HEARING, TASTE, AND SMELLING.
Hearing--Sir John Lubbock's Experiments--Sounds uttered by
Queen--Effects produced by them--Smell-Organs--Purposes--Liking
for, and Antipathy to, certain Effluvia--Discovery by Bees of
Nectar and Honey
With regard to the sense of hearing, Sir John Lubbock says: "The result
of my experiments on the hearing of bees has surprised me very much.
It is generally considered that, to a certain extent, the emotions of
bees are expressed by the sounds they make, which seems to imply that
they possess the power of hearing. I do not by any means intend to deny
that this is the case. Nevertheless, I never found them take any notice
of any noise which I made, even when it was close to them. I tried
one of my bees with a violin. I made all the noise I could, but, to
my surprise, she took no notice. I could not even see a twitch of the
antennæ. The next day I tried the same with another bee, but could not
see the slightest sign that she was conscious of the noise. On August
31st I repeated the experiment with another bee, with the same result.
On September 12th and 13th I tried several bees with a dog-whistle and
a shrill pipe, but they took no notice whatever; nor did a set of
tuning-forks, which I tried on a subsequent day, have any more effect.
These tuning-forks extended over three octaves, beginning with A below
the ledger-line. I also tried with my voice, shouting, &c., close to
the head of a bee; but, in spite of my utmost efforts, the bees took
no notice. I repeated these experiments at night, when the bees were
quiet; but no noise that I could make seemed to disturb them in the
least. In this respect the results of my observations on bees entirely
agreed with those on ants."
These experiments do not appear by any means conclusive. It may well
be that sounds which are merely loud or shrill would pass unnoticed by
the insects, as conveying no meaning to them. In like manner, a clap of
thunder, the firing of a cannon or gun, the playing of a brass band,
will produce no manifest effect upon them; but, if the queen utters,
as she sometimes does, a peculiar sound, an instantaneous and very
remarkable recognition of it takes place. The sound referred to is
usually heard at the time when the young princesses are ready to emerge
from the cells in which they have been developed. When thus emitted by
the young queens, no attention appears to be paid to it by the workers,
who, however, restrain the mother-queen from destroying her royal
daughters. But, when these are released from their natal captivity, and
the queen, standing with her thorax against a comb, makes, with her
wings crossed over her back and in rapid vibration, a certain sound, it
receives immediate attention. Huber tells us that bees which had been
plucking at, biting, and chasing the queen, hung down their heads when
this peculiar noise was uttered, and remained altogether motionless;
and whenever she had recourse to this assertion of authority, the same
effects followed.
Again, unless observers are fanciful in their interpretation of the
sounds to be heard at various times in a hive, we must conclude that
certain feelings, such as those of anger, grief, consternation,
satisfaction, joy, &c., are expressed in distinct tones. If this is the
case, we can only conclude that, difficult as it may be to localise the
organ of hearing, such an organ must exist. Nor, in all probability,
shall we be mistaken in assigning its position to the antennæ; for
recent investigations into the anatomy of these organs in ants,[3] lend
much support to the theory that an auditory apparatus is situated in
them.
[Footnote 3: Vide p. 227 of _Ants, Bees, and Wasps_, by Sir John
Lubbock.]
_Taste._--Next as to taste. We have already spoken of the close
connection between this sense and the preceding; but, whatever doubt
may be entertained as to the possession of the former, there can be
none as to the latter. Huber, indeed, from the fact that bees are often
seen lapping stable-liquid and sewage, thought the sense of taste could
exist in them to only a very small degree. It must be remembered,
however, that, like many other creatures, they are fond of certain
salts, and to this, no doubt, may be ascribed their visits to the
above-mentioned liquids. On _a priori_ grounds we should conclude that
the possession of this faculty was most important, for the detection of
nectar suitable and unsuitable for the purposes of the hive. Moreover,
we find a marked preference shown for flowers which produce the best
honey; and the eagerness with which they will lap up any thoroughly
sweet liquid confirms the idea that they taste very readily.
_Smell._ Probably of all the senses of bees none is so acute as that
of the perception of odours. Not only do they distinguish the citizens
of their own hive from those of other communities; not only do they
discriminate between the fragrance of various flowers; not only can
they detect the aroma of honey concealed from their sight, though
not from their olfactory nerves, but they show a marked antipathy to
certain human individuals, which can only be accounted for by supposing
that from these persons proceeds an effluvium disagreeable to the bees,
though not perceptible by, or unpleasant to, man.
