INSTINCT AND CONSCIOUSNESS OF FINALITY. 39 



of proving that between the single individuals there 

 exists any connection which might explain the per- 

 fect agreement in their behavior. ' ' And the zoologist 

 Schneider adds in still clearer terms, "that in the 

 habits of insects a regularity and predetermination 

 should be observed which cannot be detected in the 

 conscious actions of man. In opposition to merely 

 instinctive habits precisely those associations which 

 are formed by ratiocination are characterized by a con- 

 stant variation, whilst the instincts of the individuals 

 of the same species remain constant. " 1 ) 



Here is an illustration of this well known fact, 

 mentioned by Peckham. The solitary wasp Sphex- 

 ichneumonea leaves her grass-hopper (which is to 

 serve as food for the young) just at the entrance to 

 the excavation (of her nest) and first enters to see 

 that all is right within. In experimenting with a 

 French Sphex, which has the same habit, Fabre (the 

 famous French naturalist mentioned above) moved 

 the creature a little way off; the wasp came out, 

 brought it to the opening as before, and went in a 

 second time. This was repeated again and again un- 

 til the patience of the naturalist was exhausted, and 

 the persistent wasp took her booty in after her appro- 

 piate fashion. She must place the grass-hopper just 

 so close to the doorway, she must then descend and 

 examine the nest and after that must come out and 

 drag it down. Nothing less than the performance 

 of these acts in a certain order satisfies her impulse. 



') Cf. T. Pesch.S. J., Die grossen Weltraetsel, 1883, vol. 

 I., p. 426. 



