BEES AND POLLEN-COLLECTING 



BEES whether solitary or social enter flowers 

 for the sake of the honey in their nectaries and 

 the pollen on their anthers. In some cases the 

 flowers automatically deposit pollen on the bees 

 during the operation, which enables them to 

 fertilize other flowers of the same species, but 

 the pollen which the bee requires for its own 

 use has to be worked for and collected on organs 

 specially adapted for the purpose. These vary 

 very much in the different families and genera ; 

 they exist only in the females, and, if the males 

 get covered with pollen, as they often do, it is 

 probably more by chance than purpose, and it 

 is doubtful if it is of any value to the brood, 

 although no doubt useful in fertilizing other 

 flowers. All our bees, as has been pointed out 

 before, are clothed more or less with branched 

 or feather-like hairs, which would appear to be 

 admirably adapted for the collecting of pollen. 

 B .W.A. 65 F 



