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FN iagata wee yee tet 1 Sat syn tet Lee AIL) ire a PP ERERCS if heh pide begins d on Awe F aegt ek a Faas 34 lie BN ih 148 Bis ¢ x if Goa Pepa aang siti i rahe 4 ONE La baey avai anivehd 4284 F ‘ fait ea % ay te parte ee yanks ined eerie | 14 iad rea 4 fe ans at! 8 Get dee beg 19 ABS phere aye Lae te 4304 ee fewit smi Uy batt ean! deat dt hea td CELLS ae oan oa hea ATES aye a a ane ate ba lcd 14eh preg tase ye ee: pacers ramers jaeas ae poe atqinte H4C9 sad bed SOO naa 5 Aa PIR TY etd a ihihe Syn lire Ts seceyle Mh yah pian te at fete pad. ° Di ah span sgn we ails ay? ahd vay POT RAT fee et sigh Ot tetas Watt nae 7 h < Nabe ane welds i neti St Ai vpn ees ee Ha Sy eA ae Peet era 1 if fay th Hata Ss hacuty ad ves a siden get Jamil " sad! a pat ed, Td ah ts Teeiaats cs ith Peri ? asia f DPR uth AM mY tiie I nb i if \ Hib} Mie at dash sede ii eenbedal et wid 144 4a “ Bias sis t ie a totu® site pnaisiia 4 ue i My vin 8) tee hah Cee que wba habeus cane enel nh rue 1h Haag i Th Wiles eye tl rent? ati Haat boi Mi Pare vt (ytaed flair yy i Hebe Wek Mi ny TRAM Hy iy f Yop Kh Heated ere Yet li A) i OMA ae ANN tt AINA gata a\ Mii Bir Wy IK i So work the Ifoney Bees, Nature, teach in The art of order to a peopled kingdom. by a rule Creatures that, } Shakspeare. ™% Cont A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE, be j ) f wit J RY L°L. LANGSTROTH ; VITH AN INTRODUCTION, BY REV. ROBERT BAIRD, D. D. THIRD EDITION, EBEVISED, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVENTY-SEVEN ENGRAVINGS. New York: AYO? MOORE & CO, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, 140 FULTON STREET. 1859. ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, By L. L. LANGSTROTH, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. Joun A. Dovetas & Co., WYNKOOP, HALLENBECK & TF/IOMAS, Stereotypers, Printers, 183 William Street, N. Y. 113 Fulton Street, N. Y. INTRODUCTION. I am happy to learn from my friend Mr. Lanesrroru, that a new edition of his work on the Hive and Honey- Bee is called for; I consider it by far the most valuable treatise on these subjects, which has come nnder my notice. Some years before it was published, I became acquainted with the main characteristics of his system of Bee-culture, and even then, I believed it to be incompar- ably superior to all others of which I had either read or heard. ‘This conviction has been amply strengthened by the testimony of others, as well as by results which have come under my own observation. In my early life I had no mconsiderable experience in the management of bees, and I am bold to say that the hive which Mr. Lanesrroru has invented, is in all respects greatly superior to any which I have ever seen, either in this or foreign countries. Indeed, I do not believe that any one who takes an intelligent interest in the rearing of bees, can for a moment hesitate to use it; or, rather, can be induced to use any other, when he becomes acquainted — with its nature and merits. At length the true secret has been discovered, of iil ay INTRODUCTION. making these most industrious, interesting, and useful of insect-communities, work in habitations both comfortable to themselves and wonderfully convenient for their aggre- gation, division, and rapid increase ® and all this without diminishing their productive labor, or resorting to the cruel measure of destroying them. Mr. Lancsrrots teaches us in his book, how bees can be taken care of without great labor, and without the risk of suffering from the weapon which the Creator has given them for self-defence. Even a delicate lady need not fear to undertake the task of cultivating this fascinating branch of Rural Economy. Nothing is easier for any family that resides in a favorable situation, than to have a number of colonies, and this at but little expense. I sincerely hope that many will avail themselves of the facilities now placed before them for prosecuting this easy branch of industry, not only for the sake of the large profit in proportion to its expense, which it may be made to yield, but also for the substantial pleasure which they may find in observing the habits of these wonderful little creatures. How remarkably does their entire econ- omy ulustrate the wisdom and skill of the Grear AuTHoR of all things. I cannot but believe that many Ministers of the Gospel, residing in rural districts, will accept of Mr. Lanesrrorn’s generous offer to give them the free use of his Invention. With very little labor or expense, they can derive from bee-keepmg considerable profit, as well as much pleasure. INTRODUCTION. Vv No industrial or material employment can be more inno- cent, or less inconsistent with their proper work. There are few portions of our country which are not admirably adapted to the culture of the Honey-Bee. The wealth of the nation might be increased by millions of dollars, if every family favorably situated for bee-keeping would keep a few hives. No other branch of industry ean be named, in which there need be so little loss on the material that is employed, or which so completely derives its profits from the vast and exhaustless domains of Nature. I trust that Mr. Lanesrrorn’s labors will contribute greatly to promote a department of Rural Economy, which in this country has hitherto received so little scientific attention. He well deserves the name of Benefactor ; infinitely more so than many who in all countries and in all ages have received that honorable title. Not many years will pass away without seeing his important inven- tion brought into extensive use, both in the Old and New World. Its great merits need only to be known; and this. Time will certainly brine about. 3 (Ss) ROBERT BAIRD. Pn A oo: ENcouRAGED by the favor with which the former edi- tions of this work have been received, I submit to the public a Revised Edition, illustrated by additional wood- euts, and containmg my latest discoveries and improve- ments. The information which it presents, is adapted not only to those who use the Movable-Comb Hive, but to all who aim at profitable bee-keeping, with any hive, or on any system of management. Debarred, to a great extent, by ill-health, from the ap- _ propriate duties of my profession, and compelled to seek an employment callmg me as much as possible into the open air, I cherish the hope that my labors in an impor- - tant department of Rural Economy, may prove service- able to the community. Bee-keeping is regarded in Kurope as an intellectual pursuit, and no one who studies the wonderful habits of this useful insect, will ever find the materials for new observations exhausted. The Cre- ator has stamped the seal of his Infinity on all his works, so that it is impossible, even in the minutest, “* by search- ing to find out the Almighty to perfection.” In none Vil Vill PREFACE. of them, however, has he displayed himself more clearly than in the economy of the Honey-Bee: ‘What well-appointed commonwealths! where each Adds to the stock of happiness for all; Wisdom’s own forums! whose professors teach Eloquent lessons in their vaulted hall! _ Galleries of art! and schools of industry! Stores of rich fragrance! Orchestras of song! What marvellous seats of hidden alchemy ! How oft, when wandering far and erring long, Man might learn truth and virtue from the BEE! BowRineG. The attention of Ministers of the Gospel is particularly invited to this branch of Natural History. An intimate acquaintance with the wonders of the Bee-Hive, while beneficial to them in many ways, might lead them, m their preaching, to imitate more closely the example of Him who illustrated his teachings by “the birds of the air, and the lilies of the field,” as well as the common | walks of life, and the busy pursuits of men. It affords me sincere pleasure to acknowledge my obli- gations to Mr. Samve, Waener, of York, Pennsylvania, for material assistance in the preparation of this Treatise. To his extensive and accurate acquaintance with Bee- keeping in Germany, my readers will find themselves . indebted for much exceedingly valuable information. L. L. LANGSTROTH. OxrorpD, Butter County, Onto, March, 1859. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE, List of Plates and Explanation of Wood-Cuts Illustrating the Natural History Of: Bees ac. ssi acc colar wee eases 1] CHAPTER. I. Facts connected with the invention of the Movable-Comb BeG Hives ss aie e Mos pier tapiecciotecrnueins tnele oer eacka mane a eee 13 Il. Lhe Honey-Bee capable of being tamed.............-5 24 y III. The Queen, or Mother-Bee.—The Drones.—The Workers. —Hacts im their Natural History... 24. «esse cise css 29 TEC only ee ee ls ae aes aaa eee s ace anal Gee all 69 MiB repOlisus ecg tre calc ers shee ite cine ewe lei ielcae asakele alae eet 76 Vis Pollent or! iBee Bread ers 5024. wok ea ctarere se oe are 80 VIE: {V entilatiomzor: tile Gm Cenehuves, (sfc. ie 522 fae eete iets eesrayeie orerors 88 WILL sRequisibes-otv.a Complete; Hives . 2. wads ae cs ease oo 95 IX. Natural Swarming, and Hiving of Swarms............. 109 TR AUR UUM CLAN pS WWE UANIN aes) stiches tee os ohn sal Qgeiar es 4 o/s nis 6) 9,05 143 Mle cMoOssor tie Que emia War cicereats © os ous le eismenecs crete ehers panale 213 XII. The Bee-Moth, and other Enemies of Bees.—Diseases of TCO B Ee ak ay een iar aen user NoMa: Clete Melst elo sce! mer clelatoiiate an 228 ITE -Robbing-and howerrevented =). 5 s.c% Soe i's lee Baeele es 261 MIN Directions for Peeding Bees. i. oa) csc « Sisisee we se wes ses 267 XV. The Apiary.—Procuring Bees to Stock it.—Transferring Bees from Common to Movable-Comb Hives........ 279 DeONVA ea leo To Nes gene gt re SOE aes) A Uni Se ey Sn ea Hey A Sr 285 XVII. Bee-Pasturage.—Over-Stocking............c.0cee eee: 292 1X x . TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. XVIII. The Anger of Bees.—Remedies for their Stings. ....... 308 UX. Phe Italian Honey Bees 2.) edq- «cc este esiine Sees 318 XX. Size, Shape, and Materials for Hives.—Observing-Hives. 329 PRONG WV Ain OWA. COS yak sie) a2 nea en ote coceye sce Ss eena caicee ae 335 XXII. Bee-Keeper’s Calendar.—Bee-Keeper’s Axioms......... 362 Explanation of Wood-Cuts of Movable-Comb Hives, with Bills of Stock for making them............ SSG eM ACR Scone od 371 Copious, Alphabetical Imdext: s22 Meteo sisces nas ose vce eee es 385 AD Oa ae KO) lee ie i ae anaes ee eed PAGE. PAGE, MENON SPICCC ase ces sae W PIGtG. (ONCE Sec ula cteses iareaisra erelereysiees 120 «Movable-Comb Hive, with full glass RPS CCE ERIN LSE ae rats sraorscorarotoreraratorarsis seers 12 Wea TANS MMC bare cepcle 3.0 ate case? eepeiens IB Param. GUE Pe ee am rcarcccmimo cous. 144 miblater eke re cee oe hee evens t QO F oes el Vetere atie cee cree wieene eens 168 “a WSs een Secrets oars cteiinians 24|~ “ SRV GG os ae ats ae are aietcset ays 192 Sti MD teat to bee e pocititia ue haaiee SHIA MED Cone ae My An ty eee RAO SAO 216 Fela Nia al sti e/ oie Me evi raleoabae stoke ai OIE ois NOVEM ay cece rate a tatavayctousteoiorclateea eke 240 fe Ni Sircinis cae ate nie wal aran UN pias. AVE BRR AP ee AA Ain cin 264 INL «i tea i aareraruis= ote eiya sen ans CSG de hee oC CRE Saar ie merits anepena 288 cal NV UUs ri aN cea ae TA TCp A (TSE eRe COs iS GR Re a IMSS A ON nate 312 Date NAW See see kcedocecooccnsessee GN OE OS NRIs die sl dea eh Geese Mos ud 350 Linge ots MORO Sis ccs acseetemamya eral arco ee BSF CO ROOT ai Lisi bu Natt atauerere ape feiars 300 Se sess ey a ata cleans arava afore See D6.) 7 th RODE i oa emia ares 368 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. PLATES I. to XI. inclusive, show the various styles of Movable-Comb Hives, and the Implements used in the Apiary. For explanation of these plates, see p. 371. PLATE XII.—Fres. 31, 32.—Queen-Bee, of magnified and natural size. See p. 30. Fras. 33, 834.—Drone, of magnified and natural size. See p. 49. Fres. 85, 36.—Worker, of magnified and natural size. See p. 54. These Illustrations were copied (with some alterations) from Bagster. PLATE XIII.—Fiea. 37.—Scales of Wax, highly magnified. Seep. 69. Fie. 38.— Abdomen of a Worker-Bee, magnified, and showing the exuding scales of wax. See p. 69. Fie. 39.—Section of a Cell, magnified, and showing the usual position of the egg. See p. 44. Fic. 40.—Larve of Bees, in various stages of development. See p. 44. Fie. 41.—Section of a Cell, magnified, and showing Larva. See p. 44. Fig. 42.—W orker-Larva, fully grown, and ready to spin its Cocoon. See p. 45. Fig. 43.—Worker-Nymph. See p. 40. Fre. 49.—A Queen-Cell of the natural size. See p. 62. Fie. 50.—A Queen-Cell cut open, to show the unhatched queen. See p. 62. Fic. 44.—Eges of the Bee-Moth, of natural and magnified size. See p. 234. Fra, 45,—Larve of the Bee-Moth, fully grown. See p. 231. Xi Kal EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Fic. 46.—Female Bee-Moth. See p. 229. Fie. 59.—Female Bee-Moth, with Ovipositor extruded, and eggs passing through it. See p. 230. : Fie. 60.—Male Bee-Moth. See p. 229. Fie. 61.—Small Male Bee-Moth. See p. 229. Fic. 62.—Head of Mexican Honey-Hornet, magnified. See p. 87. Fie. 63.—Head of Honey-Bee, magnified. See p. 87. Fies. 64, 65.—Jaws of Honey-Hornet and Honey-Bee, magnified. See p. 87. Some of these Illustrations were taken from Swammerdam, Reaumur, and Huber. PLATE XIY.—For an explanation of this plate, which represents the different kinds of Cells in the Honey-Comb, see p. 66. PLATE XY.—For an explanation of Fic. 48, which represents Worker and Drone- Comb, of natural size, see p. 74. Fie. 58.—A Group of Queen Cells, drawn from a specimen found in the Authov’s hive. See p. 191. PLATE XVI.—F ice. 51.—Proboscis of a Worker-Bee, highly magnified. See p. 56. Fie. 63, PLate XIII, shows the Proboscis attached to the head. Fie, 52.—Abdomen of a Worker-Bee, magnified. PLATE XVII.—Fi«. 53.—Sting of a Worker, highly magnified. Seep. 56. Fra. 54.—Honey-sac, Intestines, Stomach, and Rectum of a Worker-Bee. Sce p. 56. PLATE XYIII.—For an explanation of this plate, which represents the Ovaries (and adjacent parts) of a Queen-Bee, see p. 35. PLATE XIX.—Fi1e. 56.—Cocoons spun by Larve of the Bee-Moth. See p. 233. PLATE XX.—Fie. 57.—Mass of Webs, Cocoons, and Excrements left in a Hive destroyed by the Larve ofthe Bee-Moth. Seep. 235, PLATE XXI.—Fies. 66, 67, 68, 69, and 70.—German method of Wintering Bees See p. 348. ; PLATE XXIJ.—F ie. 71 is the Frontispiece to the First Edition. See p. 831. PLATE XXIII.—Shows the position in which a Frame is held when taken from the Movable-Comb Hive.