. Animal behaviour. Animal behavior; Animal intelligence. Fig. - Yucca Flower and Moth. INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN INSECTS 83 pellet of pollen from the anthers, proceeds to another flower, pierces the pistil with her sharp ovipositor, lays her eggs among the ovules, and finally darting to the stigma stuffs the pollen pellet into its funnel-shaped extremity (Fig. 14). If the flower be not thus fertilized the ovules do not develop; and if the ovules do not develop the grubs which are hatched from the moth's eggs die of starvation. There are enough ovules to supply food to the grubs, and leave
. Animal behaviour. Animal behavior; Animal intelligence. Fig. - Yucca Flower and Moth. INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN INSECTS 83 pellet of pollen from the anthers, proceeds to another flower, pierces the pistil with her sharp ovipositor, lays her eggs among the ovules, and finally darting to the stigma stuffs the pollen pellet into its funnel-shaped extremity (Fig. 14). If the flower be not thus fertilized the ovules do not develop; and if the ovules do not develop the grubs which are hatched from the moth's eggs die of starvation. There are enough ovules to supply food to the grubs, and leave a balance to continue the race of Yuccas. Whether the female moth is attracted to the flower by sight or smell, \ye do not know. And whether the male flnds the female, in the case of the Yucca moth, through scent, we are not in a position to state with certainty. It has, however, been shown that in certain moths* some odour emitted by the female is the attractive stimulus, affecting sense-organs situated on the antennse of the male. To females confined in an opaque vessel over the mouth of which gauze was tied, the males came in numbers ; but when a clear glass vessel was inverted, and sand was packed round the mouth, so as to prevent the escape of air from the interior, no males came, though the imprisoned females were clearly visible. If the antennse of the males were either removed or coated with shellac the moths failed to notice the females even when close to them. In what way the intact male is made aware of the direction from which the scent comes, we do not know—possibly by differential stimula- tion in the antenna, the moth instinctively turning in the direction of greater stimulation. It will be seen, therefore, that in the case of the behaviour of the Yucca moth— behaviour which is essential to the biological end of repro- * See A. G. Mayer " On the Mating Instinct of ; Ann, and Mag. of Nat. Sist,, ser. 7, vol. v., Feb., 19U0, p. 183,. Please not
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