PHOTIC REACTIONS OF HONEY-BEE 361 



Individuals which had been subjected to operations of remov- 

 ing the wings and blackening the eye frequently responded some- 

 what more slowly to this photic activation than did normal 

 bees. In the former, locomotion was preceded by a more or less 

 prolonged sequence of cleaning operations. The proboscis was 

 extended and stroked with the fore legs. The eyes, particularly 

 the covered one, were the objects of repeated and vigorous scrap- 

 ings, responses no doubt largely attributable to the irritation of 

 the blackening material. The abdomen was meanwhile bent 

 from side to side, while the middle or hind legs were rubbed to- 

 gether, or the hind legs assiduously stroked the dorsum of the 

 abdomen. These movements became more and more intense 

 until at length they culminated in active creeping. 



Light, then, exerts a strong activating or kinetic influence 

 upon the honey-bee, while darkness has the opposite effect. Es- 

 sentially similar phenomena have been reported by Loeb ('90) 

 for the plant louse. Carpenter ('05) for the pomace fly, and 

 Turner ('12) for the mason wasp. Stockard ('08) has reported 

 the case of Aplopus, the 'walking-stick,' which also falls into this 

 category of behavior. In Aplopus, however, light inhibits ac- 

 tivity, while darkness induces it. Hence the 'walking-stick' is 

 nocturnal, whereas the plant louse, the pomace fly, the mason 

 wasp, and the hive bee are diurnal. 



In diurnal animals this response is apparently due to the con- 

 tinued action of light rather than a sudden change in it. Thus, 

 while many bees respond almost, if not quite, at once to the 

 presence of light, others may respond only after some minutes of 

 exposure. According to Turner ('12, p. 360), the same is true 

 of the mason wasp. 



2. Directive light 



Not only does light induce locomotion in the honey-bee, but 

 directive light regulates the course of locomotion. Bees brought 

 into the laboratory direct from their foraging activities out of 

 doors seldom failed to exhibit a most striking phototropism. 

 Such insects when liberated in the laboratory flew almost im- 

 mediately to the nearest window, where they remained fluttering 



