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CHAPTEK IV. 



BEES AND WASPS. 



ARRANGiNa this chapter under the same general headings 

 as the one on ants, we shall consider first — 



Powers of Special Sense, 



Bees and wasps have much greater powers of sight 

 than ants. They not only perceive objects at a greater 

 distance, but are also able to distinguish their colours. 

 This was proved by Sir John Lubbock, who placed honey 

 on slips of paper similarly formed, but of different colours ; 

 when a bee had repeatedly visited a slip of one colour (A), 

 he transposed the slips during the absence of the bee ; on 

 its return the insect did not fly to slip B, although this now 

 occupied the position which had been previously occupied 

 by slip A, but again visited slip A, although this now occu- 

 pied the position which had been previously occupied by 

 slip B. Therefore, as these experiments were again and 

 again repeated both on bees and wasps with uniform re- 

 sults, there can be no question that the insects by their 

 first visits to slip A established an association between 

 the colour of A and the honey upon it, such that, when 

 they again returned and found B in the place of A, they 

 were guided by their memory of the colour rather than 

 by their memory of the position. It was thus shown that 

 the insects could distinguish green, red, yellow, and blue. 

 These experiments also brought out the further fact that 

 both bees and wasps exhibit a marked preference for some 

 colours over others. Thus, in a series of black, white, 

 yellow, orange, green, blue, and red sUps, two or three 

 bees paid twenty-one visits to the orange and yellow, and 

 only four to all the other slips. The slips were then moved. 



