BEES

Sir John Lubbock long ago declared that “if we judge animals by their intelligence as evidenced in their actions, it is not the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee, but the Bee, and above all the Ant, which approach nearest to Man.”

While Bees, Ants and Termites indisputably possess some degree of intelligence, as distinct from what we are pleased to call “instinct,” it is doubtful if any naturalist or comparative psychologist of today would agree with the eminent British scientist in this generalization. Yet Man has, perhaps, more to learn from the example of Bee life than from the more intelligent activities of the simian world.

Prof. W. F. Wilson, of the University of Wisconsin, in a recent lecture, remarked that a Bee knows when it has had enough, and is satisfied to work in a self-selected domain before it “grabs for more.” For instance, if a Bee settles itself to work in one corner of a field, it will not leave that corner until it has exhausted the nectar in all flowers in that corner. It will not fly to another corner after having found one flower deficient. Neither will it quit one plant until it has tried its tongue in all the flowers of that plant. This has been proved by releasing Bees with different colored powder spread on them and then watching them at work.

Professor Wilson stated that another experiment demonstrated that Bees have some mathematical ability. In this experiment it was found that the Bees realized when a sufficient number were working on one apple tree and no more tried to get on it.

Another peculiarity noticed by Professor Wilson is this: While Bees are at work they will not change from a flower of one color to one of another color until the nectar has been exhausted in the flowers of the first color. That is, if the Bee begins work on a blue aster, it will not go next to a red one, but always seeks a blue one again. This fact was noted by Aristotle in the fourth century B. C., though the belief is still widely prevalent that Bees “fly about from flower to flower in a haphazard way.” As a rule “Bees keep to a single species of flower for collecting pollen and nectar.”

Nevertheless, Bees are partially color-blind, as is evidenced by the experiments of two German biologists, Prof. F. Frisch and Lothar Tirala. “These investigators have shown that to the Bee, red and black look alike, orange and yellow look the same as green, and that there is no difference in the appearance of blue, violet and purple. But Bees have one advantage over Man; they can see the rays of ultraviolet light, which are invisible to our eyes.

“It was also discovered that the mysterious guiding influence by which the Bee is brought back to its hive is nothing more than experience. It has long been known that Bees find their way home sooner the longer they have lived in their hive. To test this common-sense view Bees were put to sleep by ether, taken to a new hive, and moved some twelve yards away. None of them could find their way back to the hive until the third day afterward, when 30 per cent got home. By the eighth day, however, 90 per cent of them had learned to find their way back to the hive.”⁠[18]

Some experiments by Professor Young, of Geneva, antedating those of Professor Frisch, also showed that Bees “build up a knowledge of the country about the hive.” On the other hand, it seems to be well established that Bees, like most animals, have a true homing sense, or sense of direction. “Even Bees with their eyes obscured have been known to make a ‘bee-line’ for the hive from considerable distances,” says Thomson.

When, by exception, Bees build their nest in the open, they invent arrangements which are new and in the true sense intelligent to meet the new conditions (Bergson). In the face of cumulative evidence, the great Fabre was forced to modify his theory of immutable instinct, and grant to Insects a modicum of “discernment,” since they have the capacity of learning by experience.

Professor Frisch published in the Munich Medizin Wochenschrift some observations upon the means of communication employed by Bees. “He placed a dish of sugar solution on a table by an open window. Shortly after a chance Bee had noted this and flown off with booty therefrom, the dish was crowded with Bees. When it was removed they quickly disappeared, save for an occasional reconnoiterer. When a fresh dish was set out they quickly reappeared in quantities. By touching the back of each Bee with a spot of color, the experimenter then perceived that subsequent Bees had been sent, and not escorted.

“The conduct of the rediscoverer on her return to the hive was next noted. She first gave over her plunder to the workers, and then executed a curious dance, describing circles and other figures. Her audience watched her attentively and attempted to touch her. When one of the marked Bees succeeded in doing this, the latter at once made her exit and flew to the feeding place; but the unmarked Bees soon ceased to pay her any attention. It appears that there is here some means of communication based upon touch rather than upon sight or hearing; and that it is adequate for giving information as to the presence or absence of food, but inadequate to give its location unless it be already known to the recipient of the message.

“Experiments with two dishes of food at a considerable distance apart verified this. As before, after they had once been discovered the dishes were removed and ultimately replaced; but when replaced, the ‘white’ dish only was filled, the ‘yellow’ one being left empty. The ‘white’ dish was rediscovered by a ‘white’ Bee; and when the latter returned to the hive not only the ‘white’ but also the ‘yellow’ Bees responded to her dance, left the hive and flew to their respective dishes, the ‘yellow’ Bees of course having the search in vain. As before, unmarked Bees ignored the dancer.

“That there is a little more flexibility to the signal system than this might indicate appeared when natural conditions were imitated, linden and acacia blossoms being offered respectively to groups of Bees accustomed to seek these. The dancing linden Bee now occasioned excitement only among the linden Bees, and not among the acacia group. The same distinction was made when two dishes of sugar were differently perfumed, suggesting that scent rather than actual modification of the signals may have been responsible. When blotting paper saturated with sugar-water was used instead of the dishes, the Bees found some difficulty in sucking the fluid up, and returned only half laden. They did not then trouble to perform the dance, showing that this is reserved for exceptionally rich finds.”⁠[19]

The Bee is good-natured and even long-suffering, but there are limits to its patience or generosity. So long as nectar is superabundant, the Bee allows the drones to live in the communal hive without rendering any service in return. “But one day the decree goes forth that those who do not work shall not eat, indeed shall not live.... Vigorously and pitilessly the long-suffering workers at last turn on the drones and slay them all.”⁠[20]

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