20 Natural History of the Honeybee. 



to the loft (north) and another part sharply to the right (south). In consequence of 

 this the paths were very short, the terminations (the hives stood close to each other) 

 coming together in a common wave. 59 It is apparent from this that the position of the 

 pasture determines the direction of the flight in and out. 



When, later, the buckwheat-fields ceased blooming and the moor was in full bloom, 

 the same short, though perhaps a little lengthened, paths were seen; but the common wave 

 was higher and apparently somewhat larger, from the great numbers hastening in from 

 all sides. 



"Long paths " of bees, which Bethe describes as normal, are found chiefly only in 

 the case of bees in gardens where trees, houses, etc., modify the flight. The view is 

 wrong (Bethe p. 80), that "it is a well-known fact to bee-masters that the steepness of 

 bee-paths varies with the weather." 60 It is an error further, that; "bee-paths always go 

 out from the hive in the same direction with slight fluctuation. This is almost always 

 east, southeast, or south. Not only for. this reason, but also because bees need sun to 

 be industrious, the bee-keepers place their hives toward the south or east." (Bethe, p. 81.) 

 This last assertion is erroneous. 61 



It is clear from the above, even if Bethe had not stated it himself exactly, that there 

 was nothing in the north for his bees to gather, since they never flew north (see Bethe's 

 following conclusions). In that case the town (Strassburg) must spread out northward 

 from the place of Bethe 's investigations. Bethe supposes that the town remained "un- 

 known ' 1 to the bees. 



The garden of the Physiological Institute in which my bee-hives stand lies close to 

 the town wall. The wall is covered with green, and behind it stretch great blooming 

 meadows which teem with bees. On the other side of the Institute lies the city. There 

 are very few and very small growing plants in the city; and, in spite of many searches, 

 I have only once seen bees in the inner part of the town, on two isolated sunflowers. At 

 all events it must be admitted that only a few isolated individuals have been in the interior 

 of the city at any time in their lives, particularly as my bees always fly toward the south 

 to the meadows." (Bethe, p. 86.) 



I must consider these assertions also as erroneous and not conclusive, for the handler 

 of sugar wares, honey-sellers, gingerbread bakeries, and housewives who leave sweet 

 preserves or jars of honey in the open windows well know they have to count upon much 

 unpleasantness from visiting bees. 62 There is not always something to be gathered from 

 the meadows (pause in the honey-flow, the cutting of the field) ; and, besides that, bees 

 in their first flight, which is devoted to orientation, orient themselves not only toward the 

 side of the pasture but naturally on all sides. 



Bethe then let bees fly in the streets of the city, only within the short distance of 

 350, 400, and 650 meters from the hive, in spite of the "unknown force" which acts, 

 according to Bethe, within a distance of three kilometers. Because, when let go, these 

 bees found their way home just as well as those from the meadow, he decides that ' ' there 



59 I noticed that hees of one and the same hive followed both directions. 

 60 1 admit that the French boy learns in his lesson : 



"Quand les abeilles volent en haut 

 Nous aurons bientot de l'eau." 

 But this probably national idea is just as \Mong as the one that a hard winter is to. le expected if 

 bees propolize entrances strongly. In general, many statements to be found in the literature on bee 

 management should be taken with prudence. Safe judgment can be made only after a personal experience 

 of many years. 



61 Dathe, Lehrbuch der Bienenzucht, 5 Aufl., p. 34, and following, Bensheim, 1892 : Berlepsch-Lehzen, 

 "Bienenzucht," Berlin, 1899 p. 28 and following; "Bienenzeitung," 2 Ausg., Nordlingen, 1861-'62, 

 2 Bd., p. 3 and following; v. Berlepsch, "Die Biene und die Bienenzucht," Muhlhausen, 1860, p. 219 

 and following; Dzierzon, Rationelle Bienenzucht, Brieg, 1861, p. 36, etc. 



62 Because of this kind of trouble, bees are forbidden in the precincts of the city of Paris. The 

 Bw. Centralblatt> No. 19, 1899, announces: "In a small city a broker had stored comb from colonies 

 with foul brood in a room accessible to bees. The following year almost all the apiaries of the city 

 were infected," etc. During the dearth of nectar, specifically in Bethe's case, the flying in the town 

 where there was always something at which to nibble might have been more vigorous than to the fields 

 where nothing could be obtained. . Moreover, Bethe himself furnishes a good reason that bees flew 

 extraordinarily accurately through the city, for he asserts that he "had seen bees inside the city upon 

 two isolated sunflowers." How very inquiring the bees must have been to find a single flower! We 

 can be very sure that innumerable bees (even if not seen by Bethe) followed the same instinct which 

 drew these sunflower visitors into the city, for there are no recluses among bees, none which separate 

 themselves from the masses to follow a way of their own, and all possess the same* kind of instincts. 

 A single linden-tree in bloom in the city/ is enough to attract hundreds of thousands of bees. 



