ANTS AND OTHER INSECTS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2232, 19 August 1914, Page 7

ANTS AND OTHER INSECTS

■ —* ——, .. ■:<■•; LECTURE BY DR. WHEELEB,."' The second of the lectures by the', visiting American scientists was delivered at Victoria College last evening,. The lecturer, was .Dr. W-. M. Wheeler,; professor of Economic , Entomology at' Harvard University. Dr. Wheeler" is the head of the Bussoy Institute of Har-'r vardj a past student of Liege, and now, a great' authority on ants and ether, sooial insects. It .was about: flects that ■he spoke. The gathering" was presided over.by Dr. Ira liemson... the president of the John Hopkins TQFni.--veirsity, who lectured on the previqiia evening. Dr. Remseri remarked that he presided owing to the absence'of r that distinguished N&w Zealander, Sir Bfiftflsfr. Rutherford, who wae to have accompanied the party. Dr.' Remseti that Harvard was the leading Univers-. ity of the United States/ It dated.from; the year 1696, in a country which was discovered in 1492. ~\-. .:.. ; Dr. Wheeler dealt interestingly,.with ants, termites r 7and gave an indication of how vast and* engrossing tho. study was. Speaking.,;?!. ants, ho mentioned an extraordinary; precaution which they take tfieirj eggs. They. lick, the eggs into ages, so that if they are distyrhed Wiojv can by removing the packages if ; save; more eggs than if they had-to-gather them-singly before escapingj'r ,AntS| C .he added, had an for their offspring, and I-took trouble to bring them up V :VOth"er,VinV sects took advantage' of this,, and'itherev fore , in tho ants' nests one found in;, trudersy, tolerated guests, (who fascinated the ants); and parisijas;The question had been raised asito,jWihe-c ther ants were or were not-intelligent; It depended, he said, on what one jneant by intelligence. bered things, and were guided, bynoxperi-, ence. However,' the subject verj. much more complicated than haditen supposed. •■: V ii._« :■- Professor Kirk moved,",; ahd/uDr. Cookayne seconded, a vote of .thartkstto Dr. This was acclamation. . ... RJ.-v'i •