BUMBLE BEES AND BROAD

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3192, 8 December 1892, Page 2

BUMBLE BEES AND BROAD

BEANS. ♦ , TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Broad beans sown in my garden early in the spring have obtained rather above the average height and strength of plaut. At the time these beans were flowering, I notice that the bumble bees were very active amongst them. Purine the day when the sun was out there could always be seen two or more of these creatures flying from flower to flower, apparently gathering the honey ; but instead of going into the bean flower as the honey bee does, and which I suppose his sizs prevents hirr. doing, he goes to the bottom of the flower outside, and on the topside of the flower with his proboscis punctures a hole through the skin of the flower, and thus gets at what he wants, every flower in the whole crop being thus punctured.—a truly remarkable instance of insect intelligence and reasoning powers. The result, however, is that the fruit bearing capacity of the bean is almost if not entirely, destroyed. This, at any rate, is my experience this season. The beans are almost bare of 2>ods, some of the stalks being quite so. Query : 4ml right in blaming these bees for this ; or may it be accounted for in some other vvay ? Perhaps others of your readers may be able to codfirm this statement.— Yours, etc., Henry Bottle. Ohaupo, December sth. 1892.