PHOTIC REACTIONS OF HONEY-BEE 



363 



The precision with which orientation was maintained was no 

 less conspicuous. Once oriented, the animal generally moved 

 in a nearly straight line toward the source of light. In figure 5 

 are shown two records of each of six bees in the directive light 

 area. Of a large number of animals tested in the course of ex- 

 perimentation, considerably over 25 per cent maintained their 

 orientation as precisely as did bee no. 66. The deviations of 



Fig. 5 Two trails of each of six normal bees in directive light. In this, as in 

 subsequent figures of records in directive light, the clear circle represents the light 

 source, and the straight lines from it, the direction of the rays. 



most of the animals would, moreover, easily fall within the lati- 

 tude of that exhibited by bees nos. 66, 33, and 23. Results sim- 

 ilar to those shown for animals nos. 110 and 21 were, on the con- 

 trary, less frequently encountered, while trails such as those of 

 bee no. 36 were seldom or never found among normal, healthy 

 bees. 



The response to directive light is very constant in the bee. 

 The oncoming of death itself seems often to intensify rather than 

 to weaken this phase of its behavior. Bees occasionally escaped 



