A nts. 5 5 



Thou lookest on the stars, my love, 



Ah, would that I could be 

 Yon starry skies, with thousand eyes 



That I might look on thee ! 



But if an ant sees 1,000 queens at once, when 

 only one is really present, this would seem to be a 

 bewildering privilege, and the prevailing opinion 

 among entomologists is, as already mentioned, that 

 each facet only takes in a portion of the object. 



10. But while it is difficult to understand how 

 ants see, it is clear that they do see. 



There could of course be little, if any, doubt, that 

 bees are capable of distinguishing colours ; and I 

 have proved experimentally that this is the case. 



Many eminent observers have regarded the an- 

 tennae of insects as auditory organs, and have 

 brought forward strong evidence in favour of their 

 view. 



I have myself made experiments on grass- 

 hoppers, which convinced me that their antennae 

 serve as organs of hearing. 



11. So far, however, as ants, bees, and wasps arc 

 concerned, the evidence is very conflicting. 



I have never succeeded in satisfying myself that 

 my ants, bees, or wasps heard any of the sounds 

 with which I tried them. I have over and over 

 again tested them with the loudest and shrillest 

 noises I could make, using a penny pipe, a dog- 

 whistle, a violin, as well as the most piercing and 

 startling sounds I could produce with my own voice, 

 but all without effect. At the same time, T care- 



