PIPERS AND MINNESINGERS 5 



It is true that the great majority of our species 

 of insects are silent. The few insects which make 

 sounds do not have true voices. As insects do not 

 breathe through their mouths, but through holes ar- 

 ranged along each side of the body, they naturally 

 possess no such arrangement for vocalization connected 

 with breathing as we^ find in our larynx. 



The sounds made by insects may be divided into 

 three classes : first, sounds emitted to frighten the 

 foe ; second, sounds made in connection with flight ; 

 and third, true love songs. The insects making 

 sounds of the first sort are few; they make clicking 

 or grating noises and clearly do not belong to the 

 musical tribes. 



The buzzing and droning notes gi ven off _by insects 

 when flying may be accidental or may be of some 

 significance to the insects ; we really know very little 

 of the methods or reasons for these songs. . When 

 we hear a certain buzzing we are just as sure that 

 a fiy has been caught in a spider's web as we are 

 after we see the remonstrating little victim. But, 

 whether or not this noise is of any use to the fly, we 

 do not know. Those of us who have had experience 

 with bees know very well by their buzzing whether 

 they are happy, distressed, or angry ; we know, too, 

 that they are well aware of each other's emotions ; 



