BEES AND WASPS — MEMORY. 151 



pared to carry it off. Being at the time amidst a thick mass of 

 -a fine-leaved climbing plant, it proceeded, before flying away, 

 to take note of the place where it was leaving the other half. 

 To do this, it hovered in front of it for a few seconds, then took 

 small circles in front of it, then larger ones round the whole 

 })lant. I thought it had gone, but it returned again, and had 

 another look at the opening in the dense foliage down which 

 the other half of the caterpillar lay. It then flew away, but 

 must have left its burden for distribution with its comrades at 

 the nest, for it returned in less than two minutes, and making 

 one circle around the bush, descended to the opening, alighted 

 on a leaf, and ran inside. The green remnant of the cater- 

 pillar was lying on another leaf inside, but not connected with 

 the one on which the wasp alighted, so that in running in it 

 missed it, and soon got hopelessly lost in the thick foliage. 

 Coming out again, it took another circle, and pounced down on 

 the same spot again, as soon as it came opposite to it. Three 

 ;small seed-pods, which here grew close together, formed the 

 marks that I had myself taken to note the place, and these the 

 wasp seemed also to have taken as its guide, for it flew directly 

 down to them, and ran inside ; but the small leaf on which the 

 fragment of caterpillar lay not being directly connected with 

 any on the outside, it again missed it, and again got far away 

 from the object of its search. It then flew out again, and the 

 same process was repeated again and again. Always when in 

 circling round it came in sight of the seed-pods down it pounced, 

 alighted near them, and recommenced its quest on foot. I was 

 surprised at its perseverance, and thought it would have given 

 up the search ; but not so, it returned at least half-a-dozen 

 times, and seemed to get angry, hurrying about with buzzing 

 wings. At last it stumbled across its prey, seized it eagerly, 

 and as there was nothing more to come back for, flew straight 

 off to its nest, without taking any further note of the locality. 

 Such an action is not the result of blind instinct, but of a 

 thinking mind ; and it is wonderful to see an insect so differ- 

 ently constructed using a mental process similar to that of 

 man. 



Memory. 



We may here first allude to an observation of Sir 

 John Lubbock already quoted in another connexion (see 

 p. 147). It is here evident that the wasp, after find- 

 ing the store of honey in the room, and after finding 

 the window closed in the ' wasp-line ' direction to its nest, 



