Comparative studies in the psychology of ants and of higher animals / by Eric Wasmann ; authorized English version of the 2nd German edition enlarged and revised by the author.

  • Wasmann, Erich, 1859-1931.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Comparative studies in the psychology of ants and of higher animals / by Eric Wasmann ; authorized English version of the 2nd German edition enlarged and revised by the author. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CHAPTER I. COMMUNITY LIFE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 1. A General Survey of the Forms of Animal Com¬ munities. HE multiplicity of bodily shapes apparent in ani- JL mals is not more remarkable than the variety found in their biological relations. The majority of animals, lower as well as higher, live singly, and only temporarily join other individuals of the same species for breeding purposes; no lasting psychic tie unites them with others of their species. Other animals live in pairs during the breeding season, and remain united until the young are old enough to shift for themselves; this is the case with most birds and mammals. If the offspring continue to remain with their parents, fam¬ ilies develop into herds, embracing the members of different, allied families. Thus, v. g., wild oxen and horses, the chamois, antelopes and many apes are gregarious animals. While real gregariousness is based on family ties in a wider sense and is mostly permanent, other animals flock together to form troops or hordes to undertake journeys in common, e. g., our migratory birds in autumn, the Scandinavian lem¬ mings, etc. Insects, too, gather into similar temporary masses of individuals of the same or closely allied species, assuming the form of migrating swarms. Migrating locusts are known to everybody; but also