82 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



extent, an examination of these tables, which show the number 

 of species visited by each insect, the number of visits paid to each 

 of these species, the total number of visits paid to flowers whilst 

 the insect was in view, the order in which the species were 

 visited, the colour of their flowers, and the number of visits paid 

 consecutively to each species.] 



The perusal, in 1881, of Mr. A. W. Bennett's paper, " On the 

 Constancy of Insects in their Visits to Flowers,"* first led me to 

 pay attention to the matter; and I hope that my altogether inde- 

 pendent observations will be found to supplement and corroborate 

 his. Throughout all my observations I have endeavoured to 

 adopt a method of procedure precisely identical with that 

 described by Mr. Bennett. I regret tbat some of my earlier 

 observations were not made so systematically as the later ones, 

 and that I have been unable to distinguish between nearly 

 all of the various species of humble-bee and between some of 

 the species of plants. Altogether I am able to record the 

 movements of 76 insects whilst engaged in visiting at least 

 2400 flowers. 



No one, I think, who takes the trouble to wade through the 

 details will deny that there is apparent in very many, if not 

 in most of them, some powerful influence at work which induces 

 insects, where possible, to continue visiting for a considerable 

 time continuously the flowers of the same species of plant, 

 neglecting meanwhile all other sorts. Of course it is utterly 

 impossible to say (without perhaps a microscopical examination 

 of the pollen a bee brings home) whether one insect on one flight 

 from its hive or nest confines itself exclusively or principally to 

 one species of plant ; but, according to my observations, there 

 seems to be great probability of its so doing. 



So far as Table I. goes, it will be seen that the hive-bee is 

 'perfectly methodic in its habits ; and it seems therefore to follow 

 that this is the most valuable species to plants, and is also 

 probably, on account of its methodic habits, enabled to get 

 through the most work. Both my observations on this point and 

 Mr. Bennett's lead to almost exactly the same conclusion^ 



* Read before the York Meeting of the British Association, 1881. 



t Since the foregoing was written, however, I have observed a hive-bee that was 

 not perfectly methodic. Near Saffron Walden I saw one visit Anemone nemorosa 1, 

 Ranunculus ficaria 1, Anemone nemorosa 1, and Ranunculus ficaria again once, and 



