﻿PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  373 
  

  

  Sexual 
  susceptibilities 
  are 
  capable 
  of 
  being 
  more 
  widely 
  exploited 
  

   than 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  the 
  case. 
  Several 
  years 
  ago 
  I 
  was 
  initiated 
  into 
  a 
  

   method 
  of 
  horse 
  stealing 
  based 
  upon 
  a 
  knowledge 
  of 
  these 
  instincts, 
  

   a 
  demonstration 
  leaving 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  it 
  could 
  be 
  successfully 
  applied 
  

   in 
  practice. 
  In 
  response 
  to 
  inquiries 
  for 
  assistance 
  in 
  dealing 
  with 
  the 
  

   plague 
  of 
  mongooses 
  in 
  Mauritius, 
  I 
  recommended 
  some 
  time 
  ago 
  that 
  

   the 
  males 
  should 
  be 
  trapped 
  by 
  devices 
  which 
  took 
  advantage 
  of 
  their 
  

   attraction 
  to 
  the 
  smell 
  emitted 
  by 
  a 
  female 
  during 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  oestrus. 
  

   To 
  anyone 
  who 
  had 
  not 
  paid 
  particular 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  matter 
  my 
  

   suggestions 
  might 
  have 
  appeared 
  a 
  little 
  far 
  fetched 
  and 
  were 
  probably 
  

   not 
  acted 
  upon. 
  There 
  is 
  in 
  reality, 
  however, 
  no 
  reason 
  why 
  such 
  

   methods 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  perfectly 
  practicable 
  in 
  many 
  cases, 
  for 
  common 
  

   observation 
  shows 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  sexual 
  instinct 
  we 
  are 
  undoubtedly 
  

   dealing 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  potent 
  influences 
  in 
  nature. 
  

  

  Little 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  in 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  a 
  sense 
  physiology 
  of 
  those 
  

   blood-sucking 
  insects 
  which 
  transmit 
  diseases, 
  but 
  with 
  these 
  no 
  less 
  

   than 
  with 
  agricultural 
  pests 
  the 
  establishment 
  of 
  my 
  theory 
  of 
  discrete 
  

   determinants 
  will 
  result 
  in 
  a 
  great 
  strengthening 
  of 
  man's 
  position, 
  

   and 
  an 
  economy 
  of 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  money 
  and 
  energy 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  expended, 
  

   to 
  obtain 
  resillts 
  which 
  are 
  often 
  inadequate. 
  Some 
  experiments 
  of 
  

   mine 
  on 
  the 
  factors 
  which 
  influence 
  the 
  biting 
  of 
  mosquitos 
  showed 
  

   that 
  all 
  bold-biting 
  mosquitos, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  Culex 
  fatigans, 
  

   ^would 
  bite 
  eagerly 
  at 
  a 
  surface 
  warmed 
  to 
  35°-40° 
  C, 
  while 
  they 
  neglected 
  

   blood 
  or 
  a 
  cold 
  surface. 
  I 
  believe 
  it 
  probable 
  that 
  mosquito-bite 
  will 
  

   ultimately 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  induced 
  by 
  warmth 
  plus 
  another 
  factor 
  

   probably 
  a 
  smell. 
  More 
  recently 
  Hindle 
  and 
  Merriman 
  have 
  succeeded 
  

   in 
  inducing 
  ticks 
  to 
  feed 
  on 
  salt 
  solution 
  instead 
  of 
  blood, 
  by 
  amputating 
  

   the 
  small 
  sense-organ 
  (probably 
  olfactory) 
  in 
  the 
  front 
  tarsi. 
  A 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  accurate 
  and 
  interesting 
  observations 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  upon 
  

   Glossina, 
  but 
  little 
  experimental 
  work 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  directed 
  to 
  

   the 
  elucidation 
  of 
  the 
  particular 
  stimuli 
  which 
  mainly 
  affect 
  it. 
  As 
  

   Glossina 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  fly 
  with 
  what 
  Forel 
  calls 
  " 
  a 
  well-balanced 
  mind," 
  

   it 
  may 
  offer 
  more 
  difiiculty 
  than 
  will 
  be 
  encountered 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  other 
  

   blood-sucking 
  insects. 
  

  

  What 
  I 
  have 
  said 
  here 
  may 
  be 
  summed 
  up 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  Experiment 
  

   has 
  shown 
  beyond 
  the 
  possibility 
  of 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  relative 
  importance 
  

   of 
  the 
  different 
  senses 
  in 
  insects 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  in 
  ourselves. 
  More- 
  

   over 
  it 
  appears 
  probable 
  that 
  insect 
  activities 
  are 
  often 
  directed 
  almost 
  

   entirely 
  by 
  the 
  presence 
  or 
  absence 
  of 
  one 
  particular 
  sensation 
  or 
  some 
  

   very 
  simple 
  combination 
  of 
  sensations. 
  These 
  sensations 
  or 
  stimuli 
  

   have 
  been 
  discovered 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  cases. 
  If 
  we 
  are 
  justified 
  in 
  assuming 
  

   from 
  these 
  few 
  instances 
  that 
  such 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  things 
  is 
  the 
  rule 
  among 
  

  

  2b 
  

  

  % 
  

  

  