INSECT VISITORS. 



79 



latitude of Kocliester the common varieties bloom very nearly together. 

 Anjoii, Angouleme, Kietter, and some others bloom about one day ahead 

 of Bartlett, Seek el, White Doyenne, and others. Winter Nelis, Colonel 

 Wilder, P. Barry, and a few others bloom fully three days after the 

 Bartlett. On proceediug southward the varieties become separated in 

 blooming time. In ]S"ew Jersey the Le Oonte and Kieffer bloom three 

 or fonrdays ahead of the Bartlett, while the Angouleme is only about 

 one day ahead. On the James River the Le Conte and Kieft'er bloom 

 a week ahead of the Angouleme, while the Bartlett is two or three days 

 later still. Again in southern Georgia the Le Oonte blooms from three 

 to five weeks earlier than the Kieffer. 



INSECT VISITORS. 



Incidental mention has been made of insect visitors. We should not 

 proceed without laying some stress on the importance of these visits as a 

 means of conveying the pollen and on some of the influences which 

 affect them. The writer has collected large numbers of insects during 

 the flowering season, and has in preparation a list of the ,species which 

 visit the pear. About fifty species are already named in the list and as 

 many more are unnamed. This list will ngt be given here, as it will ap- 

 pear in a future publication. Miiller * gives a list of thirty species which 

 visited jjear flowers in Europe. My observations have convinced me 

 that under favorable conditions the flowers are abundantly visited by 

 a great variety of insects. The open character of the nectary makes 

 the nectar very accessible to all small or short-lipped insects, while the 

 large quantity of nectar and j)ollen makes it worth while for larger 

 insects to come. The list of insects, therefore, includes a great variety : 

 Bees, bumblebees, wasps, many species of sweat bees, and antsj a large 

 variety of beetles, including the ladybird, carpet beetle, lightning bugs, 

 and many others; and a variety of flies, from the large bluebottle down 

 to tiny gnats, an occasional butterfly, and even a dragon fly. The 

 larger number of species are only occasionally found, and many kinds, 

 such as beetles and ants, probably do little good in carrying pollen, as 

 their smooth bodies do not readily retain it. The common honey bee is 

 the most regular and important abundant visitor, and probably does 

 more good than any other species. The sweat bees of the genus 

 Salictus ^n&Andrena are very abundant and useful. At Washington, 

 in the season of 1891, they far outnumbered all other insects. The 

 same thing occurred at Rochester in 1892. The hairy coats of the bees 

 and their brushes for carrying pollen render their visits more efficient 

 than those of other insects in crossing the flowers. Flies are quite 

 hairy, and doubtless carry pollen grains adhering to them. I have often 

 . noticed, that on cool and cloudy days, too cold for bees to work, many of 

 the larger flies could still be found on the flowers. The fishy odor of 



* The Fertilization of Flowers, p. 239. 



