the window.
The space is about inches.
Every time the hornet struck the screening,
he dropped to the window sill.
Then laboriously he started up the screen.
He kept this up for minutes, climbing up
to the crossbar, then dropping back.
Up he would start again.
All the time he might have flown across
to the cell block, guarded by black bandits,
his brothers.
No. he simply started up the screen again.
Once he got within couple Of inches Of
the nest, when q warrior darted at him.
Down he dropped again. to go over the
same route again and again.
There was no law about it. Even the silly
rules Of the hive had nothing to say on the
subject. we felt sure. :
This fellow might have used his brain, If
he had any, but he had very little, and what
he had had been unused for centuries.
Adherence to the laws of his absurd sort
Of government had deprived him Of the pos
sibility Of growth.
He did the same old insect actions in the
same old insect way. For him there was no
progress, just the doing of what he had been
told to do by the immutable voice Of the
ages.
It was fearful, q terrible sight. Man, too,
will come to this, If he listens to the below
ing voice, some day. on radio or television.
He must school himself, while there is still
time. to resist being turned into an insect.
He must be q man, ut all costs.
The black devil was still crawling up the
screen, as we turned away. It made one feel
bad. staring ut the wasp 30 wise, and yet 30
senseless that he could not solve little prob
lem.
Give him the cell block. and he knew what
to do but face him with q problem like
climbing up q screen, and he was no better
OF than the hornet1 which st,,ng Antony out
Of his lstharsy tW9 thousand pears ago..