Vo/. XV. November, igo8. No. 6. 



BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 



THE HOMING OF THE BURROWING-BEES 

 (ANTHOPHORID/E). 



C. H. TURNER. 



Introduction. 

 The researches about to be described were conducted for the 

 purpose of determining how the burrowing bees compare with 

 the ants and the mud-dauber wasps in their method of finding 

 the way home. During most of the month of August, 1908, 

 from five to ten hours a day were devoted to this study. This 

 made it possible to conduct several series of experiments. Since 

 all of the' series led to similar conclusions, only two of them will 

 be recorded. The majority of the experiments were conducted 

 upon a species of Melissodes Latrl., many nests of which existed 

 in an abandoned garden of the Haines Normal School. 



Series A. Experiments on Melissodes. 



These experiments were conducted in a deserted garden. Be- 

 fore beginning the experiments proper, numerous preliminary 

 observations were made for the purpose of obtaining information 

 that would be helpful in conducting and interpreting the experi- 

 ments. 



Bearing in mind Bohn's assertion that the flights of certain 

 Lepidoptera are anemotropisms and phototropisms,^ much atten- 

 tion was given to the flight of these bees. 



When these anthophorids are busy at work, the flight is cer- 

 tainly neither an anemotropism nor a phototropism, for neither 

 the movements nor the orientation of the body bear any constant 

 relation to either the direction of the wind or to the rays of the sun. 



1 M. Bohn, "Observations sur les Papillons du Rivage de la Mer," Bull, de 

 L' Imtitiit General Psyckologique, 1907, pp. 285-300. 



247 