—See p. 171. ert ty tals : | a Ns, sont saa es weed Movable Comb Hive, with full Glass Arrangement. THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. CHAPTER I. FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE INVENTION OF THE MOVABLE- COMB BEE-HIVE. Practica bee-keeping in this country is Mm a very depressed condition, being entirely neglected by the mass of those most favorably situated for its pursuit. Notwith- standing the numerous hives which have been introduced, the ravages of the bee-moth have increased, and success is becoming more and more precarious. While multi- tudes have abandoned the pursuit in disgust, many even of the most experienced are beginning to suspect that all the so called “Improved Hives” are delusions or impos- tures; and that they must return to the simple box or hollow log, and “take up” their bees with sulphur in the old-fashioned way. In the present state of public opinion, it requires no little confidence to introduce another patent hive, and a new system of management; but believing that a new era in bee-keeping has arrived, I invite the attention of Apiarians to the perusal of this Manual, trusting that it will convince them that there is a better way than any with which they have yet become acquamted. They will here find a clear explanation of many hitherto mysterious ps: 14 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. points in the physiology of the honey-bee, together with much valuable information never before communicated to the public. It is now more than twenty years since I turned my attention to the keeping of bees. The state of my health of late years having compelled me to live much in the open air, I have devoted a large portion of my time to a minute investigation of their habits, as well as to a series of careful experiments in the construction and manage- ment of hives. Very early in my Apiarian studies I constructed a hive on the plan of the celebrated Huber; and by verifying some of his most valuable. diseoveries became convinced that the prejudices existing against him were entirely unfounded. Believing that his discoveries laid the founda- tion for a more profitable system of bee-keeping, I began to experiment with hives of various construction. Though the result of these investigations fell far short of my expectations, some of these hives now contain vigorous stocks fourteen years old, which without feeding have endured all the vicissitudes of some of the worst seasons ever known for bees. While I felt confident that my hive possessed valuable peculiarities, I still found myself unable to remedy many of the perplexing casualties to which bee-keeping is liable ; and became convinced that no hive could do this, unless it gave the complete control of the combs, so that any or all of them might be removed at pleasure. The use of the Huber hive had satisfied me, that with proper precautions the combs might be removed without enraging the bees, and that these insects were capable of being tamed to a surprising degree. Without a knowledge of these facts, IT should have regarded a hive permitting the removal of the combs, as quite too dangerous for practical use. At MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 105% first, I used movable slats or bars placed on rabbets in the front and back of the hive. The bees began their combs upon these bars, and then fastened them to the sides of the hive. By severing these attachments, the combs could be removed adhering to the bars. There was nothing new in the use of such bars—the invention being probably a hundred years old—and the chief peculiarity in my hive was the facility with which they could be removed without enraging the bees, and their combina- tion with my improved mode of obtaining the surplus honey. : With hives of this construction, I experimented on a larger seale than ever, and soon arrived at very important results. I could dispense entirely with natural swarming, and yet multiply colonies with greater rapidity and cer- tainty than by the common methods. All feeble colonies could be strengthened, and those which had lost their queen furnished with the means of obtaining another. If I suspected that any thing was wrong with a hive, I could - quickly ascertain its true condition, and apply the proper remedies. In short, I felt satisfied that bee-keeping could be made highly profitable, and as mnch a matter of cer- tainty, as most branches of rural economy. One thing, however, was still wanting. The cutting of the combs from their attachments to the sides of the hive, was attended with much loss of time both to myself and the bees. This led me to invent a method by which the combs were attached to MOVABLE FRAMES, so suspended in the hives as to touch neither the top, bottom, nor sides. By this device the combs could be removed at pleasure, without any cutting, and speedily transferred to another hive. After experimenting largely with hives of this con- struction, I find that they fully answer the ends proposed in their invention. — i. 6 b 3 ‘16 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. In the Summer of 1851 I ascertained that bees could be made to work in glass hives, exposed to the full light of day. This discovery procured me the pleasure of an acquaintance with Rev. Dr. Berg, then pastor of a Reformed Dutch Church, in Philadelphia. From him [ first learned that a Prussian clergyman of the name of Dzierzon,* was attracting the attention of crowned heads by his discoveries in the management of bees. Before he communicated to me the particulars of these discoveries, I explained to Dr. Berg my own system and showed him my hive. He expressed great astonishment at the won- derful similarity in our methods of management, neither of us having any knowledge of the labors of the other. Our hives he found to differ in some very important respects. In Dzierzon’s hive, the combs not being attached to movable frames but to bars, cannot be removed without cutting. In my hive, any comb may be taken out without removing the others; whereas in the Dzierzon hive, it 1s often necessary to cut and remove many combs to get access to a particular one; thus if the tenth from the end is to be removed, nine must be taken out. The German hive does not furnish the surplus honey in a form the most salable m our markets, or admitting of safe transportation in the comb. Notwith- standing these disadvantages, it has achieved a great triumph in Germany, and given a new impulse to the cultivation of bees. The following letter from Samuel Wagner, Esq., Cashier of the Bank of York, in York, Pennsylvania, will show the results obtained in Germany by the new system of man- agement, and his estimate of the superior value of my hive © to those there in use. | * Pronounced T'seertsone. MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 17 “’Yorx, Pa., Dec. 24, 1852. “Dear Sir:—The Dzierzon theory and the system of bee-management, based thereon, were originally promul- gated hypothetically in the ‘ Kichstadt Bienen-zeitung,’ or Bee-Journal, in 1845, and at once arrested my attention. Subsequently, when in 1848 at the instance of the Prus- sian Government, the Rev. Mr. Dzierzon published his ‘Theory and Practice of Bee Culture,’ I imported a copy which reached me in 1849, and which I translated prior to January, 1850. Before the translation was completed I received a visit from my friend the Rev. Dr. Berg, of Philadelphia, and in the course of conversation on bee- keeping, mentioned to him the Dzierzon theory and system as one which I regarded as new and very superior, though I had had no opportunity for testing it practically. In February following, when in Philadelphia, I left with him the translation in manuscript—up to which period I doubt whether any other person in this country had any knowledge of the Dzierzon theory ; except to Dr. Berg, I had never mentioned it to any one save in very general terms. “In September 1851, Dr. Berg again visited York, and stated to me your investigations, discoveries and inven- tions. From the account Dr. Berg gave me, I felt assured that you had devised substantially the same system as that so successfully pursued by Mr. Dzierzon; but how far your hive resembled his I was unable to judge from description alone. I inferred, however, several points of difference. The coincidence as to system, and the princi- ples on which it was evidently founded, struck me as exceedingly singular and interesting, because I felt confi- dent that you had no more knowledge of Mr. Dzierzon and his labors, before Dr. Berg mentioned him and his book to you, than Mr. Dzierzon had of you. These cir- 18 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. cumstances made me very anxious to examine your hives, and induced me to visit your Apiary in the village of West Philadelphia, last August. In the absence of the keeper I took the liberty to explore the premises thoroughly, opening and inspecting a number of the hives and noticing the internal arrangement of the parts. The result was, that I came away convinced that though your system was based on the same principles as Dzierzon’s, your hive was almost totally different from his both in con- struction and arrangement ; and that while the same objects substantially are attained by each, your hive is more sim- ple, more convenient, and much better adapted for general introduction and use, since the mode of using it can be more easily taught. Of its ultimate and triumphant success I have no doubt. I sincerely believe that when it comes under the notice of Mr. Dzierzon, he will himself prefer it to his own. It in fact combines all the good properties which a hive ought to possess, while it is free from the complication, clumsiness, vain whims and deci- dedly objectionable features which characterize most of the inventions which profess to be at all superior to the simple box, or the common chamber hive. “You may certainly claim equal credit with Dzierzon for originality in observation and discovery in the natural history of the honey-bee, and for success in deducing prin- ciples and devising a most valuable system of management from observed facts. But in invention, as far as neatness, compactness, and adaptation of means to ends are con- cerned, the sturdy German must yield the palm to you. “T send you herewith some interesting statements respecting Dzierzon, and the estimate in which his system is held in Germany. Very truly yours, SAMUEL WAGNER. Rev. L. L. Lanesrroru.” MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 19. The following are the statements to which Mr. Wagner refers: : “ As the best test of the value of Mr. Dzierzon’s system is the resulés which have been made to flow from it, a brief account of its rise and progress may be found interesting. In 1835, he commenced bee-keeping in the common way with twelve colonies, and after various mis- haps which taught him the defects of the common hives and the old mode of management, his stock was so reduced, that, in 1838, he had virtually to begin anew. At this period he contrived his improved hive, in its ruder form, which gave him the command over all the combs, and he began to experiment on the theory which observation and study had enabled him to devise. Thenceforward his progress was as rapid, as his success was complete and triumphant. Though he met with frequent reverses, ‘about seventy colonies having been stolen from him, sixty destroyed by fire, and twenty-four by a flood, yet, in 1846, his stock had increased to three hundred and sixty colo- nies, and he realized from them that year six thousand pounds of honey, besides several hundred weight of wax. At the same time, most of the cultivators in his vicinity who pursued the common methods, had fewer hives than they had when he commenced. “In the year 1848, a fatal pestilence, known by the name of ‘foul brood,’ prevailed among his bees, and destroyed nearly all his colonies before it could be sub- dued, only about ten having escaped the malady which attacked alike the old stocks and his artificial swarms. He estimates his entire loss that year at over five hundred colonies. Nevertheless, he succeeded so well in multi- plying by artificial swarms, the few that remained healthy, that, in the Fall of 1851, his stock consisted of nearly four 20 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. hundred colonies. He must therefore have multiplied his stocks more than three-fold each year. “he highly prosperous condition of his colonies is attested by the Report of the Secretary of the Annual Apiarian Convention, which met in his vicinity last Spring. This Convention, the fourth which has been held, con- sisted of one hundred and twelve experienced and enthu- siastic bee-keepers from various districts of Germany and neighboring countries, and among them were some who, when they assembled, were strong opposers of his system. “They visited and personally examined the Apiaries of Mr. Dzierzon. The report speaks in the very highest terms of his success, and of the manifest superiority of his system of management. He exhibited and satisfac- torily explained to his visitors his practice and principles; and they remarked with astonishment the singular docility of his bees, and the thorough control to which they were subjected. After a full detail of the proceed- ings, the Secretary goes on to say: ‘““* Now that I have seen Dzierzon’s method practically demonstrated, I must admit that it is attended with fewer difficultiesthan I had supposed. With his hive and system of management, it would seem that bees become at once more docile than they are in other cases. I consider his system the simplest and best means of elevating bee-cul- ture toa profitable pursuit, and of spreading it far and wide over the land; especially as it is adapted to districts in which the bees do not readily and regularly swarm. His eminent success in re-establishing his stock after suf fering so heavily from the devastating pestilence ; in short the recuperative power of the system, demonstrates con- clusively that it furnishes the best, perhaps the only means of re-instating bee-culture to a profitable branch ot rural economy. MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. OE ““¢Dzierzon modestly disclaimed the idea of having attained perfection in his hive. He dwelt rather upon the truth and importance of his theory and system of manage- ment.’ “From the Leipzig Illustrated Almanac—Report on Agriculture for 1846: ““¢ Bee-culture is no longer regarded as of any import- ance in rural economy.’ “ from the same, for 1851 and 1853: ““ @ have the appropriate organs of genera- . tion. They are much larger and stouter ‘“) than either the queen or workers; * although their bodies are not quite so long as that of the queen. They have no sting with which to defend themselves; and no suitable proboscis for gath- ering honey from, the flowers; no baskets on their thighs for holding bee-bread, and no pouches on their abdomens for secreting wax. They are, therefore, physically dis- qualified for the ordinary work of the hive. Their proper office is to impregnate the young queens, and they are 3 50 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. usually destroyed by the bees soon after this is accom- plished. Dr. Evans, an English physician and the author of a beautiful poem on bees, thus appropriately describes them: ‘Their short proboscis sips No luscious nectar from the wild thyme’s lips, From the lime’s leaf no amber drops they steal, Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meals On other’s toils in pamper’d leisure thrive The lazy fathers of the industrious hive.” The drones begin to make their appearance in April or May; earlier or later, according to the forwardness of the season, and the strength of the stock. In colonies too weak to swarm, none as a general rule are reared; for in such hives, as no young queens are raised, drones would be only useless consumers. The number of drones in a hive is often very great, amounting not merely to hundreds, but sometimes to thou- sands. Asa single one will impregnate a queen for life, it would seem that only a few should be reared. But as sexual intercourse always takes place high up in the air, the young queens must necessarily leave the hive; and it is very important to their safety that they should be sure to find a drone without bemg compelled to make frequent excursions; for being larger than workers, and less active on the wing, queens are more exposed to be caught by birds, or destroyed by sudden gusts of wind. In a large Apiary, a few drones in each hive, or the number usually found in one, would suffice. But under such circumstances bees are not in a state of nature, like a colony living in a forest, which often has no neighbors for miles. A good stock, even in our climate, sometimes sends out three or more swarins, and in the tropical NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 51 climates, of which the bee is probably a native, they increase with astonishing rapidity.