4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 65 



i. Preliminary Experiments in Feeding Bees Foods Containing 

 Various Substances 



To determine the behavior of bees toward foods containing various 

 substances under conditions which permitted of their close observa- 

 tion, triangular experimental cases were employed. These were made 

 of three narrow wooden strips, two of which were ten and the third 

 six inches long, each strip being an inch wide. Wire screen served as 

 bottoms and tops for the cases whose apices and bases rested on sup- 

 ports above a table near a window. 



Since cane-sugar candy is most conveniently fed to bees in ex- 

 perimental cases, a quantity of this food was made by thoroughly 

 kneading a good quality of confectioner's sugar with a small amount 

 of honey. For convenience in handling it while feeding the bees, a 

 small lump of five grams, placed upon a small piece of cardboard, 

 was put into each case. 



Sometimes it was necessary to feed the bees honey. This food was 

 poured into small tin feeders, each one being two and a quarter inches 

 long, one inch wide, and one-fourth inch deep. To prevent the bees 

 from wasting the honey, fine parallel pieces of wire, one-eighth inch 

 apart, were stretched lengthwise over the tops of the feeders. 



One drop of oil of peppermint was thoroughly mixed with 25 grams 

 of cane-sugar candy. This mixture was then divided into five equal 

 parts. One hundred milligrams of quinine sulphate were also thor- 

 oughly mixed with 25 grams of cane-sugar candy, and the mixture 

 was then divided into five equal parts. 



Twenty worker bees from the alighting-boards of various hives 

 were introduced into each of five of the experimental cases, and they 

 were immediately fed the two foods just described and an equal 

 amount of pure cane-sugar candy. The order of placing the foods 

 into the cases was rotated so that case No. 1 received the pure cane- 

 sugar candy first, the candy containing oil of peppermint second and 

 the candy containing quinine third. Case No. 2 received the candy 

 containing oil of peppermint first, the candy containing quinine 

 second and the pure cane-sugar candy third. Case No. 3 received the 

 candy containing the quinine first, the pure cane-sugar candy second, 

 and the candy containing the oil of peppermint third. Cases Nos. 4 and 



5 were treated similarly. The order of arrangement of the candies 

 in the cases was also rotated so that no two cases contained the candies 

 in the same arrangement. 



When the pure cane-sugar candy was fed first, the bees covered it 

 and ate greedily for several moments. When the candv containing 



