THE HUMBLE-BEE IN NEW ZEALAND. 21 



Geraniace^e 



Scarlet Geranium {Pelargonium sp.) is occasionally visited. 

 Indian Cress or Garden Nasturtium (Tropceolum majus) is 

 frequently visited. 



Leguminos^e. 



TJlex Europceus. I have only once seen the humble-bee on 

 this plant. As a correspondent remarks, "it is rather 

 singular that this most plentiful of spring flowers appears to 

 be neglected by humble-bees." I am even more struck with 

 the fact that it is almost totally neglected by hive-bees also. 

 In many parts near Dunedin there are miles of gorse hedges 

 which in the months of September, October and November 

 are blazing with flowers, and the air is heavy with their 

 porfume, yet hardly an insect is to be seen on them. I am 

 also struck with the fact that I have no record of humble- 

 bees on the flowers either of Broom (Cytisus scoparius) or 

 Laburnum (C. laburnum). Yet it is probable that these 

 flowers are occasionally visited, as in Europe they are fre- 

 quented by Bombus terrestris in great numbers. None of 

 the three flowers named contain nectar, hence they would 

 only be visited by bees for pollen. 



Trlfolium pratense. As has been already said the humble- 

 bee was originally introduced to fertilise the Red Clover. 

 In Europe the tube of the flower is almost invariably pierced 

 by Bombus terrestris, but I have not a single record of this 

 mode of getting the nectar from any of my New Zealand 

 correspondents. 



Trifolium repens. White clover is not mentioned by H. 

 Muller among the flowers visited, but I have seen small 

 neuters among our humble-bees, at work upon it. 

 Sweet Pea {Lathyrus odoratus) is frequently visited. 

 Faba vulgaris. Bees are very fond of the flowers of the 

 Bean ; they appear always to bite a hole into the tube. 

 Wistaria sinensis is a great favourite. According to Mr. 

 A. D. Bell, the bees get intoxicated with the honey (?) and 

 afterwards crawl helplessly on the ground below the plant. 

 I have no record of humble-bees visiting the flowers of Lupins, 

 which in Europe, according to Darwin, depend on these insects for 

 their fertilisation. In his "Fertilisation of Flowers" (p. 188) H. 

 Muller states that " Mr. Swale observed that in New Zealand culti- 

 vated varieties of Lupinus were unfertile unless he released the stamens 

 with a pin." On reading this, it at once occurred to me that I had 

 frequently seen Lupins seeding in gardens here, and this was verified 

 by my wife, Avho had frequently gathered seeds of Lupins both here 

 and in Christchurch. On applying to Mr. Martin, of Fairfield, for a 

 verification of this fact, he informs me that he has had about a dozen 

 varieties in cultivation for the last twenty or thirty years, and never 

 had any difficulty in obtaining seed from them, many sowing 

 themselves. 



One observer records having seen a humble-bee on flowers of 

 Wattle. I have never seen bees of any kind on the flowers of Acacia, 

 and am inclined to think that a mistake has been made. 