* Hvery new swarm, except the first, is led off by a young queen; and as she is never impregnated until she has been established as the head of a separate family, it is important that each should be accompanied by a goodly number of drones: this requires the production of a large number in the parent- hive. As this necessity no longer exists when the bee is domesticated, the breeding of so many drones should be discouraged. ‘Trapst have been invented to destroy them, but it is much better to save the bees the labor and ex- pense of rearing such a host of useless consumers. This can readily be done, when we have the control of the combs; for by removing the drone-comb, and supplying its place with worker-cells, the over production of drones may be easily prevented. Those who object to this, as interfering with nature, should remember that the bee is not in a state of nature; and that the same objection might, with equal force, be urged against killing off the supernumerary males of our domestic animals. When a new swarm is building its combs, if the honey-harvest is abundant, the bees will frequently con- struct an unusual amount of drone-combs, for storing it. In a state of nature, where bees have plenty of room, as in the hollow of a tree, or cleft of a rock, this excess of drone-comb will be used another season for the same pur- pose, and new worker-comb made to meet the enlarged wants of the colony; but in hives of a limited capacity this cannot be done, and thus many stocks become so crowded with drones as to be of little value to their owner. * At Sydney, in Australia, a single colony is stated to have multiplied to 300, in three year's. + Such traps were used in Aristotle’s time. 52 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. In July or August, or soon after the swarming season is over, the bees usually expel the drones from the hive; though, when the honey-harvest is very abundant, they often allow them to remain much later. They sometimes sting them, or gnaw the roots of their wings, so that when driven from the hive, they cannot return. If not ejected _ in either of these summary ways, they are so persecuted and starved, that they soon perish. At such times they often retreat from the comb, and keep by themselves upon the sides or bottom-board of the hive. “he hatred of the bees extends even to the unhatched young, which are mercilessly pulled from the cells and destroyed with the rest. How wonderful that instinct which, when there is no longer any occasion for their services, impels the bees to destroy those members of the colony reared but a short time before with such devoted attention! None of the reasons previously assigned seem fully to account for the necessity of so many drones. I[ have repeatedly queried, why impregnation might not have taken place in the hive, instead of in the open air. A few dozen drones would then have sufficed for the wants of any colony, even if it swarmed, as in warm climates, half a dozen times, or oftener, in the same season; and the young queens would have incurred no risks by leaving the hive for fecundation. For a long time I could not perceive the wisdom of the existing arrangement ; although I never doubted that there was a satisfactory reason for this seeming imperfection. To have supposed otherwise, would have been highly unphilosophical, when we know that with the increase of knowledge many mysteries in nature, once inexplicable, have been fully cleared up. The disposition cherished by many students of nature, to reject some of the doctrines of revealed religion, is not NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. Ys) prompted by a true philosophy. Neither our ignorance of all the facts necessary to their full elucidation, nor our inability to harmonize these facts in their mutual relations and dependencies, will justify us in rejecting any truth which God has seen fit to reveal, either in the book of nature, or in His holy word. The man who would substi- tute his own speculations for the divine teachings, has embarked without rudder or chart, pilot or compass, on an uncertain ocean of theory and conjecture; unless he turns his prow from its fatal course, storms and whirlwinds will thicken in gloom on his “ voyage of life;” no “Sun of Righteousness”? will ever brighten for him the expanse of dreary waters; no favoring gales will waft his shattered bark to a peaceful haven. The thoughtful reader will require no apology for this moralizing strain, nor blame a clergyman, if sometimes forgetting to speak as the mere naturalist, he endeavors to find ‘Tongues in trees, books in running brooks, Sermons in ‘ bees,’ and ‘God’ in every thing.” To return to the attempt to account for the existence of so many drones. If a farmer persists in what is called *« breeding in and in,” that is, without changing the blood, the ultimate degeneracy of his stock is the consequence. This law extends, as far as we know, to all animal life, man himself not being exempt from its influence. Have we any reason to suppose that the bee 1s an exception? or that degeneracy would not ensue, unless some provision were made to counteract the tendency to “in and in breeding ?” If fecundation had taken place in the hive, the queen would have been impregnated by drones from a common parent; and the same result must have taken place in each successive generation, until the whole species 54 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. would eventually have “run out.” By the present arrange- ment, the young queens when they leave the hive, often find the air swarming with drones, many of which belong to other colonies, and thus by crossing the breed pro- vision is constantly made to prevent deterioration. Experience has proved that impregnation may be effected not only when there are no drones in the colony of the young queen, but even when there are none in her immediate neighborhood. Intercourse takes place very high im the air (perhaps that less risk may be incurred from birds), and this favors the crossing of stocks. IT am strongly persuaded that the decay of many flour- ishing stocks, even when managed with great care, may be attributed to the fact that they have become enfeebled by “close breeding,” and are thus unable to resist injurious influences, which were comparatively harmless when the bees were in a state of high physical vigor. When a cul- tivator has but few colonies, or is remote from other Apiaries, he should guard against this evil by occasionally changing his stocks, THe WoRrKERS, or common bees, compose the bulk of the population of a hive. A good swarm ought to contain at least 20,000; and in large hives, strong colonies which are not reduced by swarming, frequently number two or three times as many during the height of the breeding season. We are informed by Mr. Dobrogost Chylinski, that from the Polish hives, which often hold several bushels, swarms regularly issue so powerful that “they resemble a little cloud in the air.” It has already been stated, that the workers are all females whose ovaries are too imperfectly developed to admit of their layng eggs. . Being for a long time NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 55 regarded as neither males nor females, they were called -Neuters; but careful microscopic examinations, by detect- ing the rudiments of their ovaries, have determined their sex. The accuracy of these examinations has been verified by the well known facts respecting fertile workers. Riem, a German Apiarian, first discovered that workers sometimes lay eggs. Huber subsequently ascertained that such workers were bred in hives that had lost their queen, and near the royal cells in which young queens were being reared. He conjectured that small portions of the peculiar food of these infant queens were accidentally dropped into their cells, by eating which their reproductive organs were more developed than those of other workers. In the Summer of 1854, I examined a brood-comb which had been given to a queenless colony. It contained eleven sealed queens; and numbers of the cells were capped with -a round covering, as though they contained drones. Being opened, some contained drone, and others worker- nymphs. The latter seemed of a little more sugar-loaf shape than the common workers, and their cocoons were of a coarser texture than usual. I had previously noticed the same kind of cells in hives-raising artificial queens, but thought they all contained drones. It is a well known fact, that bees often begin more queen-cells than they choose to finish. It seems to me probable, therefore, that when rearing queens artificially, they frequently give a portion of the royal jelly to larvae, which, for some reason, they do not develope as full grown queens; and that such larvee become fertile workers. Huber states that those fertile workers which lay only drone-eggs, prefer large cells in which to deposit them, resorting to small ones, only when unable to find those of greater diameter. A hive in my Apiary having much worker-comb, but only a small piece of drone size, a fertile worker filled the latter 56 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. so entirely with eggs that some of the cells contained three or four each. Such workers have, in rare instances, been tolerated in hives contaming a fertile, healthy queen. The worker is much smaller than either the queen or the drone. She is furnished with a tongue, or proboscis, so exceedingly curious and complicated, that a separate volume would hardly suftice to describe its structure and uses (Pl. XVI., Fig. 51). With this organ she obtains the honey from the blossoms, and conveys it to her honey-bag. . This receptacle (Pl. X VIL, Fig. 54, A), is not larger than avery small pea, and so perfectly transparent as to appear, when filled, of the same color with its contents; it is properly the first stomach, and is surrounded by muscles which enable the bee to compress it, and empty its con- tents through her proboscis into the cells. The hinder legs of the worker are furnished with a spoon-shaped hollow, or basket, to receive the pollen which she gathers from the flowers. Every worker is armed with a formidable sting, and when provoked makes instant and effectual use of her natural weapon. When subjected to a microscopic exam- ination (Pl. XVIL., Fig. 53), it exhibits a very intricate mechanism. “It is moved by muscles* which, though invisible to the eye, are yet strong enough to force the sting, to the depth of one-twelfth of an inch, through the thick skin of a man’s hand. At its root are situated two glands by which the poison is secreted; these glands uniting in one duct, eject the venomous liquid along the groove formed by the junction of the two piercers. There are four barbs on the outside of each piercer ; when the insect is prepared to sting, one of these piercers, having its point a little longer than the other, first darts . * Bevan. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 5’ into the flesh, and being fixed by its foremost beard, the other strikes in also, and they alternately penetrate deeper and deeper, till they acquire a firm hold of the flesh with their barbed hooks, and then follows the sheath, conveying the poison into the wound. ‘The action of the sting, says Paley, ‘affords an example of the union of chemistry and mechanism; of chemistry, in respect to the venom which can produce such powerful effects; of mechanism, as the sting is a compound instrument. The machinery would have been comparatively useless, had it not been for the chemical process by which, in the insect’s body, honey is converted into potson ; and on the other hand, the poison would have been meffectual, without an instru- ment to wound, and a syringe to inject it.’ “Upon examining the edge of a very keen razor by the microscope, it appears as broad as the back of a pretty thick knife, rough, uneven, and full of notches and fur- rows, and so far from anything like sharpness, that an instrument as blunt as this seemed to be, would not serve even to cleave wood. An exceedingly small needle being also examined, it resembled a rough iron bar out of a smith’s forge. The sting of a bee, viewed through the same instrument, showed everywhere a polish amazingly beautiful, without the least flaw, blemish, or mequality, and ended in a point too fine to be discerned.” As the extremity of the sting is barbed like an arrow, the bee can seldom withdraw it, if the substance into which she darts it is at all tenacious. In losing her sting she parts with a portion of her intestines, and of necessity soon perishes. Although they pay so dearly for the exercise of their patriotic instincts, still, in defence of home and its sacred treasures, they 58 THE HVE AND HONEY-BEE “ Deem life itself to vengeance well resign’d, Die on the wound, and leave their sting behind.” Hornets, wasps, and other stinging imsects, are able to withdraw their stings from the wound. I have never seen the exception in the case of the honey-bee accounted for ; but as the Creator intended it for the use* of man, did He not give it this peculiarity, that it might be more com- pletely subject to human control? Without a sting, it could not have defended its tempting sweets against a host of greedy depredators: while, if it had been able to sting a number of times, its thorough domestication would have been well nigh impossible. The defence of the colony against enemies, the construc- tion of the cells, and storing of them with honey and bee- bread, the rearing of the young, and in short, the whole work of the hive, the laying of eggs excepted, is carried on by the industrious little workers. There may be gentlemen of leisure in the commonwealth of bees, but assuredly there are no such ladies, whether of high or low degree. ‘The queen herself has her full share of duties, the royal office bemg no sinecure, when the mother who fills it must daily superintend the proper deposition of thousands of eggs. The queen-bee will live four, and sometimes, though very rarely, five or more years. As the life of the drones is usually cut short by violence, it is difficult to ascertain its precise limit. Bevan estimates it not to exceed four months. The workers are supposed by him to live six or * Since the publication of the first edition of this treatise, I have had an opportu- nity during a visit to the Mexican frontier, of studying the habits of the honey-hornet, of that region. Its nest, in shape and material, resembles that of our common hor- net; and some of them contain many pounds of delicious honey. This insect, which in those regions is so serviceable to man, like the honey-bee, is unable to withdraw its sting from the wound. It has also a queen, and lives in a colony state during the whole year. