PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 201 



mory, tempers, manners, and some other parts of their 

 history. 



" Brutes" (it is the remark of Mr. Kniglit) " have 

 language to express sentiments of love, of fear, of an- 

 ger; but they seem unable to transmit any impression 

 they have received from external o])jects. But the lan- 

 guage of bees is more extensive ; if not a language of 

 ideas, it is something very similar''." You have seen 

 above that the ors^an of the language of ants is their 

 antennae. Huber has proved satisfactorily, that these 

 parts have the same use with the bees. He wished to 

 ascertain whether, when they had lost a queen (intel- 

 ligence which traverses a whole hive in about an hour) 

 they discovered the sad event by their smell, their 

 touch, or any unknown cause. He fii^^t divided a hive 

 by a grate, which kept the two portions about three or 

 four lines apart; so that they could not come at each 

 other, though scent would pass. In that part in which 

 there was no queen, the bees were soon in great agi- 

 tation ; and as they did not discover her where she was 

 confined, in a short time they began to construct royal 

 cells, which quieted them. He next separated them 

 by a partition through which they could pass their an- 

 tennae, but not their heads. In this case the bees all 

 remained tranquil, neither intermitting the care of the 

 brood, nor abandoning their other employments ; nor 

 did they begin any royal cell. Tlie means they used 

 to assure themselves that their queen was in their vi- 

 cinity and to communicate with her, was to pass their 

 antennae through the openings of the grate. An infi- 

 nite number of these organs might be seen at Oiice, as 



» Jn Philos. Trans. 1807, 239. 



