WILD BEES. 



The idea is very common that there 

 are only two or three kinds of bees, the 

 bumble bee, the honey bee and possibly 

 one kind of smaller wild bee. So far 

 is this from being true, that 1,878 dif- 

 ferent species have been described from 

 North America. 



When we come to study the habits 

 and structure of all these bees, it is pos- 

 sible to understand why they are so 

 numerous in kinds. The pollen of flow- 

 ers has to be carried principally by 

 insects; that of one flower to other flow- 

 ers of the same sort, in order to bring 

 about fertilization and production of 

 seed. Of all the insect carriers the bees 

 are the most important. They visit the 

 flowers for nectar and pollen, to store 

 up in nests for their young, and w^hen 

 so doing, they carry the dust-like pol- 

 len on their fuzzy little bodies, leaving 

 a little of that previously gathered each 

 time they alight on a blossom. 



Now suppose that all bees visited 

 every sort of flower, it would happen 

 that the pollen of one species of plant 

 was left on the flower of a quite differ- 

 ent species, where it would be quite use- 

 less. 



It is desirable, therefore, that each 

 kind of bee should visit one particular 

 sort of plant, or at any rate should pre- 

 fer certain kinds. There are many bees 

 that never visit more than one sort of 

 plant so that it is not surprising to find 

 that there are many sorts of bees. Last 

 summer we found a small black and red 

 bee that visited only the paint-brushes 

 (Costilleia integra) flying for some dis- 

 tance from one solitary plant to an- 

 other, though the ground over which 

 they flew was literally carpeted with 

 flowers of other sorts, many of them 

 having much richer storehouses than 

 the paint brushes. 



In numerous instances, w^e find the 

 mouth parts of the bees exactly suited 



to the kinds of flowers they visit. Some 

 have very long tongues and can suck 

 nectar from long tubular flowers, such 

 as the yelllow flowered currant; while 

 others with short tongues can get the 

 sweets from shallow flowers, such as 

 the daisies and roses. It is the case of 

 the fox and the stork again. 



Curiously enough some bees are not 

 honest with the flowers, for we may 

 very well regard the pollen and nectar 

 as offered by the flower, for the service 

 that the bees render the plant, and 

 when, as sometimes happens, a bee cuts 

 a hole in the end of a tubular flower 

 and takes the nectar, it is ciearlv a 

 thief! 



The wild bees sometimes show very 

 curious adaptations in regard to the 

 flowers they visit. One great fuzzy bee 

 (Canpolicaiia yarroim) visits the flow- 

 ers of the Datura, and as this flower 

 closes as soon as the sun becomes 

 warm, the bee must be at work very 

 early in the morning. Another bee 

 visits the Gaura, a flower that opens at 

 twilight, and it can be heard with its 

 busy bit of a hum, long after it can be 

 seen. 



Ailthough the described bees of North 

 America are so numerous, it is certain 

 that we do not know half of those exist- 

 ing. Indeed, it is not impossible that 

 the North American continent, with the 

 West Indies, possess as many as 5,000 

 species. Thus the opportunity for the 

 student of these insects is very great. 

 He is almost certain to find in almost 

 any part of the country species wholly 

 new to science during his first day's col- 

 lecting. The discovery of new forms is, 

 however, only the beginning of the 

 work. After this comes the most inter- 

 esting part, the study of the nesting 

 habits, and the relation between the 

 bees and flowers. The field_ is a wide 

 one, and seems practically limitless. 



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