Chapter III. 



Maternal Care of Insects In depositing their Eggs. — Solitary Bees.— 

 W;is|)s. — Ichneumons. — Moths. — Butterflies. — Gnats. — Mistakes 

 of Instinct. 



Lord Kaimes, in his ' Gentleman Farmer,' men- 

 tions the singular fact that the female sheep, weeks 

 before yeaning, selects some sheltered spot where 

 she may drop her lamb with the most comfort and 

 security; and when forcibly prevented from going 

 there, she manifests the utmost uneasiness. But 

 this instance of prospectively providing for a future 

 progeny is exemplified much more strikingly in most 

 insects, in consequence of the great difference of 

 their economy compared with that of other animals. 

 The sheep and oth^* mammalian quadrupeds suckle 

 their young, and watch over them with the most 

 affectionate care during the earlier and more help- 

 less stage of their existence. This, on the contrary, 

 is only found in a few cases among insects, such as 

 the social bees, wasps, and ants; for the greater 

 number of species never live to see their descend- 

 ants. The numerous families, indeed, of moths, 

 butterflies, and other winged insects, seldom live 

 more than a kw days after they have deposited 

 their eggs, though some other species probably live 

 many months. The lattei*, however, are only ex- 

 ceptions to the general rule, that insects, after depo*- 

 siting their eggs, very soon die. The wisdom of 

 Providence, therefore, has endowed female insects 

 with the most wonderful acuteness and skill in anti- 

 cipating the wants of their young, when they escape 



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