MUT1LLIDJS. 
185 
At the same time it must not be thought that their activities show 
any mentality comparable to that of man ; even ants are unreasoning 
and these insects are endowed with extremely complex and beautiful 
instincts, of so remarkable a kind that many naturalists see in these 
insects a powerful argument against the doctrine that such instincts, 
as all insect activities, are the result simply of natural selection and 
adaptation. 
From man’s point of view these instincts are in a sense admirable 
and are yet inferior since they are mere blind instincts which cannot 
vary and which involve no reasoning faculty. A dog has more reason¬ 
ing power and a higher order of mentality than the highest insect; the 
absolute stupidity of the ant but the wonderful nature of its ins¬ 
tincts is a curious contrast. 
Mutillid^. —Velvet Ants. 
Male. Pronotum reaching the teg nice. A constriction hetiveen the first and 
second abdominal segments. Middle coxae contiguous. 
Female . Wingless, ant-like without abdominal nodes. 
The wingless females are very readily recognised by their ant¬ 
like appearance and bright colours, there being no nodes on the 
Fig. 100.—Mutilla sexmaoulata, male. 
abdomen as in Formicidae. The males are usually recognisable as 
they have a characteristic appearance and colouring, but the above 
characters must be verified in case of doubt. The wingless females are 
small insects from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in length ; the 
