100 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 4. 



newly emerged neuter should revive with 

 the liveliest gratitude and almost filial af- 

 fection for its mates, who have tended it as 

 devotedly as elder sisters in charge of a 

 family do even among ourselves. 



The only possible objections to this view 

 are, first, that the insects have not intelli- 

 gence enough for imitation, and secoudlj^ 

 ;that teaching presupposes communication 

 between the teacher and the taught, which 

 we have no right to assume. But these ob- 

 jections fall as baseless when we observe for 

 ourselves, or trace with a Huber, a Forel, a 

 Lubbock, or a Bate the unmistakable in- 

 telligence and the unequivocal signs of com- 

 munication to be found among these ani- 

 mals. 



We may still assign to natural selection 

 a certain part, much more limited than has 

 hitherto been supposed. It conserves the 

 general intelligence of the race at a high 

 pitch, by constantly weeding families proli- 

 fic of foolish virgins; and it checks all ex- 

 cessive development of individualitj^ by de- 

 strojdng families with an undue proportion 

 of those geniuses who aim at striking out 

 new paths for themselves instead of de- 

 votedly working at their settled coopera- 

 tive tasks. But the singular mixture of 

 ability and rovitine displayed by ants and 

 bees is just what we should expect if their 

 arts were largely attained by the influence 

 of strong tradition. Our lawyers till quite 

 recently showed the severe limitations im- 

 posed by tradition on intelligence. And 

 this is my case for regarding the ways of 

 neuter insects as habits and practices, not 

 instincts. Many ants make slaves; they 

 raid the nest of other species, killing the 

 adults and bringing home the helpless 

 young. These are nursed by workers of 

 the same slave race that were once them- 

 selves brought in the immature state to the 

 nest. Some of these slave makers can 

 neither clean themselves nor feed them- 

 selves; everything has to be done for them 



by their slaves, save the work of war and 

 capture. 



Lubbock writes: "They have lost the 

 greater part of theii* instincts ; their art, 

 that is, the power of building; their do- 

 mestic habits, for they show no care for 

 their omti young, all this being done by the 

 slaves; their industry — ^they take no part in 

 providing the daily supplies if the colony 

 changes the situation of its nest, the 

 masters are all carried by the slaves on 

 their backs to the new one; naj', they have 

 even lost the habit of feeding . . . How- 

 ever small the prison, however large the 

 quantity of food, these stupid creatvires 

 will starve in the midst of plenty rather 

 than feed themselves." 



The origin of this character is not far to 

 seek; the fertile insects, i. e., the males and 

 perfect females of social insects, contribute 

 little or nothing to the work of their nest 

 save their offspring * ; hence in the parents 

 of each generation there is a constant 

 fostering of selfishness and dependence to 

 be transmitted to their ofispring. 



The female or queen termite (or White 

 ant), indeed, is guarded from all exertion 

 and tended in a way to satisfj' the indolence 

 of the most languid Creole fine lady; the 

 only drawbacks of her position being lack 

 of amusements and of lovers on the one 

 hand and an excessive fertility on the 

 other. Where all or many of the neuters 

 are workers, indolence and selfishness are 

 checked and natural selection constantly 

 eliminates those families whose altruism 

 is insufficient for a social life. But if 

 once circumstances arrive in which slaves 

 are present to do the duties, it is easy 

 to see how all the traditions of work or 

 self help — save in war — can die out and be 

 utterly lost, bravery, pugnacity and hon- 

 orable cooperation being the sole vh-tues to 

 survive. It seems at first sight strange 



*Tlie amount done is perhaps greatest among 

 Wasps and Humble Bees, least among Termites. 



