86 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



I lost sight of my bee altogether it appeared to become wild, and 

 paid a visit to some flower of a fresh and altogether different 

 species (irrespective of colour), afterwards flying right awa 4 y, 

 although it had been perfectly methodic previously. I wish to 

 refer also to observations Nos. 3, 4, 27, and 28. In all these 

 cases humble-bees paid many visits to two different species 

 of flower at the same time, passing alternately, without respect 

 to colour, from one to the other after several visits. It is obvious 

 that what has been just said does not apply to these individuals; 

 and I can only account for their movements on this supposition, 

 that if bees often visit one species of flower many times 

 consecutive^, because they can thus remember from one flower 

 to the next the best way to alight and to reach the nectar of that 

 particular species, so saving time, then these bees were a little 

 more highly intellectual than their fellows, and could manage to 

 work the two species together, although I should fancy more 

 than two would puzzle them. Nevertheless there can be no 

 doubt that insects, more often than not, do their work in the 

 manner which I have spoken of as " methodic " or " constant," 

 although the extent to which these habits are developed varies 

 greatly in the different classes of insects, and even in the different 

 species. 



With Table III. before me, and bearing in mind the fact that 

 bees show a preference for the colour blue, I have endeavoured 

 to ascertain whether m} 7 figures show that bees are more methodic 

 when visiting blue flowers than when visiting flowers of other 

 colours. Unfortunately all my observations on the honey-bee 

 have been made when the insects were visiting yellow flowers, 

 so that nothing can be learnt from them ; but of all the 55 

 humble-bees watched, no less than 26 visited more or less blue 

 flowers, of which 12 were perfectly methodic, 9 were nearly 

 so, and 5 not at all. Thirteen insects visited white flowers, of 

 which 5 were perfectly methodic and 8 not at all; 11 visited 

 yellow flowers, and 4 were perfectly methodic, 1 nearly so, and 6 

 not at all ; 28 visited red flowers, and 7 were perfectly methodic, 

 9 were nearly so, while 12 were not at all; so that by this scale 

 of comparison humble-bees are shown to be more methodic 

 when visiting blue flowers than when visiting others; but this 

 may be a mere coincidence. Further observation alone can 

 decide the question. 



