S s i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] ^%e .K4fc UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.* hA ip f (2J Vln^uLKUt tr-y m^ , / 3 *~>/>7 / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress httpV/www.archive.org/details/kiddersgtiidetoapOOkidd KIDDER'S GUIDE TO APIARIAN SCIENCE. BEING A PRACTICAL TREATISE, IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF BEE CULTURE AID BEE MANAGEMENT. EMBRACING THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BEE, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD OF THE WORLD, DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME ; GIVING THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOL- OGY OF THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BEES THAT CONSTITUTE A COLONY, &c. By K. P. KIDDER, BURLINGTON, VT . SAMUEL B. NICHOLS, 146 CHURCH STREET. Chicago — rufus blanchard, 52 la salle street. * 1858. ■J> c ^ OZ/ KIDDER'S GUIDE g/APIABIM SCIENCE^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by K. P. KIDDER, 16 the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Disrict cf Vermont. BEE TRAINING- Introduction of a New System of Bee Management, BY K. P. KIDDER. I am well aware that the public have been grossly deceiv- ed, and many times swindled out of much money, in the pur- chase of Patent Bee Hives which, in many instances, have been more of a curse than a profit, in Apiarian pursuits. It is absolutely necessary for the bee-keeper to have a partial knowledge of the instincts and habits of bees, before he will be able to manage and train them successfully. Bees have been kept for hundreds of years. We have knowledge and the history of them for more than 2200 years, and that they were then kept with success among the most scientific histo- rians ; although there have been many and useful improve- ments made since that time. If the bee-keeper will follow the directions laid down in this circular and book, he can keep, handle and train bees with success. The time has come when, through the knowledge and experience of the Author, a complete revolution will take place in the manage- ment and culture of the honey bee, as all difficulties that have heretofore pertained to bees have been successfully overcome. When we can be profited by the experience of men who have spent almost their whole lives in the culture of the bee; in performing their many costly experiments, watching their movements through a glass hive until blind- ness was the result, which has been the case with some of our most celebrated naturalists. We know that much depends, in the culture and management of bees, upou the kind of hive the Apiarian makes use of. I am aware there are hundreds 4 of Lives now in use, of different kinds, and some of them are better adapted for bees to die in than to flourish and live. I have used many kinds of hives, in the course of my apiarian pursuits, and have invented several hives within a few years. I have sought and aimed to have a hive so con- structed that it would meet the demands of the bees, as well as the convenience of their owner. My last improvement, I think, will come as near to perfection as any hive now patent- ed, and for general use and practicability, it has no superior. I will almost challenge the World to produce a hive that will equal it in every department of bee culture and management. I will here give the reader a few of the advantages this hive possesses over the generality of hives : 1. It is more condensed and takes up less room, consider- ing its capacity, than any other hive. - 2. It can be opened any season of the year without annoy- ing the bees in the least. 3. The combs, honey and bees can be taken out of the hive at any season of the year, and put back again, and the hive brushed out if desired, in five minutes time. 4. It is a swarming, or a non-swarming hive ; it is a good summer as well as a winter hive ; one hive, or two hives, at the option of the Apiarian. See Chapter on Hives, in Book, for a full description of it. 5. When in winter quarters, there is a dead air space en- circling the whole colony, and such a thing as frost and ice cannot enter,when occupied properly, as is the case with oth- er hives. 6. It is one of the best hives in use for feeding bees, as it « can be done safely anytime of the year, and no other colony will know of it. 7. It will winter bees we^l, either out of doors or in the ' house. 5 8v The honey can be made in cards weighing from six fc©«* eight pounds each, or in boxes, tumblers or any other recep- , tacle the bee-keeper chooses. 9. It will enable the bee-master to multiply his colonies rapidly, or compel them to make honey instead of breeding. 10. The Apiarian can take the best part of the honey from the hive, and supply the deficiency by an inferior article for the bees' winter use. 11. It will allow the bee-master to double or treble his bees . any time he chooses, or divide a swarm and make two of it any time in the honey season. 12. The comb can be furnished to the bees from other • hives/ should the Apiarian have spare comb. . 13. It can be transported from place to place by stage,.; i steamboat or other conveyance. It also furnishes the great • | est possible security against the ravages of the bee-moth. 14. Drones can be prevented from hatching, or killed off in ; a day or two, should there be any in the hive. 15. When a colony have lost their Qneen they can be sup- • plied with another one. The Queen can be caught in three , minutes, any time, and should there not be a Queen, it can : be ascertained in the same length of time, 16. The bee-master can swarm his bees artificially, or let them swarm naturally. The bees can be prevented from run- ning away after a swarm is hived in it. The drone-killer, or regulator, will prevent bees from robbing, generally, and my newly invented bee-catcher will prevent robbing, effectually, . as the bee-master can catch every bee that troubles his hive, ; or take a swarm of bees from a tree and not know where the ; tree is situated. Should the reader have any doubt of the truth of these statements, let him call upon the Inventor, and be satisfied of the fact that these assertions are true, in ev- i cry re§pect. 6 ^Ftte question is often asked, how many pounds of honey a swarm of bees will make in one season. As so much de^ pends upon circumstances, it is rather a hard question to an swer> but I will endeavor to answer it. If it is a large, healthy swarm, commence in the spring by giving them a non-swarming hive, to prevent there being any drones, (the male bee, which never makes a drop of honey, but consumes it rapidly,) and if it is a good season for bees and proper care and attention are bestowed upon them, they will make nearly three hundred pounds of honey. I have a colony that has made upwards of two hundred pounds this year, 1858, by giving them a non-swarming hive, and without any extra care and attention, It is almost incredible how fast bees: will; ma^e honey, when everything is favorable. I have ha4 th em store up ten or twelve pounds in aday. We have in formation showing that they have made as high as eighteen pounds in one day. By this system of management, bees, comb, and all, can be removed any month m the year, from the common hive to my compound hive. (See book for particulars.) The trans- fer can be made by any person, in SO or 40 minutes, after reading the directions. Persons whose bees do not prosper or do well, can, by calling on or writing to the subscriber, have them examined, and the trouble, whatever it may be, rectified. This hive is very simple in its construction, and any one can build them if they only have the necessary tools. Our agent will call on the different bee-keepers in the country, as soon as practicable ; the price of the non-swarming hive com- plete, will be $7,50 ; the price of the single or swarming hive, will be $6,00. The price of an Individual Bight to make and use for himself exclusively, will be $5,00, but if the hive and right are purchased together, for the double % hive $12,00, and for the single hive and right, $10,00. Most peo- 7 pie prefer the whole, as then they will be entitled to a finfr drawing of the whole thing, with directions and measure- ments for their manufacture. We also have Glass Hives that are adapted to a store, office, or parlor. These, with the right to rxanufacture for private or individual purposes, will be $12,00; State, County, and Township Rights, for sale at reasonable prices. Gentle- men, particularly those from the country, are requested to accept of a few of the circulars for distribution in their re- spective neighborhoods, The reader will please preserve this circular and after reading pass it to his neighbor. All persons interested in the culture of the honey bee, would find it greatly to tbeil* advantage to purchase the book, (Kidder's Guide to Apiari- an science,) which contains nearly 17,5. pages, and is a com- plete guide to bee-keepers in all the various departments of bee-culture. Price 50 cents ; if sent by mail, the postage, (seven cents) will be added. The publishers and author can. furnish the books at wholesale or retail, if desired ; a liberal discount to the trade. The price of the full bound book is 75 cents ; when sent by mail, including postage, 87 cents, or 29 postage stamps. All money or stamps at our risk if the letter is registered. The inventor of these hives is now making arrangements to issue a Monthly Bee Journal, each number to contain 32 pages, and embellished with numerous engravings. It will be devoted exclusively to the Honey Bee and its Culture and Management. The terms of subscription will be $1,00 pel annum, payable on receipt of the first number. It will be edited and conducted by a gentleman who is thoroughly posted up in Entomology in all its various branches. The proprietor will spare no pains to have the Journal got up in a way and mariner that will command respect and patronage generally. The proprietor is well aware that a Journal of this char- acter is very much needed at the present time, as there is not one published in the United States, although there are seve- ral in Germany, France, and England. This is a deplorable state of affairs, and we trust the time is not far distant when Bee Culture will be far in advance of what it now is. Per- sons wishing to subscribe for this Journal, will please for- ward their names immediately, and as soon as published a sample copy will be sent them, and should it meet their ap- probation they can remit one dollar. All communications should be directed to K. P. KIDDEE, care of the Times Offije, Burlington, Yt. CONTENTS OF BOOK. It will teach the Apiarian how to manage his bees ; how to train them \ how to make them breed rapidly; how to make them produce honey; how to make them swarm ; how to pre- vent their swarming ; how to keep them through the winter safely ; how to make them healthy ; how to prevent their get- ting diseased ; how to keep them until they die with old age ; how to ascertain the age of the different kind of bees in a col- ony ; also, the physiology, anatomy, and history of bees from the earliest period of the world ; also, giving the habits and instincts of bees. The bee-keeper will learn how to put two or more swarms together any time he chooses ; how to divide a swarm into two or more ; how to prevent bees from leaving the hive after they have been put into them, (when they have swarmed naturally) ■ how the loss of the Queen can be sup- plied and save the stock ; how the bee-keeper can ascertain when there is a fertile Queen present ; how the Drones can be killed off, and how they can be prevented from hatching ; how to make bees work in any kind of receptacle, such as 9 boxes, decanters, tumblers, &c.; how to keep bees, summer and winter, out doors and in; how to prevent bees from sting- ing; how to make wax from old combs; how to feed bees safe- ly any time of the year ; how to change bees from one hive to another any time of the year ; how a fortune can be made by keeping bees, and what the required means are ; how bees can make 15 and 18 pounds of honey iu one day, and two and three hundred pounds in a single year ; how to transport bees from one place to another ; how to keep bees from rob- bing ; how to break up their robbing when once commenced ; how to drive bees into a hive when they are all over the out- side of ii ; and many more things I might mention if time and space would permit of it. I regret very much that I have been so limited in this respect, as many things have been omitted that would be of much use to the practical Api- arian. All orders promptly attended to. Mead. Some persons may feel desirous of making for themselves this once famous drink. I will attempt to furnish them with simple directions for so doing : Common Mead is formed by mixing two parts of water to one of honey, and boiling them together and taking off the scum. Fermented Mead, is formed of three parts of water to one of honey, boiled as before, and skimmed and casked. The cask is to be left with the bung out and exposed to the sun, or in a warm room, until it ceases to work. The bung should then be replaced and in about three months it is fit for use. The addition of a fermenter is of course necessary, taking care that it be sound, good and sweet. Hops are an improve- ment to Mead, as it takes from its sweetness ; also, chop- ped raisins boiled with it at the rate of six pounds of honey to each half pound of raisins, also, a few bits of lemon peel, and a few glasses of brandy will improve it very much. MetJieglin, is only another name for Mead, altered by the addition of various ingredients, according to taste ; these 10 liquors may be refined and bottled like other wines, and will if properly managed, keep for years. Artificial Honey, which can hardly be distidguish from the pure article, is made as follows : Take of soft water six pounds, best moist brown sugar 20 pounds, pure bees honey 3 pounds, cream of tartar 80 grains, essence of roses 20 drops ; mix in a brass kettle, boil five minutes and then take it off and add the white of two eggs well beaten ; when al- most cold add two pounds more of pure honey. A decoction of slipperry elm bark, or the mucilage of gum Arabic, will im- prove the honey if added while cooling ; sometimes starch is used instead of the bark or gum, and is very good. Letters on business must be addressed to K. P. KIDDER, Burlington Vt. Drone. Queen. Worker. PREFACE Having spent several years in the study of the Honey Bee, (Apis Mellifica) and knowing there are but few books published in this country upon that subject, which are practic- al works for the Apiarian to be guided by, and seeing so much mismanagement with bees, and knowing the profits to be derived from their keeping when they have proper care and attention bestowed upon them, has induced me to write this small treatise. In all countries and in every age, the labors of bees has proved a fertile source of admiration, and mankind have en- deavored unremittingly to convert it to gratification or emolu- mei.t. What can be more wonderful indeed, than to witness an insect of such apparent insignificance, rendering each dif- ferent flower tributary to itself, or the necessity of its young • and fabricating structures which no human art can approach and imitate. But it is from the impulse of its propensities, and from the united efforts of myriads, that we are enabled to gain those valuable products which otherwise would be ut- terly unattainable. Curiosity and avidity being equally awak- ened by the industry of these diminutive beings, innumerable theories, observations, and experiments, have followed, regard- ing them ; yet the real discoveries compared with the inves- tigators, has been surprisingly few. Vague speculations have been substituted for rational researches into thenature of bees, and superficial inspection deemed satisfactory analysis of their works. Hence the properties actually ascertained, are so in- terwoven with error, that no subject has been the parent of greater absurdities. Unfortunately, also, some of these treat- ies, and the most accessible ones at the present day, only con- 12 tribute to their wide dispersion and enhance the difficulties of the philosophical naturalist who is attempting their eradica- tion. A considerable portion of this work is devoted to this purpose ; it belongs to the reader to judge of the deductions whereby the author concludes that he has established many facts from experiments. Perhaps no treatise of equal compass, or even greater, contains as many novelties in the history of bees. Their nature, organization, sense, instinct, and mode of perpetuation, are all illustrated. The origin of Wax, the faculty of obtaining it from honey or sugar, its application to use in the structure of cells and the formation of comb, are fully discussed, while several points are established which had been previously, themes of conjecture and controversy. But the general approbation given here, as well as in many parts of the Old world, to a modest and unobtrusive work, wherein both instruction and amusement are combined, constitutes the btst testimony of its merits. Thus, to use the words of Sue, an eminent foreign author, " the observations are so consis- tent, and the deductions so conclusive, that this treatise will be a guide to Apiarian science, in all its variousdepartments." It has been the aim of the author in this small treatise, to give to the world a s ystem of Bee Management that will prove a guide to Apiarians and a benefit to the rising gene- ration. K. P. KIDDER, Burlington Vt. MEMOIRS OF HUBER, PRINCE OF APIARIANS. The Naturalist whose researches have been specially di- rected to the instincts and operations of the domestic Honey Bee, will be strongly disposed to regard the subject of this Memoir, as at the very head of Apiarian Science, and his writings, as forming the safest and most useful text-book. Multitudes have written on this interesting department of Natural History, and have cdded more or less to our knowl- edge of what has been a subject of investigation for ages- But none, either in ancient or modern times, have displayed so much sagacity of research, as Francis Huber, nor so much perseverance and accuracy of experiment, even admit- ting some errors of minor importance, detected by succeeding observers. His success in discovery, notwithstanding the singular difficulty he had to struggle with, was proportioned to his intelligence and acuteness ; and this difficulty arose, not from what some of his advocates have, in their zeal in his defence against the sneers of the skeptical, termed " imper- fect vision," but from total blindness. For, from the period when he first applied himself in good earnest, to investigate the nature of his winged favorites, external nature presented to his eyes one universal blank. B 14 NEM.OIRS OF I1UBEK, It is not, therefore, without reason, that his friend and eu- logist, Be Candole* asserts that "nothing of importance has been added to the history of* Bees since his time ; and natu- ralists of unimpaired vision, have nothing of consequence' to subjoin, of a brother who was deprived of sight." Francis Huber was born at Geneva, on the 2d of July, 1750. His father possessed a decided taste for subjects of natural science ; the son inherited ihe taste of his father, and even in his boyish days, pursued his favorite studie" 4 with such intense ardor, as materially to injure his health, and bring on that weakness of his visual organs which, eventually, ended in total blindness. His attention had been led to what became his sole and engrossing study, the habits and economy of the Honey Bee, by his admiration of the writings of Reaumur, and above all, by acquaintance with Bonnett, the illustrious author of " Contemplation de La Nature," who quickly discovered the intelligence and penetration of his young friend; and who kindly and strongly encouraged him, in his peculiar researches. It is singular enough, that these two distinguished naturalists and friends should both have labored under a similar personal defect, occasioned, too, by the same causes ; for the same intenseness and minuteness of observation which deprived Huber of sight altogether, had brought on in Bonnett a weakness of vision, which, for a time, threatened total blindness, and from which he never fully recovered. It will readily occur to every cue that the loss of sight in Huber, must not only have presented a very serious obstacle to the successful study of his favorite science, but must have had the effect also, of throwing considerable doubt on the ac- curacy of his experiments, and the reality of his discoveries. His most devoted admirers, and most unhesitating followers, *See Memoirs of Huber by M. de Candole, in the Edinburgh Philo- jphicalJournal, for April, 1833, PRINCE OF APIARIANS. 15 ii every thing connected with the economy of Bees, are bound in candor to acknowledge, that his observations, reported as they were at second hand, and depending, for their accuracy, on the intelligence and fidelity of a half-educated assistant,. were, of themselves, not entitled to be received without cau- tion and distrust. Francis Burnens, his assistant, had, no doubt, entered with enthusiasm into the pursuit, and appears to have conducted the experiments not only with the most patient assiduity, but with great address and no smali share of stead- iness and courage: qualities indispensable in those who take Li berties "with the irritable genus apum. Still, Burnens was but an uncultivated peasant when he became Ruber's hired servant, and possessed none of those acquired accomplish- ments which s>rve to sharpen the intellectual faculties, and fit the mind for observing and discriminating with correct- ness. It cannot reasonably excite our wonder, therefore, that on the firs: appearai ce of Huber'.s observations, the literary, or rather the scientific, world was somewhat startled, not only at ■ v:des, but also at the instrumentality ,hy which they ha- ,. .. , ; eeted. Huuci, however, had taken great pains in cultivating the naturally acute mind of the young man, in directing his re- nd accustoming him to rigorous accuracy in his ob- servations. And the fact that a glimmering of many of the discoveries reported by die assistant to his master, had pre- i themselves to the minds of Linnseus, Eeau-mur, and other \ receding observers, should so far satisfy us that they were not brought forward merely to support a preconceived Theory, (of which, it is probable, Burnens had no idea,) nor owed their origin to a vivid and exhuberant imagination. At a future period, Huber was deprived of the aid of this val- uable coadjutor; ) loss was more than compensated, and accuracy in experiments and observation, if possible, still 16 MEMOIRS OF HUBER, more unquestionably secured, by the assistance and co-opera- tion of his son, P. Huber, who has given so much delight to the lovers of Natural History, by his ' b Researches concern- ing the Habits of Ants." But whatever hesitation may arise in our minds from the fact of Huber's discoveries not being the result of his person- al observation, no doubt can reasonably remain, as to such of them as have been repeatedly confirmed and verified by sub- sequent observers. And this has actually taken place, and holds strictly true, in regard to the most important of them. His discoveries respecting the impregnation of the queen- bee ; the consequences of retarded impregnation ; the power possessed by the working-bees of converting a worker Larva into a Queen — a fact, though not originally discover- ed by Huber, yet, until his decisive experiments and illustra- tions, never entirely known or credited — the origin of wax and its manner of elaboration ; the nature of propolis ; the mode of constructing the combs and cells, and of ventilating or renovating the vitiated atmosphere of the hives; to— • and a variety of other particulars of inferior moment, have al- most all been repeatedly verified by succeeding observers, and many of them by the writer of this brief Memoir. It is readily admitted that some of his experiments, when repeated, have not been attended with the results which he led us to expect ; and some incidents in the proceedings of the Bees as stated, have not been witnessed by succeeding observers. But in some of these, the error may have been in repetition, in others, the result, even under circustances apparently the same, may not always be uniform, for the instincts of Bees are liable to modification; and in some he doubtless may be, and probably /s,nistaken. In passing judgment, however, on his reported discoveries, we ought to keep in view that the author of them has thrown PRINCE OF APIARIANS. 17 more light upon the subject of Bee Culture, than all the other Naturalists taken together, and that therefore, nothing short of the direct evidence of our senses, the most rigid scrutiny, and ihe most minute correctness of detail in experiment, can justify our denouncing his accuracy, or drawing different con- clusions. His experiments were admirably fitted to elicit the truth, and his inferences so strictly logical, as to afford all reasonable security against any very important error. Iluber's Nouvelles observations sur les Abeilles" addressed in form of a letter to his friend Bonnet, appeared in 1792, in one volume. In 1814 a second edition was published at Paris, in two volumes, comprehending the result of additional re- searches on the same subject, edited in part by his son. An English version appeared in 1806, and was very favorably noticed by the Edingburgh Review. A third edition of this translation was published, in Edingburgh, in 1821, embracing not only the original work of 1792, but also the several addi- tions contained in that of 1814, and which had originally made their appearance in the Bibliotheaue Bmtanniaue. These additional observations were : on the Origin of Wax, on the use of Farina or Pollen, on the Architecture of Bees, and on the precautions adopted by those insects against the ravages of the Sphinx Atrapos. To enlarge on the personal character and domestic circum- stances of Huber, falls not strictly within our province, which embraces only, or chiefly, his writings and character as a Naturalist. There are, however, some features in his dispo- sition, and some circumstances in his personal history, dwelt upon at considerable length by De Oandole, which appear so well worthy the attention of our readers, that we cannot forego the opportunity of detailing them, though necessarily in an abridged form. His manners were remarkably mild and amiable, as is frequently found to be the case with those who are afflicted 18 MEMOIRS OF HUBER. with blindness, and his conversation animated and interest- ing. " When any one" says his friend, " spoke to him on subjects which interested his heart, his noble figure became strikingly animated, and the vivacity of his countenance seemed,by a mysterious magic, to animate even his eyes, which had so long been condemned to blindness." It appears that some of his friends would gladly have persuaded him to try the effect of an operation, on one of his eyes, which seemed to be affected only by simple cataract ; but he declined the pro- posal, and bore, not only without complaint, but with habitual cheerfulness, his sad deprivation. His marriage with Maria Aimee Lullin, the daughter of a Swiss magistrate, was in a high degree romantic. The attachment had begun in their early youth, but was opposed by the lady's father, on the ground of Huber's in- creasing infirmity ; for even then, the gradual decay of his organs of vision was become but too manifest. The affec- tion and devotedness of the young lady, however, appeared to strengthen in proportion to the helplessness of their object. She declared to her parents, that although she would have readily submitted to their will, if the man of her choice could have done without her ; yet as he now required the constant attendance of a person who loved him, nothing should pre- vent her from becoming his wife. Accordingly, as soon as she had attained the age which she imagined gave her a right to decide for herself, she refused many brilliant offers, and united her fate with that of Huber. The union was a happy one. Their mutual good conduct soon brought about the pardon of their disobedience. In the society and affection of his generous minded wife, the blind man felt no wants ; she was " eyes to the blind,"— his reader— his secretary and ob- server — sharer in his enthusiasm on the subject of Natural Science, and an able assistant in his experiments. She was spared to him over forty years. " As long as she lived," PRINCE OF APIARIANS. 19 said he in his old age, " I was not sensible of the misfortune of being blind." The last years of his life were soothed by the attentions of his married daughter, Madame de Molin, whose residence was at Lausanne, and to which place he had removed. It was about this period that he learned the existence, in Mexico, of Bees without stings; and he was, by the kind exer- tions of a friend, soon after gratified by a present of a hive of that species. To him, whose life had been almost exclu- sively devoted to the study and admiration of these insects, we may conceive how great a source of enjoyment this pres- ent must have afforded, His feelings towards his Bees was not a feeling of fondness in an ordinary degree, it was a j' as - sion, as it almost invariably becomes^ with every one who makes them his study. The days of Huber were now drawing to a close. In the full possession of his mental faculties, he was able to converse with his friends with his accustomed ease and tranquility, and even to correspond by letter with those at a distance, within two days of his death. He died in the arms of his daugh- ter, on the 22:1 of December, 1331, in the 81st year of his age. Apiarians owe more to Huber, for the advancement of Apiarian science, than to any other man. Having in many instances verified some of the most important of his observa- tions, I take the greatest pleasure in acknowledging my many obligations to him, and holding him up before the world as the L under of Apiarian science in a great degree. There are few riifj'n, either in ancient or modern times, that have had such means, perseverance and patience in carrying on his many rostly experiments for a series of years, as the celebrated I'iUDhR. APIS MELLIFICA INTRODUCTION. The domestic Honey Bee has excited a lively and almost universal interest, from the earliest ages. The philosopher, the poet, and historian, have each delight- ed in the study of an insect whose nature and habits afford such ample scope for inquiry, and contemplation ; and even the less intellectual will readily perceive the profit and gain that can be derived from the Honey Bee, with proper care and management. " Wise in their govermment," observes the venerable Kirby, " diligent and active in their employments, devoted to their young and to their queen, the Bees read a lecture to mankind that exemplifies their oriental na-ne, Deburah — she that speaketh." So high did the ancients carry their admiration of this tiny portion of animated nature, that one philosopher, Aristoma- chus, it is said, made it the sole object of his study for near three score years ; another retired to the woods, and devoted to its contemplation the whole of his life.- Both the great Bee Ma-ters left behind them, in writing, the results of their many experiments and observations. However small the contribution of knowledge which we have received from these ancient worthies, they must have greatly aided the progress of their favorite science, and are at all events evidences of the zeal with which it was prosecuted in their day. INTRODUCTION. 