EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES.
Brain (supra-œsophageal ganglion) of an ant (Lasius fuliginosus), magnified 60 diameters, seen from above.
Fig. W. Brain of the Worker.
Fig. F. Brain of the Queen (Female)
Fig. M. Brain of the Male.
St. = Brain trunk. L. op. = Lobus opticus (optic lobe). L. olf. = Lobus olfactorius sive antennalis (olfactory lobe). N. = Facetted eye. N. olf. = Nervus olfactorius sive antennalis (olfactory nerve). O. = Ocelli, or simple eyes with their nerves (present only in the male and queen). H. = Cellular brain cortex (developed only in the worker and queen). C. p. = Corpora pedunculata, or fungiform bodies (developed only in the worker and queen). R. = Rudimental cortex of male.
The length of the whole ant is:
in the worker 4.5 mm;
in the queen 6.0 mm;
in the male 4.5 mm.
N. B. The striation of the corpora pedunculata and their stems is represented diagrammatically, for the purpose of indicating rather coarsely their extremely delicate fibrillar structure.
The ocelli (simple eyes) play a subordinate rôle, and probably serve as organs of sight for objects situated in the immediate vicinity and in dark cavities.
The olfactory sense has its seat in the antennæ, usually in the club-shaped flagellum, or rather in the pore-plates and olfactory rods of these portions of the antennæ. On account of its external and moveable position at the tip of the antenna, the olfactory organ possesses two properties which are lacking in the vertebrates, and particularly in man. These are:
1. The power of perceiving the chemical nature of a body by direct contact (contact-odor);
2. The power of space-perception and of perceiving the form of objects and that of the animal’s own trail by means of odor, and the additional property of leaving associated memories.
The olfactory sense of insects, therefore, gives these animals definite and clear-cut perceptions of space-relations, and enables the animal while moving on the surface of the ground to orient itself with facility. I have designated this sense, which is thus qualitatively, i. e., in its specific energy, very different from our olfactory sense, as the topochemical (olfactory) sense. Probably the pore-plates are used for perceiving odor at a distance and the olfactory rods for contact-odor, but this is pure conjecture. Extirpation of the antennæ destroys the power of distinguishing friends from enemies and deprives the ant of the faculty of orienting itself on the ground and of finding its way, whereas it is possible to cut off three legs and an antenna without seriously impairing these powers. The topochemical sense always permits the ant to distinguish between the directions of its trail, a faculty which Bethe attributes to a mysterious polarisation. The ability to sense different odors varies enormously in different insects. An object possessing odor for one species is often odorless for other species (and for ourselves) and vice versa.
The gustatory organs are situated on the mouth-parts. Among insects the reactions of this sense are very similar to our own. Will accustomed some wasps to look in a particular place for honey, which he afterwards mixed with quinine. The wasps detected the substance at once, made gestures of disgust, and never returned to the honey. Mixing the honey with alum had the same result. At first they returned, but after the disagreeable gustatory experience they failed to reappear. Incidentally this is also a proof of their gustatory memory and of their powers of association.
Several organs have been found and described as auditory. But after their removal the supposed reaction to sounds persists. This would seem to indicate that a deceptive resemblance to hearing may be produced by the perception of delicate vibrations through the tactile sense (Dugès).
The tactile sense is everywhere represented by tactile hairs and papillæ. It reacts more especially to delicate tremors of the atmosphere or soil. Certain arthropods, especially the spiders, orient themselves mainly by means of this sense.
It may be demonstrated that insects, according to the species and conditions of life, use their different senses in combination for purposes of orienting themselves and for perceiving the external world. Many species lack eyes and hence also the sense of sight. In others, again, the olfactory sense is obtuse; certain other forms lack the contact-odor sense (e. g., most Diptera).
It has been shown that the superb powers of orientation exhibited by certain aerial animals, like birds (carrier-pigeons), bees, etc., depend on vision and its memories. Movement in the air gives this sense enormous and manifold values. The semi-circular canals of the auditory organ are an apparatus of equilibrium in vertebrates and mediate sensations of acceleration and rotation (Mach-Breuer), but do not give external orientation. For the demonstration of these matters I must refer you to my work above-cited. A specific, magnetic, or other mode of orientation, independent of the known senses, does not exist.
The facts above presented constitute the basis of insect psychology. The social insects are especially favorable objects for study on account of their manifold reciprocal relationships. If in speaking of their behavior I use terms borrowed from human life, I request you, once for all, to bear in mind that these are not to be interpreted in an anthropomorphic but in an analogous sense.