JUNE 15, 1914 



neetar are very often inoonspicuous in their 

 colors and markings. The more abundant 

 tlie nectar, the less color ; but in a few eases, 

 at least, nature seems to furnish a double 

 attraction — color as well as nectar. Alfalfa, 

 a few varieties of apple-trees, orange trees, 

 red and crimson clover, are conspicuous 

 examples of these. A list of blossoms that 

 attract bees only by neetar might include 

 such plants as the sages of California, bass- 

 wood, raspberry, and the palmetto ; but most 

 nectar-yielding blossoms that yield honey in 

 commercial quantities have a little color. 

 Conspicuous among these are white and al- 

 sike clover; and right in this connection our 

 con'espondent refers to the white-colored 

 blossoms of the Ben Davis and the pink 

 blossoms of the Winesap apple-trees. He 

 goes on to say that the one is as well pollin- 

 ated as the other, notwithstanding one has 

 more color than the other. But, mark you 

 this fact : The Ben Davis is largely a self- 

 pollinating tree, while the Winesap is al- 

 most wholly dependent on the agency of 

 insects, particularly bees. It has been posi- 

 tively demonstrated that the Winesap can 

 not be produced without bees. Does this 

 not show that color is, after all, a factor? 

 When a tree or plant is self-sterile to its 

 own pollen it must put out, in addition to 

 nectar to attract insects, color; hence we 

 shall probably find self-sterile trees and 

 l)lants furnislung nectar having more color 

 than the self-pollinating kinds. 



Flowers that are large and showy in color 

 and markings usually have little or no 

 nectar. AVhat's the " show " for, then? To 

 get the bees to visit and cross-pollinate 

 them. A preponderance of color or nectar 

 is for a purpose — to mingle the pollen. 

 Again, plants that are wholly pollinated by 

 the wind, and hence do not require the help 

 of insects, are totally without color except 

 the color of the plant. An example of this 

 is the grasses. 



457 



Darwin has shown how nature constantly 

 adajjls itself to conditions. As he has i>oint- 

 ed out, there seems to have been a constant 

 progress in development all down the ages. 

 In the line of tliis wonderful adaptation we 

 find papilionaceous flowers, like peas, beans, 

 and locusts, furnishing convenient doorsteps 

 on which the bees may alight to get the 

 nectar which the plants offer. We also find 

 that most of the blossoms are adapted to the 

 size, capacity, and tongue-reach of certain 

 classes of insects, notably the bees. 



In this connection, red clover with its 

 long corolla tubes might seem to be an ex- 

 ception ; but it is a very marked example of 

 how nature furnishes color to attract bees. 

 The corolla tubes are so deep that the com- 

 mon honey-bees and even the humble-bees 

 cannot reach the bottom of them. When 

 there comes a drouth, nature temporarily 

 shortens these corolla tubes; but all the 

 time, she puts out the brilliant color and 

 the sweet aroma from the nectar, which the 

 bee may or may not be able to get. We have 

 seen the honey-bees time and again go over 

 the red-clover blossoms trying to reach the 

 nectar, and yet apparently fail. But some 

 blossoms will furnish them neetar, and it is 

 worth while for them to go over all the 

 blossoms. We venture to say that, if the 

 red clover had shorter corolla tubes, there 

 would be less color, and hence less need of 

 putting out a' showy blossom to attract bee^. 

 We find corroboration of this in Avhite and 

 alsike clover. They have very short corolla 

 tubes, and a great deal less showy color. 

 White clover is the most important honey- 

 plant, and it is much less conspicuous in 

 color than the alsike. 



If our correspondent will go into, this 

 matter very carefully he will find that na- 

 ture has " method in her madness;" and the 

 more we study this, the more we shall see 

 the evidence of this " method." — Ed.] 



PREVENTION OF ABSCONDING DURING TREATMENT FOR FOUL 

 BROOD; ALSO BLOCKING UP TO PREVENT SWAR 



BY Wir. W. CASE 



I notice what A. F. Wagner says on page 

 137, Feb. 15; also what the editor says on 

 page 123, same issue, concerning bees ab- 

 sconding during treatment for foul brood. 



I think you will both find that the cause 

 of absconding is demoralization and fear of 

 starvation. I don't think you will have any 

 trouble in keeping treated colonies on full 

 sheets of foundation (at least, I don't), if 

 the treatment is done, as it always should 

 be, just at night, on account of robbing, and 



hived on half a dozen sheets of foundation 

 placed in one side of a ten-frame hive and 

 a common baking-tin about 1^/2 inches deep, 

 3 to 4 wide, and a foot or more long, placed 

 in the other side. Sprinkle cut straw half 

 an inch deep in the bottom, and put every 

 drop of a rich sugar syrup in the pan that 

 the colony can take up. If very sultry next 

 morning, shade the entrance and place %- 

 inch blocks under each corner of the hive. 

 If field stores are not coming in plenti- 



