110 A BOOK OF INSECTS 



beetle in a closed box on a table ; and, at a distance of 

 about four inches, a male of the same species. The latter 

 appeared to be quite unconscious of the female's proximity 

 until she began to produce, by stridulation, a low shrill 

 note, when he immediately extended his antennae, and 

 moved them round and round as if endeavouring to dis- 

 cover the direction whence the sound proceeded. Experi- 

 ments have also been made with ants, bees, and wasps, 

 and it has been found that while these insects take no 

 notice whatever of ordinary sounds, they immediately 

 become alert, with extended antenna?, when their own 

 sounds are imitated by means of a fine file rubbed upon 

 a quill. It should be added, however, that they soon 

 appear to detect the imposition, show signs of alarm, and 

 endeavour to escape. 



Such facts lead us to conclude, as Lord Avebury has 

 said, that the auditory organs of insects are " situated in 

 different parts of the body, and there is strong reason to 

 believe that even in the same animal the sensitiveness 

 to sounds is not necessarily confined to one part. In the 

 cricket, for instance, the sense of hearing appears to be 

 seated partly in the antennae, and partly in the anterior 

 legs." Nevertheless, while insects are undoubtedly affected 

 by the sounds of their own world, they are strangely in- 

 different to the far louder noises which are produced by 

 mankind. One may shout or sing, or even fire a gun, in 

 close proximity to a bee or a beetle ; yet provided that the 

 insect is not directly affected by air currents, it evinces 

 no sign of alarm. 



We generally assume that insects are able to taste 

 their food ; but whether they possess a gustatory sense in 

 any way equivalent to our own is open to question. We 

 know that many caterpillars are fastidious in the choice 

 of their diet ; that certain moths levy their toll of nectar 



