252 c. h. turner. 



Experiment 13. 



While the bee was afield, the rectangular piece of zvhite paper 

 was so adjusted over the nest as to have the hole in its center coin- 

 cide with the opening of tJie bnrrozv. The rectangular piece of 

 black paper ivas placed in the position occupied by the zvhite rec- 

 tangle in experiment twelve. The tent ivas left in the same situa- 

 tion as in experiment tzvelve. 



On arriving, at 1 1:16 A. M., the bee hovered above the white 



paper, over half a minute, before dropping into the burrow. On 



departing, at 11:23 A. M., it hovered quite a while, examining 



the surroundings. 



Experiment 14. 



While the bee was afield, all accessories ivere removed from the 

 neighborhood of the nest and the barren patch covered zvith a thin 

 layer of freshly mozvn grass. Care zvas taken to leave the opening 

 to the burrozv uncovered. 



The bee arrived from the field at 11:50 A. M. and began to 

 fly about in a sub-helicoidal curve. The radii of this curve be- 

 came, irregularly, longer and longer until the bee had reached a 

 fence fifteen feet away. Then the bee approached the nest and 

 flew about in curves, the radii of which became, irregularly, 

 shorter and shorter. At 11:52 A. M., after a search of two 

 minutes, the bee dropped into the nest. 



Series B. 



The bee upon which this series of experiments was conducted 

 was a much smaller insect than the Melissodes sp. ? upon which 

 the above experiments were performed. One of those tragedies, 

 which are so common in the insect world, brought this bee's 

 labors to a close before I was ready to capture it ; hence it was 

 impossible to determine the genus to which it belongs. I am 

 not even sure whether it is a member of the Anthophoridae or of 

 the Andrenidae. In this connection, however, the exact name is 

 a matter of little weight ; for, although there are generic, specific 

 and individual peculiarities of behavior, yet the general habits of 

 all the burrowing bees arc so similar, that it would be illogical 

 to suppose that the method of finding the way home was not 

 essentially the same in all genera. 



