EEES AND WASPS — MEMORY. 
151 
pared to carry it off. Being at the time amidst a thick mass of 
a tine-leaved cliaibing plant, it proceeded, before flying away, 
to take note of the place where it was leaving the other half. 
To do this, it hovered in front of it for a few seconds, then took 
small circles in front of it, then larger ones round the v hole 
plant I thought it had gone, but it returned again, and had 
another lock at the opening in the dense foliage down which 
the other half of the caterpillar lay. It then flew away, but 
must have left its burden for distribution with its comrades at 
the nest, for it returned in less than two minutes, and making 
one circle around the bush, descended to the opening, alighted 
on a leaf, and ran inside. The green remnant of the cater- 
pillar was lying on another leaf inside, but not connected with 
the one on which the wasp alighted, so that in running in it 
missed it, and soon got hopelessly lost in the thick foliage. 
Coming out again, it took another circle, and pounced down on 
the same spot again, as soon as it came opposite to it. Three 
small seed-pods, which here grew close together, formed the 
marks that I had myself taken to note the place, and these the 
wasp seemed also to have taken as its guide, for it flew directly 
down to them, and ran inside ; but the small leaf on which the 
fragment of caterpillar lay not being directly connected with 
any on the outside, it again missed it, and again got far away 
from the object of its search. It then flew out again, and the 
same process was repeated again and again. Always when in 
circling round it came in sight of the seed-pods down it pounced, 
alighted near them, and recommenced its quest on foot. I was 
surprised at its perseverance, and thought it would have given 
up the search; but not so, it returned at least half-a-dozen 
times, and seemed to get angry, hurrying about with buzzing 
wings. At last it stumbled across its prey, seized it eagerly, 
and as there was nothing more to come back for, flew straight 
off to its nest, without taking any further note of the locality. 
Such an action is not the result of blind instinct, but of a 
thinking mind ; and it is wonderful to see an insect so differ- 
ently constructed using a mental process similar to that of 
man. 
Memory . 
We may here first allude to an observation of Sir 
John Lubbock already quoted in another connexion (see 
p. 147). It is here evident that the wasp, after find- 
ing the store of honey in the room, and after finding 
the window closed in the 6 wasp-line ? direction to its nest. 
