THE INSECT WORLD 



can distinguish a great variety of scents; it is found to make 

 some of the same errors as we do in confusing certain chemi- 

 cally distinct substances. To us, these substances give out a 

 similar odour. By removing the antennae, it can be shown 

 that the antennae are the chief seat of scent perception. Other 

 insects, such as male moths, are attracted to the scent of the 

 other sex, and will fly to any object with which a virgin 

 female has been in contact. 



Fig. 2 



Two types of ears in the 

 foreleg of grasshoppers, A 

 with the eardrum visible, B 

 with the drum concealed in 

 a slit 



The sense of taste has also been studied in some detail in 

 the honey bee by means of training experiments. The sense is 

 much like ours, but its range is a good deal smaller. About 

 one-third of the substances which we call sweet attract bees 

 and some of the things which we call bitter repel them. 



An insect's antennae are also important organs of touch 

 and have the faculty of distinguishing hot from cold. If 

 normal honey bee workers are put in a cage of which the floor 

 is hot at one end and cold at the other, most of them collect 

 near the warm end. If the antennae are removed, their 

 position in the cage no longer bears any relation to the 

 temperature of the floor. 



19 



