No. 542] COLOR SENSE OF THE HONEY-BEE 107 



satisfactory explanation of their behavior in favor of an 

 improbable hypothesis has the appearance of shunning 

 the truth in a vain search for novelty. 



Conclusions 



Green flowers are not well adapted to entomophily, and 

 many species, possibly all, have been derived by retro- 

 gression and degeneration from larger more highly de- 

 veloped entomophilous forms. They are usually small, 

 or even minute, and are often incomplete, while ane- 

 mophily and autogamy prevail. Entomophilous green 

 flowers are as a whole sparingly visited by insects belong- 

 ing to the less specialized families, and as a rule retain 

 the power of self-fertilization. 



The fact that insects have been observed feeding on 

 over-ripe or decaying fruit, or the glandular secretions 

 of the vegetative organs of plants, or the excretions of 

 Aphididas on foliage, or greenish or brownish flowers, or 

 dull-colored receptacles which have contained sugar or 

 sweet liquids, affords no evidence that conspicuousness 

 is not an advantage to entomophilous flowers. Any sur- 

 face, whether it is bright or dull-colored, on which there 

 is nectar or honey, will be freely visited by bees for 

 stores after these iiquids have once been discovered ; but 

 they will not be discovered as quickly on a surface which 

 does not contrast in hue with its surroundings as on one 

 which does so contrast. 



The experiments and observations of Plateau on green 

 or greenish flowers in the absence of control or compara- 

 tive observations are fallacious, as pointed out by Knuth, 

 and do not prove that "all flowers might be as green as 

 their leaves without their pollination being compro- 

 mised." 



When honey-bees are given the choice between a con- 

 spicuous and an inconspicuous object under similar con- 

 ditions, they exhibit a preference for the former. Tins 

 preference is sufficiently marked to account for the de- 

 velopment of color contrast in flowers. 