A remarkable anecdote in confirmation of this well-known fact is
given by Bevan, on the authority of M. de Hofer, Councillor of State
to the Grand Duke of Baden. This gentleman's father had for years
kept bees, and had devoted much personal attention to them. He had,
indeed, attained such familiarity with them, and such skill in their
manipulation, that he could, without fear of being stung, search for
and find the queen, and take her in his fingers. Unfortunately, he fell
ill with a severe fever, which kept him for a long time a prisoner to
his house. After his convalescence he visited his bees, returning to
them with his old confidence and pleasure. Greatly to his surprise and
dismay, he found their feelings towards him entirely changed. They
would no longer allow him to approach the hives, much less to perform
any of his former manipulations; and that this was not the effect
of a change of the population, through the natural perishing of the
workers, but was due to some alteration in him, was shown by the fact
that he was never again able to resume his old familiarity with his
favourites. Some change in his blood, brought about by the fever, made
the emanations from his skin permanently offensive to the bees, though
no such difference was perceptible to any of his human friends.
M. Feburier and other observers assert that a certain antipathy is
manifested towards persons with red or black hair. We have reason to
doubt the correctness of their opinion as to the latter class, and we
more strongly incline to think that fair-complexioned people are less
agreeable to bees than those who are darker. As a corroboration of
this, we may mention the case of two brothers, one of whom could always
approach the hives with impunity, while the other could not come near
them without danger of being stung. Though both of them were dark, the
obnoxious one was decidedly the fairer.
A further evidence of their sense of smell is the anger they manifest
on the crushing of one of their number. Like the terror inspired into
an ox by the smell of freshly-drawn blood in the slaughter-house,
is the odour of a bruised comrade to bees. Again, the smell of the
liquid from one of their poison bags excites them strongly. A wound
just made by a sting rouses others to inflict more wounds; and, if
the fluid be presented to them at the entrance of their homes, it at
once stirs their fury. If, however, it be allowed to crystallise,
and thus to become incapable of emitting any odour, it will be quite
disregarded by the bees. Sir John Lubbock tried various experiments
with eau-de-Cologne and rose-water, and found that, till the insects
had become habituated by frequent use to these liquids, they always
came out to the entrance, to ascertain the meaning of the odours which
had penetrated into the hives. It is well known, also, that they
dislike the smell of paint so much, that it is not advisable to place a
swarm in a freshly painted box, lest they should forsake it, from its
unpleasant odour.
We may well conclude that it is owing to the keenness of this sense
that they perceive the presence of flowers containing nectar; and,
guided by it, they wing their flight to distant fields where the
white clover attracts them, or to more barren districts where the
heath promises them abundant pasturage. It is very certain that the
fragrant aroma of honey is at once perceived by them at many feet
from their dwellings; and in taking their sweets from them it is, for
this reason, necessary to avoid all exposure of broken combs, or the
dripping of their contents. Great trouble is, in fact, often occasioned
by the readiness with which they thus detect the presence of their own
produce. Within our personal knowledge, at a provincial show of bees,
hives, and honey, the fragrance of the liquid attracted bees from the
neighbourhood in such immense numbers that they carried off, during one
afternoon, some seventy pounds of honey from the tent in which it was
being exhibited.
The position of the organ of smell is not clearly ascertained. By
some, as we have said, the antennæ have been credited with the power;
but, though many observations may seem to favour this opinion, we must
remember that we have on record some striking facts, which would seem,
at least, to show that powerful odours are able to be recognised by
other portions of the body. Lehmann and Cuvier came to the conclusion
that the spiracles, connected with the respiration of bees, are the
means by which the sense of smell is exercised. The idea was based on
the notion that odours can only be perceived by the inhalation of air.
This, of course, is not a sufficient ground for the inference arrived
at. Kirby and Spence, again, inclined, as we have already mentioned,
to the belief that the organ of smell lay in or near the mouth. This
supposition was partly founded on the close relation between taste
and smell. Huber's experiments lent some confirmation to this theory.
He presented a camel's-hair brush with a little oil of turpentine on
its tip to every part successively of the abdomen, trunk, and head,
without producing any discomfort to the bee. He then tried the eyes
and antennæ, without any apparent effect; but, as soon as he directed
it a little above the insertion of the proboscis and close to the
mouth, immediate signs of annoyance showed themselves. This experiment,
repeated with other strongly-smelling liquids, gave similar results;
but, when the mouths of the insects experimented upon were stopped with
paste, the perception of odours appeared no longer to exist.
For the present, then, the matter remains in doubt; but we may suggest
to our readers that observations on this point, carefully and patiently
conducted, may lead to much useful information being obtained.
It is impossible to pass from an examination and description of the
head-apparatus of the bee, without being struck with the marvellous
beauty, and equally wonderful adaptation, of each of its parts to the
varied functions required of them. Whether observed by the unassisted
eye, or by a lens of low or high power, we cannot fail to see how
exquisitely each minutest portion is fashioned; how remarkably the
various organs are protected according to their delicacy; how supplied
with nerve-fibre in proportion to the sensitiveness required in
them; how supplementary one to another in their diverse duties; how
harmonious in their working; and how fitted as a whole to the wants and
the instincts of the insects to which they belong. Nor, as it seems to
us, is it possible to believe that any force of evolution, unguided by
a distinctly controlling and Divine creative power, could ever have
elaborated organs so precisely what might have been expected to result
from the exercise of infinite wisdom and manifest purpose.