CHAPTER III. 



Maternal Care of Insects in depositing their Eggs. Solitary Bees. 

 Wasps. Ichneumons. Moths. Butterflies. Gnats. Mistakes 

 of Instinct. 



LORD KAIMES, in his ' Gentleman Farmer,' men- 

 tions the singular fact that the female sheep, weeks 

 before yeaning, selects some sheltered spot where 

 she may drop her lamb with the most comfort and 

 security; and when forcibly prevented from going 

 there, she manifests the utmost uneasiness. But 

 this instance of prospectively providing for a future 

 progeny is exemplified much more strikingly in most 

 insects, in consequence of the great difference of 

 their economy compared with that of other animals. 

 The sheep and other mammalian quadrupeds suckle 

 their young, and watch over them with the most 

 affectionate care during the earlier and more help- 

 less stage of their existence. This, on the contrary, 

 is only found in a few cases among insects, such as 

 the social bees, wasps, and ants; for the greater 

 number of species never live to see their descend- 

 ants. The numerous families, indeed, of moths, 

 butterflies, and other winged insects, seldom live 

 more than a few days after they have deposited 

 their eggs, though some other species probably live 

 many months. The latter, however, are only ex- 

 ceptions to the general rule, that insects, after depo*- 

 siting their eggs, very soon die. The wisdom of 

 Providence, therefore, has endowed female insects 

 with the most wonderful acuteness and skill in anti- 

 cipating the wants of their young, when they escape 



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