Vol. xxiii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 457 



Oligotropic Bees (Hym.) 



By CHARLES ROBERTSOI^, Carlinville, Illinois. 



In an article in the Popular Science Monthly, Aug. 1912, 

 pp. 197-203, Mr. John H. Lovell says: "When a female bee in 

 gathering pollen for brood-rearing visits but one kind of flower 

 it is termed a monotropic bee, or if only a few allied species 

 an oligotropic bee; but if it visits many flowers it is called a 

 polytropic bee. These terms were first proposed by Dr. 

 Loew, and signify adapted to one, few or many flowers." 

 This statement is correct, if one understands that Loew never 

 used these terms in the sense here indicated. Loew's terms 

 were not originated to apply to bees with reference to their 

 pollen-collecting habits. They were not applied particularly 

 to bees which collect pollen, but were also used with reference 

 to inquiline and male bees. And pollen-collecting habits were 

 not considered by Loew in determining the application of the 

 terms. Indeed in this article Lovell does not always use them 

 in that sense, for he includes species of Epeolus among oligo- 

 tropic bees. Epcolus is a genus of inquilines. 



Referring to Halictoides noi'ae-angiiac, he says : "Apparent- 

 ly in this region it never visits any other flower it is a mono- 

 tropic bee." On page 202 he says: "Dr. Graenicher writes ,ne 

 that the pickerel- weed bee (Halictoides novae-an glide} is found 

 in Wisconsin; but the pickerel-weed does not flourish in the 

 same locality, and so this bee is compelled to visit the blossoms 

 of other plants." And, therefore, if "visit" means "visit for 

 pollen," H. novae-angliae is not a monotropic bee. 



Regarding Haliotus nelumbonis and Nymphaea adrena, he 

 says, "This bee in this locality is never found on any other 

 flower, but elsewhere is met with on other species of the 

 water-lily family, or Nymphaeaceae." If the readers of the 

 Science Monthly understand "is met with" to mean "collects 

 pollen of," this will do, but, otherwise, this is an error, for the 

 bee has been recorded as a nectar visitor of Eriocaulon gnapha- 

 lodes, Utricularia inflata, Berlandiera snbacanlis, and Verbena 

 urticifolia (Am. Nat. 36:599, 1902). 



