94 
SMELLING, MEALING, ETC, 
five senses, or any combination of these, and is in- 
clined to adopt the opinion of Trouvelot that they are 
the organs of some sense not possessed by us. That 
this is possible is admitted by most scientists, and 
Lubbock (loi) says : — 
‘ Indeed, it is not impossible that insects may possess 
senses, or sensations, of which we can no more form an 
idea than we should have been able to conceive red or 
green if the human race were blind. The human ear is 
sensitive to vibrations reaching at the outside to 38,000 in 
a second. The sensation of red is produced when 470 
millions of millions of vibrations enter the eye in a similar 
time ; but between these two numbers vibrations produce 
on us only the sensation of heat ; we have no special 
organs of sense adapted to them. There is, however, no 
reason in the nature of things why this should be the 
case with other animals ; and the problematical organs 
possessed by many of the lower forms may have relation 
to sensations which we do not perceive.’ 
There are quite a number of organs still not in- 
vestigated, and whose functions are not determined. 
Amongst these is an organ described by M. 
Nassanoff (172). In dissecting the abdomen of the 
bee, he found on the sixth ring a small canal (Fig. 41, 
a), which passes along the edge of the dorsal half of 
the ring, and is covered above by the edge of the fifth 
ring. He calls to mind the fact that when bees are 
irritated they often raise their abdomen, turning the 
tips downwards in such a manner that the last two 
rings spread apart, and show a white stripe, which 
separates them. It is exactly upon the posterior part 
