The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1901-07-04
Free Lunches for Bees
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IT HE amateur experimental farm
stands far back from the dirt road
in three-acre grove of big oaks and
hickories. Under the trees the grass
grows thick and is everywhere starred
by hundreds of blue and yellow violets,
buttercups, wild strawberry blossoms,
trlliums and a dozen other blossoms.
These are the first flowers of back
ward May, and have greater interest
to the amateur experimental farmer
than the more gorgeous blossoms
which appear in the summer and fall.
The late blooming flowers have, as
rule, settled the country from Maine
to California. They are to be found
everywhere and have no peculiar in
terest. 1T is early in the year that the
! flowers peculiar to each locality APP
pear, and it is among them, therefore.
! that one looks for individual charm
and interest.
Take the common blue violet of the
woods, for example. AS a rule, the
| seeds of the violet are fortified by the
! honey bee, which, while sucking honey
! from one blossom, gets its body GOV
cred with the pollen from the stamenS,
and on visiting the second violet blooms
rubs this pollen off on the pistils and
so fertilizeS the seed. In order to at
| tract the bee, whose services it So
much needs, the violet has put on
| bluish-purplc dress. Careful expert
ments have proved that the honey bee.
| like julius Caesar, is especially fonc
! Of purple. But the advertisement of
| purple dress and of the sweet odor
which is borne abroad by the breeze
would not be enough of itself TO in
sure the visit of the bee. So the wise
violet "sets out a free lunch in the
shape of nectar for its visitor. This
'free lunch" is so placed that it is i'm
possible TO get ii without brushing
against the pollen-laden stamenS
! Moreover. the violet further adyer-
tises the exact location Of its store of
hidden sweets by the delicate dark
lines which may be noticed running
| downward on the two upper petals
of the violet and pansy. These lines
are called honey guides" and at tn,
point where they meet in the heart
of the flower the free lunch" is spread
for The bees.
Ants and other crawling things
wo,,ld IKE 10 eat the honey OF the vio-
LET. buf thev are SO small they would
not M. likely to brush off and carry
AWAY tbr pollen. and they could not
hr drnrnded upon TO ferhfl.le the other
violet. Therefore. the violet bars
them rrom its free lunch counter. The
barr..r. ia outs and other insects with
.,ut y,fno. is - little yisp of hairs which
,rov- in tbe yfolct's throat. TO a
mans .,,a. these hairs are not formid-
able oven under the microscope. but
70 tl,.aut they are an fmpassablr dun
gcop
There is y good reason, too. for the
y,rIr,, bonits of abway,, looking dowa
and - A., rr.,son is NOT inmate modc,ty
- M. pnrts have eupposrd. # IN,
Ho,,rr orrvr erect the rain and tn,
,,;sl MIGHT wash or hlov AWAY the
E.|IU.. and for that reason the Hover
Iroor.
,l,, nm, .t G,,y, nlo,c. tl,o-
ui... ,.,ll \. h,lI,. tniv.d m i,
thr., ,.its Of bpcs and buttrrfirs.
than ,hr uoIleu of The violet would h,
.h.I.r ,T ON tho .pi.tij. or tba rose
aud n,t all sort, of h.Lrit., vou1,
n, .rr.,luc.d \so marion ~ fart
tbrrr 4. IttIe fro, ME. In the frs
: place. tho noIIen of one flower has, a.
,,nr. M .frect nm the pi.tis Of nm
othrr .rcrias Secondly. the yorior
r ps.,,. ,,h;cb s,c,e ~ rolIen carrier
bo,,. ,.,ch thai,. own snrriuI fayorito
= j.,