OF INSECTS WHEN VISITING FLO WEES. 



187 



vation*. The concluding column is intended to make plain the 

 order in which the species were visited, and how many times each 

 was visited consecutively, as well as the colour of their flowers. 

 The colours are represented as follows : — 

 ■W'=white, T=yellow, E = red (of various tints), and B = blue. 



A glance at these Tables will show plainly that a very decided 

 preference exists among insects for a considerable number of con- 

 secutive visits to flowers of the same species. 



No one, I think, who takes the trouble to wade through the 

 details will deny that there is apparent in very many, if not in 

 most of them, some powerful influence at work which induces 

 insects, where possible, to continue visiting for a considerable 

 time continuously the flowers of the same species of plant, neg- 

 lecting meanwhile nearly all other sorts. Of course it is 

 utterly impossible to say (without perhaps a microscopical exami- 

 nation of the pollen a bee brings home) whether one insect on 

 one flight from its hive or nest confines itself exclusively or prin- 

 cipally to one species of plant ; but, according to my observations, 

 there seems to be great probability of its so doing. 



So far as Table I. goes, it will be seen that the Hive-Bee is 

 'perfectly methodic in its habits ; and it seems therefore to follow 



* The totals given in the Tables are not quite correct, as there are in each 

 case certain observations in which the exact number of visits was not counted ; 

 and these of course could not be included. In the last column of Tablelll. the 

 bracketed " 1st " and " 2nd " indicate that those visits to which they are attached 

 were to the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd species which the insect visited as the case may be. 



