8 THE HUMBLE-BEE I 
the red clover now yields a plentiful crop of seed. 
Unfortunately, 2. ¢errestris has a trick of biting 
holes in such flowers as the broad-bean, snapdragon, 
and foxglove, close to the honey-glands, to abstract 
the honey. This, in New Zealand, has resulted in 
damage to the seed-vessels of certain flowers, and 
the seed-growers there would now be glad to have 
this species supplanted by another. 
The world, which to us consists of sights and 
sounds, to the humble-bees is made up mainly of 
scents. I can find no evidence that they hear any- 
thing at all, It is true they can see near objects, 
and are expert at distinguishing flowers by their 
colours; but darkness prevails inside the nest, and 
here everything is perceived, so far as one can tell, 
by the senses of smell and touch, both of which are 
conveyed through the antenne, these organs being 
in constant motion, investigating any object to 
which attention is being paid, whether it be honey, 
pollen, brood, comrade, or nest material. It cannot 
be doubted that these and many other things that 
have little or no smell to us are recognised by their 
different odours. Humble-bees can readily dis- 
tinguish the smell of their own species-and that of 
other species with which their lives are connected 
in places that have been frequented by them, and 
B. terrestris is almost as quick as the honey-bee to 
discover honey or syrup. They resent, with angry 
buzzing, the least whiff of human breath in their 
nest, so the observer should breathe through a 
corner of his mouth, a habit easily acquired. Yet, 
