36 Natural History of the Honeybee. 



the bees in any way remarkable took place, as regularly happens if the surroundings of 

 the hive itself are changed. The explanation, I think, lies in the fact that the bees in 

 flying out undertook no special inspection of the surroundings — they know their own circle 

 of flight. 1 ' 8 The in-flying bees could adjust themselves by so many other landmarks, all of 

 which are still present in the immediate neighborhood of the hive, that they were not con- 

 fused by the absence of one landmark in the proximity of the hive, since by that time the 

 hive itself was recognized. 



The flight itself remained forked for many days. Some few, however, a few minutes 

 after the fall of the tree, went out through the space where it had been. A(S the colony 

 was very weak, and usually only a few bees were seen under way, I can not say whether 

 these bees had before flown through the spaces between twigs, for an hour passed before 

 I saw another fly through the now open space. These few which flew through might easily 

 have been overlooked by me before. 



But even if all the bees- had suddenly flown out in a straight line, I could see in that 

 no confirmation of an unknown force, with so many proofs against it, but only a special 

 capacity for orientation. 



SPECIAL CAPACITY FOR ORIENTATION IN BEES. 



That bees orient themselves indeed in a special way follows from many things. Lub- 

 bock lu9 also is of this opinion. Nevertheless in general one is inclined to apply human 

 standards to them. A simple experiment shows that bees have their special estimation of 

 position. 



If the height of a hive is changed so that the entrance is suddenly made, let us say, 

 thirty centimeters higher or lower, then we see that the bees fly exactly. to the spot where 

 the entrance was before. Hours and often days pass before a smooth graded flight is to 

 be noticed to the new height. To my mind it follows from this that in fact, as Lubbock 

 also believes, the bees ' ' know how to find their way by the relative position of the well- 

 known entrance to the surrounding trees and other large obstacles, and to the hive itself. " 

 The principal thing is the relative position of the entrance to the ground, for trees and 

 large obstacles can be lacking and yet the entrance be reached, for the bee has an extremely 

 fine ability for the appreciation of height. The entrance itself is not regarded at greater 

 or less distances, as the experiment given above proves, for first an observation of it takes 

 place in the immediate proximity. This ability to judge distances goes so far that, under 

 normal conditions, bees are accustomed to fly, for example, always in and out of the same 

 corner of the hive-entrance. If a bee is powdered on entering at the outermost right 

 corner of the entrance, it will be seen that, in unmolested flight, it uses the same corner 

 constantly in a straight line, even if the entrance is only ten centimeters wide. If the 

 eu trance is then stopped up all but about the breadth of an inch, they will, in spite of that, 

 try to press in just at their points, and find the open part only after a shorter or longer 

 search. 



This accurate adherence to a settled path of flight has something to do with the rela- 

 tive position of the hive or the entrance, but not with the hive itself nor the entrance itself 

 at all; for if the hive is taken away entirely the bees will continue to fly to the accustomed 

 place at the accustomed height. In such steadfast holding to the path, all disguises such 

 as Bethe 's have little proving value (Bethe, p. 85), in so far as (and Bethe leads on in 

 part to this end) it should prove that bees are guided on their way, not by memory 

 pictures. The simple consideration that bees fly back exactly to the place where the 

 entrance has been, even though the hive has been removed many days before, makes it 

 clear that their flight will not necessarily be led astray if the hive or background be com- 

 pletely disguised, as was done by Bethe; therefore the spreading of colored papers on 



108 The careless flying-out of the bees, which is often fatal, is well known to the bee-keeper. On 

 this is based the old practice that colonies which are to be sent to buckwheat-fields are always brought 

 out to these fields before the buckwheat blooms, so that the bees can learn thoroughly the new locality. 

 If the bee-keeper does not stick to this rule the proximity of the strongly fragrant fields is so stimulating 

 that the bees pour out without any orientation, or only a hasty one, and then they get lost, etc. The 

 colonies fly themselves "bald" (cf. p. 32*). 



100 Lubbock, The Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals; London, 1889; German translation, 

 Leipzig, 1889. . 



