THE INSECTS. 127 



When the collector swings his net there is very 

 little noise if it is carefully handled, but the insect 

 feels the vibration and is off at once. When we 

 run our heads into a wasp's nest we generally rush 

 off, and the vibration caused by our quick motion 

 indicates our course to the alarmed insects. 

 Possibly if we stood quite still fewer stings would 

 be received ; the bee-keeper always moves quietly 

 and deliberately to prevent any alarming vibra- 

 tion. 



Nocturnal insects no doubt feel their way, as do 

 also bats. In the bat feeling is distributed over 

 the whole surface of the wings, and in the insect 

 we have often beautiful feathery antennae. There 

 is much yet to be learnt about these delicate sense 

 organs ; they are so varied in their length and con- 

 struction that fuller knowledge may show them to 

 be really marvellous. We have in Guiana a 

 beautiful moth with golden wings (Dalcera) and 

 tufts at the apex of its antennae. We were struck 

 one day, on noticing a specimen just emerged from 

 its pupa case, by the continuous waving back and 

 forth of the antennae. For several hours they beat 

 as regular as a metronome and were only stopped 

 by the killing-bottle. 



As insects are not hidebound by instinct 

 altogether, it becomes all the more necessary for 