21 About three hundred years after the time at which Aristot- tle wrote, his observations and discoveries on the Honey Bee were embellished and invested with a species of divinity, by the matchless pen of Virgil, in his fourth Book of Georgics, and it excites feelings of regret, that poetry, which for its beauty and elegance is so universally admired, should be the vehicle of opinions that are founded in error. About the commencement of the Christian era, Columella, who was a very accurate observer, and exhibited considera- ble genius as a naturalist, made some useful and curious dis- coveries and rem. irks upon Bees, in his treaties De Re Rus- tica. But Columella, like Virgil, appears to have acquiesced in, and copied, the errors of his predecessors. After him, the elder Pliny gave a sanction to the opinions which he found prevalent, and added to them others of his own. To him we are indebted for the transmission to us of all that was actually known, or supposed to be know T n, of Natural History in his day. After the compilation of Pliny's vast Compendium, nearly fourteen hundred years rolled away without anything being done for Entomology, or for Natural History in general. The Arabians alone preserved a glimmer of science, du- ring those dark ages that succeeded the fall of the Roman Empire. On the revival of learning in the fifteenth century, and af- ter the discovery of the Art of Printing, various editions were published of the works on natural History, written by the fathers of that science. Sir Edward Wotton, Conrade Gesner, and others, produced, conjointly, a work on insects, the manuscript of which came into the possession of Doctor Thomas Perry, an eminent Physician and Botanist in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. After devoting fifteen years to the improvement of the work, the Doctor died, and the unfin- ished manuscripts were purchased at an exorbiant price, by 22 APIS MELLIFECA. Mauffet, a cotemporar'y English physician of singular learn- ing, who with great labo', and at great expense, arranged, and enlarged, and completed the work. When nearly ready for i he press, he also died, and the papers, after lying buried in dust and obscurity for several years, at last fell into the hands of Sir Theodore Mayearne, (Baron d' AuDone,) a Court Physician in the time of Charles the First, who gave them to the world in 1634. Swammer&am published his cel- ebrated work, " A General History of Insects," in 1669 ; a more enlarged edition in two volumes folio, containing the history of Bees, was afterwards published in 1737', under the auspices of Boorhaave, from the manuscript of Swammerdam. Those readers who have patience to wade through these te- dious volumes, will be rewarded by the attainment of much curious information. The French Natural Historian, Reaumur, stands promi- nent among the students of Entomology, for the unsurpassed enthusiasm and accuracy with which he has investigated some of the most intricate parts. About this period, also, flourished the great, the illustrious Linnsens, whose labors diffused light over every department of natural science, and have just cause to be regarded as one of its brightest or- naments. Afterwards appeared the works of the celebrated Bonnet;, of Geneva, the admiring correspondent of Eeaumur, and the patron and friend of Huber. This great Physiologist became iddicted to the study of Entomology, before he was seventeen y 7 ears of age, from reading Spectacle de L : N. re; and his! decisive experiments upon Aphides,* do him the highest 3redit. We now come to to the Physiological discoveries of Schii •ach, Hunter, and Huber, men who have wonderfully ad- * Aphides, a species of insect that causes the Honey I)ew, See chapter upon Honey Dew INTRODUCTION. 23 vanced the science of Entomology by a series of\ xperiments most ably conducted, by the most patient investigation, and tlie most accurate and enlightened observation, and placed it upon the solid foundation of rational induction. Several other writers, also, both in systematic works and periodical publications, have contributed to, and thrown much light upon, the economy and habits of the Honey Bee. A host of writers upon the nature, habits and culture of the Lee, have written within the last century, and many of them have made valuable discoveries pertaining to the nature of the Bee. Swammerdam, Maraldi, Beaumur, Bonnett, Schirach, Ar- thur Dobbs, Esq., Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., Sir 0. S. Mackenzie, George Newport, and the Eev. Dr. Dunbar ; and more recently Huber and Thorly, Wildman and Keys, Hun- ter and Bonner, among ourselves, multiplied a hundred fold the discoveries of Aristotle, Columella and Maraldi. All the above writers have done much toward the advance- ment of Apiarian Science. In the following Treatise it has been my endeavor to com- bine, as much as possible, the profitable with the instructive and amusing ; in seeking which object, I have endeavored to clear the ground before rr.e of the wild flowers of conjecture and hypothesis, with which the human imagination has strewn it, and to substitute in their place the less showy, but more useful products of experiments and rational deduction ; the growth of which it should be the object of every laborer in the field of science to promote. I trust, that on a perusal of the experiments and observations detailed in the following pages, my readers will perceive that several of the difficul- ties and obscurities with which the subject has been beset have been cleared away, and that much has been done recent- ly to illustrate the Physiology, as well as to simplify the man- >4 APIS MEtLlFICA. agement and culture of the Bee. Our prescribed limits, have restricted us, in a great degree, to mere matter of fact, and prevent us often from illustrating our subject, as we might have done, by reference to the habits and instincts of others of the insect tribes. The same cause has operated as a bar to our indulging, so frequently as our inclinations would have led us; we trust, however, that the facts detailed, will of themselves, lead the mind of the intelligent reader to such reflections, as will secure for him the true merits of Ento- mology THE ANATOMY OF THE HONEY BEE. CHAPTER I. The Honey Bee, (Apis Mellifica) is of the order, Hymenop- tera, or that species of insects having four membraneous wings. Its anatomic structure presents, even to the superficial observer, striking evidence of design in the All-wise Contriver, and of the admirable adaptation of its parts, to their several uses. The body of the insect is about half an inch in length, of a blackish brown color, which deepens with age, and wholly covered with close-set hairs, which assist greatly in collecting the Farina of flowers. Tearing open the anthers of the plant on which it has alighted, and rolling its little body in the bottom of the corrolla, the insect brushes off the Earina, moistens it with its mouth, and passes it, from one pair of legs to another, until it is safely lodged, in the form of a kidney-shaped pellet, in a spoon-like receptacle, on its hinder legs, (to be noticed hereafter.) These hairs deserve to be particularly remarked, on account of their peculiar formation, being feather-shaped, or rather consisting each of a stem, with branches disposed around it, and, therefore, besides more effectually retaining their animal heat, peculiarly adapted for their office of sweeping off the farina. The head, which is of a triangular shape, and much flattened, is furnished with a pair of large eyes, of composite construction, and consist- ing of a vast assemblage of small, hexagonal surfaces, disposed C 26 THE ANATOMY OF with exquisite regularity, each constituting, in itself, a perfect eye ; they are thickly studded with hair, which preserves them from dust, &c In addition to these moans of vision, the Bee is provided with three small stemmata, or coronetted eyes, situ- ated in ihe very crown of the head, and arranged in the form of a triangle. These must add considerably to the capacity of vision, in an insect whose most important operations are carried on in deep obscurity. As to the special or peculiar use the ocelli may serve, Reaumur and Blumonbach were of opinion, that while the large compound organs are used for viewing distant objects, the simple ones, are employed on objects close at hand. It is not probable, however, that these last, from their peculiar posi- tion, are appropriated to upward vision. The Antennas present us with another remarkable appen- dage of the head ; these are two tubes, about the thickness of a hair, springing from between the eyes, and a little below the ocelli ; they are jointed throughout their whole length, each consisting of twelve articulations, and therefore, capable of every variety of flexure. Their extremities are tipped with small round knobs, exquisitely sensible ; and which, from their re- semblance tc the stemmata, or ocelli, have been supposed, by some, to serve as organs of vision, — by others, as connected with the sense of hearing, — and by others still, as organs of feeling or touch. This last seems the most probable conjecture, as, on approaching any solid object or obstacle, the Bee cautiously brings its antennae in contact with it, as if exploring its nature. These insects use these organs, also, as a means of recognizing one another ; and an interesting instance is stated by Huber, in which they were employed to ascertain the presence of their Queen. The Mouth of the Bee comprehends the tongue, the mandible, or upper jaws, the maxillce, or lower jaws ; the labrum, or upper lip ; the labium, or lower lip ; with the proboscis connected with THE HONEY BEE. 27 it, and fom palpi, or feelers. The tongue of the Bee, like that of other animals, is situated within the mouth, and is so small and insignificant in appearance, as not to be easily discernable. In most anatomical descriptions of the Bee, the real tongue, now described, has been erroneously confounded with the ligula, or central piece of the proboscis, hereafter to be described. The upper jaw of the Bee, as of all other insects, is divided vertic- ally into two, thus forming in fact, a pair of jaws, under the name of mandibles. They are more horizontal than the probos- cis, and are furnished with teeth, and serve to the little laborers as tools, with which they perform a variety of operations ; as, manipulating the wax — constructing the combs — protecting themselves against their enemies — destroying their Drones, &c. The lower jaws, or maxilla, divided vertically, as the others, form, together with the labium, or under lip, the complicated apparatus of the proboscis. This organ, beautiful in its con- struction, and admirably adapted to its end, serving to the insect the purpose of extracting the juices secreted in the nectaries of flowers consisting principally, of a long, slender piece, named, by eii mo'ogists, the Ligula, and erroneously, though, consider- ing its position and use, not unnaturally regarded as the tongue. It is, strictly speaking, formed by the prolongation of the lower lip. It is not tubular, as has been supposed, but solid throughout : con- sisting of a close succession of cartila- ginous rings, above forty in number, each of which is fringed by very minute hairs> having also a tuft at its extremity. It is ? ^ ofa flattish form, and about the thickne?s of a human hair ; and, from its cartila- ginous structure, capable of being easily moved in all directions, rolling from side to side, and lapping or 28 THE ANATOMY OF licking up, whatever, by the aid of the hairy fringers, adheres to it. It is probably by muscular action, that the fluid which it laps is propelled into the pharynx, or canal, situated at its root, and through which it is conveyed to the honey-bag. From the base of this lapping instrument arises the labial palpi, or feel- ers, composed of four articulations of unequal length, the basal one being by much the longest, and whose peculiar office is to ascertain the nature of the food ; and both these and the ligula are protected from injury by the maxilla, or lower jaws, which envelope them, when in a quiescent state, as between two demi sheaths, and thus present the appearance of a single tube. About the middle of the maxillce, are situated the maxilliary palpi, of very diminutive size, but having the same office to perform as those situated at the base of the ligula. The whole of the ap- aratus is capable of being doubled up, by means of an articula- tion, or joint, in the middle. The half next to the lip bends it- self inward, and lays itself along the other half, which stretches towards the root, and both are folded together within a very small compass, under the head and neck. The whole m:>eh!nerj rests on a pedicle, not seen in the figure, which admit.- • f its being drawn in, or propelled forward, to a considerab.r *x.iont. The celebrated naturalist, Kay, whose knowledge of the minu- tiae of insect anatomy was but slender, "was," as Kirby remarks, "at a loss to conceive what could be the use of the complex ma- chinery of the proboscis. We, who perceive its admirable adap- tation to the purposes for which it was formed, need not wonder, but we shall be inexcusable if we do not adore." The Trunk of the Bee, or Thorax, approaches, in figure, to a sphere, and is united to the head by a pedicle or thread-like ligament. It contains the muscles of the wings and legs. The former consists of two pair of unequal size, and are attached to each other by slender hooks, and easily discernable through a microscope ; and thereby their motion, and the flight of the in- sect, are rendered more steady. Behind the wings, on each side TIIE HONEY BEE. 29 of the trunk, are situated several small orifices, called stigmati, or spiracles, through which respiration is effected. These orifices are counected with a system of air vessels, pervading every part of the body, and serving the purpose of lungs ; the rushing of air through them, against the wings, while in motion, is supposed, by many eminent authors, to be the cause of the humming sound made by the Bees. To the lower part of the trunk are attached three pairs of legs. The anterior pair, which are the most effi- cient instruments, serving to the insect the same purpose as the arms and hands to man, are the shortest, and the posterior pair the longest. In each of these lmbis are several articulations or joints, of which three are larger than the others, serving to con- nect the thigh, the leg, or pellet, s,n& the foot, or tarsus ; the oth- ers are situated chiefly in the tarsus ; the tibia, or pallet, con- taining on the opposite side the basket or cavity. In each of the hinder limbs, there is an admirable provision made for enab- ling the Bee to carry to its hive an important part of its stores, and which neither the Queen nor the male possesses, being ex- empt from that labor, viz : a small triangular cavity, of a spoon- like shape, the exterior of which is smooth and glassy, while its inner surface is lined with strong, close-set hairs. This cavity forms a kind of basket, destined to receive the pollen of flow- ers, the principal ingredient Composing the food of the young. It receives also, the propolis, a viscous substance, by which the combs are attached to the top and walls of the hive, and by which any holes are stopped that might admit vermin, rain or cold. The hairs with which the basket is lined, are designed to retain firmly the material with which the thigh is loaded. The three pairs of legs are all furnished, particularly the joints, with thick-set hairs, forming brushes ; some of them round, and some flattened, and which, as we have said before, serve the purpose of sweeping off the farina. There is yet another remarkable peculi- arity in this third pair of limbs. The junction of the pal- let and tarsus is effected in such a manner as to form, by the 30 THE ANATOMY OF curved shape of the corresponding parts, " a pair of real pin- cers. A row of shelly teeth, like those of a comb, proceeds from the lower edge of the pallet, corresponding to the bundles of very strong hairs with which the neighboring portion of the brush is provided. When the two edges of the pincers meet, that is, the under edge of the pallet and the upper edge of the brush, the hairs of each are incorporated together," The ex- tremeties of the six feet, or tarsi, terminate each in two hooks, with their points opposed to each other, by means of which the Bees fix themselves to the roof of the hive, and to one another when suspended, as they. often are, in the form of cumins, in- verted cones, festoons, ladders, &c. From the middle of these hooks proceeds a little thin appendage, which, when not in use, lies folded double through its whole breadth ; when in action, it enables the insect to sustain its body in opposition to the force of gravity, and thereby adhere to, and walk freely and securely upon, glass and other elippery substances, with its feet upwards. Figure 2 represents the body portion of the Bee, showing mo re particularly the abdomen, and the man- |ner of manipulating wax, which accumulates on the abdomen of the Bee, in little fine scales, as shown in the figure. The abdomen is attached to the posterior Dart of the thorax by a slender ligament, like that Fig. 2. v J ° which unites the thorax and the head, consisting of six scaly rings of unequal breadth. It contains the honey -bag or fiirst stom- ach, the small intestines, the venom bag, and the sting. An open- ing, placed at the root of the proboscis, is the mouth of the cesopha- gus, or gullet, which traverses the trunk and leads to the anterior stomach. This is but a dilation of the gullet, and, in fact, it is what is called the honey-bag. When full, it exhibits the form of a small transparent globe, somewhat less in size than a pea ; it is susceptible of contraction, and so organized as to enable the Bee to disgorge its contents. The second stomach, which is separated from the first, (of which it appears to be merely a continuation,) THE HONEY BEE. 3l only by a very snort tube, is cylindrical and very muscular ; it is the receptacle for the food, which is there digested and con- veyed into the small intestines, for the nourishment of the body and for the elaboration of wax, &c. Scales of wax are found ranged in pairs and contained in minute receptacle?, under the lower segments of the abdomen. No direct channel of com- munication between the stomach and these receptacles, or wax pockets, has yet been discovered ; but Huber conjectures that the secreting vessels are contained in the membrane which lines these receptacles, and which is covered with a reticulation of hexagonal meshes, analogous to the inner coat of the second stomach of ruminating quadrupeds. Only eight scales are furn- ished by each individual Bee; for the first and last ring, consti- tuted .differently from the others, afford none. The scales do not rest immediately on the body of the insect ; a slight liquid medium is interposed, which serves to lubricate the junctures of the rings, and facilitate the extraction of the scales of wax, which might, otherwise, adhere too firmly to the sides of the re- ceptacles. The Sting, (Fig. 3)with its appendages, lies close to the last stomach, and, like the proboscis, may seem to the naked eye, a simple instrument, while it is in fact, no less complex in its structure than the former apparatus. Instead of its being a simple, sharp-pointed weapon like a fine needle, it i* composed of two branches or darts, applied to each other longitudinally, and lodged in one sheath, [a. a.) One of these dartsis somewhat longer than the oth- er ; they penetrate alternately, taking hold of the flesh until the sting is completely buried. The sheath is formed by two horny scales, (themselves inclosed within two fleshy sheaths, c c.) along the groove of which, when the sting is extruded, flows the poison 32 THE ANATOMY OF from a bag or reservoir, (d) in the body of the insect, near the root of the sting. The darts composing this - "weapon are each furnished with five or six teeth, or barbs, set obliquely on their outer side, which gives the instrument the appearance of an arrow, and by which it is retained in the wound it has made till the poi- son has been ejected ; and though it is said the insect has the power of raising or depressing them at pleasure, it often hap- pens, when suddenly driven away, that it is unable to extricate itself, without leaving behind the whole apparatus, and even part of its intestines ; death is the inevitable consequence, in less than twenty-four hours after. Though detached from the in- sect, this formidable weapon still retains, by means of the strong muscles by which it is impelled, the power of forcing itself, to the depth of an eighth of an inch, through the thick skin of a man's hand. The action of the sting affords us an example of the union of Chemistry and Mechanism combined ; of Chemistry, in respect to the venom, which, in so small a quantity, can produce such powerful effects ; — of Mechanism, as the sting is not a simple, but a compound instrument. The machinery would have been comparatively useless — telum imbelle — had it not been for the chemical process, by which, in the insect's body, honey is con- verted into poison ; and on the other hand, the poison would have been ineffectual without an instrument to wound, and a syringe to inject the fluid. Having noticed these particulars in the anatomical structure of the Neuter, or Working Bee, we shall next point out in what respects it differs from the Queen, the Mother Bee, and the Drone, or Male Bee. The Queen is frequently styled by the con- tinental Naturalist, the Mother Bee, or Perfect Female, and the only perfect female in the whole colony. First, the Queen has a long tapering body, short wings, much shorter than her body, which is not the case, either with the Drone, (but quite the reverse), or the Working Bee. It is fully Fig. 4 THE HONEY BEE. 33 ascertained that her distinguishing qualities have a closer rela- tion to the properties of a parent, than to the province of a sov- ereign. Her body differs from that of a worker, in being con- siderably larger, and of a deeper black in the upper parts, while the under surface and the limbs are of a rich tawny color. Her proboscis is more slender ; her legs are longer than those of a worker, but without the hairy brushes at the joints ; and as she is exempted from the drudgery of collecting farina or propolis, the posterior pair are without the spoon-like cavity found in those of her laboring offspring. When about to become a moth- er, her body is considerably swollen and elongated, and her wings, consequently, appear disproportionably short. The ab- domen of the queen contains the ovarum, consisting of two branches, each of which contains a large assemblage of vessels filled with eggs, and terminating in what is called the oviduct. This duct, when approaching the anus, dilates itself into a lar- ger receptacle, into which the eggs are discharged, and which is considered by naturalists, the sperm reservoir, or depository of fecundating matter ; from thence they are extruded by the in- sect, and deposited in the cell prepared for their reception. The sting possessed by the queen is bent or curved under some- what, while that of a worker is straight ; it is seldom, however, brought into action, only in contact with a rival queen.^ v / *. The Drone has been ascertained, by micro- \ \JL g scopic examination, to be a perfect Male ; is j^wk %jt considerably more bulky than the Working ; /'X Bee, and his wings somewhat longer than his ,/ ^>. body ; the eyes are more prominent ; the an- ~^Jf ftaSf \ tenusd has thirteen articulations, instead of Pi 5 twelve ; the proboscis is shorter ; the hind legs have not the baskets for containing farina, and he is unpro- vided with a sting ; the cavity of the abdomen is wholly occu- *For a more full description of the Queen, see chapter on Queen. 34 THE SENSES OP BEES. pied with the digestive and reproductive organs. The very loud humming noise he makes when flying, has fixed upon him the ap- pellation of Drone.^ CHAPTER II. The Senses of Bees. Much uncertainty has prevailed upon the subject of the sen- ses possessed by this insect ; not so much, perhaps, in regard to their existence, as to the locality of the organs. Most naturalists admit their possessiou of five senses, analagous to those of men, though the celebrated Huber seems to have had some doubt as to the existence of the sense of hearing in Bees, at least with- out some important modifications. Greater diversity of opinion, however, prevails as to the situation of those organs by which the impressions of sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell, are pro- duced on their sensations ; and many curious experiments by different naturalists, have be°,n made, with a view to ascertain the truth, but which have not always led to the same results. In researches so minute, it is, perhaps, vain to look tor perfect ac- curacy in our conclusions, and we must be satisfied with any thing like a reasonable approximation to the truth. Sight. In the anatomical structure of the head of the Bee, we observed, that, besides the large reticulated eyes, placed as in other animals, on the sides of the head, this insect possessed three stemmata, or coronetted eyes, arranged triangularly en its center, between the antennae. That these little specks, are, in reality, organs of vision, has been made apparent from accurate "See chapter on Drones, fur a more particular description. THE SENSES OF BEES. 35 experiments, in which, when the reticulated eyes were blindfold- ed, the insect was evidently not deprived of sight, though the direction of its flight, being vertical, seems to prove that the stemmata were adapted only, or chiefly, to upward vision. This additional organ must, doubtless, add considerably to its power of sight though probably, its aid may be confined principally to the obscure recesses ef the hive. As the internal operations of the insect, in the honey season, are carried on during the night, as well as the day, the coronetted eyes may, as Reaumur conjectures, serve the purpose of a microscope. As to the general power of vision in the Bee, its organs appear better adapted to distant ob- jects, than to such as are close at hand. When returning loaded from the fields, it flies with unerring certainty, and dis- tinguishes at once its own domicil, in the midst of a crowd- ed Apiary. Yet every person who has at all made this insect the subject of observation, must have seen it often at a loss, in returning to its hive, to find the entrance, especially if its habi- tation has been a little moved from its former station ; nay, without moving the hive, if the entrance hadheen moved around a single inch, from its former position, the bees fly with uner- ring precision to that same familiar spot on the alighting-board, where the entrance formerly was, and frequently, after many fruitless attempts to find the entrance, it is forced to rise again in the air, with a view, we may suppose, of removing to such a distance from the desired object, as is suited to the focus of its visual organs. We are to conclude, therefore, from these well- known facts, that the eye has a lengthened focus, and that it must depend upon the aid of other organs, in viewing objects which are close at hand. Peeling or Touch. The organs of this sense are supposed, with reason, to reside in the antennce, and palpi, or feelers, par- ticularly in the former. Huber concludes that the antennae sup- ply the want of sight in the interior of the hive, and that it is solely by their means they are enabled to construct their combs 35 THS SENSES OF BEES. in darkness, pour their hooey into the magazines, feed their young, guard their hive, judge of their age and necessities, and recognize their queen. Though it by no means appears clear, that the bees are devoid of sight when employed in their in-door ope- rations ; though, on the contrary, there is reason to believe, as already stated, that the ste?nmata, or ocelli, serve as orbs of vis- ion,^ this naturalist is probably right in ascribing to the an- tennae an important share in these operations. That the bees use them as means of communication and recognition, is admitted by Apiarians. When a hive has lost its queen, the event, as may well be supposed, causes a high degree of agitation in the colony ; the disturbed workers who have first, by some unknown means, acquired the knowledge of this public calamity, soon quit their immediate circle, and ' meeting their companions," says Huber ; " the antennas are reciprocally crossed, and they slightly strike them." The communication made by these means is quickly disseminated, and in a few moments the whole colony is in a state of agitation and distress. Of the antennae being em- ployed as instruments of recognition, the same naturalist gives a striking instance, which our limits prohibit us from giving in his own words ; suffice it to say here, that by means of a wire-grat- ing, wide enough only to admit the circulation of air, inserted in the middle of the hive, he separated the queen from half of her subjects, and ascertained that neither sight, hearing, nor smell, made the near neighborhood of their sovereign known to them ; for they proceeded to rear a new queen fro En the larva of a worker, as if the other were irrevocably lost. But when he substituted a grating large enough to allow the transmission of the antennae, all went on as usual; for the bees soon ascertained by these or- gans, the existence of their queen. Another important use which the bees make of this organ of touch, deserves notice: *I think it very doubtful that Bees have more than one pair of eyes. Why is it not reasonable to suppose that Bees can see in the interior part of the hive, (where it is generally perfect darkness,) as other spe- cies of insects and animals see equally as well in the dark ? THE SENSES OF BEES. 37 " Let us follow their operations by moonshine, when they keep watch at the opening of the hive, to prevent the intrusion of moths then on the wing. It is curious to observe how artfully the moth knows how to profit to the disadvan- tage of the bee, which requires much light for seeing objects, and the precaution taken by the latter in reconnoitering and expelling so dangerous an enemy. Like vigilant sentinels, they patrol around their habitations with their antenna) stretched straight before them, or turning to right or left; wo to the moth if it cannot escape their contact ; it tries to glide along between the guards, carefully avoiding their flexi- ble organs, as if aware that its safety depended on its cau- tion." Taste in Bees. Taste appears, on a slight view, to differ most materially from that sense in man, and because, with all their eager fondness for the rich nectar of flowers, they are frequently detected in lapping the impure fluid fr< m corrupt- ed marshes, it has been hastily concluded that their sense of taste is very defective. Huber thought it the least perfect of the bee-senses, and cites instances of their gathering honey ever from poisonous flowers, and regaling themselves with fietid liquids. Now, with deference to this distinguished ob- server, we may be permitted, perhaps, to defend our favorites from so injurious an imputation. We have prima facie evi- dence of the delicacy of their taste, in their eager activity in collecting their delicious stores of honey, secreted by the most fragrant flowers; such is their ardor in these operations, that they defy the elements, when the honey-season is at its height, and, laying aside their usual fears of bad weather, boldly encounter wind and rain, to get at their favorite fluid. Huber acknowledges, that "when the lime-tree and black grain blossom, they brave the rain, and depart before sun-rise, and return later than ordinary. But their activity relaxes after the flowers have faded, and wlrn the enamel adorning of the D 38 TOE SENSES OF BEES. meadow has fal'en under the scythe, the bees remain in their dwelling, however brilliant the sunshine," Wherefore have they not, in this decline of the flowering- season, recourse to the foul marsh and slimy pool, which they are charged with frequenting 1 Simply because the purposes for which they did frequent those unwholsome places, have already been an- swered. The truth is, the bees have recourse in spring, but generally speaking in spring only, to dung-hills, stagnant pools and marshes, for the sake of the sails with which they are impregnated, and which their instinct teaches them is advan- tageous to their health after their long winter's confinement. If we place before the bees a portion" of honey and a portion of liquid drawn from a corrupt pool, their choice will com- pletely vindicate the purity of their tastes, and their power of discrimination in the selection of their food. It is not- meant to be denied, however, that the sense or taste of bees is never at fault. This would be going in the face of some well-authenticated instances of honey being injured, and even rendered dangerous, in consequence of the bees feeding on noxious plants. Towards the close of the honey season, when the flowers become scarce, and in those parts of the country where alders abound, and where onions and leeks are extensively raised and allowed to run to seed, the bees, either from taste or necessity, are seen to feed on these plants, which communicate to the honey a very disagreeable flavor • But this is not all ; the fact stated by Xenophon in the Re- treat of the Ten Thousand, and confirmed by Diodaus Si- cuius, proves that there are plants in Asia Minor, which give to the honey not only disagreeable, but poisonous qualities. He tells us that the soldiers having eaten a quantity of honey in the environs of Trebizande, were seized with vertigo, vom- iting, &o. This effect was attributed to the rose-laurels (PJwdodendron Ponticum.) Father Lamberti, also, assures us that a- shrub of mingrela produces' a kind of honey which 39 THE SENSES OF BEES. ^ causes very deleterious effects. It is quite possible that the poisonous juices extracted from those plants, might be innox- ious to the bees themselves, and thus the correctness of their tastes might be so far vindicated. Sir J. E. Smith as- serts, that the " nectar of plants is not poisonous to bees ;" and an instance is given in the American Philosophical Trans- actions, of a party of yonng men, who, induced by the pros- pects of gain, having moved their hives from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, where there are vast savannahs, finely painted with flowers of the Kalmia Angustifolia, could not use or dispose of their honey on account of its intoxicating quality, yet the " bees increased prodigiously ;" an increase only to be explained, says Doctor Benan, in their being well and liarmlessly fed. Nor is this defence of the taste of bees suc- cessfully controverted by the following occurrence, stated in Nicholson's Journal.