The Homing of the Hymenoptera 45 



CONCLUSION 



After studying the subject from all possible angles, the 

 conviction has been reached that neither the creeping ant, 

 nor the fljing bee, nor the hunting wasp is guided home 

 either by a mysterious homing instinct, or a combination 

 of tropisms, or solely by muscular memory, but by some- 

 thing which each acquires by experience. As these in- 

 sects journey outward, one or more senses contribute 

 recepts which, functioning as percepts, enable the home- 

 bound insects to recognize certain landmarks and be 

 guided by them. 