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 59 seven months; but their age depends very much upon their greater or less exposure to injurious influences, and severe labors. Those reared in the Spring and early part of Summer, upon whom the heaviest labors of the hive devolve, appear to live not more than two or three months*; while those bred at the close of Summer, and early in Autumn, being able to spend a large part of their time in repose, attain a much greater age. It is very evident that “the bee” (to use the words of a quaint old writer), “isa Summer bird;” and that, with the excep- tion of the queen, none live to be a year old. Notched and ragged wings, instead of gray hairs and wrinkled faces, are the signs of old age in the bee, and indicate that its season of toil will soon be over. They appear to die rather suddenly ; and often spend their last days, and sometimes even their last hours, in useful labors. Place yourself before a hive, and see the indefatigable energy of these industrious veterans, toilmg along with their heavy burdens, side by side with their more youth- ful compeers, and then judge if, while qualified for useful labor, you ought ever to surrender yourself to slothful indulgence. Let the cheerful hum of their busy old age inspire you with better resolutions, and teach you how much. nobler it is to die with harness on, in the active discharge of the duties of life. The age which individual members of the community may attain, must not_be confounded with that of the col- ony. Bees have been known to occupy the same domicile for a great number of years. I haveseen flourishing colo- nies more than twenty years old; the Abbé Della Rocea speaks of some over forty years old; and Stoche says, that he saw acolony, which he was assured had swarmed annually * If an Italian queen be given, in the working season, to a swarra of common bees, in about three months only a few of the latter will be found in the colony. 60 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. for forty-six years! ‘Such cases have led to the erroneous opinion, that bees are a long-lived race. But this, as Dr. Evans has observed, is just as wise as if a stranger, con- templating a populous city, and personally unacquainted with its inhabitants, should, on paying it a second visit, many years after, and finding it equally populous, imagine that it was peopled by the same individuals, not one of whom might then be living. ‘Like leaves on trees, the race of bees is found, Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; Another race the Spring or Fali supplies, They droop successive, and successive rise.’ ”” EVANS. The cocoons spun by the larvee are never removed by the bees; they adhere so closely to the sides of the cells, that the labor of removal would cost more than it would be worth. As the breeding cells may eventually become too small for the proper development of the young, very old combs should be removed from the hive. It is a great mistake, however, to imagine that the brood-combs ought to be changed every year. If it were desirable, this might easily be done in my hives; but to remove them oftener than once In five or six years, requires a needless consumption of honey to replace them, and injures the bees in Winter, as the new comb is much colder than the old. 2 Inventors of hives have too often been “men of one idea 2? and that one, instead of being a well established and important fact in the physiology of ‘the bee, has fre- quently (like the necessity for a yearly change of the brood-combs), been merely a conceit of some visionary projector. This might be harmless enough, were no effort made to impose such crudities upon an ignorant public, either in the shape of a patented hive, or worse still, of an NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 61 unpatented hive, the pretended right to use which is fraudulently sold to the cheated purchaser.* Apiarians, unaware of the brevity of the bee’s life, have often constructed huge “ bee-palaces” and large closets, vainly imagining that the bees would fill them, being una- ble to see any reason why a colony should not increase until it numbers its inhabitants by millions or billions. But as the bees can never at one time equal, still less exceed, the number which the queen is capable of pro- ducing in a season, these spacious dwellings have always an abundance of spare rooms. It seems strange that men can be thus deceived, when often in their own Apiary they have healthy stocks, which, though they have not swarmed for a year or more, are no more populous in the Spring, than those which have regularly parted with vigorous colonies. It is certain that the Creator has wisely set a limit to the increase of numbers in a single colony; and I shall venture to assign a reason for this. Suppose he had given to the bee a length of life as great as that of the horse or the cow, or had made each queen capable of laying daily some hundreds of thousands of eggs; or had given several hundred queens to each hive; then a colony must have gone on Increasing, until it became a scourge rather than a benefit to man. In the warm climates of which the bee * Hives which have never been patented have been extensively sold as patent articles by men, who for years have been liable to prosecution for obtaining money under false pretences. Others are disposed of, on the ground that the patent is still pending, when no application for a patent has ever been made, or has long ago been rejected. Often the patented part of a hive, being a worthless conceit, is carefully concealed, while much ingenuity is displayed, in exhibtting those fea- tures in the hive which any one has aright to use; and yet, which the vender, sometimes by implication, and sometimes by direct assertion, leads the purchaser to believe are essential parts of the patent. No one should ever purchase a “patent hive,” until he ascertains two things: ist, that there is really a patent on the invention; and 2d, that the part patented is, in his opinion, worth to him the money asked for the right to use it. 62 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. is a native, it would have established itself in some cavern or capacious cleft in the rocks, and would soon have become so powerful as to bid defiance to all attempts to appropriate the avails of its labors. It has already been stated that none, except the mother- wasps and hornets, survive the Winter. Had these in- sects, like the bee, been able to commence the season with the accumulated strength of a large colony, they would, long before its close, have proved an intolerable nuisance. If, on the contrary, the queen-bee had been compelled, solitary and alone, to lay the foundations of a new commonwealth, the honey-harvest would have disap. peared long before she could become the parent of a numerous family. The process of rearing Queen-Bees will now be more particularly described. Early in the season, if a hive becomes very populous, the bees usually make prepara- tions for swarming. A number of royal cells are begun, being commonly constructed upon those edges of the combs (Pl. XIV., a, 6, c,d), which are not attached to the sides of the hive. These cells somewhat resemble a small pea nut (Pl. XII, Figs. 49, 50), and are about an inch deep, and one-third of an inch in diameter: being very thick, they require much wax for their construction. They are seldom seen in a perfect state after the swarming season, as the bees, after the queen has hatched, cut them down to the shape of a small acorn-cup. (Pl. XIV., c.) These queen-cells, while in progress, receive a very unu- sual amount of attention from the workers. There is scarcely a second in which a bee is not peeping into them ; and as fast as one is satisfied, another pops in her head to report progress, or mecrease the supply of royal jelly. Their importance to the community might easily be NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 63 isferred from their being the center of so much attrac- tion. While the other cells open sideways, the queen-cells always hang with their mouth downwards. Some Apia- rians think that this peculiar position affects, in some way, the development of the royal larve ; while others, having ascertained that they are uninjured if placed in any other position, consider this deviation as among the inscrutable mysteries of the bee-hive. So it seemed to me, until con- vinced, by more careful observation, that they open down- wards simply to save room. ‘The distance between the parallel ranges of comb in the hive is usually too small for the royal cells to open sideways, without interfere with the opposite cells. To economize space, the bees put them on the unoccupied edges of the comb, where there is plenty of room for such very large cells. The number of royal cells in a hive varies greatly ; sometimes there are only two or three, ordinarily not less than five; and occasionally, more than a dozen. As it is not intended that the young queens should all be of the same age, the royal cells are not all begun at the same time. It is not fully settled how the eggs are deposited in these cells. In seme few instances, I have thought that the bees transferred the eges from common to queen-cells ; and this may be their general method of procedure. I shall hazard the conjecture, that, in a crowded state of the hive, the queen deposits her eggs in cells on the edges of the comb, some of which are afterwards changed by the workers into royal cells. Such is a queen’s instinctive hatred to her own kind, that it seems improbable that she should be intrusted with even the initiatory steps for securing a race of successors. The young queens are much more largely supplied with food than the other larve; so that they seem to he ma 64 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. thick bed of jelly, a portion of which may usually be found at the base of their cells, soon after they have hatched. Unlike the food of the other larva, it has a slightly acid taste; and when fresh, resembles starch ; when old, a light quince jelly. The bees, if confined to their hive and supplied with water, can secrete it from the honey and bee-bread stored in their combs. I submitted some royal jelly to Dr. Charles M. Wethe- rell, of Philadelphia; an interesting account of his analy- sis may be found in the Report of the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences for July, 1852. He speaks of the substance as being a “ truly bread-con- taining, albuminous compound.” A comparison of its elements with the food of the drone and worker-larve, might throw some light on subjects now involved in ob- security. The effects produced upon the royal larve by their peculiar treatment are so wonderful, that they have usually been rejected as idle whims, by those who have neither been eye-witnesses to them, nor acquainted with the op- portunities enjoyed by others for accurate observation. They are not only contrary to all common analogies, but so marvellously strange and improbable, that many when asked to believe them, feel that an insult is offered to their common sense. The most important of these effects I shall briefly enumerate. 1st. The peculiar mode in which the worm designed for a queen is treated, causes it to arrive at maturity almost one-third earlier than if it had been reared a worker. And yet, as it is to be much more fully developed, according to ordinary anaogy, it should have had a slower growth. 2d. Its organs of reproduction are completely developed, so that it can fulfill the office of a mother. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BER. 65 3d. Its size, shape, and color are greatly changed ; its lower jaws are shorter, its head rounder, and its abdomen without the receptacles for secreting wax; its legs have neither brushes nor baskets, and its sting is more curved, and one-third longer (Pl. XVIII.) than that of a worker. 4th. Its instincts are entirely changed. MReared as a worker, it would have thrust out its sting at the least provocation; whereas now, it may be pulled limb from limb without attempting to sting. As aworker, it would have treated a queen with the greatest consideration ; but now, if brought in contact with another queen, it seeks to destroy 1t as a rival. As a worker, it would frequently have left the hive, either for labor or exercise ; as a queen, it never leaves it after impregnation, except to accompany a new swarm. 5th. The term of its life is remarkably lengthened. As a worker, it would not have lived more than six or seven months; as a queen, it may live seven or eight times as long. All these wonders rest on the impregnable basis of demonstration, and instead of being witnessed only by a select few, may now, by the use of the movable-comb hive, be familiar sights to any bee-keeper who prefers an acquaintance with facts, to cavilmg and sneering at the labors of others.* * A brief extract from the celebrated Dr. Boerhaaye’s memoir of Swammerdam, should put to blush the arrogance of those superficial observers, who are too wise in their own conceit to ayail themselves of the knowledge of others. “This treatise on Bees proved so fatiguing a performance, that Swammerdam never afterwards recovered even the appearance of his former health and vigor. Hie was almost continually engaged by day in making observations, and as con- stantly by night in recording them by drawings and suitable explanations. ““His daily labor began at six in the morning, when the sun afforded him light enough to survey such minute objects; and from that hour till twelve, he continued without interruption, all the while exposed in the open air to the scorching heat of the sun, bareheaded, for fear of intercepting his sight, and his head in a manner dissolving into sweat under the irresistible ardors of that powerful iuminary. And if he desisted at noon, it was only because the strength of his eyes was too much 66 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. The process of rearing queens to meet some special emergency, is.even more wonderful than the one already described. If the bees have worker-eggs, or worms not more than three days old, they make one large cell out of three, by nibbling away the partitions of two cells adjoining a third. Destroying the eggs or worms in two of these cells, they place before the occupant of the other, the usual food of the young queens; and by enlarging its cell, give it ample space for development. As a security against failure, they usually start a number of queen-cells, although often the work on all, except a few, is soon dis- continued. In from-eleven to fourteen days, they are in possession of a new queen, in all respects resembling one reared in the natural way; while the eggs in the adjoming cells, which have been developed as workers, are nearly a week longer in coming to maturity. : 7 The beautiful representation of comb, in Plate XVIII., is taken, with important alterations and additions of my own, from Cotton’s “My Bee-Book,” to which Iam also indebted for the group of bees in the title-page.* The royal cell (0), is a perfect queen-cell, from which the inmate has not yet emerged. The queen-cell (a), repre- sents the cap or lid as it often appears just after the young queen has hatched. 'The queen-cell (d@), which 1s open at the side, is one from which a young queen has been vio- lently abstracted ; the other (c), 1s one which the bees have nearly reduced to the acorn shape. It also resem- weakened by the extraordinary afflux of light, and the use of microscopes, to con- tinue any longer upon such small objects. oS “ He often wished, the better to accomplish his vast, unlimited views, for a year of perpetual heat and light to perfect his inquiries; with a polar night, to reap all the advantages of them by proper drawings and descriptions.” * Instead of his motto, ‘God Save the Queen and all the Royal Family,” I have substituted one more in accordance with the economy of bees. