44Q 



NA TURE 



[March 8, 1906 



way intermediate between the two groups (long-tongued 

 and short-tongued) of pointed-tongued bees. Cladocerapis 

 and Prosopisteron are extraordinary endemic genera, which 

 do not lead in the direction of anything known elsewhere. 



It will be observed that the native bee-fauna of New 

 Zealand is very poor, and quite lacking in distinction. 

 Two of the genera are world-wide, while the third 

 (Paracolletes) is found only in New Zealand and Australia, 

 the species of the two regions being quite closely allied. 

 It would seem that New Zealand received its bees in com- 

 paratively recent times from Australia (one of the species 

 of Prosopis is even identical with an Australian one), and 

 it may be added that all the affinity is with the southern 

 part of Australia, especially Tasmania. There is still a 

 possibility, of course, that New Zealand may contain some 

 ancient endemic genus, which is now rare and has been 

 overlooked by collectors. 



The bees of the Austro-Malay islands are not at all 

 adequately known, though we have a good idea of the 

 general facies of the fauna. Most of the species were dis- 

 covered by Wallace ; I find that about a dozen were known 

 before Wallace went to the islands, about seventy-four 

 were added by him, and sixty-six have been discovered 

 since. The species of Celebes are best known (41), but 

 from Amboina we know only 9, Lombok 3, Timor 8, 

 Ceram 3, Bourn 3, New Caledonia 4, Timor Laut 1, and 

 so forth. It is evident that a very rich field lies before 

 the collector in this region ; but it is curious that so far 

 we have not a single endemic genus of bees from the 

 Austro-Malay islands, and it appears probable that few or 

 none exist. Instead, we have numerous species of widely 

 dispersed tropical genera ; a varied, but not, apparently, 

 very isolated fauna. The contrast with Australia is 

 extreme. Of the eighteen genera represented, only six are 

 even confined to the eastern hemisphere, these being 

 Crocisa, 1 Allodape, Aspi, Saropoda, Ctenoplectra, and 

 Parevaspis. 



To sum up, it is apparent that Australia posesses a very 

 old and long isolated bee-fauna, containing types which 

 seem to link, in greater or less degree, the bees and 

 fossorial wasps, the emarginate-tongued and pointed- 

 tongued bees, and the long-tongued and short-tongued bees. 

 It is_ therefore evident that the study of this fauna is likely 

 to yield much of interest in the future ; and, it must be 

 added, there is little doubt that the number of species 

 awaiting discovery far exceeds the number already dis- 

 covered. On the other hand, we find in Australia also a 

 more modern fauna, containing even a few species quite 

 identical with those of the Asiatic mainland, and several 

 closely allied thereto. Such are certain species of Nomia, 

 Xylocopa, Anthophora, and Trigona. Of such forms, it 

 appears that they are either strong fliers (as Anthophora) 

 or else they have the habit of nesting in trees (as Trigona), 

 and thus it is not difficult to understand how they crossed 

 the sea. None of these genera, however, have reached 

 New Zealand, which is not only too remote, but also out 

 of the path of suitable marine currents. In the case of 

 certain _ cosmopolitan genera which have numerous 

 Australian species, such as Prosopis and Megachile, it is 

 to be noted that only a few of the species are specially 

 related to those of the Malay Islands and Asia ; the others 

 constitute part of the peculiarly Australian fauna, although 

 they have not become generically altered. 



T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. 



The Intelligence of Animals. 



In his review of Father Wassmann's book (Nature, 

 February 1, p. 351) Lord Avebury dissents from Father 

 Wassmann's conclusion that the sagacity of ants is 

 " instinctive and essentially different from intelligence and 

 reflection," and repeats the opinion which he has held 

 for many years, that " it is difficult altogether to deny 

 to them the gift of reason." The following incidents, 

 which I observed on a footpath in the Donetz Coalfield, iri 

 Russia, in the summer of 1898, appear to me to show 

 that the insects here referred to possess both intelligence 

 1 Crocisa has been reported from the neotropical region, but the species 

 are probably not correctly referable to that genus. 