^ " A large swarm of bees having set- tled," observes that author, " on a branch of the poison-ash, (Rhus Vernix, L,) in the county of Westchester, near New York city, was put into a hive, and removed to a place where it was to remain. Next morning the bees w T ere found dead, swelled tr, ilouble their natural size, and black, except a few which appeared torpid and feeble, and soon died, after expo- sure to the air." This was attributed to their being poisoned; not by their having fed upon, but by the effluvia of the Rhus Vernix, or poison-ash. Hearixg. Considerable difference of opinion has prevail- ed among naturalists, both as to the existence of this sense, in bees, and the situation of the organ. Aristotle, who flour- ished before the Christian era, was doubtful whether bees pos- sessed this sense : "Incertum est anaudiantr Linnaeus and Bonnet believed them to possess this faculty, and Huber seems undecided on the point; while a host of others, among Tage 287. *U THE SENSES OF BEES. whom are ranked Kirby and Spence, maintain its existence, and place the organ in the antenna?. We know thai the bees dislike noi-e, for an apiary situated near a mill or forge, or where there is any very great noise, is seldom prosperous. The different modulations of souud produced by the wings in flying, seem intended as means of communication address- ed to organs of hearing; as signals of attack, of recall, of departure, &c. In consequence of a belief in the reality of this sense in bees, the practice has arisen of beating sonorous bodies at the moment of swarming, in order to prevent them from communicaiing with any other swarm that may per- chance be on the point of swarming, and also to present an obstacle to their flying away. We Know, also, that many other insects possess this faculty ; and, as we observe in the proceedings of bees, the same effects which in other insects, unquestionably proceed from a sense of hearing, we regard these effects as presumptive evidence of the former possess- ing the same faculty. • Huber sets out with initiating a doubt of its existence, in defence of his friend Bonnet, to whom lis letters are addressed, and who was an unbelieve? in its reaT ity, yet in the end confesses that he is strongly tempted 10 believe in it, or at least to admit a sense in bees analagous to hearing ; observing that certain sounds as produced by bees, apparently serve as a signal to their companions, and are followed by regular consequences, and that, therefore, these may be additional means of communication, to those afforded by the antennae. He mentions, particularly, a sound emitted by the queen, which produces paralyzing effects on the bees in certain circumstances. Describing the attempt of a reign- ing queen to destroy her rivals while yet in their cells, he tells us, that " the bees on guard" pulled, bit her, and drove her away." In these circumstances she emitted the sound alluded to ; " standing while doing so, with her thorax TI1E SENSES OF BEES. 4l against a comb and her wings crossed on her back, in mo- tion, but without being unfolded or opened. Whatever might- be the cause of assuming this attitude, the bees were affected by it ; all hung down their heads and remained motionless."^ On another occasion, after the queen had put her rival to death, she approached a royal cell, and took this moment to utter the sound and assume that posture which strikes the bees " motionless." This discovery of Huber has been brought forward on his authority, by naturalists, as a conclu- sive evidence of the existence of the auditor's faculty in bees. And so it would be, if Huber was not mistaken in his supposed discovery. A voice of sovereignty, producing such I owerful and instantaneous effects on her subjects, is so re- markable a property of her bee-majesty, that it would be desirable to have its existence prov d beyond doubt, by suc- ceeding experiments. With much confidence in the accura- cy of this distinguished naturalist's observations, we enter- tain some hesitation on the subject of this magical sound. We have seen a queen in all the circumstances, and in all the positions observable within a hive ; (with one exception, viz : combatting a rival queen,) we have observed her very frequently in the particular situation described by Huber, when he first heard the commanding voice, endeavoring to tear open the cell of a rival queen, and angrily repulsed by the workers ; then standing at a little distance on the surface of the combs, with her wings crossed over her back and in motion, though not fully unfolded, and emitting the clear dis- tinct s:;und heard in a hive for a day or two before the de- parture of a second swarm ; and certainly, we never witness- ed any such effects produced on the bees as Huber speaks of. But still, Huber may be in the right, and his general a-cura- cy affords a presumption in his favor ; nevertheless, it would ♦Huber, 157. d* 42 TI1E SENSES OF BEES. be very satisfactory to have his accuracy on this particular point, confirmed by some other observer. Taking it for granted that the sense of hearing does exist in bees, where are we to look for the locality of the organ 1 ' Naturalists are not agreed on this point, but the majority seem to locate it in the antennae. Kirby and Spence notice the analogy borne by ihe antennae to the ears of vertebrated animals, and observe that no other organ has been found that can repre- sent the ear. In that case, this appendage of the head of the bee, must be regarded as a compound organ. exercis ng the functions of both heating and toueh. It has already been hinted that some observers have regarded it as the organ of vision, and we shall hereafter find that there are those who regard it as the organ of smell. In this deficiency of precise knowledge on the subject, we may perhaps rest satisfied with the opinion of Kirby that "the antennas, by a peculiar struc- ture, may collect notices from the atmosphere, receive pulses or vibrations, and communicate them to the censorium; which communications, though not precisely to be called hearing, may answer the same purpose." The same author gives an anecdote of another insect, which goes to prove that the an- tennas are indeed the organs of this sense : " A little moth was reposing on my window — I made a quiet, not loud, but distinct noise — the nearest antenna) immediately moved towards it — I repeated the noise at least a dozen times, and it was followed every time by the same motion of that organ, till at length the insect becoming alarmed, became agitated and violent in i ! s motions. In this instance it could not be touch, since the antennae were not applied to a surface, but directed towards the quarter from which the sound came, as if to listen." Smelling. Of all their senses, that of Smelling in bees, is the most acute. Attracted by the fragrance of the flow- ..ers, \ye see them winging their eager way to a. very conside- THE SENSES OF BEES. 43 rable distan e, in a straight, un deviating ccunc, and in the very teeth of a strong wind,* in search of those plants which promise an abundant honey harvest. Very striking proofs of the acuteness of this sense, may be observed within the limits of the Apiary. Early in spring, when thebee-mas- ter begins feeding his colonies, he has reason to marvel at the instantaneous notice which this organ gives them, of his ap- proach amongst his hives; though from the chilliness of a spring morning, not a bee is seen stirring out of doors, he has not time to till his feeding troughs from the vessel in his hand, before he is surrounded by hundreds of the greedy feeders. {For feeding Bees, see chapter on Feeding.) It is to their ex- quisite sense of smell, in all probability, that we must attrib- ute their capability of distinguishing friend from foe, among their own species. If a stranger-bee, by mistake, enter a hive, and this sometimes happens in consequence of some slight alteration in the arrangement of the Apiary, his close resem- blance to his fellow-insects, will not secure him from an imme- diate attack from all quarters ; he is detected by a more sub- tle sense than vision, and instant flight alone can save him. Huber, to whose researches we are so much indebted, in re- gard to the senses of bees, has made some very conclusive experiments on that of smell ; many of them Ave have re- peated with similar results. Like him, our first experiments were to ascertain the acuteness of the sense of smell. He co) cealed a vessel of honey behind the shutters of an open window, near the Apiary. In our experiment, a small box *Tt is said that bees ballast themselves with sand and gravel, wh°n in danger of being blown away by the wind. The notion was first en- tertained by Aristotle, and repeated by Virgil, to whose poetical imag- ination, such a trait in the habits of his favorre insects would be high- ly grateful. Pliny has also lent his aid to the currency of this notion ; audit is found in dissertations on the natural history of bees, as a sur- prising instance of bee-instinct, notwithstanding the correctness of Swaimnerdam and Reaumur, both of whom have shown that the mason- bee has been mistaken for the h ney-bee, the former of whom is often seen hastening through the air, loaded with sand and gravel, the material of its nest. 44 THE SENSES OF BEES. containing a portion of honey mingled with ale, and covered with a piece of wire-gauze, was placed at a distance of 7o or SO yards from the Apiary, underneath a bunch of bushes, where it was by no means conspicuous. In a quarter of an hour a bee alighted on the box, and in a few minutes more, while this one was eagerly exploring and striving to gain an entrance, several moro joined it. The cover was then raised, and admission given, and after the first visitors had filled themselves and gone off, the feeders increased in the space of an hour, to hundreds. To diversify the trial, Huber procur- ed four small boxes, to the aperature of which, large enough to admit a bee, he fitted shutters or valves made of card pa- per, which it was nee ssary should be forced open in order to gain admission. Honey being put into them, they were placed at the distance of two hundred pace* from the Apiary. In half an hour bees were seen arriving, — carefully traversing the boxes, they soon discovered the openings, pressed against the valves, and reached the honey. This is a striking instance of the delicacy of smell in these insects, as not only was the honey qui e concealed from view, but its odorous effluvia, from being covered and disguised in the experiment, could not be much diffused. We repeated successfully, a similar experi- ment. In fact, after the first trial, we had no doubt of the is- sue of the second ; for if once the sense of smell in the bees ascertained the existence of the honey, we had seen enough of their ingenuity in other cases, not to doubt their success in other respects. In endeavoring to ascertain the precise situ- ation of the organ, there is considerable difficulty, and our curiosity cannot be easily gratified without some sacrifice of bee-life. Huber's experiments to ascertain this point, are full of interest. He dipped a pencil in oil of turpentine, a substance very disagreeable to insects, and presented it to the thorax, the stigmata, the abdomen, the antennae, the eyes, and the proboscis, without the bee's betraying the slightest symp- THE SENSES OF BEES. 45 iom of uneasy feeling. It was otherwise when be held it to the mouth ; it started, it left the honey by which it had been enticed, and was on the point of taking flight, when the \ en-, cil was withdrawn. He next, filled the mouth with flour-paste when the insect seemed to have lost the sense of smell alto- gether. Honey did not attract it, nor did offensive odors, neither did the formidable turpentine annoy it. The organ of smeli, therefore, seems to reside in the mouth, or in the parts depending on it To those who may wish to try this ex- periment, we would recommend that they previously deprive the bee of a portion of his sting, which maybe easily done by forcing the insect to extrude it, and then nipping it off about midway with a pair of scissors ; the excision will not vitally injure the insect, and will give confidence to the experimenter in so doing. We car not conclude this disq'iisition on the sense of smell in bees, without gratifying our readers by ex- tracting from Dr. Bevan's work, a remarkable instance of its acuteness and delicacy, and which had been communicated to him by the son of the gentleman who is the subject of it It is generally believed that bees have an antipathy to particu- lar individuals, arising, probably, from some peculiar odor about, them, which, though not discernable by, or unpleasant to man, may be so to this sensitive insect. *.' M. de Hafer, Conseilhur d' Etat du Grand due de Baden" had for years been a proprietor and admirer of bees, and rivaled Wildman, in the power he possessed of approaching them with impuni- ty. He would at any time search for the Queen, take hold of her gently, and place her on his hand. But he w r as unfor- tunately attacked with a violent fever, and was for a long time confined by it. On his recovery, he attempted to re= same his favorite amusement among the bees, returning to them with all that confidence and pleasure which he had felt on former occasions ; when, to his great surprise and disap- pointment, he discovered that he was no longer in possess'on 46 THE SENSES OF BEES. of their favor ; and that instead of being received bj them as an old friend, he was treated as a trespasser; nor was he ever able after this period, to perform an operation with them, or to approach within their precincs, without exciting their anger. Here, then, it was pretty evident that some change had taken place in the person ; the secretions had changed in cor sequence of the fever, which, though not noticeable by his friends, was offensive to the olfactory nerves of the bees." Functions of the Inmates of a Hive. — A hive consists of a Queen, or mother-bee, the Workers, or Neuters, as the ancients used to call them, varying in numbers from 5,000 to 50,000, and the Drones, or male bees, from 500 to 5000, ac- cording to circumstances. Particulars will be given in anoth- er chapter. Functions of tfie Queen. The Queen is the parent of the hive, and her sole province and occupation consists in laying the eggs, from which originate those prodigious mul- titudes that people a hive, and emigrate from it in the course of a summer. In the height of the season, many times, her great fertility is truly astonishing, as she is capable of laying two and three thousand eggs per day, when everything is fa- vorable. The greot laying season usually commences with the warm weather, and lasts about three month* ; the month of May is usually the first laying lionth, but in these northern latitudes, the forwardness or backwardness of spring, has much to do with early breeding. If the colony is a prosperous one, and they have a fertile Queen, and well-protected hive, they will breed more or less the year round; in warm climates, bees increase rapidly every month in the year. A Queen usually commences laying worker-eggs about the fifth or sixth day of her age ; though many times they do not commence until they are ten or fif een days old. It is during the layin-j of worker-eg js, that the bees are led by their instinct to lay the foundation of royal cells, in which, if the population be abun- THE SENSES OF BEES. 47 dant, the Queen deposits eggs at intervals of one or two clays between each. In the operation of laying, which we have many times witnessed, the Queen puts her head into a cell, and remains in that position a second or two, as if to ascer- tain whe'her it is in a fit state to receive the deposit, ^he then withdraw* her head, curves her body downwards, inserts her abdomen into the cell, and turns half round on herself; having kept this position a few moments, she withdraws her body, having in the meantime deposited an egg. The egg it- self, which is attached to the bottom of the cell by a glutin- ous matter, with which it is covered, is of a slender oval shape, slighily curved, rather more pointed in the lower end than in the other. She passes on from cell to cell, furnishing each with the germ of a future inhabitant ; and during these pro- ceedings, she receives the most, marked and affectionate at- tentions from the workers. She is seen continually surround- ed by a circle of them, who caress her fondly with their an- tennae, and occasionally supply her with food from their pro- boscis- This appearance has given rise to the notion com- monly entertained, and asserted even by some naturalists, that the Queen is followed in- her progress through the hive, by a number of her subjects, formed in a circle round her, and these of course, have been regarded as the Queen's body guard. The truth is, however, that her bee-majesty has no attendants, strictly speaking ; none who follow in her train ; but wherever she moves, the workers whom she encounters in her progress, instantly and hurried!^ clear the way before her, and all turning their heads towards their approaching sovereign, lavish their caresses upon her, with much apparent affection, and touch her softly with their antennse; and these are circumstances which may be observed every hour in the day, in a perfectly constructed glass hive. The moment she has left the circle, the bees who had surrounded her instant- ly resume their labors, and she passes on, and receives of ev- 48 THE SENSES OF BEfcS. ery group in her way, the homage due to a Mother and a Queen. "On one occasion we gave her subjects an opportu- nity of testifying their courage in her defence, as well as their affection and zeal. Observing her laying eggs in the comb next to the glass of the hive, we gently, but quickly opened the pane, and endeavored to seize her. But as soon as the removal of the glass made room, (while shut it was almost in contact with her back,) and before we could accom- plish our purpose, they threw their bodies upon her, to the number of at least a hundred, and formed a cover over her of such magnitude, that she could not be less than two inches distant from any part of the surface. We dispersed the mass with our finger, and got hold of her precious person, and kept looking at her f »r some minutes, before we restored the captive to her alarmed defenders. It is remarkable that this violence was not resented by them ; though they cover- ed our hands in scores, while we kept hold of their mistress, not one individual used its sting. The all-engrossing object was the Queen. They maybe handled, and roughly too, with like impunity when they are swarming. Intent then, only on securing a habitation for themselves and their sover- eign, they seem incapable of any other idea at the same time, if we may use such an expression, and their natural irritabil- ity is not awakened to exertion." There is a fact connected with the instinct of the Queen, in laying her eggs, which de- serves particular notice, and which we have not seen stated by any other author on the subject of bees* When she has laved a cluster of eggs to the number of forty or fifty, more or less, according to circumstances, in one side of the comb instead of laying in all the empty cells in the same quarter, she removes to the othar side, and lays in the cells which are directly opposite to those which she has just supplied with eggs, *From the Edingburgh Philosophical Journal. THE SENSES OP BEES. 49 and, generally speaking, this mode of proceeding is in ac- cordance with thai, wise arrangement which runs through all the operations of the bees, and is another effect of that re- markable instinct by which t-Hey are guided. For as they clus- ter closely in those parts of the comb wh'ch are filled with brood, in order to concentrate the heat that is necessary for their being hatched, the heat will of course penetrate to the other >\de, and some portion of the heat would be lost, if the cells on that side werj either empty or filled with honey or bee-bread. But when both sides are filled with brood, and covered with bees, the heat is confined to the spot where it is necessary, and it is turned to full account in bringing the young bees to maturity. The mutual aversion of Queens to each other, is a strik- ing feature in the history of this insect ; and though not strictly in place, one extraordinary effect of it may be men- tioned here. Their mutual enmity may truly be said to be an in-born disposition with them ; for no sooner has the first of its race, in a hive about to throw off a second swarm, es- caped from her own cradle, than -he hurries away in search of tho e of her rivals, and, as will be hereafter described, ex- erts herself with the most impetuous eagerness to destroy them. When two Queens happen to emerge from their cell at the same time, a pitched battle usually takes place, which ends ; n the death of one of the combatants, and sometimes both. Functions of the Working Bee. The Workers con- stitute the great mass of the population, and on them devolves the whole labor of the hive. Theirs is the office of search- ing for and collecting the precious sweet, which not only fur- nishes their own daily food, as well as that of the young in part, and a surplus of which is laid up for winter stores, but also, the material with which they rear their beautiful combs- E 50 THE SENSES OF BEES. Ill the little basket-shaped cavity in their hind legs, they bring home the dust of farainceous -flowers, or fallen, knead- ed by the help of the morning dew into tiny balls, which form an important ingredient in the nourishment of the brood ; and also the propolis, or adhesive gum extracted from wil- lows, balm-gileads, pine and spruce, and the different kinds of balsamic trees, with- which they attach their combs to the hive, and also to fill up the cracks and crevices in the hive, to protect them against the inclemency of the w T eather. Ex- ploring a glass hive in a soft spring morning, following with his eye a bee loaded with farina, the observer will perceive the little active forager, on her arrival in the interior, hur- rying over the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell to deposit her burden ; and having found one, fastening her- self by the two fore-feet on its superior border, then bending he* body a little forward, so that her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edges ot the cell. In this position she is aext seen thrusting back her second pair of feet, one on each side, and sweeping with them from top to bottom, along tho two hinder legs, where tht farina balls are deposited, and by this means detaming them from the hairy linings of the cavities, and depositing them in the cells. To the Workers, also, are committed the various offices of guarding the en- trance of the hive by night and day during the honey season, — of repulsing marauders, — of keeping their abode free from all offensive matter, by renewing the air within by an ingeni- ous mode of ventilation, — of replacing a lost Queen, and of destroying the Drones at the decline of the honey- season. Receiving from nature these weighty charges, they labor as- siduously to fulfill them ; and, while each member of the community acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works less for private than the general good. These labors seem unceasing, yet do the w ary laborers sometimes snatch THE SENSES OF BEES. 5l an interval of repose. During the busy season, we have seen hundreds of the workers retiring into the cells, and exhibitit- ingall the marks of profound sleep. This fact is very easily observable, especially in those cells which are constructed, as sometimes happens, against the glass, and where that sub- stance forms one side of the cell. There they are, the fa- tigued laborers, stretched at full length, with their heads at the bottom, and every limb apparently in a relaxed state, while the little body is seen heaving gently from the process of respiration. It does not appear, however, that these naturalists were acquainted with the different functions, if the difference really does exLst,of the two classes. The office of the first class, according to Huber, is not only to collect honey, which both kinds do, but also to elaborate the wax and construct the combs. The particular function of the others, is to take care of the young. They may be distinguished in entering the hive, by carefully examining their shape ; the wax-work- ers having their bodies somewhat cylindrical, while those of the nur.-es retain their original figure. The anatomical struc- ture o. ifje two is said to be different, and the capacity of the stoniaen Lot the same ; so that the one species is incapable of fulfilling all the functions ot the other. Huber has also directed our attention to a class of workers, which he calls black bees, and which he first observed in 1809, and on sev- eral occasions from that time till 1813, In every thing they bear a perfect resemblance to their fellow workers, except in color, which in them is a deep black ; he describes them as persecuted by other workers, and finally expelled from the hive or destroyed. It is not impossible, as Kirby and Spence conjecture, that they are merely aged bees, and that their deeper color arises from the hair or down with which the young are covered, being w*orn off their bodies. 52 THE SENSES OF BEES. I am aware much credit is due to Huber and his many valuable discoveries in Apiarian science,and also to Kirby and Spence. But as regards those black bees that Huber speaks of, I think they are the same kind of bees as the other work- ers. The color does not argue that they are a different spe- cies of bees, for we find that many insects and animal? of larger size, are of various colors, when in fact, they are of the same kind and species. I think that Huber is in an error when he asserts that there are two or more kinds of working bees, and that their functions are different. I believe on good authority, that all the working bees, in organization, are precisely the same, except thos? that may, perchance, partake of a portion of the royal jelly, when reared near the Queen cell ; such, no doubt, have been known to lay eggs that would hatch Drones. As regards a portion of the workers being nurses, and another portion of them to elaborate wax only, Huber may be right in his conjectures; but it is involved in much doubt. I think that the working bees are capable of doing any and every part of the labors of the hive, and that they do it in turn, as circumstances dictate. Why is it not as reasonable to suppose that the working-bee is a* r q>a- ble of doing any part of the work of the hive, as for a fanner to possess skill enough to perform any part of the labors of the farm ? In describing the functions of the working-bee, it would be improper to pass over unnoticed, the fact that it sometimes exercises the functions of a mother. (Mother of Drones only.) To account for this apparent anomaly, we must re- member it has been ascertained, by minutely accurate obser- Huber thinks he has ascertained that there are two kinds of Work- ers in a hive, one of which he calls wax-workers, and the other nurs- es. The difference between these bees had probably been observed by Pliny and Aristotle. Aristotle speaks of " optimum genus apum, qua breves, rarice, et in rotunditatem, compactibus ; secunda qua Ion etvespis similes." Pliny uses similar language. gee THE SENSES OF BEES. 53 vations, and dissections, that all the workers are females, though of imperfect organization ; a fact confirmed by the very circumstances we are now discussing. We must also keep in mimi, that the larva of a Queen is nourished with food of a different kind from that of common bees, and this difference, in conjunction with a more roomy cell, has, in the opinion of naturalists, the effect of expanding the ovarum, and qualifying her to become a mother ; it is evident, there- fore, that if the larva of the common bee were fed with the royal jelly, the imperfection in her bodily organs would, as far at least as depended on the nature of the food, be re- moved, and she would become capable oi laying eg^s. Now this does, occasionally, take place ; some of the loyal food is dropped into the cells adjoining that of the Queen, and the bees therein reared acquire the power of laying eggs. This fact was discovered by the naturalist Ulan, and has been con- firmed by Huber. There is, however, a very material, and hitherto unaccounted for diffesence, between these fertile- workers and perfect Queens. The former, or fertile w T orkers, lay the eggs of males only. We would certainly have ex- pected, a priori, that a difference between them should exist ; because the workers have fed on royal jelly only for a short time, and because their birth-place is so much smaller. This, I think, is conclusive evidence why the fenile workers can lay nothing but Drone eggs; being reared in so small a cell, it would not give her ovaries a chance to expand, while, if this was the case, she would be a perfect Queen in every sense of the term. The f ict of her ovaries not being fully developed, is the very reason why she never leaves the hive soon after hatching, to meet the Drones, as the Queens usually do. These fertile workers are seldom found in any hive except those that have lost their natural Queen. The natural teim of the worker's. existence, does not extend, we think, beyond e^ 54 THE SENSES OF BEhS. six or eight months. It is the opinion of Dr. Bevan, that all the bees brought into existence by the Queen's groat 1 -ying in spring, die before winter, J'utmar.y never reach that pe- riod ; showers of rain, violent blasts of wind, and sudden chan- ges of atmosphere, destroy them by hundreds. In the clear cold mornings and evenings of autumn, their eagerness for foraging entices them abroad eary and late, and when they alight on a flower or shrub, many of them become chilled and quickly perish. And should they escape the blighting atmos- phere at the close of autumn, a bright sunshine in a winter day, when the ground perhaps is covered with snow, brings them abroad in multitudes, and one tenth part of them never return. (See chapter on hires that are a sure prevent- ive against the loss of bees in winter, either in flying out, or dying in the hive.) From these causes, independent of the numbers which fall a prey to their many enemies a swarm which in July amounted to thirty or forty thousand, will, by the following February or March, have dwindled to a mere handful. It is otherwise with the Queen ; going seldom abroad, she is little exposed to accidents. Her natural life is prolonged to a period of three or four years, and there are instances on record, where they have attained to the age of five and six years. A more particular description will be given in the chapter on Queens. Functions of the Male, or Drone. The sole object of the Male, or at least the primary one, is to pair with the Queen ; he is the Father of the hive, or the "Gentleman Bee," as some of the ancients used to call them. Indolent and lux- urious, he takes no part in the internal operations of the dom- icil, and never leaves it with a view of sharing in the labors of the field. Whe^i he does fly abroad, it is only in the fin- est weather, and during the warmest part of the day, at which time the young Queens are instinctively.led to go out in search TI1E SENSES OF BEES. 55 of the male- He is easily distinguished from the workers by his large size, his heavy motion in flight, and by his loud hum- ming sound. We have said that the primary functions of the Drone, are to perpetuate the race of bees by pairing with the Queen, but some naturalists have assigned them a second- ary office, namely, that of contributing, by their numbers, to the heat of the hive, and thus aiding in bringing the brood to maturity. Feburier informs us they are called hatchers, in many parts of the eastern continent. There are occasionally found Drones of a small size in hives where the impregnation of the Queen has leen retarded. Under these circumstan- ces, she indiscriminately lays in any of the cells, just as it happens; sometimes in Drone ceils, and sometimes in worker cell*. But in every instance where a Queen is not impreg- nated, her progeny will be all Drones, and all those hatching in worker cells will be much dwarfed in size, (and there is much doubt in the minds of many observers, that they are per'eet males,) owing to the smallness of their birth-place. The life of this vir grcgisis very short, as the favored Drone perishes in a few hours after his union with the Queen. (For a more particular description, see chapter on Drones.) As early as the first of August, the bees, as if wishing to apply the "preventive check" to superabundant idle population, be- gin to manifest deadly intentions towards them ; and the un- fortunate victims, as if to derive consolation from each other's society, or perhaps driven together by their irascible superi- ors, may be seen about that period, clustering closely togeth- er in some corner of the combs, where they remain without motion, and without once venturing to approach the provis- ion cells. Thus weakened by hunger and captivity, and dis- qualified for resistance from the want of a sting, thev fall an easy prey to their merciless assailants, and a scene of carnage •flakes place which is difficult to describe. The unhappy 5G THE SENSES OF BEES. wretches are driven to the bottom of the hive, pursued with such fury that in spite of their strength, which is greatly su- perior to that of their persecutors, and which enables them to drag two or three of their assailants along the board; and even to fly off with them, they are unable to avoid the mortal thrust of their formidable stings, and expire inst ntanebuslv from the effects of the poison. But death o-erta es them in various form* ; for their enemies sometimes seize them by the wings, and with thi'ir strong mandibles gnaw them at the roots and prevent their flying. They may then be seen in numbers crawling on the ground, where they perish with cold, or are trampled under foot, and devoured by birds and frogs; such as e.