83 



)iici(Ja(a, Aster iinibeUaius, Nym^^hct^a, Ihihsia, ^Escirhis, 

 white lilac, white foxglove, white rose, niigiioiiettc, etc., 

 all white flowers, are frecjiiented some by honey bees, others 

 by bumble bees. 



Bees do not care for the small, Hat flowers of spiriea, 

 strawberry, viburnum, cornus, sambucus, achillea, May- 

 weed, etc., all of which are white. They also discriminate 

 between flowers of the same family and same color; Rubus 

 strigosus and R. occidentalis, rasp])erries, have diminutive 

 white flowers much freciucnted hy all kinds of bees, while 

 the larger and showy R. villosus, high blackberry, has but 

 a limited number, certainly many less. 



It appears to one, at first, singular that bumble bees which 

 are crazy for the white, fragrant flowers of Rosa rugosa, 

 var. alba, will never alight on the white, sweet-scented and 

 beautiful flower of the water lily, Nym})hiva. I sus})ect 

 that they do not like the water, and are afraid of wetting 

 their feet; besides, there does not appear to be any nectar, 

 and the limited amount of pollen is better adapted to small 

 Hies, yet honey bees enjoy these flowers. 



Bees are so fond of white privet that I have often seen 

 them (bumble bees) remain so long at the close of day that 

 they went to sleej) on the flowers and remained there all 

 night ! 



RED OK KEU-PURPLE. 



Bumble bees are fond of red clover, which, as has been 

 noticed, is of a very different color from Brunella and Viola. 

 All of these flowers are more limited in kinds of visitors, on 

 account of their peculiar shapes. Pink-purple foxglove, as 

 well as all other tints, is visited by both kinds of bees ; the 

 bumble bees readily entering the tube, not regarding the 

 very slender hairs almost invisible on the lower lip, which 

 cause the more sensitive honey bees to turn and enter, if 

 they can, by the upper side. No more bees visit the flaming- 

 red flowers of Pyrus Japonica than the pure white cherry 



