From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



digs in the earth. The larva of the Sitaris, after a long 

 wait, seeks the male anthophora as he leaves the gallery, 

 fastens on him and remains attached until his nuptial 

 flight; it then profits by the occasion to pass from the 

 male to the female and waits until the latter lays her 

 eggs. It then fastens on the egg, which will support 

 it in the honey, devours the egg in a few days, and 

 resting on the empty shell, undergoes its first trans- 

 formation. 



* Now organised to float on the honey, it becomes 

 first a grub, and then a perfect insect. Everything 

 happens as if the larva of the Sitaris when hatched knew 

 that the male anthophora will emerge first from the hole, 

 that the nuptial flight will give an opportunity of passing 

 to the female, that this latter will convey it to a reserve 

 of honey fit for its nourishment when transformed, and 

 that previous to that metamorphosis it will have fed on 

 the egg, so that the empty shell may float with it on the 

 surface of the honey, and incidentally that it will suppress 

 the rival which would have come from the egg. And 

 similarly everything comes to pass as if the Sitaris knew 

 that its larva would know all these things.' 



Another classical example is that of the hunting 

 hymenoptera. The larva of these insects requires a 

 motionless and living prey; motionless, because any 

 defensive movements might imperil the delicate egg 

 and afterwards the tiny grub developing in one part 

 of the caterpillar; and living, because this grub cannot 

 subsist on dead matter. 



To realise this double necessity for its larva, the 

 hymenopteron must paralyse the victim without killing 

 it. If the insect acted from reason this operation would 

 need extraordinary knowledge and skill. It would first 

 have to proportion the dose of poison so as to administer 

 just enough to paralyse without killing; and further, 

 still more important, it should have a knowledge of the 

 anatomy and physiology of the caterpillar and an infallible 



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