Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-02-09
The Sense of Smelling in Bees.

In 1.-THE elaborate work on the Natural
History of Bees by Francis Huber, the
conclusion was arrived at that bees were
guided in their search for honey principal
ly by the sense of smelling, and to ascertain
this fact Il series of experiments were in
stituted. Huber says: "To ascertain
whether the appearance of the flowers or
the odor of the honey apprised bees of its
presence, we placed honey In a window,
near n Hive, where the shutters, almost
close, still allowed passage if they chose
Within quarter of an hour four bees and
a butterfly had insinuated themselves, and
we found them feeding on it, Although
this was sufficiently conclusive of my
opinion, ] wished il better confirmed
therefore | had four boxes, different in
size, shape, and color made with small
card valves, corresponding TO apcrtures in
the covering. Honey being put into them,
they were placed at distance of two
hundred yards from my apiary. In half an
hour bees were seen arrivingi they care
! fully travcrScd the boxes and soon disc0v-
ering the openings whereby theymight in
| trOducc themselves, they pressed against the
valves and reached the honey.
owe may thence Judge of the extreme
/ delicacy of smelling in these insects Not
I only was the honey quite concealed from
/ view, but its emanations, from its being
covered and disguised in the experiment,
| could not he much difused.
! To determine in what part of the body
| the sense of smell was located, a fine pen
! Gil dipped in oil of turpentine, was pre-
sented to various parts of the body; the
| thOraX, the abdomen, antennG, eyes, and
protruded trunk of bse while in the act
of feeding, without apparent inconvcn-
al 4
near the cavity of the mouth, above the
insertion of the proboscis, the bee rcced-
ed, left the honey, and beating its wings,
moved about in great agitation, Upon
Withdrawing it, however, it again com
menced feeding, but upon carrying the
pencil again near the mouth, the bee again
/ Quilted the honey and famed itself
during some minutes" Bees not engaged
in feeding were sensibly affected with the
odor of the turpentine at some distance,
and speedily took TO flight
In order TO test whether the bees were
absorbed by their greediness for honey,
and distracted by its smell, or if their or
gans were less exposed while feeding, the
following experiment was instituted. Sew
eral bees were seized and compelled to
unfold the trunk. The mouth was then
filed with -four paste. When it was dry
enough so that they could not divest them
selves of it, they were released, and seemed
to suffer no inconvenience. They
breathed, and moved about with the same
facility as their companions. But honey
did not attract them; they neither APP
preached it, nor were they affected, APP
parently, by Odors otherwise offensive TO
them. Pencils were dipped in oil of tur-
pentine, of cloves, in ether, in fixed and
volatile alkalis, and their points insnuated
very near the mouth" SO little were they
affected by these odors, that several ac-
tually mounted the pencils and traveTsed
them as if unhurt. 1t was concluded,
sense of smell the site of which it ap-
peared to him was located in the mouth.