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 67 bles one only a few days old. On the face of the comb is a cell (z), just begun for the artificial rearing of a queen, this being the usual position of cells built to meet some unexpected emergency. To bring the points illustrated into a compact compass, the cells are drawn smaller than the natural size. I shall give, in this connection, a description of an inter- esting experiment. | A populous stock was removed, in the morning, to a new place, and an empty hive put upon itsstand. Thous- ands of workers which were ranging the fields, or which left the old hive after its removal, returned to the familiar spot. It was truly affecting to witness their grief and despair; they flew in restless circles about the place where once stood their happy home, entering the empty hive continually, and expressing, In various ways, their lamen- tations over so cruel a bereavement. ‘Towards evening, ceasing to take wing, they roamed in restless platoons, in and out of the hive, and over its surface, as if in search of some lost treasure. A small piece of brood-comb was then given to them, containing worker-eggs and worms. The effect produced by its introduction took place much quicker than can be described. ‘Those which first touched it raised a peculiar note, and in a moment, the comb was covered with a dense mass of bees; as they recognized, in this small piece of comb, the means of deliverance, despair gave place to hope, their restless motions and mournful voices ceased, and a cheerful hum proclaimed their delight. If some one should enter a building filled with thousands of persons tearing their hair, beating their breasts, and by piteous cries, as well as frantic gestures, giving vent to their despair, and could by a single word cause all these demonstrations of agony to give place to smiles and congratulations, the 68 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEF. change would not be more instantaneous than that pro- duced when the bees received the brood-comb! The Orientals call the honey-bee, “Deborah: She that speaketh.” Would that this little insect might speak, in words more eloquent than those of man’s device, to those who reject any of the doctrines of revealed religion, with the assertion that they are so improbable, as to labor under a fatal a priort objection. Do not all the steps in the development of a queen from a worker-egg, labor under the very same objection? and have they not, for this reason been always regarded, by many bee-keepers, as unworthy of belief? If the favorite argument of infi- dels will not stand the test, when applied to the wonders of the bee-hive, is it entitled to serious weight, when, by objecting to religious truths, they arrogantly take to task the Infinite Jehovah for what He has been pleased to do or to teach? With no more latitude than is claimed by such objectors, it were easy to prove that a man is under no obligation to believe any of the wonders of the bee-hive, even although he is himself an intelligent eye-witness to their substantial truth. COMB. 69 CHAPTER IV. COMB. Wax is a natural secretion of bees, and may be called their oil or fat. When gorged with honey, or any liquid sweet, if they remain quietly clustered together, it is secreted in the shape of delicate scales, in small pouches on their abdomen. (Pl. XIIL, Figs. 37, 38.) Soon after a swarm is hived, the bottom-board will usually be covered with these scales. The bees seem to loosen them from their bodies by violently shaking themselves as they stand upon the combs. ‘¢ Thus, filtered through yon flutterer’s folded mail, Clings the cooled wax, and hardens to a scale. Swift, at the well-known call, the ready train (For not a buz boon Nature breathes in vain) Spring to each falling flake, and bear along Their glossy burdens to the builder throng. These with sharp sickle, or with sharper tooth, Pare each excrescence, and each angle smoothe, Till now, in finish’d pride, two radiant rows Of snow white cells one mutual base disclose. Six shining panels gird each polish’d round; The door’s fine rim, with waxen fillet bound ; While walls so thin, with sister walls combined, Weak in themselves, a sure dependence find.” EVANS. Most Apiarians before Huber’s time supposed that wax was made from bee-bread, either in a crude or digested state. Confining a new swarm of bees to a hive in a dark and cool room, at the end of five days he found several beautiful white combs in their tenement; these 70 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. being taken from them, and the bees supplied with honey and water, new combs were again constructed. Seven times in succession their combs were removed, and were In each instance replaced, the bees being all the time pre- vented from ranging the fields to supply themselves with bee-bread. By subsequent experiments, he proved that sugar-syrup answered the same end with honey. Giving an imprisoned swarm an abundance of fruit and bee-bread, he found that they subsisted on the fruit, but refused to touch the pollen; and that no combs were constructed, nor any wax-scales formed in their pouches. Notwithstanding Huber’s extreme caution and unwearied- patience in conducting these experiments, he did not dis- cover the whole truth on this important subject. Though he demonstrated that bees can construct comb from honey or sugar, without the aid of bee-bread, and that they can- not make it from bee-bread, without honey or sugar, he did not prove that when permanently deprived of bee- bread they can continue to work in wax, or if they can, that the pollen does not aid in its elaboration. = Some bee-bread is always found in the stomach of wax- producing workers, and they never build comb so rapidly as when they have free access to this article. It must, therefore, either furnish some of the elements. of wax, or in some way assist the bee in producing it. Further Investigations are necessary, before we can arrive at per- fectly accurate results. Confident assertions are easily made, requiring only a little breath, or a few drops of ink ; and those who like them best have often the profoundest contempt for observation and experiment. To establish any controverted truth on the solid foundation of demon- strated facts, usually requires severe and protracted labor. Honey and sugar contain by weight about eight pounds of oxygen to one of carbon and hydrogen. When con- COMB. al verted into wax, these proportions are remarkably changed, the wax containing only one pound of oxygen to more than sixteen of hydrogen and carbon. Now as oxygen is the grand supporter of animal heat, the large quantity consumed in secreting wax aids in generating that extra- ordinary heat which always accompanies comb-building, and which enables the bees to mould the softened wax into such exquisitely delicate and beautiful forms.* This interesting instance of adaptation, so clearly poimting to the Divine Wisdom, seems to have escaped the notice of previous writers. Careful experiments prove that from thirteen to twenty pounds of honey are required to make a single pound of wax. As wax isan animal oil, secreted chiefly from honey, this fact will not appear incredible to those who are aware how many pounds of corn or hay must be fed to cattle to have them gain a single pound of fat. Many bee-keepers are unaware of the value of empty comb. Suppose honey to be worth only fifteen cents per pound, and comb, when rendered into wax,to be worth thirty cents, the Apiarian who melts a pound of comb loses largely by the operation, even without estimating the time his bees have consumed in building it. It should, therefore, be considered a first principle in bee-culture never to melt good combs. A strong stock of bees, in the height of the honey-harvest, will fill them with very great rapidity. Unfortunately, in the ordinary hives but little use can be made of empty comb, unless it is new, and can be put into the surplus honey-boxes; but by the use of bars, or movable frames, every good piece of worker-comb may he given to the bees. * According to Dr. Donhoff, the thickness of the sides of a cell in a new comb is only the one hundred and eightieth part of an inch! 12 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. When new, it may be easily attached to frames, or spare honey-receptacles, by dipping the edge into melted wax, and firmly holding it in place until it hardens; if it is old, or the pieces large and full of bee-bread, a mixture of melted wax and resin will secure a firmer adhesion. When comb is put into tumblers, or small receptacles, it may be simply crowded in, so as to keep its place until fastened by the bees. As bees like “a good start in life,” they prefer receptacles which contain some empty comb. All suitable drone-comb should be put into such recepta- cles, instead of being allowed to remain in the breeding apartment of the hive. No one, to my knowledge, has ever attempted to imi- tate the delicate mechanism of the bee so closely, as to construct artificial combs for the ordinary uses of the hive. Ifstore-combs could be made of gutta-percha, they might be emptied of their contents, and returned to the hive. 7 In the Summer of 1854, I ascertained that bees will, under some circumstances, use fine shavings of wax to build new comb. If this discovery can be made serviceable for practical purposes, it will both facilitate the cheap and rapid multiplication of colonies, and enable the bees to amass unusual quantities of honey. One pound of bees- wax might be made to store nearly twenty pounds of honey; and the bee-keeper would gain the difference in value between one pound of wax, and the honey which bees consume in making a pound of comb. At times when no honey can be procured from the blossoms, strong stocks might be profitably employed in building spare comb, to strengthen feeble stocks, or for any other pur pose. The building of comb is usually carried on with the ereatest activity by night, while the honey is gathered by COMB. ts day.* Thus no time is lost. When the weather is too forbidding for out-door work, the combs are most rapidly constructed, the labor being vigorously carried on both by day and by night. On the return of a fair day, the bees, having plenty of room for its storage, gather unusual supplies. ‘Thus, by their wise economy, they often lose no time, even if confined for several days to their hive. ‘* How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour !” The poet might, with equal truth, have described her as improving the gloomy days and dark nights in her use- ful labors. It is an interesting fact, which seems hitherto to have escaped notice, that honey-gathermg and comb-building go on simultaneously ; so that when one stops, the other ceases also. As soon as the honey-hatvest begins to fail, so that consumption is in advance of production, the bees cease to build new comb, even although large portions of their hive are unfilled. When honey no longer abounds in the fields, it is wisely ordered that they should not con- sume, in comb-building, the treasures which may be need- ed for Winter use. What safer rule could have been given them ? As wax is a bad conductor, it can be more easily work- ed when warmed by the animal heat of the bees, than if it parted with its heat too readily. By this property, the combs aid in keeping the bees warm, and there is less risk of their cracking with frost, or of the honey candying in the cells. If wax were a good conductor of heat, the combs would often be icy cold, moisture would condense and freeze upon them, and they could not fulfill all their required ends. ~ * On very clear moonlight nights, I have known bees to gather honey from the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipfera). 4 V4 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. The size of the cells in which workers are reared never varies; the same may substantially be said of the drone- cells, which are much larger; those in which honey is stored vary greatly in depth, while in diameter they are of all sizes, from that of worker to that of drone-cells. As five worker, or four drone-cells, will measure about one linear inch, a square inch of comb will contain, on each side, twenty-five worker, or sixteen drone-cells. As bees in building their cells, cannot pass immediately from one size to another, they display an admirable saga- city in making the transition by a set of irregular inter- mediate cells. Plate XV. (Hig. 48), exhibits an accurate and beautiful representation of comb, drawn for this work from nature, by M. M. Tidd, and engraved by D. T. Smith, both of Boston, Mass. The cells are of the size of nature. The large ones are drone-cells, and the small ones, worker-cells, The irregular, five-sided cells between them, show how bees pass from one size to another. The cells of bees are found to fulfill perfectly the most subtle conditions of an intricate mathematical problem. Let it be required to find what shape a given quantity of matter must take, in order to have the greatest capacity and strength, occupying, at the same time, the least space, and consuming the least /abor in its construction. When this problem is solved by the most refined mathematical processes, the answer is the hexagonal or six-sided cell of the honey-bee, with its three four-sided figures at the base ! The shape of these figures cannot be altered ever so lit- tle, except for the worse. In addition to the desirable qualities already enumerated, they serve as nurseries jor rearing the young, and as small air-tight vessels for pre- serving the honey from souring or candying. Every pru- dent housewife who carefully stores her preserves in COMB. 15 receptacles excluding the air, can appreciate the value of such an arrangement. “There are only three possible figures of the cells,” says Dr. Reid, “ which can make them all equal and similar, without any useless spaces between them. These are the equilateral triangle, the square, and the regular hexagon. It is well known to mathematicians, that there is not a fourth way possible in which a plane may be cut into lit- tle spaces that shail be equal, similar, and regular, with- out leaving any interstices.” An equilateral triangle would have made a very uncom- fortable tenement for an insect with a round body; and a square cell would have been but little better. Obs ih. 6 ieee June st, 2%, 2a July 10th, 22, F7 oe Oct Wee Ve Oc a Lie Oe Coe: As it may often be desirable to remove the queen of a nucleus, before she has begun to lay eggs, if her colony is supplied with a sealed royal cell from another nucleus, no time will be lost, and much trouble saved. The following, from the pen of Rev. Mr. Kleine, one of the ablest German Apiarians, will be interesting in this connection :—“ Dzierzon recently intimated that, as Huber, by introducing some royal jelly into cells containing worker-brood, obtained queens, it may be possible to in- duce bees to construct royal cells where the Apiarian pre- fers to have them, by inserting a small portion of royal jelly in cells containing worker-larve! If left to them- selves, the bees often so crowd their royal cells together” —see Pl. X V.