THE BUMBLEBEE. 63 



THE BUMBLEBEE. 



Haunts and Habits. A field of blossoming clover, or a 

 fence row grown up with bergamot or other mints, is a good 

 place to observe something of the habits of the bumble- 

 bee, to learn something of its part in the economy of 

 nature, which may not be so 

 well learned anywhere else. A 

 half hour spent in studying the 

 bumblebee among the flowers 

 from which it feeds may be 

 made most profitable. It will 

 not behave normally in confine- 



. BUMBLEBEE (slightly enlarged) . 



ment; but it will not resent 



close scrutiny while free, and feeding from its favorite 

 flowers, if it be approached quietly. Watch a bumblebee 

 on a head of red clover. See how roughly it tramples 

 over the tops of the corollas. Observe that it collects 

 two products of the flowers : 



1. Nectar, from the bottom of the corolla tubes, which 

 it stops momentarily to sip as it passes over. Note the 

 position and shape of the organ used in sucking up the 

 nectar. 



2. Pollen, the yellow dust which falls from the anthers 

 of the flowers when they are shaken. This is collected 

 into the pollen baskets on the hind legs. The yellowish 

 lumps of pollen will be conspicuous on some of the in- 

 dividuals seen. 



Note whether the bumblebee visits one species of 

 flower, or several, in a single trip out from the nest. Fol- 

 low one from flower to flower, until you ascertain what is 

 its habit in respect to this. 



What other insects have you studied that feed upon 

 red clover ? The life of quite a number of very common 