-capefora while, may be seen flying from destruction, lighting on the shrubs and flowers to enjoy a moment's res- pite from their terrors, or buzzing about our win ows, or wandering from hive to hive, into which they no sooner en- ter than certain death awaits them. Nay, ?o bitter is the fury of their tormentors, that not satisfied with destroying these unhappy beings themselves, they tear from the cells such of the doomed race as are yet in embryo, the larvae or nymph, and destroy them without mercy, which but a few days before they nourished with so much care and affection. There are cases, however, where the massacre and destruc- tion of the Drones does not take place. " In hives that have lost their Queen," says Huber, " the males are spared, and, while a savage massacre rages in other hives, they here find an asylum. They are tolerated and fed, and many of them may be seen in January. The natural life of the Drone, when not killed by violence, has not as yet been fully estab- lished, but probably they would live to be nearly one year old when everything was favorable. IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN BEE. Anatomical view of the interior part of the Working Bee. showing the honey bag, or first stomach A, also the regular stomach B, the small intestines 0, and the rectum ; also, showing the extreme point of the body,sting,&c. A more par- ticular description of this plate will be given in another chap- ter, as this cut was overlooked and not inserted in the chapter on the Anatomy of the Bee, as it should have been ; I trust however, that the reader will appreciate it as well as though it had been inserted in its appropriate place. CHAHPER III. Impregnation of the Queen Bee. In looking into a hive in spring or summer, the Queen may be seen laying eggs in the cells ; in the smaller cells those of workers, and in the larger ones, Males or Drones. These eggs if examined on the fourth day of their being deposited, will be found hatched, and a small w T orm produced, which is floating in a whitish liquid, ascertained to be food introduced 58 IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN BEE. for the nourishment of the infant brood ; and in due time a perfect bee emerges from the cell. The Queen lays the egg, and the insect evolves from it ; but how is the egg fecunda- ted or rendered fertile ? Has the Queen had personal union with the male ? No one can speak positively to such a fact. By what other means, then, is this effect produced ? The im- pregnation of the Queen bee, is a branch of Natural History which has given rise to more discussion than almost any oth- er fact connected with the nature of the insect. And, indeed, the difficulty, we might almost say impossibility, of obtaining anything like occular evidence on the subject, will readily ac- count for the diversity of opinions that has hitherto pre- vailed. And we should hope that this difficulty alone, and not any preconceived theory, or unreasonable prejudice, is the cause of that determined pertinacity with which the dis- coveries and conclusions of Huber, on this subject, are still in some instances rejected. That justly celebrated natural- ist instituted a course of experiments on the subject of the Queen's impregnation, the result of which leads to the con- clusion that it takes place high in the open air. "I shall relate in detail," says the celebrated Huber, "what was done by my Secretary and myself, on the 29th of June, 1788. Aware that in summer the males usually leave the hive in the warmest part of the day, it was natural for me to conclude that if the Queens were obliged to go out for fecun- dation, instinct would naturally induce them to leave the hive at about the same hour of the male bee. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, we placed ourselves opposite to a hive con- taining an unimpregnated Queen five days old- The sun had shone from its rising ; the air was very warm, and the males had begun to leave the hives in large numbers. We then en- larged the entrance of tne one selected for observation, and paid particular attention to the bees entering and departing. IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN BEE. 59 The mains appeared and immediately took flight. Soon af- terwards the young Queen came to the entrance ; at first she did not fly, but during a little time traversed the board, brushing her belly with her hind legs ; neither males nor workers seemed to take any notice of her, and at last she took flight. "When several feet from the hive she returned and ap- proached it, as if to examine the place of her departure, per- haps judging this precaution necess ry to recognize it ; she then flew away. We immediately contracted the entrance, that she might not returned unobserved, and placed ourselves in the centre of the circle- which she made on the start of her flight, the more easily to follow her and witness all her motions. But she did not remain long in a situation favora- ble for our observations, and rapidly rose out of sight. We resumed o ir plac * before the hive, and in >even minutes the young Queen returned to the hive which she had left for the first time in her life. Having found no external evidence of fecundation, we allowed her to enter. In a quarter of an hour she reappeared, and brushing herself as before, took fligh', then returning to examine the hive, she arose sj high that we soon lost sight of he. This second absence was much longer than the first, occupying twenty-seven minutes. We now fouid her in a state quite different from that in which she was after her former excu sion ; the organs distended by a substance thick and hard, very much resembling that of the male, the Sj?cr?natora. But more evidence than mere re- semblance being requisite to establish that the female had re- turned with the prolific m itter of the males, we allowed this Queen to enter the hive and confined her there. In two days we found her belly swollen, and she had already layed over a hundred eggs in worker cells. To confirm our discoveries, we made several other experiments, and with the same suc- cess. On another experiment in July of the same year, the weather being very fine, a large number of males left the 00 IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN BEE. hives, and we set- at. 1 berty a young virgin Queen, eleven clays old; (whose hive had always been deprived of Drones, or which had never brooded any.) having quickly left the hive she returned to examine it, and then rose out of sight ; she came back in a few minutes with evident marks of fecun- dation, th j same as the first one.^ It appears from our most scientific Apiarians, that the Queen b ! e never has n >r can b • impregnated in the hive, but always in the open air. It is better that the Drones for the Queen's impregnation, should be from anoth .*r colony, and still better from a neighboring Apiary ; hence the uselcss- ness of rearing Drones in every colony of bees, or even in every Apiary, especially in a bee country, for the more Drones there are, the less honey there will bo. See chapter on Drones for a more definite description and history. Retarded Impregnation. There is a fact connected with this part of the natural history of th? mother bee, which in- volves great difficulties. The fact itself was discovered by Huber, but its cause he was unable to develope, and no suc- ceeding nat Talist has been a'de to free it from the obscurity in which he has left it We mean the effect of retarded im - pregnation- These enve's are such as we could hardly cred- it, were not the fact confirmed by numerous experiments. If impregnation be delayed longer than twenty days from the Queen's birth, the consequence is, none but Drone eggs are laved, even during the whole life. I supppose the naturalist, means to assert that the egg the Queen lays will hatch a drone, whether it is deposited in a worker cell or drone cell. It appears from the many experi- *It will afterwards appear, that what we took for the generative matter, was the male organs left in the body of the Queen ; it is generally supposed by entomologists that the Drone never has but one union with the Queen in his whole life. If Huber's theory is correct, the reason why they do not is obvious. ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. 61 merits of some of our ancient naturalists, that the Queen is ca- pable of laying eggs, even though a virgin Que-n that had never paired with the Drone; but in every instance they would hatch drones, whether I hey were deposited in drone cells or not. It is nothing very remarkable that a virgin Queen is ca- pable of laying egg*, but it is very strange that they should produce any kind of Bees. This phenomenon has baffled every attempt to explain its cause. " There are mysteries," observes Feburier, " in the rational as well as the irrational creation, which will, probably, forever rem iin mysteries to man.'' In the natural state of things, that is, when fecundation has not been postponed, the Queen lays worker eggs in forty-six hours after her unicn with, the male, and continues to do so for the sub- equcnt eleven months, providing there spare are cells in the hive for their reception. The conversion of a Worker Larva into a Queen. Bees, when deprived of their Quren, are endowed by nature with the power of remedying this calamity, by converting the larva of a worker into a royal one, and by means of a eell of a larger size, and of a peculiar kind of nourishment, producing a female that shall be to all intents and purposes, a Queen, or Mother bee, ca- pable of perpetuating her kind. The discovery of this singular fact, is generally attributed to Schirach, and, probably, with jus- tice : for although the practice of making a;tificial swarms, which can only be effected by causing the production of artificial Queens, is said to have prevailed amongst the modern Greeks and Italians, from a very early period, it does not follow, nor does it appear from any authentic documents, that they were aware of the reason why. The manner in which Schirach made the discovery, is interesting. Having used a great quantity of smoke in some of his operations, the bees were so annoyed bv it that numbers left the hive, and amongst them the Queen. Know- ing the consequence of her loss, he sought for her diligently, but in vain, Next morning he observed a cluster of bees about F 62 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. the size of an apple, on the prop of the hive whose Queen had fled ; here he discovered a Queen, and having carried her to the entrance of the hive which had lost its Queen, she was immedi- ately surrounded by the bees, and treated in such a manner, as plainly announced that she was their Queen. " What was my astonishment," he proceeds, "when wishing to introduce her amongst the combs, I saw that the bees remaining had already planned, and almost finished, three royal cells. Struck with the sagacity and activity of these creatures, to save themselves from impending ruin and destruction, I was filled with admiration and adored the infinite goodness of God, in the care taken to per- petuate His works. Having carried away iwo of the cells, to ascertain whether the bees would continue their operations, I be- held next morning, with the utmost surprise, that they had re- moved all the food from around the third worm left behind, on purpose to prevent its conversion to a Queen/' The fact of this power possessed by the bees, is so extraordinary, that its reality was at first called in cpiestionby several eminent naturalists, and, among others, the justly celebrated Bonnet. This naturalist was at last, however, convinced of its reality by experiments in- stituted by himself, and, satisfied that all the working bees are females of imperfect organization, expressed his opinion that the evolution of the germ is efiected by the action of the prolific matter as a stimulant, and as a substantial nutriment suitable for that purpose ; and he supposes that a certain quality of food, administered more copiously than in ordinary cases, may unfold those organs in the larva of the bees, that never would have ap- peared without it. He conceived also, that a habitation like a Queen-cell, considerably more spacious and differently placed, is absolutely necessary to the complete development of organs which the new nutriment may cause to grow in all directions. It furnishes a surprising evidence of the slow degrees by which scientific facts make their way, if not essential to general utility, when we consider that to this day, the knowledge of this singu- ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. 63 larity in the natural history of this insect, is confined almost ex- clusively to Apiarians, and even neglected by seme of them. It has, however, been confirmed by so many experiments, instituted by many different individuals, that no unprejudiced mind can withhol 1 its assent to its truth. Extraordinary, however, as this fact is, it is not more so than many others, which have not at- tracted our particular notice, merely because they are familiar to us. " If we preserve the seed of a plant, 1 ' says Feburier, " for a series of years, and supply it with different nourishment and soil, and bestow upon it, different treatment f.om that which was destined for it by nature, we destroy its powers of fecundity ; the flower no longer possesses pistils or stamina, petals replace them, and announce the sterility of the plant ;" something anal- ogous to this holds true, it is said, in the case of one of our do- mestic quadrupeds. We find the twin calf, stinted as it has been for room, in the ovarium of its mother, and the recipient of but half the nourishment which would otherwise have fallen to its shnre, become in after years a barren cow. In case of the bee '• tj.o egg of the worker, placed in the royal cell, only pro- ducer ,.i. insect which has its powers more fully developed, in proportion to the ampler space which it occupies, but it acquires no new powers. The germ existed originally in the common bee, as well as in the mother bee, but the confined limits of its cell, and the want of the peculiar kind of food provided for the royal race, prevented its development." The proceedings of the bees in order to supply the loss of the Queen, are extremely interesting. In about twenty-four hours they are aware of the misfortune, that has befallen them, and with- hout loss of time, they set about repairing the disaster. Much de- pends upon the state of the weather, the size of the colony, whether it is in the midst of the honey season or not, and whether it is near the time of their swarming; if the latter, they will find it out in the course of five or ten minute, and in fact, much sooner, if the hive 64 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. should receive a bit of a rap ; in fact, many times the loss of the. Queen will be known to the bee? almost instantly ; then again, at other times, when the weather is cool, they may not realize her loss for several days. They fix upon a worm not more than three or four days old, demolish the three contiguous cells, and raise around it a regu- lar cylindrical enclosure. At the end of three days the work- ers change the direction of the cell, which has been hitherto horizontal, into a perpendicular posit'on, working downwards un- til it assumes something the appearance of an inverted core, about an inch long. In due time it is sealed over, and the larva undergoes its metamorphosis into a royal nymph. Huber gives a detail of some interesting experiments on this head, the substance only of which we can present to our read- ers. He deprived a hive of its Queen, and put into it some pieces of comb containing worker eggs. The same day several cells were enlarged by the bees and converted into royal cells, and the larvae supplied with a profusion of jelly. He then re- moved these worms from the royal cells, and substituted U-v them as many common worms from worker cells. The bees did not seem aware of the change ; they watched over them as in- tently as over those chosen by themselves. They continued en- larging the cells and closed them at the usual time. At the proper time two Queens were hatched, almost at the same mo- ment, of the largest size, and well formed in every particular. Nothing could be more conclusive than this experiment. It dem- onstrated that bees have the power to convert the worm of the worker into Queens, since they succeeded in procuring them by operating on worms not chosen by themselves, but selected for them. In addition to this conclusive experiment, we shall take the liberty of detailing two of our own, on the same subject, which were made several years ago, and which we have repeated several times since, with the same success. We give these ex- AITIFICIAL QUEENS. 65 pertinents, not from any idea that ihose experiments of Hu« ber require confirmation, or that ours are of importance enough to supply any such supposed deficiency, but on the obvi- ous principle, that the more numerous the experiments, and the greater the diversity of experimenters, the more irrefragibly is the alleged fact established, if the result be uniformly the same. " In June, 1822," says an eminent observer, " we ii stituted an experiment with a view of witnessing a combat between two Queens, '' and the result as to that object will be hereafter notic- ed. It was only accidentally that w^ derived from it a confir- mation of the fact in question, anJ we shall now state the par- ticulars. We took a hive well peopled, but not possessing, as far as we could discover, any very young brood ; we introduced a stran- ger Queen, with the expectation that the two rival potentates, each of whom, like the Jealous Turk, can bear no rival near her throne, would decide by single comba', which of them should retain the honors and privileges of royalty. We contemplated the possibility of both falling in the conflict at the same moment, an instance of such a calamity having come to our knowledge ; therefore with a view of remedying such an evil, if it should occur, and thus of p eventing the total destruction of the hive, we took a piece of comb from another hive containing worker eggs, and worms of the proper age, according to the direc ions of Huber, and fixed it in the experimental hive, so that the bees might rear for themselves a new Queen, should the combat ter- minate in the death of both. To our astonishment, for at this time both Queens were alive, we saw the bees next morning, busily occupied in building a royal cell in the new piece of comb. They had demolished two or three cells adjoining the one they had pitched on for the royal cradle, and were now ea- gerly laboring at its enlargement ; giving it a circular instead of a hexagonal form and bestowing unceasing attention on the larva it contained. During the day the royal cell made consid- 1* 66 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. erable progress, and in the afternoon of the day following, it ex- tended about half an inch vertically, and the next day it advanc- ed rapidly ; the worm had attained to a great size, and the bees were unwearied in feeding it. On the fifth day the cell was sealed, and on the fourteenth a young Queen wa. hatched, but her enjoyment of life and liberty was very short. She was in- stantly surrounded by a mass of bees, who hemmed her in so closely, that but a very small part of her body was visible. She made many painful and unavailing struggles to escape and emit- ted every minute a plaintive sound. A.11 the while the reigning Queen. (for the stranger had by this time been dispatched, though not in our sight,) occupied herself in laying eggs, often within an inch or two of the prisoner, and going about her avocations with as much unconcern as if she knew that her subjects would, of themselves, soon and effectually rid her of her puny rival. In two hours from her birth, accordingly, the body of the young queen dropped lifeless from the dense mass of bees of her inex- orable guard. Of the other experiment which we are now to detail, the sole object was to prove the existence of the power inherent in bees, of rearing an artificial Queen, when deprived by any accident of their original Mother. This, indeed, had been proved by the ex- periments above detailed, but only accidentally, and we were anx- ious by an experiment instituted especially for that object, and conducted with minute and scrupulous accuracy, to put the mat- ter out of all doubt, in our own minds at least. Iu July our experimental hive was full of bees, brood and honey ; the Queen was very fertile, and laying at the rate of more than 500 eggs per day ; we opened the hive and carried her off. For about eighteen hours the bees continued their la- bors as earnestly and contentedly as if the Queen were still with them. At the end of that time they became aware of their loss, and all was instantly tumult and agitation ; the bees hurried backwards and forwards over the combs with a loud noise, rush- ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. t> I ed in crowds to the door and out of the hive, as if going to swarm, and, in short, exhibited all the symptoms of bereavement and despair. Next morning they had laid the foundation of five royal c lis, having demolished the three cells contiguous to each of those that were to become royal cells, and by the afternoon there were visible the rudiments of four more royal cells, in all quarters of the combs, where before were nothing but eggs and common larvae of one or two days old. Two of these royal cells advanced more rapidly than the rest, probably from the larvae being of an age the fittest for the purpose ; four came on more slowly, and three made no progress after ihe third day On the seventh day the two first were sealed, and two more nearly so. but neither of these nor any of the rest advanced farth- er, as if the bees were satisfied th.it they had succeed e 1 in getting at least one Queen, and judged it unnecessary to carry forward the others to maturity. On the morning of the fourteenth day from the removal of the old Queen, a young one emerged from her cell, strong and active, and exactly resembling those produc- ed in the naural way. While watching her motions, I saw her hasten to the other royal cell, and attempt to tear it open, doubt- less with the intention of killing its inmate ; but the workers pulled her violently back, and continued to do so as often as she renewed the assault. At every repulse she assumed a sulky a- titude, and emitted the shrill monotonous p ep, peep, peep, so well known to bee masters, while the ur hatched Queen emitted the samo kind of sound, but in a hoarser tone, the consequence of her confined situation ; and this, by the way, accounts for the two different sounds which are generally heard from a hive on the eve of throwing off a second swarm. The shrill sound pro- ceeds from the reigning queen, and seems to express her rage and disappointment at being baffled by the watchful guardians of the unhatched Queen, from whom the hoarse sound comes. In the afternoon of the same diy, the last mentioned female left her cell ; we saw her come forth in majesty, finely and delicately 68 AHTIFICIAL QUEENS, formed, but smaller than the other. She immediately retirel within a cluster of workers, and we lost sight of her. Next morning, on opening the shutter of the hive, we perceived a younger Queen rushing apparently in great terror across the surface of the comb, and hurrying around the edge of it to the other side, and in the next moment the other royal personage came in sight, hotly pursuing her rival. We now fully expect- ed to witness Ruber's Combat of Queens, and were about to wheel round the hive to witness the affray, when business called us away. In half an hour we returned, hoping we might be in time, but all was over ; the younger queen was 1\ ing upon the alighting board on her back, in the pangs of death, newly drugged out by the bees, and doubtless the victim of her jealous senior. We observed two circums ances respecting these artificial Queens, which may be noticed here, though rather, perhaps, out of place ; one of them agreeing perfectly with the experience of Ruber, while the other is at variance with it. While the surviving Queen remains a virgin, not the slightest mark of at- tention or respect is shown to her by the bees ; not one gave her food, and she wus obliged as often as she required it, to help herself, and in crossing to the hon°y cells for that purpose, she had to scramble, often with great difficulty, over the crowd, not an individual of which got out of her way, or seemed to care whether she fed or starved. But no sooner did she become a mother, than the scenp was changed indeed, and they were at- testing their affection and regard; one after another presented her with food, and at every step of her progress, a circle was formed around her by her admiring subjects. The other circum- stance alluded to, which varies from the experiments of Huber, respects the vigilance of the workers in such cases, and the sound emitted by the Queens. He says that the workers form no guard around the cells of artificial Queens, and that these last are per- fectly mute ; and the naturalist makes some remarks by way of ARTIFICIAL QUEEN3. 69 accounting for it. The above experiments are directly in con- tradiction to this * The cell of the younger Queen was most strictly guarded, and both emitted the sound alluded to, perhaps once every minute, for several hours together. To these experi- ments we have only to add, farther, that as already stated, we have very frequency repeated the same operations, with similar success, and that in the summer of 1832, we removed the reign- ing Queen of the same experimental hive, three times success- ively, suffering each Queen to remain just long enough to lay a score of ea-gs before her removal, and each time the workers laid the foundations of five or six royal cells, and brought two or three Queens to maturity. Within the space of six weeks we saw the foundations laid of fourteen or fifteen royal cells, and at the last removal, no fewer than three Queens were visible at the same moment, on the surface of ihe combs ; yet we had not the good fortune to witness a regular combat between any two of them ; the first hatched of the three we had reason to con- clude dispatched two of her rivals, but without our witnessing the deed of death. The third we saw her sting repeatedly, at the instant of the former emerging from her cell, and without any attempt on the part of the others to restrain her. The wounded Queen had strength enough to move a few inches across the comb, when she paused and seemed to sicken from the effect of the venom ; she moved again with a very languid step, an inch or two, and then stopped, her limbs became visibly paral- ized, and in a few minutes she dropped lifeless to the bottom of *Both these experimenters may be in the right in regard to the guarding of the Queen cell, whenever the lives of the Queens yet unborn, are in danger from the wrath of the reigning Queen, or sev- eral Queens are about to emerge from the cells at about the same time ; many times prior to their swarming, it is the case that there are one or two Queens about hatching, and should the weather be unfavorable, then to prevent the loss of one or two Queens, under these circumstances the workers may be observed guarding the em- bryo Queen from the old Queen, or keeping the young Queen prison- er until after a swarm has issued, with which the old Queen will go. 70 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. the hive. From these experiments, it seems now a fact establish- ed beyond all doubt, that bees can at all times procure a Queen for themselves, provided they have a comb containing larvee not more than three days old, in the common or worker cells, and that nothing but certain important conditions, such as a particu- lar kind of food and more spacious lodgment, are requisite to the conversion of common larvae into Queens. At the same time it ought to be candidly confessed, that while the fact itself seems now completely established, there are circumstances con- nected with it which we are unable satisfactorily to explain. That a more abundant supply of food of a more stimulant quali- ty, administered in a cell of larger dimensions, should give full development of organs, which, by the ordinary treatment, would have remained but partially developed, we can readily compre- hend ; but that such extra supply of food and space should ef- fect such an absolute change in the anatomical structure and in- stinctive propensities — should produce a more slender probos- cis — deprive the transformed insect of the downy brushes at the joints of her limbs, and the basket-shaped cavities in the poste- rior pair of legs, for retaining the pellets of farina — and above all, should effect so great an alteration in her instincts, rendering them, in numerous particulars, entirely different from those of the worker class, for which she was originally designed — these are circumstances which, notwithstanding all our researches, are still involved in mysterious obscurity, and furnish ample scope for fu- ture investigations. General Remarks upon the Queen. — It appears from numer- ous experiments, that the Queen lives to the age of three and four years, but is not to be depended upon as a fertile Queen, over three years, and seldom over two and a half, an 1 that one impregnation is amply sufficient for her whole life, and receiving it from one single Drone. OVABIES OF THE QUEEN. 