294 • N. E. McINDOO 



former were attacked. When the remaining antennal joints 

 were counted it was found that in the pugnacious bees from 2 

 to 6 antennal joints were missing and in those that did not attack 

 the strangers from 2 to 8 joints were absent. Only the last 8 

 joints of the antennae of a worker contain the supposed olfactory 

 organs and when these 8 joints were removed all of these organs 

 are eliminated. According to Miss Fielde's theory the fifth and 

 sixth antennal segments of the worker bee would be the ones 

 which carry the olfactory organs by which strange bees are rec- 

 ognized. Furthermore, Miss Fielde claims that the tenth an- 

 tennal joint of an ant contains the organs through which the 

 colony odor is recognized and if this joint is removed colony- 

 mates will attack each other. Judging from the foregoing ex- 

 periments, no particular antennal joint of a worker bee contains 

 the organs by which the odor of sister bees is received, because 

 the mutilated bees never fought each other regardless of the 

 number of antennal segments amputated, when they were kept 

 out of the cases for a few minutes after the antennae were injured. 



To determine whether bees with mutilated antennae are nor- 

 mal, 11 joints of both antennae of 12 middle-aged bees were 

 cut off. When introduced into an observation case these bees 

 did not fight, ''paid no attention" to each other, were quiet, and 

 only one ate candy. WTien strange bees were put among them 

 the mutilated bees always gave the strangers the right-of-way 

 and did not attack them. They lived only 6 hours on an average. 



Both antennae of 95 middle-aged bees were burnt off with a 

 red-hot needle. These workers were also abnormal and lived 

 onl}^ 17 hours on an average. The antennae of 30 drones were 

 similarly burnt off and they too lived only 17 hours on an average. 



Thirty middle-aged bees were immersed in water for 15 min- 

 utes. WTien removed they appeared entirely lifeless and their 

 antennae were pulled off at once. They revived and lived only 

 19 hours on an average. 



Since bees whose antennae are mutilated after they become 

 adults are abnormal, the following experiments were performed 

 with immature bees. A frame of brood was removed from a 

 hive, the cells of sealed brood were gently uncapped and both 



