26 
18. The larger bee referred to above is evidently Apis dorsata, 
the smaller one Apis indica. 
19. My own observations on the insects frequenting the coffee 
flowers at Yercaud in April 1913 were necessarily scanty, as my time 
was occupied with the experiments, but the following notes were 
made :— 
Apis dorsata (the large rock bee) was in comparatively small 
numbers, collecting pollen in the morning as a rule, and nectar in the 
afternoon. One which was watched when gathering nectar visited 
ten flowers (all on the same bush) in one minute.— Another specimen, 
which was collecting pollen, was observed to visit about 22 flowers in 
One minute, this number including those which it crawled over and 
might therefore have fertilized; in a second minute the same bee 
visited about twenty flowers. When collecting pollen the bees visit far 
more flowers (approximately twice as many) than when collecting 
nectar, as in the former case they often crawl all over a bunch of six 
or seven flowers, whereas in collecting nectar they generally fly 
straight from one flower to another. There seemed to be more speci- 
mens of Apis dorsata on the flowers towards the end of the flowering 
period than at its commencement. 
Apis indica (the Indian bee) was fairly common, appearing on 
the wing at sunrise (6°0 a.m.) and working until after sunset. They 
gathered pollen chiefly in the morning and nectar in the afternoon. 
When gathering nectar about ten flowers per minute are visited, 
and about twice this number when collecting pollen. When sucking 
the nectar, Apis indica often touches the stigmas with its legs as it 
arises from the flower. Its habit of visiting flowers: erratically (as 
often as not flying off one flower on to another one ou a different 
branch, albeit of the same bush) has doubtless considerable value in 
securing cross-fertilization. When sucking nectar, Apis indica does 
not quiver its wings, but remains motionless except for extension and 
retraction of the abdominal segments. When collecting pollen, the 
bee usually does not settle on the fnwer but hovers over it and scrapes 
the pollen off the stamen by embracing it with its mid-legs and 
drawing these upwards, thus rubbing off the pollen which sticks to the 
legs and is then scraped off and passed to the regular pollen baskets of 
the hind-legs. In pollen-gathering there is more chance of fertilizing 
the flower because the legs hang down when the bee is on the wing 
and may (and sometimes do) touch the stigma when moving from one 
flower to another or hovering over a flower scraping up the pollen- 
grains. 
Apis florea (the Little Bee) was not common and no exact details 
ues meee: but their whole bodies appeared to be covered with pollen. 
Xylocopa tenuiscapa (a large blue-black Carpenter Bee) was fairly 
common and very active in visiting the coffee flowers, although T 
noticed some which were busy on Potato (Creeper (Solanum) to the 
entire exclusion of the adjacent coffee, These large bees sprawl all 
over the flowers, carrying pollen all over their ventral surface : the 
often go right up or down a twig, crawling over every flower ee 
probably pollinating every blossom which they touch. 