71 Figure 7. Ovaries of the Queen* The female organs consist principally of the ovaries, the ovi- (2 OVARIES OF THE QUEEN. ducts, the sperm reservoir, and the ovapositor. In the ovaries the eggs are formed and matured, and remain there until render- ed fit for impregnation, and the other circumstances necessary for their maturation, to pass through the oviducts. According to Mr. Hunter, what are called ovaries, are really ducts ; the eggs therefore, are not formed as in other families in a cluster on the back, but in those ducts, of which there are several on each side. When full of eggs, they form a kind of quadrangle, these seve- ral ducts uniting on each side in one duct ; this latter enters a common duct at E, both sides of which may be called the vagina, or ovapositor. The common oviduct is the canal through which the eggs pass from the ovaries to the ovapositor The sperm reservoir D, is the reservoir in the organ which, according to Herroid, receives the impregnating spermatora of the Drone. A represents the poison bag attached to the sting ; H. C. rep- resents the ovaries ; R represents a portion of the rectum. The Queen when she deposits an egg in a cell, when the egg passes the spermatheca it receives its impregnation, especially if it is to be deposited in a worker cell ; it is a well known fact that the Queen can deposit an egg in the drone cell, and it will hatch a male without any impregnation at all ; when she depos- its an egg in a worker cell, she has to compress her body some- w T hat on account of the cell being smaller than the Drone cell, and, in fact, smaller than her own body, and in so doing, when the egg passes the spermatheca, it receives its impregnation. For farther particulars, see chapter on Queens, Impregnation, Artific- ial Queens, &c. ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 73 CITAPTR IV. Architecture of Bees. The peculiarity of instinct in the different orders of ani- mals, if pursued through all its variations, would supply us all with an inexhaustible fund of admiration and instruction; and in none of the lower animals is this wonderful faculty more worthy of our notice andjnvestigation, than in the Honey Bee. So uuv h has already been said and written on this particular point, that the subject is pretty nearly exhausted. We should perhaps find, notwithstanding, but little difficulty in treating' our readers with an additional disquisition on the same subject, but as we do not pretend to be able to give a more satisfactory elucidation of the mysteries of animal in- stinct, than has already been furnished by worthy writers upon Apiarian science, who are well entitled to our respect, we shall restrict ourselves to one or two brief remarks, hav- ing special reference to this chapter. It has been said of instinct generally, that, taking the least out of its way, it seems an undistinguishing, limited faculty, and blind to any circumstance that do^s not immediately respect self-preserva- tion, or support of the species. As far as the instinct of bees is concerned, this max'm must be taken in a qualified sense, for there are numerous instances in the proceedings of this insect in which instinct does vary, and conform to thecircuni- stai ces of place and convenience ; and in no part of their economy do we see more striking instances of this half rea- soning faculty, than in their architecture. In ordinary ope- rations, such as collecting their food, feeding their young, following their Queen. &c, they are prompted doubtless, by pure and simple instinct. In avoiding danger, and in return- ee 74 ARCHITECTURE OF BKE3. ing to the spot where food has formerly been provided for them, they seem guided by an exercise of memory, a faculty which they appear to possess in a con>iderable degree. But in adapting their waxen struc ures to change of circumstan- ces, and so as to overcome any artificial obstacles; in building comb upwards, contrary to their natural mode of procedure ; in building laterally, when unable to find a sure foundation for their works, either above or below, curving their combs, and constructing them angularly, when avoiding some inter- posing substance having a smooth or glassy surface; — these are result? which seem to manifest something more than sim- ple instinct ; they afford a wonderful proof of the resources of this faculty when compelled to deviate from the ordinary course ; they imply, in fVt, the possession of a certain de- gree of intellect, or of reasoning power, by which their in- stinct is modified and counteracted. We cannot, indeed, but be filled with astonishment, when we see their ingenious ex- pedients in getting the better of difficulties which would not have occu creel in their natural state, and with admiration of the wusdom and goodness of the Almighty Parent, so con- spicuously visible even in the unconscious instinctive opera- tions of these tiny creatures of His hand. The material of which the bees construct their beautiful combs, which deserve so much admiration, is wax, the nature and production of which will be mentioned and discussed in an^ another chapter. No sooner has a swarm of bees been safely lodged in a hive, than the industrious laborers commence the operation of building. One portion of the population em- ploys itself in cleaning out the new abode, whilst a large num- ber of them hasten to the fields, some of them to collect honey, the saccharine part of which is the source of the wax used in constructing the combs, together with propolis, which is a tenacious substance (see chapter on propolis,) employed in fixing the less adhesive wax to the roof of the hive, and stop- ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 75 ping up cracks and crevices that may give entrance to ver- min, rain, or cold- On their return, those that have been oc- cupied in collecting honey, cluster closely together at the top of the hive, and, suspended from each other by their hooked claws, form a variety of fantastic, and often graceful figu.es, such as festoons, curtains, chains, ladders, &c, crossing each other in every direction. They seem sunk into profound in- activity, which continues about twenty-four hours. The in- activity however, is only apparent; the time which they pass in this seeming repose, is doubtless necessary for the elabora- tion of the w T ax. But in the center of the mass, one worker has left its fellows and laid the foundation of its future struc- ture ; it is succeeded by several others, each of whom singly and separately contributes its quantum of material and skill, to the rising edifice, while succeeding bands of nurse- bees busy themselves in finishing, and polishing the work which the wax-workers have left in a rough unpolished con- dition ; for it is to be observed that in the construction of the combs, the two classes, -wax workers and nurse-bees, have their distinct and separate provinces ; the wax- workers are to supply the rough materials and attach thern closely togeth- er, and the nurse, or finishing-bee, finishes and perfects the edifice ; and while these last arc occupied in the more refined operations of finishing and polishing, the former, like in- dustrious laborers, are continually bringing forward addition- al loads of materia 1 . One comb is scarcely begun, or con- tains not more than two or three rows of cells, when the busy architects proceed to lay the foundation of others, on each side of the one already founded, continuing their operations in this manner, till they have taken the whole range of their building ground ; and, with such diligence do they ply their labors, that in one day, during the height of the honey sea- son, they will construct from four to five thousand cells. A comb measures in thickness, generally speaking, one inch, 76 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. and the interval between combs, is usually about one-third or three-eighths of an inch, affording a passage for two bees to pass each other back to back, without obstruction or in- convenience. These dimensions, however, are varied accord- ing to circumstances. At the top of the hive the comb is usually much thicker, consequently the road-way is contracted. This is no inconvenience to the bees, for after the honey-cells are sealed, they have seldom occasion to visit that quarter of the hive, and can, therefore, put up with less room there. When the beeding season returns, however, these cells are all reduced to their original size, if emptied of their contents, and thus fitted for the reception of brood.* The combs, at- tached as they are to the roofs of the hive descend vertically. Unlike human builders they begin their work at the top of the building or ceiling, and suspend their structure from above. This is their usual method of procedure, but cir- cumstances sometimes induce them to vary from this rule. The following is an instance from our personal observation : We put a swarm into our experimental hive, which is so thin as to admit of oi ly one comb being constructed. Its confined limits prevented any considerable number of bees from work- ing at the foundation of the comb above. A laiye portion of them began a comb, or rather two, on the rod which crosses the middle of the hive, and thus two combs were constructed at the same time, both of which ultimately became one. It appeared, however, that there was still a want of room, and of employment for those willir g and industrious laborers ; for to our surprise, a portion of tnem began a comb on the upper side of the cross rod, and, contrary to their natural mode of proceeding, worked upwards, so that in a short time the upper comb and the central piece met, and the whole formed ultimately, one solid square. The surface of a new *See Chapter on Hives, where we have abetter way than to allow the bees to attach their combs to the roof of the hive. ARCHITECTURE OE BEES. 77 comb is not quite flat, but perpendicular ; that is its thickness decreases towards the edges, and consequently the latest made cells are shorter or shallower than the others. So long- as the comb has not reached its utmost limits, this shape is preserved ; but when the bees have no more room for its enlargement, they make all the cells of equal depth, and thus it obtains two flat equal surfaces, which it will continue to re- tain unless in other circumstances. Should it be broken by any means, the edges of what remains must be reduced agaui to its perpendicular shape, before the bees can repair the structure, and prolong it to its former dimensions. This happens also when the hive is enlarged, by giving it what is called in Scotland, an eek or addition below. Previous to availing themselves of the added room, the bees reduce the thickness of the edges of the combs. When new, the combs are of a remarkably pure white color, but soon assume a yel- lowish hue, and when a year o'd, are of a deep brown. This discoloration is believed by many to arise from the vapor or heated air of the hive ; but it is attributed by Huber, errone- ously we think, to some direct action on the part of the bees, which are seen frequently rubbing the surface of the comb with their fore feet. In the construction of the cells, the bees adopt the hexagonal form, consisting of six equal sides, and begin their operations at the bottom, prolonging by degrees the pannels or sides. The bottom of the cells are composed of three rhombs or plates of wax, in the shape some- what of lozenges, or card-diamond seeds, and disposed in such a manner as tofurm a hollow pyramid. " The apex of each pyramidal bottom, on one side of the comb, forms the angle of the basis of the three cells on the opposite side, the three lozenges respectively concurring in the formation of the braces of the same cells." The whole structure is so delicately thin, that it takes half a dozen of them when placed side by side to equal the thickness of a sheet of paper. But, by the admirable disposition and arrangement of its parts, " each 78 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. cell, separately weak, is strengthened by coincidents with others. The bottom of each cell rests upon three partitions or panels of opposite cells, from which it receives a great accession of strength." Besides, each cell is strengthened at its mouth, by a strong thread formed of the mixture of wax and propolis, soldered to the inner surface or edges, and giv- ing it, by filling up the angles, a circular form. This gives great solidity to the fabric, and prevents the mouth of the cell from being easily injured by the unceasing ingress and egress of the bees. It is remarksble that the cells of a honey comb, including the hexagonal sides, and its pyramidal bans, is the figure of all others, the best adapted for containing the greatest possi- ble quantity, in the least possible space, and with the least expense of material. " There are only three possible figures of the cells,' : says Doct. Keid, " which can make them all equal and similar without any useless insterstiees. These are the equilateral triangle, the square, and the regular hexagon." Of these the hexagon is best fitted for the bee-cell, for it unites to the requisites stated by Doct. Reid, economy of material, and a figure better adapted to the shape of the in- sect. This latter property would have been possessed in a greater degree by the cylindrical form, but it would have left a space between every three contiguous cells. The square and the triangle would have left no insterstiees, but would have consumed more wax, and been ill-adapted to the shape of the bee. The hexagonal form employed, embraces all the requisites ; for, together with a convenient figure for the reception of the body of the insect, it secures economy of material, and economy of space, both as respects the number of cells contained in a comb, and the internal capacity of each. The same, if possible, still more admirable skill and arrangement, are displayed in the basis of the cell. The three rhombuses of which it is composed, have the two ob- ARCHITECTURE OP BEES. 79 tuse angles, each of 110 degrees, and, consequently, each of the two acute angles of 70 degrees. This measurement was taken by Maraldi, and it was verified by Koenig, a cele- brated mathematical! and pupil of Bernouilli, who, on being desired by Reaumur to calculate the quantity that should be given to this angle, in order to employ the least wax possi- ble in a cell of the same capacity, found that the angle in question ought to be 109° 26', or 110° nearly; the very ang'e which the insect adopts. What a surprising agree- ment ! A difficult mathematical problem is proposed for so- lution to a man of profound science, and it is found that an insect, called the Honey Bee, instructed by the Fountain of Wisdom, ha? anticipated the calculations of Geometry, and practically exhibited in its waxen structures, the same con- clusion precisely, which the philosopher arrived at only by the exercise of considerable ingenuity and deep thought ! The calculation has also been verified by a distinguished Geome- trician, Maclaurin, who very justly observes, that "the bees do truly construct their cells of the best figure, net only nearly, but with exactness ; and their proceedings could not have been more perfect from the greatest knowledge of geon - etry." " After all," as Doct. Reid remarks, "the geometry is not wholly in the bee, but in the great Geometrician who made the bee, and made all things in number, weight, and measure." The cells in a honey comb ate of different di- mensions, according to the different classes of bees of which they form the birth-place. Those of the workers are in depth about five lines, or less than half an inch, and in diameter two and two-fifth lines. Those of the males are between six and seven lines in depth, and 3 and one-third in diameter; taking thirty-two of them to make a square inch, including both sides of the comb, while of the worker cells it takes fifty to make an inch. L'oth of these are ultimately employed as receptacles for storing honey. The male or drone cells are 80 ARCHITECTURE OF EEES. few compared with those of workers, which last, generally compose the whole of the central portions of the hive, while the drone ceils are most frequently constructed in the extrem- eties of combs, at some distance from the center. It is curi- ous to note the proceedings of bees when about to pass from the construction of worker cells to those of drones. They do not all at once commence the latter of their full diameter ; such a proceeding would utterly disorder the delicate ar- rangement of the basis of the cells; but they build a few rows of intermediate cells, whose diameter augments pro- gressively, "ntil they gain the proportion required. And in returning to those of workers, a similar gradation is rigid- ly observed. The irregularity apparent in these transition cells, has been accounted a defect; it is, on the contrary, an additional instance of that wise instinct which teaches them to quit the ordinary mode of proceeding, when circumstances demand the construction of enlarged cells, and after building thirty or forty rows of them, to return to the proper propor- tions from which they have departed, by successive reduc- tions. Both of th< se kinds of cells being nearly horizontal, it may seem surprising that they can be filled with, and retain the honey fluid. The fact is, however, that they are not horizontal, but are elevated at an angle of never lesstha.i 5° and sometimes, when the honey is rendered peculiarly thin by the warmth of the season, and the internal heat of the hive, at not less than from 15° to 20° above the level of the hori- zon. We have often observed in ihe month of July and Au- gust, when the weather was very favorable for the storing up of honey, and the secretion of wax, the bees eagerly engaged in forming cells designed for honey only, and differing materi- ally from those which were, in the first instance, for the recep- tion of eggs. The texture of the former is thinner, and dieir strength much greater, and as honey at this season of the year is very thin and fluid-like, these cells are by a wise in- ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 8l stinct, made with a much greater dip, or inclination, than the ordinary ones, that there may be less risk of the honey run- ning out before the cells are sealed over. Doubtless, also, the honey is prevented from escaping partly by its own vis- cusity, and partly by the force of capillary attraction. For if we carefully examine a cell v\hen nearly full, it will be ob- served that the surface of the fluid is nearly concave, from its adhesion to the side of the cell. It will also be observed how ingeniously the bees seal up their treasure. They first form a ring of wax around the inside of the mouth of the cell, and to this first ring additional ones are supplied, as the increased deposit of honey renders necessary, until at last the opening is completely sealed up by a succession of concentric rings. Besides the cells of workers or males, we find during the swarming season other cells, to the number of six, eight, ten, or even twelve, differing altogether from those first named. These are the royal cells or cradles for the infant queens. They are found a'most always upon the edges of the combs, of such particularly as extend but half way across the interior. These cells are constructed, not entirely of wax, Mr. Hunter thinks, but of a mixture of that sub- stance with farina. Their position is almost vertical, and somewhat resembling a hangng acorn. Their dimensions are about one inch in length, and about one-third of an inch in diameter.^ Their oblong cylindrical form, smoothly polished within, and covered externally with a kind of net-work, gives them * After the Queen has emerged from the cell the workers usually gnaw them away, so there is nothing left of them to show their lo- cality only a waxen cup, resembling somewhat the shell of an acorn, which can be noticed in almost any hive that is over a year old, when taking them up in the Fall after giving them a dose of brim- stone, as many bee keepers do, for the sake of getting a few pounds of sulphur-scented honey. See chapter on Hives and surplus honey, where brimstone is never administered. 82 ARCIIITECTURE OF BEES. the resemblance of a susi ended stalactite, and announces a particular destination. In fact, the imposing appearance of this cradle, and the profusion of materials expended on it, which is such that one of them out-weighs a hundred com- mon cells, point it out as destined for receiving the most impor- tant personage of the whole colony, the Mother and Queen. In the architectural operations of bees, the modus operandi has been minutely detailed in the writings of Huber and oth- er celebrated naturalists. Their observations and discoveries on this branch of natural history are calculated to excite the deepest interest, and we regret that our limits oblige us to forego the pleasure of recording from them many valuable extracts. We cannot, however, omit one extract from the celebrated Huber, which strikingly proves, that though the bees when left to themselves regulate their operations with perfecty uniformity, they are yet capable of modifying them in particular circumstances. " Having seen bees," says he " work both upwards and downwards, we wished to investigate whether we could com- pel them to construct their combs in any other direction. We tried to confine them with the hive glazed above and be- low, so that they had no place of support but the upright sides of their dwelling ; lodging themselves in the upper an- gle, they built their combs perpendicular to one of these sides, and as regularly as those which they usually built un- der a horizontal surface. I now put them to a still greater trial : as they now testified their inclination to carry the combs in the shortest way to the opposite side of the hive, for they prefer uniting them to wood, or a surface rougher than glass, I covered it with a pane of the glass. When- ever this smooth and slippery substance was interp ised be- tween ! hem and the wood, they departed from the straight line hitherto followed, and bent the structure of their combs at a right angle to what was already made, so that the pro* ARCHITECTURE OF BKE3, 83 longation of the extremity might reach another side of the hive which had been left free. Varying this experiment af- ter seveial fashions, I saw the bees constantly change the direction of their comb:-; when I approxi nated a surface too smooth to admit of their clustering on it, they always sought the wooden sides. I thus compelled them to curve the combs in the strangest shapes, by placing a pane of glass a certain distance from their edges. These results indicate a d< gree of instinct truly wonderful. They denote even more than in- stinct ; for glass is not a substance against which b u es can be warned by nature. In trees, their natural abode, there is nothing like it or that resembles it, or with the same polish . the most singular part of their proceeding is changing the di- rection of the work before a/ riving at the glass, and while yet at a distance far enough from it to allow them to do so. Do they anticipate the inconvenience which would attend any other mode of building 1 No less curious is the plan adopt- ed by the bees for procuring an angle in the combs ; the wonted fashion of the work, and the dimensions of the cells must be altered. Therefore the cells upon the upper or con- vex side of the comb are enlarged ; they are constructed of three or four times the width of those on the opposite surface. How can so many insects, occupied at once on the edges of the combs, concur in giving them a common curvature from one extremity to the other? How do they resolve on estab- lishing cells so small on one side, while dimensions ?o large are bestowed on those of the other ? And it is still more singular that they have the art of making a correspondence be- tween cells of such reciprocal discrepance ; the bottom being common to both, the tubes alone assume a taper form. Perhaps no other insect has afforded a t more decisive proof of the resources of instinct, when compelled to deviate from the ordinary course. It is singular that though the construction 84 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. of the cell of the honey comb, so geometrically just, and so well adapted to produce the greatest capacity at the least possible expense of superficial extent, or of materials, has been long an object of general admiration, one naturalist, and he of no mean celebrity, affects to disdain partaking of this almost universal feeling. Buffon, as if to evince his su- periority to what he considers the vulgar enthusiasm excited by the architecture of the bees, declares that " these bee- cells — these hexagons so much applauded and admired, seem only to furnish us with anew argument against enthusiasm and admiration, This figure correctly regular and geomet- rical as it appears to us, and as it actually is in theory, is, in this instance, but the effect of a mechanical result, which is often found in nature, and may be observed even in the most inanimate productions. Crystals, and several kind of stones, and some kind of salts, assume constantly this in their con- formation. Let a vessel be filled with peas, or rather with some seeds of cylindrical shape, and let it be closely shut af- ter having put in a sufficient quantity of water to fill up all the intervals between the seeds ; let this water be boiled, and all the cylindrical seeds will become columns of six sides. The cause, it is evident, is purely mechanical. Every cylin- der-shaped seed tends by its swelling to occupy the greatest possible space in a given space, they become, therefore, nec- essarily hexagons by reciprocal compression. In like manner every bee seeks to occwpy the greatest possible room in a given space ; it is therefore, necessary here also, since the body of the bee is cylindrical, by reason of the same recipro- cal compression." To this reasoning it may be answered, that there is no analogy between the cases. A hive without comb, as Lombard argues, is not above one-fourth filled with bees, and there is no cover, as in the case of the vessel to keep the mass together. To make the cases perfectly simi- lar, and fit subjects of comparison, the vessel with water ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 85 ought to be filled to the extent of one-fourth, and in that case the cylindrical seed will not be converted into hexagons. Be- sides the cells at the extremeties of the combs, though not so deep as those at the center or top, are as exactly hexagonal in their forms. Now, if hexagons are formed by the recip- rocal compression of the bodies of the bees against each other, how does it happen that the cells at the extremeties, which are not attached to the sides or bottom of the hive, and where consequently th^re can be no reciprocal compression, should yet be as perfect hexagons as the rest. And, not to dwell on other proofs, adduced by Lombard and other writers, of the utter insignificancy of this naturalist's theory, the cells have not all the same figure, the same dimensions, depth and di- ameter, win h they would necessarily have, if they had been produced merely by reciprocal compression. No ; the work of the bee demonstrates intelligence ; or, if we please, an in stinct superior to that of most animals ; and what is this instinct but the teachings of the Almighty ? — a manifes- tation even in the organization of a creature so unimportant as a tiny fly, of his eternal wisdom, which can render an insect of the earth an object of wonder to man himself, with all his boasted endowments, and which, while it guides the planets in their course. and sustains and upholds innumerable myriads of rational and immortal beings, directs the minutest alimal- cule to do those things that are necessary to the preservation and comfort of its existence. The following beautiful lines by Professor Smyth, are ex- tremely applicable to this part of a bee's labor : " Thou cheerful Bee ! ccme, freely come, And travel round my woodbine bower ; Delight me with thy wandering hum, And rouse me from thy musing hour, Oh ! try no more those tedious fields, Come taste the sweets my garden yields ; The treasures of each blooming vine, The bud, the blossom, all are thine* H THE BKOOD OF THE HONEY BEE. CHAPTER V- The Brood of the Honey Bee, Of the Brood. In forty-six hours after the impregnation, the queen-bee, as already noticed, begins to lay eggs of work- ers, and continues to do so, usually without interruption, throughout the season, at the rate of one and two thousand eggs per day. This great laying, of course, takes place in the months of May, June, and July. If the bees are kept in a warm place through the winter, and a strong colony, they will commence breeding much earlier. In warm latitudes, bees breed rapidly the year round. Bees can be induced to commence breeding much sooner, if properly attended to by their keepers. (See chapter on Wintering and Early Breed- ing, Feeding, &c*) When cold weather intervenes, the queen's operations are suspended in a measure, and the hatch- ing of the eggs already laid very much retarded. The fruit- fulness of the mother bee is indeed astonishing. It does not often happen that the Queen has a sufficiency ©f room, so that she can go and deposit several thousand eggs at a time. If it is a young swarm, she cannot deposit eggs until the working bees get the comb built. As soon, however, as there is room to deposit eggs, she will readily do so, providing she is a fertile Queen, and the honey-gatherers do not get the start of her, and deposit honey and bee bread in the cells- It is the case many times, in the height of the honey season, that the bees gather the honey so fast that the Queen doe's not get a chance to deposit many eggs under sev- eral days after taking possession of a new hive. But, when bad weather comes on, so that the bees cannot go to the THE BROOD OF THE HONEY BEE. 87 fields for hDney, then they turn their whole force to building comb. At such times the Queen gets a chance to deposit her ?ggs in large numbers. In the height of the honey sea- son the bees build much of their comb in the night. Be it remembered that the old. Queen, of the parent hive, lays all the eggs that produce the first, second and, sometimes, third swarms ; and when a new swarm is thrown off, the old Queen is invariably the one to accompany it, and consequently lays all the eggs that hatch for nearly fifty days, in that hive, whether they throw off a swarm or not. If there is a swarm to issue from this second swarm, this same old queen is the one to emigrate with it, thus making two