SIR J. LUBBOCK OK ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS. 113 



The precautious takeu seem to me to have placed the colors 

 ou au equal footiug ; while the number of experimeuts appears 

 sufficient to give a fair average. It will be observed also that 

 the different series agree well among themselves. The difference 

 between the numbers is certainly striking. Adding together 

 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 we get 28 as the total number given by each 

 journey ; 100 journeys therefore give, as the table shows, a total 

 of 2800, which divided by 7 would of course, if no preference were 

 shown, give 400 for each color. The numbers given, however, 

 are — for the blue only 275, for the white 349, yellow 405, red 413, 

 green 427, orange 440, and plain glass as many as 491. 



Another mode of testing the result is to take the percentage in 

 which the bees went respectively to each color first, second, third, 

 and so on. It will be observed, for instance, that out of a 

 hundred rounds the bees took blue as one of the first three in 74 

 cases, and one of the last four only in 26 cases ; while, on the 

 contrary, they selected the plain as one of the first three only in 

 25 cases, and one of the last four in 75 cases. 



Blue. Green. Orange. Plain. Eecl, White. Yellow. 



100 100 100 100 100 100 100 



I may add that I was by no means prepared for this result. 

 Miiller, in his remarkable volume on Alpine Flowers, states that 

 bees are much more attracted by yellow than by white *. In the 

 same work he gives the following table : — 



In every 100 visits of insects there were 



