44 BEAT OF THE SENSE OF SMELL 



found that in some cases (though by no means in all), 

 insects which had been deprived of their antennae still 

 appeared to possess the sense of smell. But if, as we 

 have, I think, good reason to suppose, the power of 

 smell resides partly in the palpi, this woald naturally 

 be the case. 



He also tested a beetle, Silpha thoracica, with oil of 

 rosemary and assafoetida. It showed its perception 

 by a movement in half a second to a second in the 

 case of the oil of rosemary, and rather longer — one 

 second to two seconds — in the case of the assafoetida. 

 He then deprived it of its antennae, after which 

 it showed its perception of the oil of rosemary in 

 three seconds on an average of eleven trials; while in 

 no case did it show any indication of perceiving the 

 assafcetida even in sixty seconds. 



This would seem to indicate a further complication — 

 not only that both the antennae and the palpi may 

 possess the sense of smell, but also that certain odours 

 may be perceived by the former, and others by the latter, 



Gi'aber questions some of the experiments which 

 seemed to me * to demonstrate the existence of a sense 

 of smell in ants.f 



* '■ Ants, Bees, and 'Wnsps." 



t He says, "Da Liibbock noch hinzufiigt, dass keiner, der das 

 Benehmen der Ameisen unter diesen Umstiinden beobachteu wiirde, 

 den geringsten Zweifel an ihiem Geruchsvermogen habeii konnte, 

 wablte ich audi diese Methode, um zu erforscben, wie sioh etwa der 

 Ffihlei' beraubte Aineisen verbalten wiirden. Ich war nicbt wenig 

 uberrascht zu finden, dass auch diese (es handelt sioh um Formica 

 rufa) vor dem Eicohobjekt umkehrten. Um ganz sicher zu gehen, 

 versuclite icli'a aber noch mit dem gleichen Arrangement aber mit 

 Weglassimg des Jiicohstojfes, und siche da I sie Icebrten auch jetzt noch 

 um ! Bci genauercr Eoobachtuug der von ciner Ameise vom Anfang 

 an auf dem Papiersteg zuriiclfgelegteu Sliecke stelltc sich auch bald 



