The extent to which humble-bees carry on the practice of biting
holes is surprising: a remarkable case was observed by me near
Bournemouth, where there were formerly extensive heaths. I took a long
walk, and every now and then gathered a twig of Erica tetralix, and when
I had got a handful all the flowers were examined through a lens. This
process was repeated many times; but though many hundreds were examined,
I did not succeed in finding a single flower which had not been
perforated. Humble-bees were at the time sucking the flowers through
these perforations. On the following day a large number of flowers were
examined on another heath with the same result, but here hive-bees were
sucking through the holes. This case is all the more remarkable, as the
innumerable holes had been made within a fortnight, for before that time
I saw the bees everywhere sucking in the proper manner at the mouths of
the corolla. In an extensive flower-garden some large beds of Salvia
grahami, Stachys coccinea, and Pentstemon argutus (?) had every flower
perforated, and many scores were examined. I have seen whole fields of
red clover (Trifolium pratense) in the same state. Dr. Ogle found that
90 per cent of the flowers of Salvia glutinosa had been bitten. In the
United States Mr. Bailey says it is difficult to find a blossom of the
native Gerardia pedicularia without a hole in it; and Mr.
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