218 PRINCIPLES AND CONCLUSIONS. 



ing of bees belonging to two species of Chalicodoma. In the first series 

 the insects were released at 4 km. from their nests; of the first 2, one returned 

 the next morning, but the other never reappeared, while in the second case, 

 3 of the 5 were noted the following morning. In the third experiment 40 

 bees were freed, but only half of these flew away from the spot. Once 

 free, the bees fled as though frightened, some in one direction and some in 

 the other. The first 2 returned to the nests in three-quarters of an hour 

 and 3 others toward sundown, while 10 more were observed the next morn- 

 ing, making a total of 15 to return out of the 20 released. All told, 19 found 

 their way home out of 27, disregarding those thought to be injured. These 

 were supposed to have found their way back in spite of the contrary winds 

 and their ignorance of the places to which they were carried. It is obvious, 

 however, that the assumption that the bees had never wandered so far 

 from home and had never seen these places was a gratuitous one. It 

 afforded exceedingly tenuous support for the conclusion that they were 

 certainly not guided by memory on the homeward journey, but by some 

 special faculty, not to be explained but recognizable by its astonishing 

 effects. 



In the second series, 10 bees of the same genus were placed in a bag and 

 carried a kilometer distant, where the bag was whirled rapidly about. 

 They were then taken in the opposite direction to a distance of 4 km. 

 from their home and again whirled around before they were released one 

 at a time. The first bee traversed the distance in a quarter of an hour 

 and 2 others returned several hours later, but the remaining 7 did not re- 

 appear. The following day the first bee reached home in 5 minutes and 2 

 more in about an hour, while the other 7 failed to appear. When 49 bees 

 were released, the majority started in the right direction, the first arriving 

 in 15 minutes and 11 within an hour and a half; 6 more appeared within 

 the next 5 hours, making a total of 17 out of 49, while in the next test 7 

 bees out of 20 found the way back. The bees in the next experiment were 

 taken over 2 miles away, 2 returning in an hour and a half and 7 more in 

 3 hours and a half, making 9 out of the total of 40. Finally, 15 bees were 

 marked with rose and carried by a roundabout route of over 5 miles, while 

 a second 15 were marked with blue and taken directly to the spot, a distance 

 of a mile and a half. All were released at noon, and by 5 o'clock 7 "rose" 

 and 6 "blue" bees had returned, the long detour making no appreciable 

 difference. Fabre regarded these results as conclusive, neither the whirling 

 of the sack, the obstacles of hill and forest, nor the devious route being 

 able to hinder Chalicodoma from returning to the nest. 



Lubbock's and Ford's critiques of Fabre's conclusions. — Lubbock's 

 discussion of Fabre's results is so detailed and conclusive that quotation 

 alone can do it justice (1888:264): 



"I am not ashamed to confess that, charmed with M. Fabre's enthusiasm, dazzled by 

 his eloquence and ingenuity, I was at first disposed to adopt his view. Calmer considera- 

 tion, however, led me to doubt, and though his observations are most ingenious and are 

 very amusingly described, they do not carry conviction to my mind. There are two 

 points especially to be considered: (1) the direction taken by the bees when released; 

 (2) the success of the bees in making good their return home. 



"As regards the last point, it will be observed that the successful bees were in the following 

 proportion, viz, 3 out of 10, 4 of 10, 17 of 49, 7 of 20, 9 of 40, 7 of 15, or a total of 47 out 