—“ that it is difficult to remove one, without fatally injuring the others; as, when such a cell is cut into, the destruction and removal of the larva usually follows. To prevent such losses, I usually proceed as follows: When I have selected a comb with unsealed brood, for rearing queens, I shake or brush off the bees, and trim off, if necessary, the empty cells at its margin. I then take an unsealed royal cell—which usually contains an excess of royal jelly—and remove from it a portion of the jelly, 192 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. on the point of a knife or pen, and by placing it on the inner margin of any worker-cells, feel confident that the larvee in them will be reared as queens; and as these royal cells are separate, and on the margin of the comb, they can be easily and safely removed. ‘This is another import- ant advance in practical bee-culture, for which we are in- debted to the sagacity of Dzierzon.”—Dienenzeitung, 1858, p. 199. Translated by Mr. Wagner. If the spare queen-cells are cut out (p. 166) from J, be- fore the first queen matures, other nuclei may be formed by similar processes; indeed, with movable combs, any number of queens may be raised, and kept where, when wanted, they can be readily secured.* Both the original nuclei, Z and 77, and those made from their sealed queens, may be formed by bringing from another Apiary, in a small box, the few adhering bees which are wanted (p. 162); and as many may be returned in it, to be used for a similar purpose. The expert will also be able to catch up adhering bees, by slightly movingt the parent-stocks (p. 161), and in various other ways, which will readily suggest themselves. s. Dzierzon estimates a fertile queen to be worth, in the swarming season, one- half the price of a new swarm. + If the adhering bees are thus obtained, and there is not a cluster of bees on the brood-comb, they may be so dissatisfied with its deserted appearance, as to re- fuse to stay. If they intend to submit to this system of forced colonization, they will, however much agitated at first, soon join the cluster of bees on the comb; otherwise, they will quickly abandon the hive, carrying off with them all that were put in with the comb. While it is admitted that bees can raise a queen from any worker-ege or young larva, is it certain that workers of any age are able or disposed to do it? Huber speaks of two kinds of workers: “ One of these is, in general, destined for the elaboration of wax, and its size is considerably enlarged when full of honey ; the other immediately imparts what it has collected, to its companions; its abdomen undergoes no sensible change, or it retains only the honey necessary for its own sub- sistence. The particular function of the bees of this kind is to take care of the young, for they are not charged with provisioning the hive. In opposition to the wax-workers, we shall call them small bees, or nurses. “ Although the external difference be inconsiderable, this is not an imaginary ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 193 One queen can be made to supply several hives with brood, while they are constantly engaged im raising spare queens. Deprive two colonies, 1 and 2, at mtervals of a week, each of its queen, using these queens for artificial swarms. As soon as the royal cells in 1 are old enough for use, remove them, and give 1 a queen from another hive, 3. When the royal cells in 2 are removed, this queen may be taken from’1—where she will have laid abundantly—and given to 2. By this time, the queen- cells in 3 being sealed over, may be removed, and the queen restored to her own stock. She has thus made one circuit, and supplied 1 and 2 with eggs; and after replen- ishing her own hive, she may be sent again on her per- ambulating mission. By this device, I can obtain, from a few stocks, a large number of queens. A few days after a nucleus is formed, it should be ex- amined, and if royal cells are not begun, or there are no larvee in them, the bees must be shaken from the comb, which should then be exchanged for another. Bees sometimes commence queen-cells, which, in a few distinction. Anatomical observations prove that the stomach is not the same: ex- periments have ascertained that one of the species cannot fulfill all the functions shared among the workers ofa hive. We painted those of each class with different colors, in order to study their proceedings; and these were not interchanged. In another experiment, after supplying a hive, deprived of a queen, with brood and pollen, we saw the small bees quickly occupied in nutrition of the larve, while those of the wax-working class neglected them. Small bees also produce wax, but in a very inferior quantity to what is elaborated by the real wax workers.” Now, as Iiuber’s statementshave proved to be uncommonly reliable, perhaps when bees refuse to cluster on the brood-comb, to rear a new queen, it is because some of the conditions necessary for success are wanting. Either there may not be enough wax-workers to enlarge the cells, or nurses to take charge of the lary. If Huber had possessed the same facilities for observation with Dr. Dénhoff (see page 194), he would, probably, have come to the same conclusions. If any imagine that the careful experiments required to establish facts upon the solid basis of demonstration, are easily made, let them attempt to prove or disprove the truth of either of these conjectures; and they will probably find the task more difticuit than to cover whole reams of paper with careless assertions. Q 194 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. days, are found to be untenanted. At the second attempt they usually start a larger number, and seldom fail of suc- cess. Does practice make them more perfect ? or were some of the necessary conditions wanting at first ? The following able communication, from the pen of Dr. Dénhoff, may throw some light on this subject :—“ Dzier- zon states it as a fact, that worker-bees attend more ex- clusively to the domestic concerns of the colony in the early period of life; assuming the discharge of the more active out-door duties only during the later periods of their existence. The Italian bees furnished me with suit- able means to test the correctness of this opinion. “On the 18th of April, 1855, I introduced an Italian queen into a colony of common bees; and on the 10th of May following, the first Italian workers emerged from the cells. On the ensuing day, they emerged in great numbers, as the colony had been kept in good condition by regular and plentiful feeding. I will arrange my observations under the following heads: | “1, On the 10th of May the first Italian workers emerged ; and on the 17th they made their first appear- ance outside of the hive. On the next day, and then An extract from Huber’s preface will be interesting in this connection. After speaking of his blindness, and praising the extraordinary taste for Natural History, of his assistant, Burnens, “who was born with the talents of an observer,” he says: “very one of the facts I now publish, we have seen, over and over again, during the period of eight years, which we have employed in making our observations on bees. It is impossible to form a just idea of the patience and skill with which Burnens has carried out the experiments which I am about to describe; he has often watched some of the working bees of our hives, which we had reason to think fertile, for the space of twenty-four hours, without distraction * * * * and he counted fatigue and pain as nothing, compared with the great desire’ he felt to know the results. If, then, there be any merit in our discoveries, I must share the honor with him; and I have great satisfaction in rendering him this act of public justice.” And yet the man who was too noble to appropriate the merits of his servant, has, by many, been considered base enough to attempt to impose upon the world, as well established facts, things scarcely more probable than the fictions of “ Sinbad the Sailor.” ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 195 daily till the 29th, they came forth about noon, disporting in front of the hive, in the rays of the sun. Theéy, how- ever, manifestly, did not issue for the purpose of gathering honey or pollen, for during that time none were noticed returning with pellets; none were seen alighting on any of the flowers in my garden; and I found no honey in the stomachs of such as I caught and killed for examina- tion. The gathering was done exclusively by the old bees of the original stock, until the 29th of May, when the Italian bees began to labor in that vocation also—being then 19 days old. “2. On the feeding troughs placed in my garden, and which were constantly crowded with common bees, I saw no Italian bees till the 27th of May, seventeen days after the first had emerged from the cells. “ From the 10th of May on, I daily presented to Italian bees, in the hive, a stick dipped in honey. The younger ones never attempted to lick any of it; the older occasion- ally seemed to sip a little, but immediately left it and moved away. The common bees always eagerly licked it up, never leaving it till they had filled their honey-bags. Not till the 25th of May did I see any Italian bee lick up honey eagerly, as the common bees did from the begin- ning. “These repeated observations force me to conclude that, during the first two weeks of the worker-bee’s life, the impulse for gathering honey and pollen does not exist, or at least is not developed; and that the development of this impulse proceeds slowly and gradually. At first the young bee will not even touch the honey presented to her; some days later she will simply taste it, and only after a further lapse of time will she consume it eagerly. Two weeks elapse before she readily eats honey, and nearly three weeks pass, before the gathering impulse is 196 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. — sufficiently developed to impel her to fiy abroad, and seek for honey and pollen among the flowers. ““T made, further, the following observations respecting the domestic employments of the young Italian bees: “1. On the 20th of May, I took out of the hive all the combs it contained, and replaced them after examination. On inspecting them half an hour later, I was surprised to see that the edges of the combs, which had been cut on removal, were covered by Italian bees exclusively. On closer examination, I found that they were busily engaged in re-attaching the combs to the sides of the hive. When I brushed them away, they instantly returned, in eager haste, to resume their labors. “9, After making the foregoing observations, I inserted in the hive a bar from which a comb had been cut, to as- certain whether the rebuilding of comb would be under- taken by the Italian bees. I took it out again a few hours subsequently, and found it covered almost exclusively by Italian workers, though the colony, at that time, still con- tained a large majority of common bees. I saw that they were sedulously engaged in buildmg comb; and they prosecuted the work unremittingly, whilst I held the bar in my hand.* I repeated this experiment several days in succession, and satisfied myself that the bees engaged in this work were always almost exclusively of the Italian race. Many of them had scales of wax visibly protruding between their abdominal rmgs. These observations show that, in the early stage of their existence, the impulse for comb-building is stronger than later in life. “¢3, Whenever I examined the colony during the first three weeks after the Italian bees emerged, I found the brood-combs covered principally by bees of that race: * T have had a queen which continued to lay eggs in a comb, after it was removed from the hive. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 197 and it is, hence, probable that the brood* is chiefly attended to and nursed by the younger bees. The evi- dence, however, is not so conclusive as in the case of comb- building, inasmuch as they may have congregated on the brood-combs because these are warmer than the others. “YT may add another interesting observation. The fseces in the intestines of the young Italian bees was viscid and yellow; that of the common or old bees was thin and limpid, like that of the queen-bee. This is confirmatory of the opinion, that, for the production of wax and jelly, the bees require pollen; but do not need any for their own sustenance.”—B. Z. 1855, p. 163. S. WaGner. If the colonies are to be multiplied rapidly, the nuclei must never be allowed to become too much reduced in numbers, or to be destitute of brood or honey. With these precautions, the oftener their queen is taken from them, the more intent they usually become in supplying her loss. There is one trait in the character of bees which is wor- thy of profound respect. Suchis their mdomitable energy and perseverance, that under circumstances apparently hopeless, they labor to the utmost to retrieve their losses, and sustain the sinking State. So long as they have a queen, or any prospect of raising one, they struggle vigor- ously against impending ruin, and never give up until their condition is absolutely desperate. I once knew a colony of bees not large enough to cover a piece of comb four inches square, to attempt to raise a queen. For * T once had a colony which, after it had been queenless for some time, not only refused to make royal cells, but even devoured the eggs which were given to them. Similar facts have been noticed by other observers. When a colony which refuses to rear a queen, has a comb given to it containing maturing bees, these motherless innocents will at once proceed to supply their loss. Dr. Dénhoff’s observations account for these facts. 198 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. two whole weeks, they adhered to their forlorn hope; until at last, when they had dwindled to less than one half of their original number, their new queen emerged, but with wings so imperfect that she could not fly. Crippled as she was, they treated her with almost as much respect as though she were fertile. In the course of a week more, scarce a dozen workers remained in the hive, and a few days later, the queen was gone, and only a few dis- consolate wretches were left on the comb. Shame on the faint-hearted of our race, who, when overtaken by calamity, instead of nobly breasting the stormy waters of affliction, meanly resign themselves to an ionoble fate, and perish, where they ought to have lived and triumphed ! and double shame upon those who, living in a Christian land, thus “faint in the day of adversity,” when if they would only believe the word of God, they might behold, with the eye of faith, his ““ bow of promise” spanning the still stormy clouds, and hear his voice of love bidding them trust in Him as a “ Strong Deliverer!” In the previous editions of this work, with other methods of artificial swarming, very full directions were furnished for increasing colonies, by giving to the nuclei a second comb with maturing brood, as soon as their queens began to lay eggs, and then, at proper intervals, a third, and a fourth, until they were strong enough to take care of themselves. This mode of increase is laborious, and requires skill and judgment which few possess: it is also peculiarly liable to cause robbing among the bees, requiring the hives to be too frequently opened, to remove the combs needed in the various processes. As a number of nuclei are to be simultaneously strengthened, the Apiarian cannot complete his artificial processes by a single operation, and must always be on hand, or incur the risk of ending the season with a number of starving ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 199 colonies. For these and other reasons, | much prefer the methods which I have devised, for dispensing with so much opening of hives and handling of combs. If, however, any of the new colonies are weak enough to need it, they may be helped to combs from stronger stocks. Whatever method of artificial increase is pursued by the Apiarian, he should never reduce the strength of his mother-stocks, so as seriously to cripple the reproductive power of their queens. ‘This principle should be to him as “the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not :” for while a queen, with an abundance of worker- comb and bees, may, in a single season, become the parent of a number of prosperous families, if her colony, at the beginning of the swarming season, is divided into three or four parts, not one of them will ordinarily acquire stores enough to survive the Winter. If the Apiarian is in the vicinity of sugar-houses, con- fectioneries, or other tempting places of bee-resort, he will find his stocks, both old and new, so depopulated by their zeal for ill-gotten gains, as to be in danger of perishing. In such situations, all attempts at rapid increase are entirely futile. Artificial operations of ali kinds are most successful when bee-forage is abundant ; when it is scarce they are quite precarious, even if the colonies are well supplied with food. When bees are not busy in honey-gathering, they have leisure to ascertain the condition of weak stocks, which are almost certain to be robbed, if they are incautiously opened. When forage is scarce, the hives should be | opened before sunrise, or after sunset, or when very few bees are flying abroad; and if it is necessary to open them at other times, they must be removed out of the reach of annoyance from other colonies. The Apiarian who does ? 