336 N. E. McINDOO 



Pores on legs covered 



The entire trochanter, the proximal end of the femur, and the 

 tibia of all six legs of 36 workers were covered with a thin layer 

 of vaseline and beeswax applied with a small pencil bmsh. The 

 proper stiffness of the mixture was obtained by using three parts 

 of melted yellow commercial vaseline with one part of melted 

 beeswax. Great precaution was taken not to apply too much of 

 this mixture, because when a bee so treated is liberated it invari- 

 ably begins at once to clean itself and often rubs the mixture 

 on the spiracles and dies quickly. After a short time these work- 

 ers ceased to clean themselves, began to eat, and were quite 

 normal in their behavior. On an average they lived as long as 

 untreated bees and succeeded in cleaning off all the mixture by 

 the fourth day. They were tested two or three hours after being 

 treated and responded normally but slightly more slowly. The 

 average reaction time to oil of peppermint was 4.2 seconds, to 

 oil of thyme 6.2 seconds, to oil of wintergreen 5.1 seconds, to 

 honey and comb 18.8 seconds, to pollen 9.7 seconds, to leaves 

 and stems of pennyroyal 11 seconds. The average was 8 seconds, 

 or two and one-half times the average for untreated bees with 

 the same odors. Twenty workers were tested. 



Since this mixture of vaseline and beeswax gives off a slight 

 odor, there was a possibility that the odor itself caused the fore- 

 going differences in reaction time. To ascertain this, a still 

 larger amount of this mixture was placed on the antero-dorsal 

 side of the abdomen, and the bees were tested Mdth various odors. 

 In such a position the bee can not reach it and therefore can not 

 escape the odor of the mixture. The average reaction time to 

 oil of peppermint was 2.5 seconds, to oil of thyme 2.6 seconds, to 

 oil of wintergreen 3.1 seconds, and average 2.73 seconds. Eight- 

 een workers were tested. The same odors with normal bees 

 gave an average reaction time of 2.64 seconds. The odor of 

 the mixture, therefore, did not affect the reactions to other odors. 



