224 INSTINCT. Chap. VII. 



tageous to this species to capture workers than to pro- 

 create them — the habit of collecting pupse originally for 

 food might by natural selection be strengthened and 

 rendered permanent for the very different purpose of 

 raising slaves. When the instinct was once acquired, 

 if carried out to a much less extent even than in our 

 British F. sanguinea, which, as we have seen, is less 

 aided by its slaves than the same species in Switzerland, 

 I can see no difficulty in natural selection increasing and 

 modifying the instinct — always supposing each modifi- 

 cation to be of use to the species — until an ant was 

 formed as abjectly dependent on its slaves as is the 

 Formica rufescens. 



Cell-making instinct of the Hive-Bee. — I will not here 

 enter on minute details on this subject, but will merely 

 give an outline of the conclusions at which I have arrived. 

 He must be a dull man who can examine the exquisite' 

 structure of a comb, so beautifully adapted to its end, 

 without enthusiastic admiration. We hear from mathe- 

 maticians that bees have practically solved a recondite 

 problem, and have made their cells of the proper shape 

 to hold the greatest possible amount of honey, with the 

 least possible consumption of precious wax in their con- 

 struction. It has been remarked that a skilful work- 

 man, with fitting tools and measures, would find it very 

 difficult to make cells of wax of the true form, though 

 this is perfectly effected by a crowd of bees working in 

 a dark hive. Grant whatever instincts you please, and it 

 seems at first quite inconceivable how they can make all 

 the necessary angles and planes, or even perceive when 

 they are correctly made. But the difficulty is not 

 nearly so great as it at first appears: all this beautiful 

 work can be shown, I think, to follow from a few very 

 simple instincts. 



