PHOTIC REACTIONS OF HONEY-BEE 389 



elusions are the exact antitheses of those reached by Dolley ('16) 

 in his work on Vanessa. He says (p. 417): ''Vanessas with one 

 eye blackened do not move in smaller circles in strong light than 

 they do in weak light, unless it is extremely low. On the con- 

 trary, the evidence seems to indicate that the stronger the light 

 is the larger the circles are. These results also are not in har- 

 mony with those demanded by the 'continuous action theory.' " 

 I shall return later to a more complete consideration of the theo- 

 retical significance of the results afforded by the honey-bee. 



h. Rate of locomotion. Although bees with one eye blackened 

 tend to turn more toward the functional eye in a non-directive 

 light of 957 mc. than they do in one of 24 mc, there is no differ- 

 ence in the rate of locomotion in the two intensities. In table 5 

 are given the average velocities of thirty-four bees for each of 

 the two light intensities employed. These figures show a con- 

 siderable range of individual variation, from as low as 3.49 cm. 

 per second to as high as 6.77 cm. per second. There is, however, 

 no consistent difference which might be attributed to the effect of 

 light. Eighteen of the animals showed a greater velocity in 957 

 mc. illumination; sixteen, in 24 mc. illumination. Unilateral 

 photic stimulation of the intensities employed is, therefore, 

 without effect upon the rate of locomotion. 



3. Summary 



1. Bees with one eye blackened usually loop toward the func- 

 tional eye as they creep toward a source of light. Some indi- 

 viduals are encountered however, which display little tendency to 

 loop, and occasionally an animal will be found which loops toward 

 the covered eye. In the absence of experience, the tendency to 

 loop toward the functional eye remains a permanent feature of 

 behavior. 



2. In non-directive light, bees with one eye blackened gener- 

 ally circle toward the functional eye, although a number are 

 found which circle more or less toward the covered eye. 



3. In a uniform non-directive illumination of 957 mc, the 

 tendency to turn toward the functional eye is greater than it is 

 in a similar illumination of 24 mc. 



THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY, VOL. 29, NO. 3 



