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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIV 



slide, when a bright-colored slide is substituted for the 

 colorless one. 



Accordingly a blue slide was substituted for the one 

 without color, and at the same time the slides were trans- 

 posed, the distance apart still remaining sixteen inches. 

 The honey was disposed as a narrow band along the 

 center of each slide in order that it might be more easily 

 accessible to the bees. In ten minutes there were eight 

 bees on the red and two on the blue. A little later there 

 were ten bees on the red, and four bees and a wasp on the 

 blue. 



The bees were driven away and the slides transposed. 

 In a few minutes there were three bees and a wasp on the 

 red, and nine bees on the blue. Ten minutes later there 

 were six bees and an Eristalis tenax on the red, and four 

 bees on the blue. Two minutes later there were three 

 bees and the syrphid fly on the red, and seven bees on the 

 blue. Very quickly then after the blue slide was substi- 

 tuted for the colorless one, the bees ceased to exhibit a 

 preference for the red slide, and sometimes visited the 

 red and sometimes the blue in larger numbers. This 

 experiment thus affords evidence not only that bees can 

 distinguish colors, but that they are also influenced by 

 conspicuousness. 10 



The experience of apiarists furnishes very conclusive 

 evidence of the power of bees to distinguish colors. The 

 hives are sometimes painted different colors in order that 

 the bees may mark their location with greater certainty 

 and avoid entering the wrong hive. A bee-keeper de- 

 scribes in Gleanings in Bee Culture how he painted his 

 hives red, white and blue, in order that the bees might 

 mark their location largely by color. I have, he states, 

 adopted the red, white and blue plan, since 1880, and am 

 so well pleased with the result that I am painting all my 

 new hives this spring in the same colors. It enables the 

 bees to avoid making mistakes and going into the wrong 



10 Lovell, John H., "The Color Sense of the Honey-bee: Is Conspicuous- 

 ness an Advantage to Flowers?" Am. Nat., 43, 338-349, June, 1909. 