emigrations in one year. It has been compute J by the celebrated Naturalist, Schirach, that the number produced in a hive by one Queen, during the laying season, amount to one hundred thousand (100,000). This statement should convince any one, after seeing the Queen (through a glass hive) deposit five or six eggs per min- ute, as many observers have done. In the beginning of the season, or rather year, it is a good stock hive which possesses a population of 20,000 or 30,000, yet that some hives shall in June throw off swarms amounting to 40,000 or 50,000, in many cases the last, or second swarm, amounts to 10,000 or 12,000, and still at the end of harvest, this original stock-hive shall exhibit a population of 20,000 or 30,000 ; add to all this that in many instances a first swarm throws off one or two colonies, and add these together and it would overrun a hundred thousand. Before depositing her eggs, the Queen carefully examines the cell, inserting her head in- to it and keeping it there for a second or two, and as already stated, after having deposited a few tggs on one side of the comb, proceeds to the other side, and with a view probably of economizing heat, supplies the corresponding cells upon that side. Her impatience or necessity to commence laying 88 THE BROOD OF THE HONEY BEE. is such, that in a newly established hive, eggs will be found before there is three inches squire of comb (provided she gets ahead of the honey-gatherers,) constructed, and even before the cells have attained their full depth. And in a well-peopled hive, even during winter, and while the tempera- ture is chilled by the frost and snows of January, and the bleak winds of the following month, the indefatigable mother bee is found busied in depositing eggs. We have said that the Queen begins laying eggs forty six hours after impregna- tion. This does not hold true invariably ; a sudden change of temperature may prolong the interval to a very consider- able extent. Huber had a Queen impregnated in October ; which, on account of the inclemency of the season, did not commence laying until the following Spring. The eggs, when layeel, remained fixed on the superior angle of the cell, to which they are attached by a viscous matter covering them for three days ; on the fourth, the shell or thin envel- oping membrane bursts, and a small lively worm is deposited at the bottom of the cell. The nurse bees immediately en'er upon their voea'ion, and administer a copious supply of liquid food, of which honey and farina, and probably water, are the principal ingredients. As the larva increases in growth, the attention of the bees in nourishing it is augmented, and indeed unremitting ; for, at whatever time we inspect a brood comb' we shall observe hundreds of nurses with their bodies inserted in the cells, supplying the wants of the infant progeny. Al- though in the vermicular state, and consequently without feet, the larva are capable of moving in a special direction. During the first three days their motion is so slow that it is scarcely perceptible, but it afterwards becomes more evident, and they have been observed to perform two complete revo- lutions in less thau two hours. The slightest movement of the bees approaching to administer to their wants, is sufficient to attract them to their food, which they devour most vora- THE BROOD OF THE HONEY BEE. 89 eiously, and it is unsparingly administered to them. At first the liquid is nearly insipid, but acquires gradually a percep- tible flavor of honey, and becomes more saccharine and trans- parent in proportion as the larva advances in growth. " It is indescribable," says Februrier, " the care which the work- ers lavish upon these little nurslings, towards whom they seem to cherish the tenderest attachment. A comb filled with brood and placed in an empty hive, seldom fails to re- tain them there to the utter disregard of the loss of their stores. The tenderest mother could not watch over her chil- dren with more affection, nor supply them with nourish- ment more impartially, or in greater abundance. At the same time, it is done without waste, for the quantity is so proportioned to the demand, that none of it remains in the cells when the larva undergoes its transformation to the nymph state." At the moment of being hatched the insect presents the appearance of a straight worm con posed of several ventral wings. It quickly grows so as to touch the sides of the cell, when it contracts its body and coils itself into a semicircular figure, and continues enlarging its dimensions until the ex- tremes meet, and form a complete ring. In this state it con- tinues receiving food from the nurses for five days, w T hen it ceases to eat ; its supplies are of course cut off, and the bees proceed to seal up the cell with a waxen cover of a brownish color, and slightly convex. Thus left to itself the larva be- gins spinning around its body, after the manner of the silk- worm, a fine silken film or cocoon, which completely envel- opes it. " The silken threads employed in forming this cov- ering," Kirby and Spence tell us, " proceeds from the middle part of the under lip, and is in fact, composed of two threads gummed together, as they issue from the two adjoining ori- fices of the spinner." In the formation of its cocoon, the larva occupies thirty-six hours, and in three davs after it is *h 90 THE BROOD OF THE HONEY BEE. metamorphosed into a nymph or pupa, terms applied to the mummy-like state to which the larva is subjected, previous to its becoming a perfect insect or image, as it is termed. Du- ring this state of concealment, various changes happen to the enclosed insect. The first no sufficient ev- idence of the saccharine matter of plants being in all casi-scon- vertablc into honey. As one of its secondary uses, it seems des- tined by nature for the food of bees, and those industrious col- lectors fail not to appropriate the rich liquid. Sweeping the hollow of the honey-cup with their little proboscis, the little skillfull chemists eagerly imbibe the saccharine juice as it ex- udes from the nectariura, receive it into the honey-bag, which forms their anterior stomach, and hurrying homewards with their precious load, disgorge it into a cell prepared for its reception. The quantity which each bee deposits at one time is very small, the honey-bag when full, not exceeding the size of a small pea; but the aggregate quantity collected by the whole colony, is prodigious. Much has been said both in ancient and modern times, as to the amount of honey a colony of bees are capable of making 1st. Much depends on the size of the colony. 2d. Whether the bees are allowed to swarm or not. 3d. The kind of pasturage or flowers adjacent to the Apiary. 4th. Whether it is a good season for Bees ; that is, whether the weather is favorable to the honey flowers, as they may all be in full bloom and yet the bees not be able to collect any honey; a cool wet season like 1857, in the more northern portions of the New England States, was very unfavorable for the collec- tion of honey, as well as to check the breeding and swarming of the bees. But a warm moist season is most favorable to the honey and honey harvest, Then much depends upon the skill and experience of the bee-master, as well as the kind of hive that may be used, whether the honey yield is great or less. After taking all these things into consideration, and also, whether it is a cold or warm climate, the bee-keeper will read- ily discover the reason why his bees will not make honey abun- dantly at all times and places. If the apiarian has the skill and knowledge in the business that he should have, in order to IIONEY TASTURAGE. 99 be successful, he will readily perceive where he can greatly as- sist his bees in storing up honey, as well as in brooding, to have them throw off" large early swarms, and to have perfect control of them in all the various departments of their labors, by following the directions laid down in this work. We can give no particular amount of honey a swarm of bees should .make, as much depends upon circumstances. I will here state the advantages that may be given to the bees by the use of my Patent Hive. First, you start with a strong healthy colony in the Spring, keep them in a non-swarming hive, (like my last improvement,) furnish them all the comb that they need to store their honey in, and save them the trouble of mak- ing it, as it costs them twenty and many times twenty-Jive pounds of honey, to build a pound of comb ; prevents there being any niata bees or drones, to eat up the honey ; (as they never make a drop, but consume a large amount of the best honey in the hive,) in preventing their swarming, (see chapter on swarming.) and in using my hive, if it is a good honey season for bees, they will make from two to three hundred pounds of honey in one season, with proper care and management ; thus making your bees pay a much larger per cent, than anything else that is kept on a farm, and with much less care and attention. This amount of honey may seem in- credible to many, but nevertheless it is true, lor it has been done where bees had all their comb to build, as well as to be troubled with the drones, which ate up a large portion of it ; un- der all these disadvantages they have been known to store up- wards of 290 pounds, notwithstanding the bees had the privilege of swarming. It is a certain fact that a good swarm of bees will store up several pounds of honey in one day. I have had them store up 10 or 12 pounds per day, in the heighth of the honey season, and I have statistics showing that they have stored as high as 18 pounds in one single day. I had one swarm make 125 pounds in eleven days, and there was three days of 100 HONEY PASTURAGE. bad weather in the time ; it was a young swarm which came out on the 14 day of July, 1857 ; I gave them no particular care or attention during the time. With my PateLt Bee Hive Scale, it is easy to ascertain just how fast the bees are making honey at any time, in less than two minutes,and not molest the bees in the least. (See chapter on Hives and management, for particulars of the scale.) We have in a fine summer day, re- peatedly counted the bees of a hive as they returned from the fields ladened with sweets, and found the number to be between sixty ahd seventy in a minute. When the cells are full and the watery part evaporated, then the bees seal them over for future use j it is this evaporation or sweat, that bee-keepers sometimes discover running out of the hives in the height of the honey season. Should they seal the cells over as soon as the honey is put into them, it would, many times, sour and spoil. There is more honey consumed in the months of March and April, when breeding goes on rapidly, than during the four preceding months; at the same time many cells are left open and half filled for daily consumption. It has been a subject of discussion among naturalist?, whether the honey after being extracted from the Sowers, undergoes any change in the stomach of the insect, be- fore being deposited in the cell. Febnvrier is of the opinion that it is subjected to the digestive process. The celebrated John Hunter thought it remained pure, and in no respect what- ever altered, however long it had been retained in the stoimch of the bee : and he is followed in his conclusions by his coun- tryman, Bonner. Kirby and Spence, entomologists of no mean fame, have adopted the oposite opinion, but it does not appear that they had been led to this conclusion by the result of any experiments instituted for the purpose of ascertaining about the matter correctly. Keaumur, however, tells us, that from his ex- periments, he was satisfied that a process of elaboration did take place in the food with which he had supplied his bees, and that the sugar with which he fed them had precisely the taste HONEY PASTURAGE. 101 and flavor of honey. But our experience, if we may venture to differ in the matter, from men so deservedly celebrated for attainments in natural science, leads us, with IIu> ter and Bon- ner, to a different conclusion. We have repeatedly tasted the syrup of sugar, which we had seen the bees take from the f. eding trough and deposit in the cells, and could never discover the slightest difference in any respect, at least so far as taste and smell were concerned. Perhaps the liquid was clearer, and we sometimes imagined it was ; if so, this constituted the only dif- ference. The secretion of honey depends greatly on the state of the atmosphere. Daring the prevalence of dry easterly winds, the fields present to the bees nothing but barreness ; their out-door labors are suspended, and but for the already hoarded stores, the brood would be in iminent danger of starvation:. But when the weather is moist and sultry, and the air charged with elec- tricity, the circulation of this vegetab'e fluid is considerably ac- celerated, and the bees know wt-11 how to avail themselves of so favorable a juncture for collecting their ireasure. Huber re- marks th t the collection is never more abundant, nor their op- erations in wax more active than when the wind was from the south, the air moist and warm, and a storm approaching ; heat too long protracted, however, and its concomitant drought, chilly rains and a north wind, entirely suspend the elaboration of honey in vegetables, and consequently the operation of bees. The quality of the saccharine fluid is influenced bv various causes Something depends on the particular period of the sea- son that it is collected. In Scotland, Germany and England, the best honey. is gathered in the months of June and July; this rule will apply in the United Stages, especially in the northern portion of them, when the white clover, \Trifolium repens,) is in bloom ; and what is stored from this alone, generally speak- ing, is of as much value as all other honey-producing plants put together, up to the month of July ; after that time, buckwheat is one of the p] ineipal honey-producing vegetables. The quality 102 HONEY PASTURAGE. of the honey is of course, much influenced by the nature of the plant most frequented by the bees. The famed honey of Hymet- tus, derives its excellence it is said, from the wild Thyme grow- ing so luxuriantly on the celebrated mountain from which it de- rives its name. There is a species of white Dutch clover, that flourishes in many parts of the country, being lately introduced among us by the Patent Office department at Washington, that affords large supplies of the best quality of honey ; in some parts of Germany and Scotland it has been cultivated success- fully for many years, not only for bee-culture and pasturage, but for eattle also. Instances of honey of a deleterious nature being sometimes met with, we must not pass over wholly the serious and some- times fatal effects produced upon some persons, by eating poi- sonous honey, or drinking mead. Says Messrs. Kirby and Spence, " we once knew a lady upon whom these acted like poison, and have heard of instances in which death was the con- sequence," Sometimes when bees extract honey from poisonous plants, such results have not been confined to individuals of par- ticular habit, or constitution. A remarkable proof of this is given by Dr. Barton, in the fifth volume of the American Phyl- ©sophical Transactions. In the au'umn of the year 1790, an extensive mortality was produced among those who had partaken of the honey collected in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. The attention of the American Government was excited by the general distress, and a minute inquiry into the cause of the mor- tality ensued, and it was satisfactorily ascertained that the honey had been extracted from the flowers of Kalmia Catifolia, Though the honey mentioned in Xonophan's well known account of the effect of a particular kind of honey eaten by the Grecian soldiers, during the celebrated retreat after the death of the younger Cyrus, did not operate fatally, it gave those of the sol- diers who ate it in small quantities the appearance of being in- toxicated, and such as partook of it freely, as being mad, or HONEY PASTURAGE* 103 about to die ; hundred.? laying- on the ground as if after a de- feat. A specimen of this honey, which still retains its delete- rious properties, was sent to the Zoological Society in 1884, for their inspection and analization. We have seen it remarked in bee publications, that the finest honey is got from the young swarms 5 this fact is so, generally speaking, but not, as we might naturally be led to infer from the assertion, because it is the produce of yonng bees, or of fresh swarms; but because bees swarm only at the height of the honey season when the flowers are in their richest fragrance, and because the combs are then new, and have not as yet served as receptacles for ihe brood. The above remarks apply to the qual- ity of the honey in the state in which it is secreted in the flow- ers, its after treatment does not improve it. The heat and va- por of the hive are injurious to it ; in very severe seasons it is sometimes candied, and in the honey harvest, when it is being separated from the wax, its purity may easily be injured by im- perfect management. As an article of nourishment to many, honey has been used from time immemorial, whether used separately or blended with other aliments, It was held out to the children of Israel as one of the valuable products of the promised land, and to this day it is highly esteemed in Eastern countries. imong the Greeks and Romans it was highly relished • they compounded it with other nourishing substances, and even mixed it with their wines. We also learn in the Bible, Book of Judges, in Sam- son's exploits, of his finding honey in the carcass of a lion. In fact, honey is one of the most delicious sweets we have knowl- edge of, either in ancient or modern times, and in the earlier pe- riods of the world, it was the only sweet extant. It l? nutritious in proportion to the saccharine matter it contains, and is regard- ed by medical men in many cases of illness, as a great tonic for the stomach. Its use as an article of food, it is true, has been greatly diminished by the use and culture of the sugar cane, 104 HONEY PASTURAGE. (the Chinese sugar cane included,) bat it is still an article of considerable traffic, and large quantities of it are imported into this country from the East an I West India islands, and also fro n Mexico and South America ; yei notwithstanding the large amount of honey imported into our country, our native honey bears a good price, as its quality is much better than southern honey, owing principally to the climate and the bee pas urage which our nothern climates afford, The colder the clim ,te the better the honey, as a cold climate is always tetter fur the pro- duction of butter and cheese, so it is for honey. I have often heard it remarked by country bee-keepers, that whenever their cows produced well, that their bees invariably did ; but I th'.nk there are some exceptions to this rule. In 1857 the Eastern States were much more favorable to the production of butter and cheese than for honey, while in the Western States it was quite the reverse, although there is as much difference in the quality of the honey in the tw^o countries, as there is in the pork or butter, or any thing else that the farmers raise in the two plac s. The best honey produced in the Western States is made from wild flowers of the prairie, which is very similar to eastern buckwheat honey ; it has an aromatic smell, is pungent to taste, and is of a redish color ; although it looks very nice when made into boxes and fitted up for market, and usually fetches in the market of Chicago, from 25 to 40 cents per pound, yet in the Eastern States it would be called No. 2 honey, compared with the white clover honey, as that is perfectly transparent, and im- parts a most agreeable odor and taste. Honey forms, we are told, a very important ingredient in those fine ales which are brewed in Scotland, and certainly it must add not a little to the nutri- tive qualities of that wholsome beverage. Remarks on the uses of Honey. It is allowed by all med- ical men, that honey never should be eaten while new, and in an unsealed state, for honey, especially in an unsealed state, con- tains many times poisonous properties, and by giving it a little HONEY PASTURACE. 105 age, as bees generally do, much of it evaporates ; but notwith- standing the sealing of the cells, it is not proper to eat freely of it unless it is as much as one year old. Many persons can tes- tify to the effects produced by eating too freely of new honey. New honey is the most healthy sweet that can be found, if it is first put into a kettle and brought to a boiling point, and then let cool ; skim off the wax and it is ready for the table. In southern climates new honey is much more poisonous than in colder climates ; in South America and Mexico, honey isalways brought to the boiling point before it is used by the natives. J The oleander, (Nejium Oleander,) yields a honey that proves fatal to thousands of imprudent flies, but our bees more wise and cautious, avoid it. Occasionally, perhaps, at particu- lar seasons, when flowers are less numerous than common, this instinct of the bees appears to fail them, or to be overpowered by their desire to collect a sufficient store of honey for their pur- poses, and they suffer for their want of self-denial. Sometimes whole swarms have been destroyed by merely alighting upon poisonous trees. This haj pened to one in the county of West- chester, New York State, which settled upon the branches of the Poison Ash, [RJms Vernix)', on the following morning the im- prudent insects were all found dead, and swelled to more than double their natural siz?. When the stomach of the bee is filled with nectar, it next by means of the fea'hered hairs with which its body is covered, pil- fers from the flowers the fertilizing dust of the anthers, the pol- len, which is equally necessary to the society with the honey and may be named the ambrosia of the hive, since from it the bee-bread is made. Sometimes the bees are so discolored with this powder as to look like a different species of insect, becoming white, yellow, or orange, according to the flower which it has been feeding upon. Reaumur was urged to visit the hives of a gentleman, who on this account, thought his bees were different from the common kind of bees. He suspected, and it proved so, 106 HONEY PASTURAGE. that the circumstance just mensioned, occasioned the mistaken notion. When the body of the bee is covered with farina, with the brushes of its legs, especially the hind ones, it wipes it off; not as we do with our dusty clothes, to dissipate and disperse it in the air, but to collect every particle of it, and then to knead it and form it into two little masses, which she places, one in each of the baskets formed by hairs on her hind leg*. Aristotle says that, in each journey from the hive, bees at- tend only one species of flower ; Reaumur seems to think they fly indiscriminately from one to another ; but Mr. Dobbs, in the Philosophical Transactions, and Butler before him, as- sert that they have frequently followed a bee in collecting pollen, &c, and invariably observed that it continued collect- ing from the same kind of flowers with which it fii>t began, passing over every other species, however numerous, even though the flower it fir?t selected was scarcer than others. Their observations, he thinks are confirmed ; and the idea seems not unreasonaqle, by the uniform color of the pellets of pollen, and their different size. Beaumur himself tells us that the bees enter the hive, some with yellow pellets and some with red ones, and others again with whitish ones, and sometimes they are even green ; upon which he observes that this arisen from their being collected from particular flowers, the pollen of whose anthers are of those colors. It seems not impiobable that the reason why the bee visits the same species of plants during one excursion, may be this: her instinct teaches her that the grains of pollen which enter into the same mass, should be homogeneous, in order, perhaps, fur their more effectual cohesion , and thus Providence also secures two im portant ends : the impregnation of such flowers that require such aid, by the bees passing from one to another ; and the avoiding the production of hybrid plants, from the application of the pollen of one kind of plant to the stigma of another- When the anthers are not yet burst, the bee opens them with HONEY PASTURAGE. 107 her mandibles, takes a parcel of pollen, which one of the first pair of legs receives and delivers to the middle pair, from which it passes to one of 1 he hind legs. If the contents of one of the little pellets be examined through a lens, it will be found that the grains have all retained their original shape. A botanic, practiced in the figure of the pollen ot the differ- ent species of common plants, might easily ascertain, by srach an examination, whether a bee had collected its ambrosia from one or more, and also from what species of flowers. In the months of April and May, as Reaumur tells us, the bees collect pollen from morning till evening ; but in the warm months, the great gathering of it is from the time of their first leaving the hive, which is as early, many times as four o'clock in the morning, to about ten o'clock A. M. About that hour, all that enter the hive may be seen with their pel- lets in their baskets ; but during the rest of the day there is but little farina collected. In a hive, however, in which a swarm has been recently established, it is brought in, generally, at all hours of the day. He supposes, in order for its being formed into pellets, that it requires some mois- ture, which the heat evaporates soon after it is deposited in the hive. When a bee hascompleted her lading, she returns to the hive to dispose of it. The honey is disgorged into the honey -pots, or cells, destined to receive it, and is discharged from the honey-bag by its alternate contraction and dilation. A cell will contain the contents of many honey -bags. When a bee comes to disgorge the honey, with its forelegs it breaks the thick cream that is always on the top,and the honey which it yields passes under it. This cream is honey of a thicker consistency than the rest, which rises to the top of the cells, like cream on milk ; it is not. level, but forms an oblique sur- face over the honey. The cells, as before stated, are near a horizontal position with the mouth of the cell slightly eleva- ted, so that the honey will not run out. Bees when they 108 HONEY PASTURAGE. bring home the honey do not always disgorge It into the cell, but give it to such of the inmates as have been at work in the interior part of the hive. Some of the cells are rilled with honey for daily use. Bees generally seal up iheir cells as soon as the moisture or watery part evaporates ; should they do it before, it would sour in tie cells, and thus be spoiled ; when the cell is sealed it is craped over with a wax- en cover perfectly white. The pollen, or bte-bread, is em- ployed as circumstances dictate ; when the bee ladened with it arrives at the hive, she sometimes stops at the entrance and very leisurely detaching it by piece-meals, devours one or both the pellets on her legs, chewing them with her jaws and disgorging a small portion of honey, as this is the way they prepare the farina for the young brood. Sometimes she en- ters the hive and walks upon the combs, and, whether she walks or stands, still keeps beating her wings. By the noise thus produced, which seems a call to her fellow citizens, three or four go to her and placing themselves around her, be- gin to lighten her of her load. When more pollen is collect- ed than the bees have immediate occasion for, they store it in some of the empty cells. I lliiufc the assertion involved in much doubt, that one bee feeds another, unless it is a young bee not yet mature. The bees all pay that respect and hom- age to their Queen by offering her food almost constantly. The laden bee puts her two hmd legs into the cell, and the intermediate pair pushes off the pellets ; when this is done, she or another bee, if she is too much fatigued with her day's labor, enters the cell head first and remains there some time, engaged in diluting the pellets, kneading them and packing them close, and so they proceed till the cell is rilled. A large portion of the cells in some hives are rilled with this bread. The bees usually fill the cells with farina only one half or two-thirds full, then to keep it moist fill it up with *-oney ; in this way it can be kept a long time, and many HONEY PASTURAGE. 