THE FUN OF SEEING THINGS 



231 



antics on deck, after they have fed, 

 jumping, flapping their wings and 

 chirping. One "turns halfway around 

 while up, and alights pointing sou-by- 

 sou-east." By stepping lively they can 

 run on the leaves of the pond lilies 

 that grow here abundantly. 



The gallinules, although not web- 

 footed, are good swimmers. They 

 have a way of pulling together several 

 stalks of skim, tall grass until, by hold- 

 ing them down with their feet, they 



have made a platform over the water, 

 on which they stand and dig out snails 

 from their shells. Many a snail the 

 size of a walnut has Bettie brought 

 ashore and picked out for her little 

 brood standing in a circle to secure 

 each his share. 



Drone Bumblebees. 



BY LEE A. DOLLINGER, PRINCIPAL SIDNEY 

 HIGH SCHOOL, SIDNEY, OHIO. 



The Hoosier poet has made good use 



of "poetic license" in "If you don't 



think they '11 sting you'll see," and 



"An ' he ist run an' pullt out the 



stinger." 



You better not fool with a Bumblebee — • 



Ef you don't think they can sting — you'll see 



' pv'1-0 ]j)7v to look at, an' kindo' go 

 Buzzin' an' bummin' aroun' so slow, 

 \ri ac' so slouchy an' all fa°'ged out, 

 Danglin' their legs as they arone about the 

 Hollyhawks 'at they can't climb in 

 'Ithout ist a-tumble-un out agin. 

 Wunst I watched one climb clean 'way 

 In a jimson-blossom, I did, one day, — 

 An' I ist grabbed it — an' nen let go — 

 An' "Ooh-ooh, Honey, I told you so," 

 Says the Raggedy Man ; an' he ist run 

 An' pullt out the stinger, an' don't laugh none, 

 An' says "They has ben folks, I guess, 

 'At thought I wuz predjudust, more er less, — 

 Yit I still muntain 'at a Bumblebee 

 Wears out his welcome too quick fer me." 



All bumblebees do not sting for the 



simple reason that some of them, the 



drones, have no stingers. In all my 

 experiences of being stung by bumble- 

 bees, I have yet for the first time to 

 be fortunate enough to pull out the 

 stinger. The bumblebee does that 

 herself. I say herself because only 

 female bumblebees are provided with 

 stingers. Kipling speaks with truth 

 as far as the bumblebee is concerned, 

 "That the female is the most danger- 

 ous of the species." 



When the cool nights of September 

 come and the bull thistles are in full 

 bloom on roadsides and in waste 

 places, in all their purplish beauty, 

 and the bright sunshine of the after- 

 noons enlivens insects that have been 

 numbed by cool nights and light frosts, 

 one may find on thistle bloom many 

 bumblebees of various sizes and mark- 

 ings. If he observes closely he will 

 notice that some of them bear distinct 

 markings of black on the abdominal 

 part, possibly a third or a half of the 

 abdomen being black "If you don't 

 think they'll sting," pick one of these 

 up. Other bees have no coloring but 

 yellow on the abdominal part unless it 

 be that the tip is lightly blackish. The 

 abdominal section is also more slen- 

 der and longer than like parts of the 

 bees bearing distinct black markings. 

 These are drones, or in the language 

 of my boyhood days, "fuzzies. ' They 

 may be picked from the thistle bloom 

 with impunity. They can't sting, be- 

 cause they have no stingers. They 

 are the males and their office is to 

 perpetuate the bumblebee race. 



I have found them only on thistle 

 bloom and some species of asters. I 

 have also found drones with abdominal 

 parts entirely black, frequenting diff- 

 erent varieties of astors, but not this- 

 tles. 



Migration of the Olive-backed Thrush. 



In the September 15th issue of "The 

 Oologist" published at Albion, New 

 York, Mr. Paul G. Howes has an inter- 

 esting article, with illustrations, de- 

 scribing a fall migration of the olive- 

 backed thrush. It is an excellent ex- 

 ample of a careful study of nature and 

 of a concise account of that study for 

 the benefit of others. 



The newly completed metal dome 

 resting on walls of reinforced concrete 

 at the National Observatory of Argen- 

 tina has been struck by lightning. The 

 bolt was a heavy one and blew out 

 all the fuses in the lighting circuits 

 in the neighborhood. But the charge 

 passed away harmlessly by way of the 

 metal beams ; so that not only was 

 there not the slightest damage to the 

 structure, but a workman employed 

 within the dome at the time of the 

 stroke was unaware that anything had 

 occurred. 



