I put white instead of orange; she came to the white.

I transposed the colours; she came to the blue.

99 green. So far, therefore, she certainly showed no special predilection for the blue. I then left her the rest of the day to visit the honey on blue on blue paper exclusively. She made fifty-eight visits to it. The following morning I opened my window at 6.15, when she immediately made her appearance.

I let her make ten more visits to the honey on blue paper, moving it about a foot or so backwards and forwards on the table. I then put orange paper instead of the blue, and put the blue about a foot off. She returned to the orange.

I put yellow instead of orange; she came to the

I transposed the colours; she came to the blue.

I now put vermilion instead of green, and moved both of them a foot, but so that the vermilion was nearest the window, though touching the blue; she came to the vermilion.

Again, September 11, I marked a wasp. She re turned to the honey over and over again with the usual assiduity. The following morning I put the honey on green paper; she came backwards and forwards all day. On the 13th I opened my window at 6.8, and she came in immediately. During an hour she made ten journeys. On her leaving the honey for the eleventh time, I placed some honey on vermilion paper where the green had been, and put the honey and the green paper about a foot off.

She came at 7.25 to the vermilion. I then put orange instead of vermilion.

7.47

7.55

8. 2

white. I then put yellow in

stead of white.

yellow and then to the green.

I transposed the colours.

green. I then moved both

colours about a foot, but so that the yellow was a little

nearer to the old place.

She returned at 8.9 to the yellow.

1

I then removed the yellow paper and honey, and placed the honey which had been on the green paper about a foot from it on the table.

At 8.15 she returned and lit on the green paper, but immediately flew off to the honey. I then transposed the honey and the paper.

At 8.24 she returned and again lit on the paper, but immediately flew off to the honey.

Thus, therefore, though it is clear that wasps can distinguish colours, they appear, as might be expected from other considerations, to be less guided by them than is the case with bees.

I have been much struck by the industry of wasps. They commence work early in the morning, and do not leave off till dusk. I have several times watched a wasp the whole day, and from morning to evening, if not disturbed, they worked without any interval for rest or refreshment.

Being anxious to compare bees and wasps in this respect, on August 6, 1882, I accustomed a wasp and three bees to come to some honey put out for them on two tables, one allotted to the wasp, the other to the bees. The last bee came at 7.15 P.M. The wasp continued working regularly till 7.47, coming at intervals of between six and seven minutes. Next morning, when I went into my study a few minutes after 4 A.M., I found the wasp already at the honey. The first bee came at 5.45, the second at 6.

The wasp occupied about a minute, or even less, in

Y

supplying herself with a load of honey, and made during the day, as shown in the Appendix (p. 423), no less than 116 visits to the honey, or 232 journeys between my room and her nest, during which she carried off rather more than sixty-four grains of honey.

It would, however, perhaps be unfair to the bees to regard this as indicating that they are less industrious than wasps. The deficiency may be due to their being more susceptible to cold.

I may add that I then left home for a few days. I covered over the honey, leaving only a small entrance for the wasp. When I returned on the 12th, I found her still at work, and by herself. It was evident that she had continued her labours, but without bringing any friends to assist her.

Every one has heard of a 'bee-line.' It would be no less correct to talk of a wasp-line. On August 6 I marked a wasp, the nest of which was round the corner of the house, so that her direct way home was not out of the window by which she entered, but in the opposite direction, across the room to a window which was closed. I watched her for some hours, during which time she constantly went to the closed window, and lost much time in buzzing about at it. August 7, I was not able to watch her. August 8 and 9, I watched her from 6.25 A.M., when she made her first visit. She still constantly went to the closed window. August 10 and 11, I was away from home. August 12, she made her first visit at 7.40, and still

went to the closed window. August 13, her first visit was at 6.15; she went to the closed window and remained buzzing about there till 7, when I caught her and put her out at the open one by which she always entered. August 15 and 16, she continued to visit the honey, but still, always, even after ten days' experience, continued to go to the closed window, which was in the direct line home; though on finding it closed she returned and went round through the open window by which she entered.