109 times it accumulates so fast that the hive is frequently one- half or two-thirds full of this substance, especially if it be an old hive ; when this is the case the swarm will soon go to destruction, as the Queen has no place to deposit her eggs, on account »f the cells being occupied by an over-stock of bee- bread, and the longer it remains in the hive the worse it is, as the bees never remove it after once it has been deposited, only what little they need in the winter and early spring, be- fore they can obtain it from abroad, which they will do very early in the spring, in preference to using the stoc.v which they have on hand. It is very important that the Apiarian has a hive so constructed that he can remove the over surplus of bee-bread, or shift the combs when they become black as they usually do, after being in use two or three years and upwards. My hive is so constructed that the honey, bee- bread, bees or comb, can be equalized or divided, as the case may be, and which can be done at any time of year, as necessity might require. Bees in their honey excursions do not confine their labors to the spot immediately contiguous to their dwelling, but when led by the scent of honey, will go a mile from it, and, if honey cannot be obained nearer, they will even go three miles to obtain it ; there are many instances on record where bees have gone much farther than that, but the nearer the pas- turage, the more they will collect. These insects, especially when laden and returning to their nest, fly in a direct line, which saves both time and labor. How they are enabled to do this with such certainty as to make for their own abode without deviation, I must leave for others to explain. Connected with this circumstance, and the acuteness of their smell, is the following curious account given in the Philosophical Transactions for 1721, of the meth- od practiced in New England for discovering where wild bees live in the woods in order to get their honey. tf The bee J 1 10 HONEY PASTURAGE. hunter c ets a plate containing ho> ey or sugar upon the ground in a clear day, and the bees son discover and attack it; hav- ing secured two or three that ruive filled themselves, the hun- ter lets one go, which, rising in the air, flies straight to the nest or tree ; he then strikes off at right angles with its course a few huiiditd 3 aids, snd lets a Kccrd bee fly, observes its course by his pod- et compass, and the point where the two lines intersect is where the nest is situated." The most improved mode of bee hunting is simply this : Take a small box with a slide cover in the top, with a glass inserted, that the hunter may the more readily observe their movements ; put a small quantity of honey in the box, (hon- ey in the comb is preferable,) then search for a bee or several if convenient ; as soon as they are confined in the box they will immediately fall to eating hoi ey. The bee-hunter should have in readiness a small piece of cha'k, from which he may scrape off a little and moisten it with spittle, and then by means of a straw, touch a bit of it to the back of the bee, and if more than one bee be marked, touch the second one twice and so on ; it usually takes a bee about two minutes to load himself from a box. After marking him, open the box carefully and give him a chance to go to his nest ; he vvill first make several revolutions before leaving, and when he does leave, his course will be straight to his abode. It would be well for the bee-hunter to select as high a point of land as possible, as it is rather hard for the eye to follow a bee when in a hollow, or among shrubbery. Many times it would be advisable for the hunter to place himself upon his back so that he can the more easily detect his course, when he takes the " bee-line," as the hunters call it ; when she re- turns she may fetch more with her, and a supply of honey should be kept in the box. The whole colony that this bee belongs to will come for the honey and by applying my Pat- ent Bee Catcher in the right time, the whole swarm may be HONEY PASTURAGE. HI secured. The particulars of this instrument, will be given in the chapter on hives. In regard to timeing bees when they are lined to the woods, it has never been successful by either ancient or modern bee hunters, as so much depends upon the locality and conditions of the tree ; when the tree has a bad entrance, which many of tbem have, it will take a bee many times, ten times as long to deposit the honey after they ar- rive at the tree as it does to make the excursion into the fields after it. The same thing will hold good in regard to most of the bee hives now in use ; it will take much longer for the bees to enter the hive and deposit the honey than it does to go into the fields after it. In my Patent Hive there is a remedy for all these inconveniences. (See chapter on Hives.) The bee may have several feet to traverse after first entering the tree, and perhaps through a narrow crowded channel, be- fore they can find a cell that is fitted for the deposit ; under these unfavorable circumstances, it is impossible tj ascertain the distance of the tree from the box, by the time the bee is gone. Old bee hunters generally allow that a bee will re- quire one and a half minutes to traverse a mile, and if load- ed two minutes, when there is no wind to interfere. But when a colony runs away they are usually twice or three times that length of time flying a mile. I would suggest to every young bee-keeper to spend a lit- tle time with some old experienced h nd, before undertaking it alone. It is a well known fact with bee-keepers as well as bee hunters, that the hcney bee as well as other species of insects, have a mode of conveying intelligence from one to another ; in fact it is a system of speech that is demonstra- ted in a variety of ways ; it is illustrated in the c ise of huut- ingthe bees of the forest ; if they had no system of speech among themselves, they never w T ould depart for the woods as they many times do, as in the case of swarming, nor would everything go on so systematically in the interior part of the 112 HONEY PASTURAGE. Live ; deprive them of their peculiar language, and they would he as much disorganized and confounded as the build- ers of the Tower of Babel were at the time God confounded their familiar language. It is acknowledged by all distin" guished naturalists, that the different species of insects have a language peculiar to their species, and that they can just as readily understand each other as one man can understand another ; let a bee-keeper go to one of his hives and catch a bee and pinch him, and the cry of distress will be such as to canse many other bees to come to his rescue, and care must be taken on the pait of the experimenter or he may get badly stung ; when a single bee finds a quantity of honey she can communicate it to the whole colony in a few moments of time, especially if the inmates of the hive are all present. Show one single bee a quantity of honey, and in a few hours time the attention of the whole colony will be turned towards it. The most appropriate time of day to commence to line bees, especially if the hunter wishes to capture the whole colony, is about three o'clock in the afternoon, if the weather be fine, and at night when the bees are all in, the news will be communicated to the whole swarm, and early on the fol- lowing morning, if pleasant, the whole colony will be in hot pursuit for the honey that was discovered tne day before by one single bee, and by ten o'clock the whole colony can be captured if desired, by introducing my newly invented bee catcher to the entrance of the hive, as that will admit of bees entering a hive or box, but they cannot return after they have once entered if the machine is properly set. Many sci- entific Apiarians allege that bees will scent honey some dis- tance from the hive ; on a warm day this is true. "If a person wishes to call the bees to him rapidly,"' says an old bee-keeper, "burn a small bit of comb, and in a few moments there will be plenty of bees in the box." Over Stocking a Count? y. There has much been said of HONEY PASTURAGE. 113 late on this paint, although it has never been done in any part of the world as yet ; according to the accounts from the din rent European Empires, Kingdoms and v tates, and ac- cording to our most celebrated naturalists and writers upon the honey bee, the Eastern Continent is far in advance of the Western, in the culture of the honey bee ; history gives no account of its being any more fertile than this Con- tinent but quite the reverse ; then why is it that honey is so- much more abundant there than here, whe.i our facilites for rearing bees are far in advance of those of Europe ? When every plant, shrub and tree that we cultivate is beneficial to the bees, as well as the plants and shrubs that flourish spon- taneously in our thousand fields, from one end of the country to the other ? and I think I may safely say nine-tenths of them are food for bees, either for honey, propolis or farina, or bee-bread. In many parts of Europe honey and bees- wax is one of the great staples for home consumption as well as ex- portation, as bee keeping is carried on in many parts of Ger- many, Scotland and Russia. We have numerous accounts of large Apiarys being almost in the same precinct or vil- lage, only a mile or two apart, numbering from 100 to 500 colonies each. In many parts of Hungary and Russia they frequently number from 1000 to 6000, yielding upon an ave- rage five dollars per swarm of spare honey, and by the use of the most inferior hives we have knowledge of ; and should they give the colony a dose of brimstone as some very fre- quently do in the Fall, the yield and profit is much enhanced. We learn that it is not unfrequent for a traveler to find from 4000 to 5000 hives congregated at some of the principal points of heaths where the honey flowers are found in great abundance. At that season of the year when everything is favorable, they will fill their hives in a very few days ; they may be scattered somewhat so that it would take twenty or thirty minutes for a person to ride to them all. There are 114 HONEY DEWS. bee-shepherds who take charge of them for a compensation of one or two shillings each ; when they are received by the shepherds they are marked and numbered, so that the differ- ent owners may at the end of the honey season, be sure to re- ceive the hives belonging to them. With honey pasturage it is quite different from the pasturage we have for our cattle, sheep, &c • although the honey pasturage many times abounds in our stock pastures, especially as far as white clo- vers and golden rod are concerned. The honey harvest dif- fers as all bee-keepers are well aware in this respect ; at the proper season of the year appropriate for each plant, when the weather is warm and favorable, the honey producing plants yield their delicious nectar daily from one to three weeks, according to the kind of plants. Each plant has its own peculiar* time for the shedding of its sweets, the same as our sugar maple, so that when everything is favorable as re- gards weather, the bees never experience any difference in collecting honey from a flower that, perhaps, has been visited before by other bees, a. dozen times. CHAPTEE VII. Honey Dews. The term Honey Detvis applied to those sweet clammy drops that glitter on the foliage of many trees in hot weather. The name of this substance would seem to imply that it is a de- position from the atmosphere, and this has been the generally received opinion respecting it, particularly among the an- HOXEY DEWS. 115 cients. It is an opinion still prevalent with many naturalists that it falls from the Heavens. Virgil speaks, " Acni mel- lis coeleslia dona. y - The Iiev. Gilbert White, in his Natu- ralist's Library Calender, regards honey-dews as the effluvia of flowers, evaporated and drawn up b to the atmosphere by the heat of the weather, and falling down again in the night with the dews that entangle them. But, if this were the ease, the fall would be indiscriminate, and we should not have it confined to particular trees and shrubs, nor would it be found on green-house and other covered plants. Some naturalists have regarded honey-dew as an exudation, or se- cretion , from the surface of those leaves upon which it is found, produced by some atmospheric stroke, which has in- jured their health. Dr. Donvin stands in this class. Others have viewed it as a kind of vegetable perspiration, which the trees emit for their relief,, in sultry weather ; its appearance being seldom observed in a cold summer. Dr. Evans is of this opinion, and makes the following comparative remarks : " As the glutinous sweat of the Negro enables him to bear the fervor of his native clime far better than the lymph-per- spiring European, so the saccharine dews of the orange, and the fragrant gum of the Cretan Oistus, may preserve them amidst the heat, even of the Torrid Zone." Mr. Curtis tells us that the honey-dew is an excrementitious matter, voided by the aphis or vine fretter, an insect which he regards as the general cause of what are called blighfs. He assures its that he never, in a single instance, observed the honey-dew unattended with aphides. His opinion is confirmed by the circumstance of its being generally found upon leaves which have others above them, the under side of which are inhabited by those insects. They may " be seen distinctly, with a small magnifier, on the leaves of the cherry, lime, hazel, &c, but invariably on the inferior surface, piercing the vessels, and expelling the honey-dew 116 HONEY DEWS, from their posterior parts. They might easily have escaped the observation of the earlier philosophers, irum being fre- quently concealed within the curls of the leaves that are punc- tured."' I believe it will be found that there are, at least, two sorts, or kinds of honey-dew ; the one a secretion, from the surface of the leaf, occasioned by one of the causes just alluded to, the other a deposition from the body of the aphis. Sir J, E. Smith observes, of the sensible perspiration of plants, that when " watery, it can be considered only as a condensation of their insensible evaporation, perhaps from some sudden, change in the atmosphere. Groves of poplar or willow ex- hibit this phenomenon, even in England, in hot, calm weather, when drops of clear water trickle from their leaves, like a slight shower of/ain. Sometimes this secretion is of a saccha- rine nature, as Be La Hire observed in orange trees." It is somewhat glutinous in the tolia, or lime tree, rather resin- ous in poplar, as well as in Gistws Creticus. Ovid has made an elegant use of the resinous exudations of the Lombardy poplars, which he supposes to be the tears of Pheeton's sis- ters, who were transformed into those trees. Such exuda. tions must be considered as effusions of the peculiar secre- tions. "The loves of the ants and aphides have long been celebrated; and that there is a connection between th m, you may, at any time during the proper season, convince yourself; for you will always find the former very busy on those trees and plants on which the latter abound ; and if you examine more closely, you will discover that the object of the ants, in thus attending upon the aphides, is to obtain the saccharine fluid secreted by them, which may well be denominated their milk. This fluid, which is scarcely inferior to honey in sweetness, issues in limpid drops from the abdomen of those insects, not only by the ordinary passage, but also by two setiform tubes HONEY DEWS. 117 placed, one on each side, just above it. Their suckers being- inserted in the tender bark, are, without intermission, em- ployed in absorbing the sap, which, after it has passed through the system, they keep continually discharging by these or- gans. When no ants attend them, by a sudden jerk of the body, which takes place at regular intervals, they eject it to a distance." Mr. Knight once observed a shower of honey- dew descending in innumerable small globules, near one of his oak trees, on the first of September. The power which these insects possess of ejecting the fluid from their bodies seems to have been wisely instituted to preserve cleanliness in each individual fly, and indeed for the preservation of the whole family ; for, pressing as they do upon one another, they would otherwise soon be glued together, and rendered inca- pable of st ; rr'ng. When the ants are at hand, watching the mo nent at which the aphides emit their fluid, they suck it down immediately ; this, however, is the least of their tal- ents ; for they absolutely possess the art of making the aph- ides yield it at their pleasure, or, in other words, milking them, at their pleasure. The ant ascends the tree, says Lin- eus, that it may milk the cows, not kill them. Huber in- forms us that the liquor is voluntarily given out when solicited by the ant, the latter tapp ; ngthe aphis gently, but repeated" ly, with its antennae, and using the same motion as when ca- ressing its own young. He thinks, when the ants are not at hand to receive it, that the aphi< retains the liquor for a longer time, and yields it freely, and apparently without sustaining the least detriment ; for, even after acquiring wings, it shows no disposition to escape. A single aphis supplies many ants with a plentiful meal. The ants occasionally form an estab- lishment for their aphides, constructing a building in a secure place, at a distance from their own city, to which, after forti- fying it, they transport those insects and confine them under a guard, like cows upon a dairy farm, to supply the wants of 118 HONEY DEWS. the metropolis. The aphides are provided with a hollow, pointed proboscis, folded under the breast when the insect is rot feeding, with which instruHieht they puncture the turgid vessels of the leaf, stock or bark, and suck, with great avidi- ty, their contents, which are expelled nearly unchanged ; so that, however fabulous it may appear, they may literally be said to void a liquid sugar. On looking steadfastly at a group of these insects, {Apliides SaJicis) while feeding- on the bark of the wiliow,their superior size enables us to perceive some of them elevating their bodies and emitting a transparent sub- stance, in the form of a small shower. " Nor scorn ye now, fond elves, the foliage sear, When the light aphides, armM with puny spear, Probe each emulgent vein till bright below, Like falling stars, clear drops of nectar glow." The willow accommodates the bees in a kind of threefold suc- cession ; from the flowers they obtain both honey and farina, from the bark, propolis, and the leaves frequently afford them a plenty of honey-dew, and at a season when other re- sources are beginning to fail. Honey-dew usually appears upon the leaves as a viscid, transparent substance, as sweet as honey itself, sometimes in the form of globules, at others resembling a syrup. It is generally the most abundant from the middle of June to the middle of July, and sometimes as late as September. I' is found chiefly upon the oak, the elm, the maple, the sycamore, the lynden, or basswood, the lime, the willow, the hazel, the blackberry, and occasionally upon currant, cherry and other fruit trees — sometimes upon only one species of irees at a time. The oak generally affords the largest quantity. At the season of its greatest abundance, the happy humming of the bees may be heard at a considerable distance from the trees, sometimes nearly equalling, in loudness, the united hum of swarming. Honey dews usually occur pretty extensively every three HONEY DEWS. 119 or four years, but to some extent, in most localities, eve r y year. The honey-clew was noticed by the ancients, and is mentioned by Pliny by the faneifu 1 designation of "the sweat of the heavens and the sa'iva of the stars," though he ques- tioned whether it is not a deposition from the air, purging it from some contracted impurity. More modern philosophers have been quite as erroneous and discordant in their opinions in relation to its nature. Some, with the most unmitigated asperity, declare it i* the excrement of aphides ; others as exclusively maintain that it is aii atmospheric deposit; and a third party considers that it arises from bleeding conse- quent upon the wounding of some insects. That there may be a glutinous saccharine fluid found upon the leaves of plants, arising from the first and third named causes, is probable, or rather, certain; but. this is by no means conclusive that there is not a similar liquid, extravasated upon the surface of the leaves, owing to some unhealthy action of their vessels After noticing the theores of many ancient and modern nat- uralists and apiarians, there is no question but what the hon- ey-dews are caused by those small insects called aphides. There are, it is true, many specips of dews, and some of them are called honey-dews, but arising from the above named causes ; consequently they differ widely from the dew caused by the aphides. 120 BEES WAX. CHAPTER VIII. Befs Wax. Wax is a vegetable product, deriving its origin from the saccharine principles existing abundantly in the products of nature. It is found upon the upper surface of the leaves of many trees, in the form of varnish, and possessing all the qualities of bees-wax. The wax bearing myrtle, (Myriea CeriferiJ a shrub which grows abundantly in Louisiana and other parts of the United States, and there is also in many parts of the East and West India islands, shrubs that produce wax in great abundance. The myrtle bears a small berry, of which wax fonts its outer coa'ing, and when exposed to a flame, burns with an agreeable aromatic odor. Doct. Darwin supposes that the design of the waxen varnish which ( overs the flowers, is " to glaze over the f emulating dust of the an- thers, and prevent its premature explosion from excess of moisture," and ascribes to an unreasonable diffusion of an- ther dust, the failure of orchards and corn crops, in summers of extreme humidity. The quantity of wax found in this form is small,compared with that which is produced by the honey bee, and also of in- ferior quality. When pure it is of a whiteish color and des- titute of taste, with scarcely any smell ; it grows brown and even black with age. After manipulation it; has an arromatic smell, which, however, disappears on exposure to the atmos- phere. The dust of flowers, called pollen or farina, was long supposed to be the element of wax, and it is a curious in- stance of the tardy progress of the knowledge of Natural History, that though the mode in which wax is produced by BEES WAX. 121 the bees, was ascertained beyond all doubt by Huber, over forty yea' s ago, there is yet little known and scarcely believed, and farina has with many, still the credit of being what is vailed " crude wax." litiffoh was of this opinion, and, in an edition of his work published as late as 1821, no notice is ta- ken of the recent discoveries on the subject, which prove his opinions to be erroneous. Reaumur was inclined to believe that pollen, by receiving some peculiar elaboration from the bees, was converted in the stomach to real wax, and disgorg- ed under the appearance of paste. Later observers, however, denied that wax was disgorged by the mouth ; they affirmed that it exuded from the rings of the abdomen, in the form uf small scales, and that pollen was used for very different purposes. That this last mentioned substance is not the prime constituent of wax, was a conclusion drawn by repeat- ed and accurate observations by our most celebrated Apia- rians. It has been observed, for instance, that pollen is car- ried into the hives in great abundance, that were already rilled with comb ; that it is often of various colors, while new combs are always of a pure white ; that new swarms for a iVw days carry in no pollen, although their first work to be done after being hived, is the building of new combs, which progresses with unremitting rapidity, and that while it has been ascertained that 100 pounds of pollen has been carried into a hive during one season, the whole weight of the comb in the hive when separated from the honey and farina, weighs something less than two pounds. Huber lodged a young swarm in a straw hive, furnished them with honey and water, and after five days confinement he perceived that they had consumed the whole of their pro- visions, and had constructed several combs of beautiful wax. These combs were removed and more honey given them, and and the result was the same. This removal was made five times successively, and on each occasion, being supplied ex- K 122 BEES WAX. elusively with honey, they produced new combs ; thus put- ting it beyond dispute, that this substance effected the secre- tion of wax in the body of the bee. And farther, to ascertain whether the saccharine principle were the real source of wax, he supplied the captive bees with sugar in the form of syrup, and the result was still the same ; wax was produced, and that in a shorter period and in greater abundance than from honey ; as the reverse of this experiment would prove wheth- er pollen had the same property, instead of supplying the be^s with honey or sugar, he fed them only on fruit and farina- They were kept captives eight days under a glass bell, with a coiiib having only farina in the cells, yet they neither made wax nor were there any scales of wax on their abdomen, as was the case when honey and sugar were used. It is but justice to the Scotch Bee Master, Bonner, to re- mark, that, amidst the errors that prevailed on this subject; during his day, he had a strong impression of the real source of wax, and the manner of its secretion. In this, as in other parts of bee science, his natural acutenessand shrewdness of observation, led him to the very verge of some of the most important of those facts in the natural history of bees, which we owe to the more scientific researches of Huber. " I have sometimes," says he, " been inclined to think that wax might be an excrescent exudation, or production from the abdomen of the bee, and that the Queen can lay eggs when she pleases, so, if required, the worker bees can pro- duce wax from the substance of their own bodies. If this conjecture be right, it will follow of course, that all the food which a bee takes, contributes to the formation of wax in the same manner as all. the food a cow eats, contributes to the nourishment of her body, and the production of miik ; (bees consume much more honey or sugar when wax is required,) -or, to adopt a nearer simile from the insect tribe, as alt the food a spider takes, contributes not only to the nourishment DEES WAX. 123 of the animal, but to the production of the substance of the cob-web from its body. Numberless other analogies in na- ture might be cited in proof of the probability of this theory. The silk for instance, produced from the body of the silk- worm, is a substance as different from that of the animal it- self, or of (he mulberry leaf it feeds upon, as wax is from that of the body of the bee, or of the honey or flower she sucks. And the exoxes to a new colony under six or eight days after hiving. Bees will store up honey in the main # m 150 BEE HI YES. hive much -faster than in boxes. The nearer to the entrance of the hive the pb.ce of deposit is, the faster the bees will store it up; hence the necessity of having a hive where the cards of comb can be taken away from the bees when full, or a part of one if desired, and give the bees an opportunity to build another one in its place, and not disturb the bees, in the least, when it is removed. Such are the advantages of my Patent Hive. The great mass of hives now T in use are so constructed that the apiarian has but little control over the interior part of the hive. Mary of them are composed of a succession of boxes, and their inventors will tell you that when they are once filled, either one of them can be removed and an empty one placed iu its stead. Many times, thisjnay be done, but in doing so you may have a large amount of bees within it to dispose of, and should the Queen happen to be there, it might be ^the means of breaking up the whole stock ; and, aside from that, the box may be half full of young bees, not yet hatched- This is the great difficulty that many have to encounter, where their hives are com- posed of two, three, or four boxes, as the case may be, where the bees have full access to all the boxes at once; most of them, if not all, contain brood most of the season, which has a tendency to injure the quality of the honey. Wherever brood is, or has been, it darkens and thickens the comb, and of course injures the appearance and quality of the honey. Bees can be induced to store their surplus honey in any kind of receptacle their owner sees fit to give them, if properly arranged. I compel my bees, many times, to build comb and store honey in glass tumblers, decanters, and the like. I have been somewhat amused, before now, in visiting the different apiaries in the country, to find the variety of hives that many of then make use of. I visited an apiary, not long since, in Clinton County, State of New York. There were EEE HIVES. 151 some thirty-five or forty colonies scattered over the garden, and there was scarcely one hive, or box, in the whole, that resembled a proper bee-hive ; but they were composed prin- cipally of old tea chests, nail kegs, sap buckets, flour barrels, raisin boxes, powder kegs, &c. If those bees could have had proper hives to work in, and proper care bestowed upon them, the owner could have realized forty or fifty pounds of honey, from each colony,over and above their supplies for winter use; but, on the contrary, he will not realize ten pounds of spare honey to the swarm. And as a natural consequence, many of the hives were filled with moths and worms, which will ruin a swarm of bees in a short time, if they cannot be removed. " The Moths and Millers arc among the greatest troubles the bee-keeper has to contend with, in the use of the old style of hives, and many of the patent hives are no better in this re- spect, but some of them are even worse. I think 1 can safely say that in nineteen-twentieths of all hives now in use, if the millers once get possession of them, there is no alternative but to give them a dose of brimstone, and take possession of what little honey there is remaining in the hive, and it will be full of worms perhaps, at that. I frequently hear this com- plaint made from men who formerly kept bees, t lat they used to keep bees, but after two or three years the millers got into them and they all " kind of run out." This is all nonsense ; there is no more necessity of having your bees " run out,' ; than there is of your cattle or sheep, or anything else that is kept on a farm; give them a proper kind of hive, and good care and attention, at the time wdien they most need it, and they will repay you better than anything else that is kept on your farm ; there is no season, but with proper management, bees will lay up stores enough to carry them through the winter, and generally a large surplus. If farmers wou'd turn more of their attention to the culture of the honey bee, and less 152 BEE IHVi S. to the cultivation of Chinese sugar cane and shanghai chick- ens, they would be better remunerated in the end, as honey is one of our great staples, and will always command a good price; generally it bears the price of butter, but in Boston and New York markets it sells much higher. The income of a good swarm of bees from the first of June to the first of October, is more than the increase of any cow that can be produced, if they have proper care and attention bestowed upon them. If any one doubts this assertion, let him call upon me and I will convinc him of the truth of it. ( ee pre- vious chapter, or Advertisement, for large amounts of honey made by a single swarm in one year.) The practical bee-keeper must be aware that unless he can have easy access to the interior of his hives, and can have con- trol of eaeh and every comb, he cannot manage his bees suc- cessfully for any length of time. Bees many times will do well ; especially young swarms for the first year, in a common board hive, but after they have filled it the story is told j then the next thing should be to remove a portion of it, and give them a chance to refill it ; but such an operation as this can- not easily be effected in a common hive. I have ascertained in my experience that bees will make honey near four times as fast, when they can always have the central portion of the hive to work in, as they would if compelled to work in boxes on the top of the hive. New honey when made in the cen- tral portion of the hive, is just as good as that made in boxes, if clear of bread. The reason why bees can make honey so much faster in the body part of the hive, is simply this : as the great mass of bees are constantly there, they keep up that amount of animal heat that is necessary to build comb, and without any extra exertion or loss of time on their part; whereas, if they were building in boxes, it would take a large number of bees to cluster there in order to generate the amount of heat that is required to construct combs, which is BEE HIVES. 153 nearly one hundred degrees Faerenheit. Whilst the bees are clustered to generate an extra amount of heat, their time of coursg is taken up, and they cannot be in the fields gathering honey ; bes des, the distance the bee has to travel from the entrance to almost any part of the main hive, is but a few in- ches. I trust the bee-keeper will readily see the importance of having the most of his honey stored up or made in the main hive. In giving a description of my Compound Hive, I can do no less than speak of its many advantages in the manage- ment of the honey bee. If I should recommend my hive to be superior to everything else, and that all other hives were trash be^de it, the reader might take me to be of the same character and stripe of hundreds that have gone before me, and flooded the country with boxes of peculiar shape, bearing the name of bee hives, and which, in many insiances, have been more of a curse to bee culture than a source of profit. I have spoken of some of the disadvantages of other hives, and in speaking of the advantages, (if such I may be permit- ted to call them,) of my own hive, I hope to show the contrast, or, in what respect my hive differs from others; which I trust I shall be able to do before I get through with this chapter. I have constructed several styles of hives in the course of my Apiarian pursuits in the last few years, and it has always been my object to have a hive so constructed that the Apiarian could favor and assist the bees in their labor, in every possi- ble way, always bearing in mind that time, to bees, is honey, as well as money to their owner. How important it is, then, that the bees should have a good, substantial, and convenient hive, and proper care and attention ; wh n all these advan- tages are given to bees, it is better than money at one hun- dred per cent interest. My hiv( is so constructed that it will meet the general demands of the bees, either in cold or warm weather, or in a c Id or warm climate, as it is well ventila- 154 BEE HIVES. ted and all the ventilators have shutters that can be used when req aired. I have two kinds of hives as well as sizes ; the first is a common swarming hive, whh a dead air space the whole size of the hive, and six or seven inches in height ; this dead air space I give to the use of the bees in winter • by doing this, the entrance of the hive can be closed entirely af- ter the weather becomes so cold that bees cannot fly out safe- ly, which is on or about the first of November ; when this is done they will have to be ventilated by opening one of the ventilators in the body part of the hive and another one in the dead air chamber. My other hive, which is my last im- provement, is a swarming or non-swarming hive, at the option of the Apiarian. It is made double, or a hive within a hive when placed in winter quarters, thus giving a dead air space around the entire hive. When this is done, the scientific man will readily perceive that an equilibrium of temperature can be kept up, by the ventilation thus afforded, as the animal heat of the bees and the weather may require. My small hive contains 2016 cubic inches, or near one bush- el by measure ; the larger one contains 2778 cubic inches, or nearly five pecks by measure, and both together, as a non- swarming hive, contains 4794 cubic inches, or nearly two and one-fourth bushels by measure. Th's hive is so constructed that it can be used as one hive, (either a swarming or non- swarming one,) or two single hives, if cccas ; on requires it. When used as anon-swanning hive, the smaller one should be set upon the larger one, with two additional boards of equal size placed between them, and a piece taken out of the side of each board about midway, two inches wide by eight inches in length, so that when the two cut edges are put to- gether, there will be a space four inches wide by eight inches long ; this space in the division board, is to give the bees ac- cess from one hive to the other. These boa.ds should be placed on the hive the same way the conb-guicles run, and EEE HIVES. 