52 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 65 



substances emitting- extremely weak odors. As quickly as the saliva 

 has dissolved the candy and has had time to effect a chemical or 

 physical change, the odorous particles are given off, and since the 

 olfactory pores on the mouth-parts are nearest the food, they are the 

 first ones to receive the odorous particles. For this reason the so- 

 called gustatory sense in insects is only a phase of the olfactory sense. 



That we cannot smell certain substances is no proof that insects 

 cannot smell them, for the many experiments performed by the 

 present writer during the past four years cause him to believe that the 

 olfactory sense in the honey bee is much more highly developed than 

 ours. 



It is reasonable to think that many foods and chemicals emit odors, 

 although we may not be able to perceive all of them ; but judging from 

 the experiments herein discussed, it is not impossible for bees to dis- 

 criminate between them better than we can. If they are not able to do 

 this without eating them, only a few " tastes " are necessary to demon- 

 strate their preferences. In a few instances the present writer was 

 not able to discriminate differences between candies containing certain 

 chemicals by using both senses of smell and taste, but the bees were 

 able to distinguish marked differences. It therefore seems evident 

 that this faculty in the honey bee is more highly developed than in 

 man. 



In all probability bees have no other means of chemically discrim- 

 inating between foods than by smelling them, because no sense organs 

 were found connected with the alimentary tract between the pharyn- 

 geal plate and the honey stomach, and because the innervated hairs 

 described are not anatomically adapted for this purpose. The walls 

 of the alimentary canal certainly cannot serve such a function except 

 when corrosive or caustic substances are eaten. 



After once refusing foods which contain undesirable substances 

 emitting weak odors, bees seem to know these foods and seldom 

 eat any more of them unless forced to partake of them by the removal 

 of the foods they like better. 



In conclusion it may be said that the olfactory sense in the honey 

 bee is highly developed and that it serves as an olfactory and gustatory 

 perception combined. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Becker. 1882. Zur Kenntniss der Mundtheile der Dipteren. Denkschr. Acad. 



Wiss. Vvien, Bd. 45, p. 123. 

 Breithaupt, P. F. 1886. Ueber die Anatomie und die Functionen der 



Bienenzunge. Arch. f. Naturgesch., 52 Jahrg., Bd. 1, Heft 1, pp. 47-112, 



with 2 pis. 



