50 OBSERVATIONS IN 



to assist in the economy of the family ; this will include the human kind, 

 common bee, humble bee, hornet, wasp, &c. 



This instinctive principle of ' family ' is that only which I shall here 

 notice. It is in such of the bee-tribe as form large colonies ; e. g, the 

 humble bee, wasp, hornet, and common bee. They will not allow their 

 own species to pay them a visit ; therefore, will not become an acquaint- 

 ance. This I saw strongly marked in the wasp. I had at one time, 

 three wasps' nests with the wasps alive ; some in the chrysalis state, 

 as also maggots and eggs : they were kept under glass covers. 



These hives I shall caMjirst, second, and third. I took two portions 

 of hive No. 1, and I put under a glass a portion which consisted of one tier 

 of cells, with eggs, maggots, and chrysalises, and about half a dozen wasps. 

 The other portion of the same nest, consisting also of chrysalises, 

 maggots, and eggs, was put under another glass. I put under each 

 glass some food, which was for the young as they came out of the 

 chrysalis state, and also for those six wasps to feed the maggots of the 

 tier they had to take care of. This they did very attentively ; and the 

 chrysalises, as they hatched, soon took upon them to assist in the duty 

 of the family. 



I, one day, put under this glass shade a wasp some days hatched, 

 belonging to hive No. 2, which was immediately attacked by the wasps 

 of No. 1, and killed. I put into the same glass three wasps of hive 

 No. 3, which they also killed. These had one wing clipped, to know 

 them by. It struck me, as they did not destroy the chrysalises of the 

 comb they had the care of, as they came forth, that they probably 

 might not destroy those that had come forth of their own nest under 

 the other shade, which had been above eight days separated from them. 

 I, therefore, took one of the wasps of the other portion and put it under 

 the shade [covering the first portion] ; and upon its being put in they 

 immediately assembled about it, some laying hold of a leg, &c. ; but 

 they soon let it go, becoming reconciled to it ; and, in a few hours, I 

 found this wasp feeding the maggots of this tier. From these experi- 

 ments it woidd appear that wasps by some instinctive principle know 

 their own relations. 



Here, then, was the sixth cause of association, or that of family, 

 strongly marked. These experiments I carried still further, to see how 

 far I could make wasps of different hives associate with one another by 

 stealing slowly upon their instinctive principles. I took three pieces 

 of comb of hive No. 2, with maggots in each piece, and covered each 

 with a glass shade, numbering them 1, 2, and 3. To No. 1, as a 

 standard, I put some of their own workers, the old queen and a young 

 one. These fed their maggots without interruption. To No. 2 I put 