155 wide enough to project over it three inches all round; and when the larger hive is to be used separate, then these boards should be reversed, so that they will cover the hive tight; and should the bee-keeper wish to make use of boxes, they can be attached on the sides, so that the bees can go from the hot om board into the boxes direct. Boxes come with the hives usually ; it takes 19 comb-guides to accommodate both hives, eleven in the large one and eight in the small one ; thirteen of them are made and fitted into the smaller one, and the others are cut and all ready to brad together, and pack- in one of the boxes with the brads, so the bee-keeper after he receives his hive, can brad them together in five minutes time. The hive when packed and ready for shipping, or when standing in a winter condition, is 18 by 16 inches wide, and 24 inches high, outside measure. The weight of a com- plete hive with boxes included, is nearly 55 pounds. The small hive, or No. 1, as I shall call it, is the common swarm- ing hive which I have spoken of heretofore, with the dead air chamber over the top of it ; this dead air space is where the boxes or spare honey receptacles are placed. In the winter all boxes should be removed from the hives. When the No. 1 hive is separated from No. 2, it should be lifted out, as No. 2 is a simple box with a bottom attached, of sufficient size to admit No. 1 when used as a winter hive. This complete hive, with the boxes, will hold over 200 pounds. A few of the advantages of this combined hive I will here mention : 1st. The Apiarian can get into the interior part of the hive and take out one single comb or a part of one, any time he chooses, either summer or winter, and the bees will not re- sent the robbery, if the bee-keeper will follow my directions in approaching a swarm of bees. (See chapter on Gei eral Management.) 156 BEE IllVtfS. 2d. The great enemy of bees, the Miller Moth, cannot harm them, as it is very seldom they will enter one of these hives, and if tlmy should, the bee-keeper can easily take out a card or two of comb and pick them out with his fingers, and not get stung in the operation, as they will seldom if ever attempt to sting when properly managed. 3d. The bee keeper can always tell at what time the bees will swarm, and if they cannot swarm, as thousands of bees have not this year, (1858,) he can ascertain the cause in two minutes time, and give them the means by which they can swarm if desired. 4th. If the Apiarian wishes to put several swarms togeth- er, he can do it readily and safely ; every bee-keeper that lets them swarm naturally, will have much of this to do, if he wishes to winter them; it often takes four or five small swarms to make one that would winter safely. •5th. A swarm can be divided, and two or three made of it, if desired. (See directions in chapter on Swarming.) Gth. The Apiarian using this kind of hive can equalize the honey, as well as bee-bread, amongst his different colonies, should it be advisable, and also the bees, by cutting a card of comb from a full hive that contains young brood, and de- positing it in the hive that needs recruiting. When the*e young bees hatch, of course they are at home, and will unite readily with the sw r arm ; which might not be the case when a a parcel of strange bees were forced into a hive, especially if the needy swarm has a fertile Queen. Many times the bee- master may have certain swarms of bees that have had great- er facilities than some other*, and have made a surplus to spare, while other swarms, perhaps, have not made enough for their winter's u e, they being later swarms, or perhaps hav- ing lost their Queen; to such, this surplus honey could be given, and thereby save the colony. A bee-keeper cannot always tell by the outward appearance BEE HIVES. 157 of a hive whether they have a fertile Queen wihin or not, but by using this hive he can ascertain it in a very few min- utes, and if destitute of a Queen they can be furnished with one from some other hive, if they have not the means them- selves to raise one. (See chapter on swarming and transfer.) When bees are seen carrying in bee-bread, it is generally al- lowed they have a Queen ; i; may be so and a barren one at that. Queens sometimes get so old before they die, that they are perfectly barren ; they are not to be depended upon over two and a half years at longest, although their age is three, four, and sometimes even five years. It frequently happens that the young Queens have not an opportunity of pairing with. the drones until they are twenty days old, and then it is too late, as they cannot be fecundated after that period. (See chapter on Queens.) Bees will fetch in bee-bread, and work upon the honey flowers occasionally, when they possess the virgin and barren Queens ; But if the Apiarian can get into the interior part of the hive, (and not be molested by the bees,) he can ascertain what kind of a Queen there is piesent, by examining the brood ; if there is very young brood, or eggs not yet hatched, he can rest assured there is a fertile Queen present ; in all good swarms there is more or less brood the year round ; medium, or small colonies, are some- times destitute of brood three months out of twelve, Decem- ber, January and February. But the time to ascertain about then Queens, is in the honey season, as that is the most con- venient time to remedy any disaster. By the use of this hive, all these troubles are entirely overcome, as well as many others I might name. I have also an improved Regulator, or Drone Killer, at- tached to the entrance of the hive, which can be used four or five different ways ; first, it is fastened to the hive by means of a thumb-screw, which can be turned as occasion requires ; the instrument is made to slide on the bottom board an inch N 158 BEE HIVES. and a half or two inches, thus contracting the entrance from two inches to one fourth of an inch, if desired, as in the case of robbers, when the entrance should be contracted immedi- ately after it is discovered ; sometimes the entrance should be closed altogether. (See chapter on robbery?) When the instrument is raised to the height of three-sixteenths of an inch and fastened there, the spa-e will allow the worker bees to pass in and outfreely, but the drones cannot pass it, nor the Queen, they bdng much larger bees. If the Apiarian should be troubled with drones and wishes to dispose of them, let him, in the middle of a fair day, set this instrument to the lower guage, and fasten it there, as at that time the majority of the drones are out of the hive, and soaring in the air for a pleasure excursion and to meet the young Queens ; let the in- strument remain in that position until night, then if the work- er bees are all in the hive, scrape the drones off into hot wa- ter, and give them to the chickens; then place the instrument up to the highest guage until the next warm day • in attend- ing to this for two or three times, the drones will be totally destroyed ; in setting this instrument to the lower guage just after hiving a new swarm, it will prevent the Queen from leaving the hive in case the bees wish to leave for the woods, as they very frequently do after being hived, and sometimes when they have been hived for several days ; the bees cannot run away unless the Queen can leave with them ; if they fly out with that anticipation they will all return to the hive^again as soon as tin y find the Queen is not with them. The Apia- rian can prevent his bees from swarming, by putting the in- strument to this guage upon the hive to be operated upon ; when this is done, the bees should be accommodated with a plenty of room for their operations. I also have another instrument which I have lately inven- ted, that I can attach to a hive or box, and expel all the bees from it, or, I can reverse the instrument, and retain all the BEE HIVES. 159 bees that enter the hive or box. With this instrument I can secure a swarm of bees from a tree, if I can obtain one single bee, and in less than three clays I can force them logo to the tree and rob their own nest, of honey, and deposit it in my hive. This assertion, perhaps, my readers will very much doubt, brat I trust the time is not far distant when I shall be able to give them a demonstration of it in public. This in- strument is entirely separate from my hive, although it can be attached to it, or any other hive, after the entrai ce is made to fit it. I have also invented a revolving platform, so constructed as to give the entrance of the hive on any point I choose, east, wosi, north or routli. It is very essential many times to change the entrance with the seasons. I also have a pro- cess attached to it whereby I can weigh a colony of b es at any time in two minutes, and ascertain ju-t how fast they make honey, whether it is one pound a day 7 or IS. This in- strument and stand will be introduced to the public in a short time. r- 160 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF CEE3. CHAPTER XVII- General Management of Bees. Od the subject of bee management, much could be said that, perhaps, would interest the majority of bee-keepers, I fear that I shall displease some of my Apiarian friends by my plainness of speech, in the course of this chap- ter, yet I will endeavor to speak nothing but the truth. In the course of my apiarian studies, I have seen so much mis- management and carelessness practiced, seemingly by men of good sense, that I have wondered before now that bees would live with them at all. Keeping bees, as many do, in little Barrow, contracted hive?, sap buckets, or something of that sort, arid then perhaps attempting to winter them in that de- plorable condition, sometimes a portion of them being with- out a Queen, and others not containing more than a quart of bees, and to crown the whole, perhaps allowing them to stand out of doors, it is no wonder their owners, as a natural conse- quence, have the consolation of knowing, long before Spring, that they have more dead bees than living ones, in all such hives. And the idea of putting bees into winter quarters sometime in the Fall, and not going near them again till the next spring, and then, perhaps, finding half of them, and sometimes nearly all, dead ! If a man in this enlightened age of the world, will be so imprudent and careless, he de- serves no pity if he looses all his bees. What would we think of a man, a keeper of sheep, for instance, if he put a hundred sheep into an enclosure, and perhaps makes a cal- culation about what amount of hay usually keeps that num- ber of sheep. Supposing he put that amount of hay into the enclosure with the sheep, and tells them to help themselves. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. lGl Let the kind shepherd keep away from his flock until the coming Spring. Would not such a man as that be called a fool by a sensible community ] The probability is that there would be more dead sheep than living ones, in the Spring, One is about as absurd as the other. If a man wishes to keep bees, let him take proper care of them, as he would of cattle or sheep, if he wishes to be profited by them. Bees require but little care during the winter, if properly put into winter quarters. Many times nearly one-half, and frequent- ly over that number, of bees put into winter quarte:s, perish before Spring, and many of them having plenty of honey. The honest bee-keeper, of course, wonders what killed them. This is easily explained. In the first place, a man may at- tempt to winter a small swarm of bees in a large hive, where they i-annot keep up their animal heat. At other times, the bee-keeper may give his bees only one entrance to the hive, and that, perhaps, at the bottom. This one thing alone will kill bees in nine cases out often, for this reason: in cold weather, the breath of bees becomes frost, the same as that of a person, and, unless the hive is ventilated at thetop.frost will accumulate in the top of the hive to the depth of sev- eral inches. Sometimes it drives the bees into the lower part of the hive, away from their provisions ; and, should that not kill them, as soon as the weather becomes warmer this frost melts to- water, and runs down upon the bees and combs, there becoming ice, stops up the entrance, and the bees are smothered, for want of air, in less than twenty-four hours after. One great secret in keeping bees, is to keep the stocks strong. Fill the hive with bees as full as it will con- tain, and they can resist frost or anything else, if they have plenty of air. Their animal heat must be ke t t up ; if not, they are gone. There must be a temperature of 60 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or they will perish ; and they cannot breed unless it is much higher than that. *n 162 GENERAL MANGEMENT OF BEES- Some bee-keepers put their bees in the cellar, which is about as bad a place as they could be put in. There is not one cellar in twenty that is dry enough to keep bees in, The dampness molds and blackens the combs, and many times the bees get diseased in consequence. Many of them die, and sometimes whole colonies are thus destroyed. Bees should be kept in winter in a dry, cool, still, dark place. A dark bedroom, in a quiet part of the house, would be the most appropriate place for the welfare of the bees- When they are kept in such a place as that, their master has an opportunity of looking into each and every hive, every two weeks at least, to see that they are not dying off rapidly, that they have plenty of honey, and can get at it. Many times bees have plenty of honey in the hive, and starve io death, notwithstanning. In the winter of 1857-8, there were many bees lost, and plenty of honey in the hive. In cold weather bees usually cluster very close together, gen- erally near the middle portion of the hive. Should there be brood, they will not leave it after they have eaten away the honey in the vicinity of the brood, if there is not an easy ac- cess through the combs, from one to another. They will starve before they will venture from the cluster to go round the combs to their stores, as they are not all disposed to go at once. They will never leave their brood for honey, unless it is close at hand. I hope every person using the Com- pound hive will bear in mind to cut a hole thn ugh the mid- dle portion of the card, near an inch in diameter, and within three inches of the top. Have the holes as near in range as possible. Serve every comb in this manner in October or November, and when there is a good swarm in the hive, and plenty of honey, I will ensure them to winter, either out of doors or in the house. A pocket knife is a good instrument to cut the holes with. Bees kept in the house through the winter, with care and attention, will be much more likely to GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 163 winter through, than if they remained out of doors. Then the bee-master can watch them, and see that they do not want. And they will commence breeding much earlier, and throw off larger swarms in the spring, when kept in the house. They may consume a little more honey, but that is but a trifle, compared with the advantages that are gained by so doing. A good swarm of bees in early spiing are of much more value than a few pounds of honey ; al- though bees will winter in my double hive out of doors, if the ventilator is opened in the top part and closed below. As regards bee-houses, I prefer a tree in the garden to any bee house. A bee house, if properly constructed, will answer to shelter hives against the inclemency of the weath- er. The protection of the hives, if they were nice ones^ would be the principal thing in having a house, especially in the summer season. The way to aprpoach a swarm of bees, after ,they are once established in the compound hive, whether they were hived after swarming, or transferred from some other hive, is all the same. The bee-keeper should approach the hive slowly and fearlessly ; open it gently by taking the cover or top off. Set it upon the ground or floor ; if the boxes be upon the hive, remove them as easily as possible ; then, with the help of a knife, pry up the honey boards cautiously, first giving them a few spoonfuls of sweetened water through the holes of the boards, before removing them. The bee-keper should go to his hive furnished with a bowl of sweetened water, a half pint of water to four or five tablespoonfuls of whiie sugar or honey. When the honey boards are removed sprinkle them cautiously by pouring the liquid over them with a spoon. The bees, after receiving a treat of this kind> become perfectly docile and tame. Ihey eat it with a great relish. Whilst the bees are partaking of the liquid sweets, their master can take out any of the guides or combs, and 164 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. perform any ope rati Dn he chooses with the greatest ease. After the bee-keeper has f< v d and handled his bees a few times in this way, he can approach them afterwards without the sweetened water. The best time to open a hive, especial- ly in the summer season, is early in the morning, before many of the bees leave the hive. Handling bees in the middle of a warm day should be avoided, as much as pos- sible. When the bee-master is amongst his bees, he should be free from all dirt, or perspiration, as all impurities have a tendency to make bees cross- The bee hive should always occupy such a position in the garden or bee house, that it can be opened at any time. When the Apiarian is pe. forming with, or handling his bees, it should be done as hastily as possible, (especially if there are other colonies near by,) so that the neighboring bees will not be tempted to rob, and also in cold weather, that the bees or brood may not get chilled while the hive is open. If the bee-keeper should be afraid to go to his bees, it would be well enough to use a Protector ; when comb or honey is to be re- moved from the interior part of the hive, let him by means of a pocket knife loosen three or four of the comb guides, so one can be removed if desired; if the combs are fastened togeth- er or attached to tin- hive, then they should be loosened by the use of a honey knife ; (a carving knife will answer as well,) the honey boards should be scraped if the bees attach any comb or propolis to them, and when placed upon the hive should be turned over, as the heat of the swarm may warp them somewmat. The bee-master should save all the pieces of comb that are white, so that when small. boxes or tumblers are introduc- ed to the hive, the small bits of comb can be put ir.to them, and by means of melted wax can be made to adhere to the tumbler or box. and the bees will build to the size of the re (JEAERAL MANACJEiVlKXT OV BEES. 1M ceptacle, when placed over tlie hive. The Apiarian should examine his bees in the month of August, and ascertain whether there U a fertile Queen present ; should any of the hives be without one, they should be furnished with. the means to rear another, which can be readily done at that season of the year. (See chapter on loss of Queen.) Brimstone. Thousands of bees every year are consigned to the sulphur pit ; if bee-keepers did but know what a bar- barous practice this i^, I think they would abandon it. Let m reason for a moment. What should we think oT a man who should give his cow a dose of brimstone to get a little milk, or to his hens to get a few eggs ? yet millions of indus- trious honey bees are thus destroyed every season for the sake of a few pounds of sulphur-scented honey. If the bees have been profitable to us one season, why not let them be so the next ? It takes only a few pounds of honey to winter a swarm, usually about a pound of honey to a thousand bees, when having proper accommodations. The TIappij family, pat/ivg their respects to their Queen, 16G ROBBEBV OF BEES, CHAPTER XVIII. ROBBERY OF BEES. Practical bee-keepers ar^ well aware cf tin's propensity in bees : they are prone to rob at every chance that presents it- self, but not usually in honey weather. Bee-keepers should always be on the look out in early spiing and fall, for bee robbers, and should guard against it ly contracting the en- trance of the hive to near half an inch ; if this is done in due time, all robbing will be prevented, unless it should be a col- ony that have lost their Queen. Should the bee master dis- cover that his bees had commenced robbing, or that they were being robbed, let him watch for a few moments the entrances of the other hives, and if any of them are seen to enter with the flour on their backs, then it is proof positive that his bees are robbing one another, and the entrances to both hives should be contracted at once to one-fourth of an inch, and frequently it will be. neressary to close the entrance altogeth- er for that day. The next day give them one half inch at the entrance ; if the entrance be closed the first day, it should be opened just at night to allow the robbers a chance to go home; then the hese'g^d hive should be scented thoroughly with some kind of aromatic oil or essence, and the robbers will not trouble it the following d.y. It is sometimes very diffi- cult for an inexperienced person to ascertain whether the hon- ey is going into the hive or out of it, and whether it is his neighbors bees or his own, that are engaged in it ; under these circumstances let the bcje-uiaster sprinkle a little flour over the bees that enter and depart from the hive. I have spoken of robbery in another chapter. ROBBERY OF BEKS. 167 The way to ascertain whether Honey is going into the hive or out of ft. Let the b. e-master catch a worker as >he pass- es into the hive, pull her in two pieces, and ascertain wheth- er she is loaded with honey ; if so. the swarm are robbing ; to make the proof stronger, catch a bee on coming out of the hive, and if her honey sack is not filled, then it is positive that the honey is going into the hive, but' should it be the reverse, then of course, the honey is passing out of the hive. Anger of. Bees. I have already treated of the disposition of bees to use their slings when irritated, either by direct in- terference with them, or by the approach of persons to whom they have an antipathy. The smart quick strokes of the wings, when they are angry and prepared to sting, give a sound very different from their usual buzz. " Instead," says Mr. Hunter, " of that soft contented noise made by a bee com- ing home loaded on a fine evening, whenever she meditates an attack with her sting, she makes a very different one ;" there is a piercing shrillness in the sound, as the author and some of his friends have often experienced. The irascibility of hive bees, has teen noticed in strong terms by Virgil ; " when once provoked," says he, " they set no bounds to their anger, but, Deem life itself to vengeance well resigned, Die on the wound and leave their stings behind." RECEIPTS. 172 Mead. Some persons may feel desirous of making for themselves this once famous drink. I will attempt to furnish them with simple directions for so doing : Common Mead is formed by mixing two parts of water to one of honey, and boiling them together and taking off the scum. Fermented Mead, or Metlieglin, is formed of three parts of water to one of honey, boiled as before, and skimmed and casked. The cask is to be left with the bung out and exposed to the sun, or in a warm room, until it ceases to work. The bung should then be replaced and in about three months it is fit for use. The addition of a fermenter is of course necessary, taking care that it be sound, good and sweet. Hops are an improve- ment to Mead, as it takes from its sweetness ; also, chop- ped raisins boiled with it at the rate of six pounds of honey to each half pound of raisins, also, a few bits of lemon peel, and a few glasses of brandy will improve it very much. Artificial Honey, which can hardly be distinguish from the pure article, is made as follows : Take of soft water six pounds, best moist brown sugar 20 pounds, pure bees honey 3 pounds, cream of tartar 80 grains, essence of roses 20 drops ; mix in a brass kettle, boil five minutes and then take it off and add the white of two eggs well beaten ; when al- most cold add two pounds more of pure honey. A decoction of slipperry elm bark, or the mucilage of gum Arabic, will im- prove the honey if added while cooling ; sometimes starch is used instead of the bark or gum, and is very good. Letters on business must be addressed to K. P. KIDDER, Burlington Vt. Queen. Worker. 173 BEE-COMB. FIGURE 8. Represents the different kinds of combs of a hive, also showing the contents of which the combs is filled : k Represents the cells all filled with honey sealed ; and, h represents Brood in the different stages of transformation, from the egg to the perfect bee ; f represents drone cells empty ; g shows the cells to be full of brood ; e represents a royal cell just started; c shows where the Queen has just emerged ; d shows a sealed Queen not yet hatched ; a shows where the bees have nearly demolished a Qusen cell ; b shows where the. Queen has met with a violent death. The dark part of the comb shows where it is filled with bee-bread. INDEX OF CHAPTERS. I. Anatomy of the bee, II. The sources of bees, III. Impregnation of Queen, IV. Architecture of bees, V Brood of the bees, VI. Honey pasturage, VII. Honey Dews, VIII. Bees Wax, IX. Farina or Pollen, -0,9- PAGE- 25 35 57 73 86 97 114 120 125 PAGK. X. Propolis or Bee Glue, 128 XI. Drone or male bee, 130 XII. Breeding of bees, 132 XIII. Swarming of bees, 136 XIV. Transfer of bees, 141 XV. Removal of bees, 145 XVI. Beehives, 147 XVII. General management of bees, 160 XVIII. Robbery of bees, 166 INDEX. OO- PAGE. Architecture of Bees, '3 Analomical view of 57 Aphides, cause of the Honey- Dews, 114 Animal heat of Bees, 161 Anger of Bees explained, 167 Artificial Honey, recipe for, in the latter part of the book. Bees, Senses of, 34 •' sight of, 34 " feeling or touch 35 » Taste, 37 " visit barn-yards, (not for honey) 38 1 ' feed upon poisonous flow- ers, onions, &c, 38 '* hearing-, 39 ,s prevented from running away when swarming. 40 " smelling explained, 42 " scent honey a long dis- tance, 44 " will attack a person out of health, 45 " (workers) affection for their Queen, 48 " bereavement of, when Queen is killed. 67 " understand the rules of geometry, 79 " Brood, " 86 *' build their combs, 86 " visit flowers, 106 Bee-keeping, 113 Bees, fill their hives. 113 Bee Bread, substitute for, 127 Bees, when to be fed and how, 133 '■• Protectors for, and how worn, 140 " never should be removed from their old stand in the working season, 142 " Hiving of, 142 11 Removal of, 145 " the reason why they will not work in boxes at all times, 148 *' time it takes to enter the boxes after entering the hive, 149 41 never run out, 151 Bees, more profitable than cows 152 " where kept through the Winter, 162 Bee-houses, not essential 163 Bees, how to approach them, 163 " Handling of, 164 •* when examined, 165 Brimstone, 165 Comb, how and when built in different directions, 74-75 Comb, depth and diameter of, 79 " should all be saved, 164 " see cut and description of 173 Cause of bees dying in winter, 161 Cells, how constructed, 80 Drones, description of, 33 " functions of, 54 " massacre of, and how effected, 55 Drones, life spared Queen is lost, 56 " when they leave the hive, 54 " for Queen's impregnation 60 " Eggs, hatching of 96 " how destroyed, 158 Farina, pollen, or bee-bread, description of, 125 Farina, large quantities in old hives, 126 Feeding bees explained, 1 32 Frost kills bees, how prevented, 161 General management of bees, 160 Humming sound, how produced 29 Honey pasturage, 97 «' large amount in one year 98 " undergoes no change in the stomach of the bee, 100 Honey from poisonous flowers, 102 «* very nutricious, 103 " one of the first sweets we have knowledge of, (see An- cient History,) 103 Honey, great tonic in sickness, 103 " great article of traffic among all nations, 1 04 Honey better in colder climates, 104 *« eating while new, 104 " poisonous in warm cli- mates, 105 Honey collected from the same flower many times, 114 Honey-boxes, how used, 148 175 INDEX. PAGE. Honey Dews, cause of, 114 " made fastest in the main hive, 150 Honey, how to ascertain when going into, or out of the hive, case of robbery, 167 Honey, artificial, recipe for ma- king, latter part of book. Hunting bees, the latest im- provement, 109 Hives, discussed and explained 147 " variety of, as seen in the State of New York, 150 Hives composed of a series of boxes bad to manage, 150 Keeping bees in small hives, consequences of, 160 Keeping bees in Winter, 160 " (e in the cellar, folly of 162 Language of bees explained, 111 Memory of bees, 74 Moraldie's hive, a snail crept into, 130 Mild winter injurious to bees, 138 Metheglin, Mead, recipe for, in latter part of book. On the different substances found in a bee hive, 97 Over-stocking a country, (im- probable) 113 Over-stocking a hive with bee- bread, 126 Pasturage for bees, (Dutch clo- ver, &c.,) 102 Pollen, or bee-bread, descrip- tion of, ' 125 Proboscis of Bees described. 27 Propolis, (bee-glue) description of, 128-50 Queen, description of, 32 ." functions of, 46 " deposits eggs, how done, 47 " aversion to each other, 49 " age of, 54 " eggs all hatch drones. 56 " impregnation of, 57 " when she leaves the hive, 58 " made from Worker larvae 61 " how supplied when lost, 65 " piping of, explained, 67 " ovaries, (see cut) 71 " cell, description of, 81 " deposits a large number eggs, 87 Queen, description of, by Schi- rach, 87 Queen, transformation of, 95 " respected and fed by , Workers, 108 Queen, how kept in a hive, 140 " deposits eggs in boxes, 149 " when present how known, 157 65 prevented from running away, 158 Regulator, or drone-killer, how used, 157 Robbing, cause of, and how remedied, 166 Sting, description of, 31 Swarming, how brought about early, 135 Swarming of bees, how promo- ted and prevented, 137 Swarming, irregularity and cause of, 137 Swarming, signs of, 136 " prevented by controlling the Queen, 139 Swarming should be allowed, 139 " artificially, when desired, 139 Swarms, uniting of, 144 " size of, see last page of cover. Secret of keeping bees success- fully, 161 Sting of bees, remedy for, see last page of cover. Transfer of bees, Value of beeb, in the Fall, is in the honey, in the Spring, in the amt. of bees, Wax, elaboration of, (by Bon- ner) 30-122 Wax, of different kinds, 120 " how to tell a good article, 124 ** an article of commerce, ' 5 how made, Water and salt given to bees, Weighing a swarm of bees, Wintering bees in a compound hive, Wintering bees by boring the combs. Worker bee, functions of, '" lays eggs, " anatomical view of, " transformation of " time eggs hatch, Cf imperfect organization of, 141 m 124 124 135 159 162 162 49 53 57 91 96 52 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS