The Mason-bees 



the Hunting-wasp when paralyzing her prey'- 

 so that it may keep fresh for her larva, while 

 in no wise imperilling that larva's safety? It 

 is preeminently rational; we ourselves could 

 think of nothing better; and yet the insect's 

 action is not prompted by reason. If it 

 thought out its surgery, it would be our su- 

 perior. It will never occur to anybody that 

 the creature is able, in the smallest degree, to 

 account for its skilful vivisections. There- 

 fore, so long as it does not depart from the 

 path mapped out for it, the insect can perform 

 the most sagacious actions without entitling 

 us in the least to attribute these to the dictates 

 of reason. 



What would happen in an emergency? Here 

 we must distinguish carefully between two 

 classes of emergency, or we shall be liable to 

 grievous error. First, in accidents occurring 

 in the course of the insect's occupation at the 

 moment. In these circumstances, the creature 

 is capable of remedying the accident; it con- 

 tinues, under a similar form, its actual task; 

 it remains, in short, in the same psychic con- 

 dition. In the second case, the accident is con- 



^Cf. Insect Life: chaps, iii. to xii. and xv. to xvii.— • 

 Translator's Note. 



l68 



