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[Vol. 88 
Table III. Flower species most commonly visited by bees during the summer, 1974 
Bee species 1 
Flower species 1 
% of visits 2 
sample size 3 
Apis mellifera (I) 
Solidago altissima (N) 
26.2 
409 
S. graminifolia (N) 
24.0 
S. juncea (N) 
18.8 
Ceratina 4 (N) 
Rubus allegheniensis (N) 
28.0 
50 
Halictus ligatus (N) 
Chrysanthemum leucan- 
themum (I) 
51.2 
43 
Halictus confusus (N) 
Potentilla recta (I) 
47.6 
21 
Auguchlorella striata (N) 
Chrysanthemum leucan- 
themum (I) 
37.5 
24 
Dialictus rohweri (N) 
Potentilla recta (I) 
47.4 
19 
1 Point of origin given in parentheses; N = native to North America; I = introduced. 
2 Percent of individuals of that bee species in samples that were on named 
flower species. 
3 Number of bees of that species in transect samples, 1974. 
4 Includes Ceratina dupla and C. calcarata. Females of these species are indis- 
tinguishable at present. 
Spring-flying bees were not included in Table II because they 
foraged on flowers that were most common off the field and could 
not be sampled by the transect technique. All-day samples from 
patches of common spring flowers revealed a great diversity of 
native bees, primarily solitary, univoltine species of Andrena, 
Dialictus, and Ceratina. Honey bees were also common in spring, 
especially on willows, rosaceous trees, and on large clusters of 
dandelion and yellow rocket. 
Discussion 
The fact that native bees foraged on introduced flowers in early 
summer, while introduced bees predominated on native flowers in 
late summer, suggests that this type of old field association is quite 
recent in origin. Indeed, the development of this curious pattern can 
be clarified by tracing the recent biotic history of the Ithaca area. 
Early explorers in the region (up until the early 1800’s) reported 
extensive forested areas that were thickest near the head of Cayuga 
Lake and to the south of Ithaca (Dudley 1886). The Indians cleared 
considerable acreages for villages, corn fields, etc. (Day 1953) and 
kept corridors of land clear for stalking deer by annual burning 
