THE INTEREST IN INSECTS 



51 



tiniately as }ou may, and I am ready to 

 let fall the veil which hides me, and 

 trust myself and all my secrets to you." 



FIG. 4. TWO COMMON FALSE BUMBLEBEES. 



1. Psithyrus ashtoni: a, female; b, male. 



2. Psithyrus laboriosus: a, female; b, male. 



riously assailed, overcome and slain. 

 Females of the false bumblebees do not 

 fight with each other. So little is known 

 about American bumblebees that they 

 offer a most interesting field for study. 

 (Fig- 4)- 



While according to human ethical 

 standards there are pirates of the air 

 among the bees, the group as a whole is 

 of inestimable value in the pollination of 

 flowers. In the absence of insect visits 

 a great number of flowers would remain 

 unfertile, for example, a large part of 

 our fruits, as apples, pears, plums, 

 sweet cherries, grapes, cucumbers and 

 squashes, in the absence of insects, are 

 largely or wholly unproductive. As pol- 

 linators the bees easily surpass all other 

 insects in importance. As they all live 

 on flower food in both the larval and 

 adult stages, they are compelled con- 

 stantly to visit flowers. In the spring 

 the air around the catkins of the willows 

 and the bloom of the plum trees is filled 

 with wild bees. But the collector should 

 examine every conspicuous flower, for 

 some bees fly only in spring, others 

 only in autumn. Bees with a short 

 term of flight, as a month or two, often 

 restrict their visits almost entirely to 

 to one kind of common flower, as the 

 willows, golden-rods and asters, which 

 yield an abundance of pollen and nectar. 



There is no more fascinating study 

 than the relations of flowers and insects, 

 and in the words of Hermann Mueller 

 the flowers extend to you this invitation : 



"Only venture to come to me, and in 

 true love make yourself acquainted with 

 me and all mv conditions of life, as in- 



Which Bees Swarm Out? 



Gentryville, Indiana. 

 To the Editor : — 



I shall feel greatly obliged to you if 

 you will kindly answer the following 

 question : Do young or old bees leave 

 the hive in the swarm? 



Halligan in his "Fundamentals of Ag- 

 riculture," states that the old bees 

 swarm, while T. Chalmers Potter in his 

 booklet, "Beekeeping for Sedentary 

 Folk," states that the young bees swarm. 



Assuring you that your answer will be 

 greatly appreciated, 

 I am, 

 Very truly yours. 



J. B. Harter. 



You are both right and wrong. The 

 fact is, that both young bees and old bees 

 go out with the swarm. The very young 

 bees, of course, are left with the young 

 brood to take care of them. Practically 

 speaking, the average swarm is made up 

 of drones of all ages, bees of all ages, but 

 mainly field bees and young bees that are 

 old enough to go to the fields, or old 

 enough to go out and indulge in the play 

 spells out in front of the entrance of the 

 hive on bright sunny days. — The A. I. 

 Root Company. 



An English naturalist reports two dif- 

 ferent male blackbirds which chanced, 

 early in the mating season, to catch 

 sight of their own reflections in a win- 

 dowpane and came back every day to 

 fight it. The one kept up the visionary 

 combat during and entire month, the 

 other throughout the spring. Neither 

 bird appeared to have the least capacity 

 to profit by experience. 



During the recent siege of Antwerp, 

 the famous Zoological Gardens belong- 

 ing to the city received only a single 

 hostile shell, wdiich fell among the 

 turtles and did little damage. Before 

 the bombardment began, however, the 

 management thought it wisest to shoot 

 all the bears ; and later after the city 

 took fire, all the large carnivora were 

 likewise disposed of. as well as the 

 venomous serpents. Otherwise the 

 institution has suffered little except for 

 lack of money. 



