BEES AND WASPS— GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 183 



could not pursue a similar course with her. At first, then, I was 

 afraid that she was doomed. I thought, however, that I would 

 wash her, fully expecting, indeed, to terrify her so much that 

 she would not return again. I therefore caught her, put her in 

 a bottle half full of water, and shook her up well till the honey 

 was washed off. I then transferred her to a dry bottle and put 

 her in the sun. When she was diy I let her out, and she at 

 once flew to her nest. To my surprise, in thirteen minutes she 

 returned, as if nothing had happened, and continued her visits 

 to the honey all the afternoon. 



This experiment interested me so much that I repeated it 

 with another marked wasp, this time, however, keeping the 

 wasp in the water till she was quite motionless and insensible. 

 When taken out of the water she soon recovered ; I fed her ; 

 she went quietly away to her nest as usual, and returned after 

 the usual absence. The next morning this wasp was the first 

 to visit the honey. 



I was not able to watch any of the above-mentioned wasps 

 for more than a few days ; but I kept a specimen of Polistes 

 Gallica for no less than nine months. 



This is the wasp which has already been alluded to 

 under the heading ' Memory ; ' but it is evident that the 

 capacity which the insect displayed of becoming tamed 

 implies no small degree of general intelligence ; its 

 hereditary instincts were conspicuously modified by the 

 individual experiences incidental to its domestication. 



The remaining passages that deserve quotation are the 

 following : — 



It is sometimes said of bees that those of one hive all know 

 one another, and immediately recognise and attack any intruder 

 from another hive. At first sight this certainly implies a great 

 deal of intelligence. It is, however, possible that the bees of 

 particular hives have a particular smell. Thus Langshaft, in 

 his interesting ' Treatise on the Honey-Bee,* says : ' Members of 

 different colonies appear to recognise their hive companions by 

 the sense of smell ; and I believe that if colonies are sprinkled 

 with scented syrup, they may generally be safely mixed. More- 

 over, a bee returning to its own hive with a load of treasure is 

 a very different creature from a hungry marauder ; and it is 

 said that a bee, if laden with honey, is allowed to enter any 

 hive with impunity.' Mr. Langshaft continues, * There is an 

 air of roguery about a thieving bee which, to the expert, is as 