NO. 1897, VOL. 73] 



and the gift of reason, and, therefore, to lend a general 

 support of Lord Avebury's views. 



Numerous small black-beetles, about three-eighths of an 

 inch in length, were busily engaged in rolling, hither and 

 thither, balls of cow-dung, about half an inch in diameter, 

 which they had cut away from the edge of a still soft 

 mass of that substance that lay near the middle of the 

 path. As a rule, two insects were engaged in rolling each 

 ball, both walking on their hind legs with their fore- 

 feet resting on the upper curve of the ball — the one behind 

 pushing and walking forwards, the one in front pulling 

 and walking backwards. When the ball commenced to 

 roll on any declivity it passed over the body of the one 

 in front, which then lost its hold and was left behind. 

 But the other always held on tightly to the ball, and was 

 carried over and under it, several times in succession, until 

 the ball either ceased rolling or the insect was thrown off. 

 In the latter case the beetle followed to the bottom of the 

 slope on foot, and usually recovered the ball without 

 difficulty. 



The principal slope upon which these disasters happened 

 constituted one bank of a small dry water-course about six 

 inches deep. The length of the bank from top to bottom was 

 ten or twelve inches. The dry bed of the water-course 

 was slightly inclined. In one instance, in which the beetle 

 was thrown off at the fourth or fifth revolution of the ball, 

 the latter rolled to the bottom of the bank, and then, turn- 

 ing at right angles to its former direction, continued to roll 

 down the bed of the water-course to a further distance of nine 

 or ten inches. The beetle followed to the foot of the bank, 

 but did not find the ball where it obviously expected to 

 do so. After hesitating and moving about in various direc- 

 tions to a distance of an inch or two, it ran down the 

 bed of the water-course to a distance of three or four 

 inches, returned, ran down again to a greater distance, 

 returned a second time, then ran down to within two inches 

 of the ball, but, failing to find it, gave up the quest and 

 climbed up the bank to the level part of the path. All its 

 movements, from the time it was forcibly parted from the 

 ball, had the appearance of being dictated by intelligence 

 and reason. 



Again, a solitary beetle rolling a comparatively new ball 

 had reached a distance of nine or ten inches from the heap 

 when a second unoccupied beetle coming from the opposite 

 direction stood up in front of the rolling ball as if with 

 the intention of pulling it forward and assisting the first. 

 Instead of doing so, however, it brought the ball to a dead 

 stop. In vain the first beetle tried to move the ball ; the 

 second held it fast. The first then got down and peered 

 round the side of the ball, apparently with the object of 

 ascertaining the nature of the obstacle. While this ex- 

 amination was proceeding, the second, with its fore-feet 

 still resting on the upper part of the ball, neither pushed 

 nor moved in any way. The first then stood up again be- 

 hind the ball and pushed it as before, but still the ball did 

 not move. For the second time the beetle got down, made 

 an examination as before, then, crouching with its back 

 well under the lower curve of the ball, heaved with all its 

 might — in the same way as a workman does in similar 

 circumstances — but the ball remained stationary. The first 

 beetle then came out from under the ball, and was pro- 

 ceeding round its right-hand side, with some new intention, 

 when the two seemed to catch sight of each other. The 

 second beetle threw itself on the ground with the quick- 

 ness of thought, and fled pursued by the other, both 

 running at their utmost speed. Fear, and a sense of guilt, 

 seemed to spur the flight of the one, resentment and 

 anger the pursuit of the other. In a chase which was 

 continued for a distance of six inches, the fleeing beetle, 

 which had started with an advantage of about an inch 

 and a half, increased the distance between its pursuer and 

 itself to more than two inches, when the former, seeing 

 the futility of further pursuit, stopped, returned to the 

 ball, and resumed its occupation of rolling it. 



The reason why the second beetle stopped the ball, re- 

 mained absolutely motionless when the other got down 

 to reconnoitre, and ran away when it saw it was discovered 

 is not apparent. Dare we suppose that it was simply 

 amusing itself at the expense of the other? This was the 

 impression left on my mind at the time. 



W. Galloway. 



