The Sources of Nectar and Pollen 367 



but the honeybees hurry back and forth from the hive, mak- 

 ing repeated visits and cross-fertilizing innumerable blossoms, 

 in their efforts to increase the colony stores. The honey 

 obtained from fruit blossoms is usually small in quantity 

 and serves only to stimulate brood-rearing, but in getting 

 it the bees benefit the fruit-grower to an extent which can 

 scarcely be over-estimated. One peculiarity of behavior 

 is worthy of special mention in this connection. Honey- 

 bees rarely go from one species of flower (p. 119) to another 

 (unless the flowers are virtually identical) while on one trip 

 from the hive. There is also evidence worthy of belief 

 that an individual honeybee confines its visits to one species 

 of plant, sometimes for several days. For example, a bee 

 will not be seen flying from an apple blossom to a dandelion 

 flower growing beneath the tree and then perhaps back to 

 an apple blossom. Consequently, on visiting an apple 

 blossom it does not present dandelion pollen or, in fact, any 

 pollen other than that from the apple and, by virtue of this 

 constancy, the benefits of the visits of honeybees are increased 

 many fold. 



In view of these facts, it is not difficult to believe that in 

 many orchards over half of the fruit set is to be attributed 

 to the visits of the honeybees. Were this estimate reduced 

 to ten per cent, which even an avowed enemy of the bee 

 would consider too low, it appears that the fruit-growers 

 receive more actual financial benefit from the presence of 

 bees in the average farming community than do the beekeep- 

 ers who own them. It therefore appears quite obvious 

 that it is to the interest of fruit-growers to encourage bee- 

 keeping in every way in their immediate localities. 



Damaging effects of incorrect spraying. 



Since the spraying of fruit trees while in bloom is highly 

 injurious, not only to honeybees but to all of the insect 

 visitors, it is evident that such spraying is to that extent 

 detrimental to the interests of the fruit-grower himself. 

 Since spraying in full bloom is not necessary to control the 



