32 Bulletin Santa Barbara Society of Natural History. Vol. I. 



THE EUCALYPTUS AND THE HONEY BEE. 



BY R. F. BINGHAM. 



DURING the past month or two, my attention 

 has often been called to the great numbers of 

 honey bees daily visiting a Eucalyptus globulus in 

 bloom near my house, when the weather will permit. 

 I presumed they were collecting the pollen of which 

 it affords quite an abundant supply, never having 

 heard it spoken of as a honey producing tree. More 

 recently however, I have observed, in the early morn- 

 ings hours and late in the afternoon, scores of hum- 

 ming birds, and in several instances hundreds of them 

 in the tree, and others continously coming and going, 

 visiting every blossom. 



The idea then flashed upon my mind that there 

 must be something besides pollen to attract so many 

 birds and bees to the tree, knowing that the humming 

 bird feeds upon nectar, and not pollen; which upon in- 

 vestigation I found to be what they were after in this 

 instance. 



With a common hand lens, I find the disc of the 

 flower, which is half an inch in diameter, completely 

 covered with globules which upon tasting I discovered 

 to be honey of very fair quality. It had a little of a 

 resinous taste but certainly I should say not more, if 

 as much as the Hemizonia fasciculata (common Tar 

 weed). 1 notice also that the humming birds occupy 

 the tree from early dawn until it becomes sufficiently 

 warm for the honey bee to come in and assert her 

 claim to a portion of the delicious beverage, which 

 they are not slow to do, coming in great numbers. 

 The birds then almost to a unit vacate, and give their 

 more numerous aggressors full possession. 



I observe too that when it is too cool or unpleasant 

 for bees to work, even if quite rainy, the birds are 

 out in great numbers, and continue their operations 