200 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEF. not guard against robbing, will seriously impair the value of his stocks, and entail upon himself much useless and vexatious labor. Beware of demoralizing bees, by tempt- ing them to rob each other { In an Apiary where hives very unlike in size, shape, and color, are crowded together, artificial operations will citen be exceedingly hazardous, as the bees will be con- tmually liable to enter the wrong hives. If the stocks ;sast be kept very close together, even if the hives are all of the same color and pattern, it will be best to carry ‘o a second Apiary, either the forced swarms, or the mother-stocks from which they were made. The bee-keeper has already been reminded that caution is needed in giving to bees a stranger-queen. Tuber thus deseribes the way in which a new queen is usually re- ceived by a hive: “Tf another queen is introduced into the hive within ‘iwelve hours after the removal of the reigning one, they surround, seize, and keep her a very long time captive, in an impenetrable cluster, and she commonly dies either from hunger or want of air. If eighteen hours elapse before the substitution of a stranger-queen, she is treated, at first, in the same way, but the bees leave her sooner, nor ig the surrounding cluster so close; they gradually disperse, and the queen is at last liberated; she moves ‘tanguidly, and sometimes expires in afew minutes. Some, however, escape in good health, and afterwards reign in the hive. If twenty-four hours elapse before substituting the stranger-queen, she will be well received, from the moment of her introduction. “ Reaumur aftirms, that, should the original queen be removed, and another introduced, this new one will be perfectly well received from the beginning * ** He in- ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 201 duced four or five hundred bees to leave their hive, and enter a glass-box, containing a small piece ef comb. At first, they were in great agitation, but from the moment that he presented a new queen the tumult ceased, and the stranger was received with all respect. “YT do not dispute the truth of this experiment, but Reaumur’s bees were too much removed from their natural condition to allow him to judge of their instincts and dis- positions. He has himself observed, that their industry and activity are affected by reducing their numbers too much. ‘To render such an experiment truly conclusive, it must be made in a populous hive; and on removing the native queen, the stranger must be immediately substituted in her place.” It would seem, from his use of the word tmmediately, that Huber must have been aware of the fact, that if a strange queen is given to a colony, before its agitation is calmed down (p. 158), and before royal cells are begun, she will usually be well received. Ifthe bees of a colony are made to fill themselves with honey, by drumming, smoking, or giving them liquid sweets, and often, if they are removed to anew stand, they will readily accept of any queen offered them, in place of their own. Bees, in possession of a fertile queen, are often quite reluctant to accept of an unimpregnated one in her stead ; indeed, it requires much experience to be able to give a strange queen to a colony, and yet be sure of securing for her a good reception. In several instances, the workers have stung a strange queen to death, while I was holding her in my fingers, to be able to remove her if she was not kindly welcomed. To prevent accidents, it will be well to confine a queen—when given to a strange colony —in what the Germans call a “ queen-cage,” which may 902 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. be made by boring a hole into a block, and covering it with wire-gauze, or any perforated cover. The bees will cultivate an acquaintance with the imprisoned mother, by thrusting their antenne through the openings, and the next day she may be safely given to them. Queens bent on escaping to the woods, may be confined in the same way. A pasteboard box, pierced with holes, answers equally well, or even a match-box, properly scalded. If the cage is put with its small openings over one of the holes on the spare honey-board, or set inside of the hive, the bees will be as quiet as though the queen had her liberty. Such a cage will be very convenient for any temporary confinement of a queen. In catching a queen, she should be gently taken, with the fingers, from among the bees, and if none are crushed, there is no risk of being stung. The queen, although she will not sting, even if roughly handled, will sometimes, when closely confined, d¢fe the hand of the operator so as to cause a little uneasiness—her jaws, which are intended for gnawing into the base of the royal cells, being larger and stronger than those of a common bee. If she is allowed to fly, she may be lost, by attempting to enter a strange hive. As a fertile queen can lay several thousand eggs a day, it is not strange that she should quickly become exhausted, if taken from the bees. “ He nihilo nihil fit”—from nothing, nothing comes—and the arduous duties of maternity compel her to be an enormous eater. After an absence from the bees of only fifteen minutes, she will solicit honey, when returned; and if kept away for an hour or upwards, she must either be fed by the Apiarian, or have a few bees, gorged with honey, given to her to supply her wants. One which I sent by express, in a ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 903 queen-cage, with a suite of well-fed workers, arrived in safety, at the Apiary of a friend, on the next day. Great caution is not only requisite in giving a hive a strange queen, but in all attempts to mix bees belonging to different colonies. Bees having a fertile queen will almost always quarrel with those having an unimpregnated one; and this is one reason why a furious contest, in which thousands perish, often ensues when new swarms attempt to mingle. Members of different colonies appear to recognize their hive-companions by the sense of smell, and if there should be a thousand stocks in the Apiary, any one will readily detect a strange bee; just as each mother in a large flock of sheep is able, by the same sense, in the darkest night, to distinguish her own lamb from all the others. It would seem, therefore, that colonies might always be safely mingled, by sprinkling them with sugar-water, scented with peppermint or any other strong odor, which would make them all smell alike. A few seasons ago, however, I discovered that bees often recognize strangers by their actions, even when they have the same scent; for a frightened bee curls himself up with a cowed look, which unmistakably proclaims that he is conscious of being an intruder. If, therefore, the bees of one colony are left on their own stand, and the others are suddenly introduced, the latter, even when both colonies have the same smell, are often so frightened that they are discovered to be strangers, and are instantly killed. If, however, doth colonies are removed to a new stand, and shaken out together on a sheet, they will peaceably mingle, when scented alike.* * T find substantially the same thing recommended, in 1778, by Thomas Wild- man (page 230 of the 3rd edition of his valuable work on Bees), who says, that bees will “unite while in fear and distress, without fighting, as they would be apt to do, if strange bees were added to a hive in possession of its honey.” YO THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. If, when two colonies are put together, the bees in the one on the old stand are not gorged with honey, they will often attack the others, which are loaded, and speedily sting them to death, in spite of all their attempts ‘to purchase immunity, by offering their honey. Mr. Wm. W. Cary, of Coleraine, Massachusetts, who has long been an accurate observer of the habits of bees, unites colonies very suc- cessfully, by alarming those that are on the old stand; as soon as they show, by their notes, that they are subdued, he gives them the new comers. The alarm which causes them to gorge themselves with honey (p. 27), puts them, doubtless, upon their good behavior, long enough to give the others a fair chance. It has been stated already, that a queen-bee cannot be induced to sting, by any kind of treatment, however severe. The reason of this strange unwillingness will be obvious, when we consider that the preservation of her life is indispensable to the existence of the colony, and that, although the loss of her sting would be fatal to her- self, 1t could avail no more for their defense, in case of an - attack, than the single sword of a Washington or a Wel- lineton could decide a great battle. While the common bees are ready to sally forth and sacrifice their lives on the slightest provocation, a queen-bee only buries herself Of all the old writers, Wildman appears to have made the nearest approaches to the modern methods of taming and handling bees. Twenty-five years before Huber’s investigations on the origin of wax, this acute observer had noticed the scales of wax on the abdomen of the workers; and he was so thoroughly conyinced that wax was secreted from honey, that he recommended feeding new swarms, when the weather is stormy, that they may sooner bud/d comb for the eggs of the queen. Mr. Wagner refers me to “OrERBECK’S Glossarium Melliturgium”—Bremen, 1765, p. 89—in which the origin of wax is claimed, more then 20 years before the fate of that work—say 1745—for a Hanoverian Pastor, named Herman C. Horn- postel. He gave his discoveries to the world in the so-called “ Hampuren Lrprary,” vol. 2, p. 45; and they are so particularly described as to leave no doubt of their correctness. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 205 more deeply among the clustering thousands, and will never use her sting, except when engaged in mortal com- bat with another queen. When two rivals meet, they clinch, at once, with every demonstration of the most vindictive hatred. Why, then, are not both often de- stroyed? We can never sufficiently admire the provision so simple, and yet so effectual, by which such a calamity is prevented. A queen never stings, unless she has such an advantage that she can curve her body under that of her rival, so as to inflict a deadly wound, without any risk to herself—the moment the position of the two combate ants is such that neither has the advantage, but both are liable to perish, they not only refuse to sting, but disengage themselves, and suspend their conflict for a short time! The following interesting statements were furnished to the New England Farmer (Oct. 1855), by Hon. Simon Brown, Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in 1855. “On the 17th of July last, we placed in our dining- room window one of Mr. Langstroth’s observing bee-hives, constructed of glass, so that all the operations of the bees could be plainly and conveniently seen. A comb about a foot square was placed in it, containing some brood, with plenty of workers and drones, but without a queen. The hive was then carefully observed by one of the ladies of the family, who has given us the following account of their doings. ““<'The first business the bees attended to, was to com- mence cells for a queen, and they prosecuted it with energy for two days. At the end of that time, a queen was taken from another colony and placed with them, upon which they pulled down the cells they had made, in: less than haif the time it had required to construct them, and then 206 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. ‘began to piece out and repair the comb which needed a corner. The queen at once commenced laying, and soon filled the unoccupied cells, when she was again removed, and the bees once more began the construction of queen- cells. ““¢'The young bees now began to hatch forth, and in two weeks the family increased so fast as to make it necessary for them to prepare to emigrate. They had built six queen- cells, and in about twelve days the first queen was hatched. As soon as she was fairly born, she marched rapidly, and in the most energetic manner, over the comb, and visited the other cells in which were the embryo queens, seeming at times furious to destroy them. The workers, however, surrounded her, and prevented such wholesale murder. But for two days she was intent upon her fell purpose, and kept in almost continuous motion to effect it. On the fourteenth day, the second queen was ready to come out, piping and making various noises to attract attention. “¢ A part of the colony then seemed to conclude that it was time to take the first queen and go, but by some mis- take she remained in the hive after the swarm had left. The second queen came out as soon as possible after the others had gone, and then there were now two hatched queens in the hive! they ran about on the comb, which was now nearly empty, so that they could be distinctly seen. But they had not, apparently, noticed each other, while the workers were in a state of great uneasiness and commotion, seeming impatient for the destruction of one of them. The mode they adopted to accomplish it was of the most deliberate and cold-blooded kind. A circle of bees kept one queen stationary, while another party dragged the other up to her, so that their heads nearly touched, and then the bees stood back, leaving a fair field for the combatants, in which one was to gain her laurels, ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 207 and the other to die! The battle was fierce and sanguinary. They grappled each other, and, like expert wrestlers, strove to inflict the fatal blow by some sudden or adroit movement. But for some moments the parties seemed equally matched ; no advantage could be gained on either side. The bees stood looking calmly on the dreadful affray, as though they themselves had been the heroes of a hundred wars. But the battle, like all others, had its close; one fell upon the field, and was immediately taken by the workers and carried out of the hive. By this time, the bees which had swarmed made the discovery that their queen was missing, and although they had been hived without any trouble, came rushing back, but not in season to witness the fatal battle, and the fall of their poor slain queen, who should have gone forth with them to seek a future home.’ ”* The Apiarian has already been reminded of the import- ance of securing straight worker-combs for his stocks. To a stock-hive, such combs are like cash capital to a business man}; and so long as they are fit for use, they should never be destroyed (p. 60). Those who have pienty of good worker-comb, will unquestionably find it to their advantage to use it in the place of the artificial guides (Pl. I., Fig. 2, w).[ Those who use the guides, * “We introduced a queen into a hive,” says Huber, “after painting her thorax, ~ to distinguish her from the reigning queen. A circle of bees formed so’ closely ~ around the stranger, that in scarcely a minute she lost her liberty. Other workers at the same time collected around the reigning queen, and restrained her motions. ** * They retained their prisoners only when they appeared to withdraw from each other; and if one, less restrained, seemed desirous of approaching her rival, all the bees forming the clusters gave way, to allow her full liberty of attack; then, if they showed a disposition to fly, they returned to inclose them.” t Mr. 8. Wagner has a colony over 21 years old, whose young bees appear to be as large as any others in his Apiary. { See Explanation of Plates of Hives, for a description of the various styles of movable frames. 208 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. should examine a swarm two or three days after it is hived, when, by a little management, any irregularities in their combs may be easily corrected. Some combs may need a little compression, to bring them into their proper positions, and others may even require to be cut out, and fastened as guides in other frames; but no pains should be spared to see that they are all right, before the work has gone so far as to make it laborious to remedy any defects. Ifa colony is small it ought to be confined, by a movable partition, to such a space in the hive as it can occupy with comb—as well for its encouragement, as to economize its animal heat, and guard against irregularities in comb-building. Varro, who flourished before the Christian Era, says (Liber IIIL., Cap. xvii), that bees be- come dispirited, when placed in hives that are too large. The possession of five frames of straight worker-comb, may be made to answer an admirable end, if given toa new swarm, so as to alternate with its empty frames. After the bees have had possession of them two or three days, they may be politely informed that these worker- combs were only loaned to them as patterns, and their new combs may be alternated with empty frames. Five combs may thus be used for many successive swarms. As the artificial guides increase the expense of the frames, and cannot be invariably relied on, the practical Apiarian will aim, as far as possible, to dispense with their use. I have devised a plan—which will be elsewhere de- scribed—for superseding them, and enabling the beginner to compel his bees, without any comb, to build in the frames with entire regularity. It must be obvious to every intelligent bee-keeper, that the perfect control of the combs of the hive is the soul of a system of practical management, which may be modi- fied to suit the wanis of all who cultivate bees. Even the ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 209 old-fashioned bee-keeper can, with movable combs, destroy his faithful laborers quite as speedily as by setting them over a sulphur-pit ; thus preserving his honey from dis- gusting fumes, while he secures it on frames from which it may be conveniently cut, and preserves all empty comb for future use (p. 71). As many who would like to keep bees are so much afraid of being stung, that they object entirely even to natural swarming, how, it may be asked, can such persons open hives, lift out the combs, shake or brush off the bees, and practice other processes which seem like bearding a lion in its very den? ‘The truth is, that some persons are so timid, or suffer so dreadfully when stung, that they are every way disqualified from having anything to do with bees, and ought either to have none upon their premises, or to entrust the care of them to others. With the direc- tions furnished in this treatise, almost any one, however, by using a bee-dress, can learn to superintend bees with very little risk. I find, in short, that the risk of being stung is really diminished by the use of my hives; although it is very difficult for those who have not seen them in use, to believe that this can be so. The ignorance of most bee-keepers of the almost un- limited control which may be peaceably acquired over bees, has ever been regarded by the author of this treatise as the greatest obstacle to the speedy introduction ‘of movable-comb hives. Ue might easily have invented con- trivances which, by adapting themselves to this ignorance, would, at first, have proved much more lucrative to him, had he thought it just, either to the community or to himself, to have taken such a course. Such ignorance has led to the invention of costly and complicated hives,* * T have before me asmall pamphlet, published in London in 1851, describing the construction of the “Bar and Frame Hive” of W. A. Munn, Esq. The object 910 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. all the ingenuity and expense lavished upon which, are known, by the better informed, to be as unnecessary as a costly machine for lifting up bread and butter, and gently pushing it into the mouth and down the throat of an active and healthy child. The Rev. John Thorley, in his “ Female Monarchy,” published at London, in 1744, appears to have first intro- duced the practice of stupefying bees by the narcotic fumes of the “ puff ball” (Hungus pulverulentus), dried till it will hold fire like tinder. The same effect has been produced by pushing a rag, saturated with chloro- form or ether, into the entrance of the hive, and closing all tight, to prevent the escape of the fumes. The bees soon drop motionless from their combs, and recover again after a short exposure to the air. Some of my readers may suppose that such an easy mode of stupefying bees would very greatly facilitate the of this invention is to elevate frames, one at a time, énfo @ case with glass sides, so that they may be examined without risk of annoyance from the bees. Great ingenuity is exhibited by the inventor of this very costly and very complicated hive, who seems to imagine that smoke “must be injurious both to the bees and their brood.” Even if a little smoke is so injurious, the Apiarian, by sweetened water, or by drumming upon a hive, after closing its entrance, can cause the bees to fill themselves with honey (p. 27), when all their combs may be safely lifted out. A Huber-hive, or one with movable bars, may be much more safely managed than any one which proposes to elevate the frames, without permitting them to be pushed apart (p. 150). A single hive, the arrangements of which are such as to maim and irritate bees, is more to be dreaded in an Apiary than a thousand of proper construction; as it edwcates bees to regard their keeper in the light of an enemy. On p. 15,1 have spoken of the bar-hive, as at least one hundred years old. From “A Journey into Greece, by George Wheeler, Esq.,” made in 1675-6, it appears that it was, at that time, in common use there, and, probably, even then an old invention; he describes how it was used for forming artificial swarms, and re- moving spare honey. As the new swarms were made by dividing the combs be- tween two hives, and no mention is made of giving the queenless one a royal cell —those old observers were probably acquainted with the fact that they could rear one from the worker-brood. Huber says:—‘t Monticelli,a Neapolitan Professor, claims that the plan of artificial swarming was borrowed from Favignana, and that — the practice is so ancient that even the Latin names are preserved by the inhabi- tants in their procedure.” ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 911 removal of combs; but, however valuable to those ionorant of the great law, that a gorged bee never vol- unteers an attack, to the better informed, narcotics of all kinds are, for general purposes, worse than useless. Liv- ing bees may be easily made to get out of the way; but drunken ones, like drunken men, are constantly liable to be maimed or killed. There is a large class of bee-keepers—not bee-masters who desire a hive which will give them, however ignorant or careless, a large yield of honey from their bees. They are easily captivated by the shallowest de- vices, and spend their money and destroy their bees, to fil the purses of unprincipled men. ‘There never will be a “royal road” to profitable bee-keeping. Like all other branches of rural economy, it demands care and experi- ence; and those who are conscious of a strong disposition to procrastinate and neglect, will do well to let bees alone, unless they hope, by the study of their systematic industry, to reform evil habits which are well nigh incurable. While I feel increasingly sanguine that the movable- comb hive* will be extensively used by skillful bee-keepers, I well know the difficulty of rapidly introducing any sys- tem of management which is much in advance of current knowledge; even a perfect hive (p. 116) would require years to win its way into general use. It is only of late years, that the splendid discoveries of Huber—like the writings of Bruce on the Sources of the Nile—have emerged from the clouds of ridicule and aspersion in which they were so long enveloped; and even now, to describe a tithe of the wonders of the bee-hive, however * The day on which I contrived the movable-frames, I wrote as follows, in my Bee-Journal :—“ The use of these frames will, I am persuaded, give a new im- pulse to the easy and profitable management of bees; and will render the making of artificial swarms an easy operation.” O19, THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. thoroughly they have been demonstrated, is, unfortu- nately, in the estimation of many of our oldest bee- keepers, to deserve the name of a fool, a liar, or a cheat. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 913 CHAE TE Re. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. Tuar the Queen-Bee is often lost, and that her colony will be ruined unless such a calamity is seasonably remedied, ought to be familiar facts to every bee-keeper. Queens sometimes die of disease or old age, when there is no brood to supply their loss. Few, however, perish under such circumstances; for either the bees build royal cells, aware of their approaching end, or they die so sud- denly as to leave young brood behind them. Queens are not only much longer lived (p. 58) than the workers, but are usually the last to perish in any fatal casualty. As many die of old age, if their death did not ordinarily occur under favorable circumstances, it would cause, yearly, the loss of a very large number of colonies. As they seldom die when their strength is not severely taxed in breeding, drones are usually on hand to impregnate their successors.* Young queens are sometimes born with wings so imper- fect that they cannot fly (p. 39); and they are often so injured in their contests with each other, or by the rude treatment they receive when driven from the royal cells (p. 121), that they cannot leave the hive for impregnation. * In preparing my stocks for Winter, I found—on the 21st of October, 1856-— two which had sealed queens. As the drones were not killed, in some of the hives, until after the 1st of November, these queens might have been impregnated, if the weather had not become very cold. When examined on the 21st day of February, these stocks had each a few sealed drones and larve, while weaker stocks had much brood. The following is an extract from Prof. Leidy’s description of these queens :—* Their ovaries were filled with eggs, from a mere point to such as meas- ured four-fifths of a line long, and one-eighth of a line broad. Their spermathecas were filled with mucoid, granular matter, and epithelial cells, and did not contain 914 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. We have yet, however, to describe under what circum- stances the majority of hives become queenless. ore queens, whose loss cannot be supplied by the bees, perish when they leave the hive to meet the drones, than in ail other ways. After the departure of the first swarm, the mother-stock and all the after-swarms have young queens which must leave the hive for impregnation ; their larger size and slower flight make them a more tempting prey to birds, while others are dashed, by sudden gusts of wind, against some hard object, or blown into the water: for, with all their queenly dignity, they are not exempt from mishaps common to the humblest of their race. In spite of their caution to mark the position and ap- pearance of their habitation (p. 125), the young queens frequently make a fatal mistake, and are destroyed, by attempting to enter the wrong hive. This accounts tor the notorious fact, that ignorant bee-keepers, with forlorn and rickety hives, no two of which look just alike, are often more successful than those whose hives are of the ' best construction. The former—unless their hives are ex- cessively crowded—lose but few queens, while the latter lose them almost in exact proportion to the taste and skill which induced them to make their hives of uniform size, shape, and color. I first learned the full extent of the danger of crowded Apiaries, in the Summer of 1854. To protect my hives against extremes of heat and cold, they were ranged, side a trace of spermatic filaments.” While the intestines of these queens contained only a little limpid excrement, the rectum of a worker, examined at the same time, was filled with an enormous quantity of a dark, offensive substance. These drone-laying colonies were supplied with queens from other stocks, which, | when opened in April, were found to have raised queens in February. One queen was laying worker, and the other drone-eggs, and the former must have been im- pregnated in March, and probably by some of the brood of the drone-laying queens. Might not a few drone-laying queens be kept to advantage in large Apiaries? LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 915 by side, over a trench, so that, through ventilators in their bottom-boards, they might receive, in Summer, a cooler, and in Winter, a much warmer air, than the external atmosphere. By this arrangement—which failed entirely to answer its design—many of my colonies became queen- less, and I soon ascertained under what circumstances young queens are ordinarily lost. From the great uniformity of the hives in size, shape, color, and height, it was next to impossible for a young queen to be sure of returning to her hive. The difficulty was increased, from the fact that the ground before the trench was free from bushes or trees, and no hive—except the two end ones, which did not lose their queens—could have its location more easily remembered, from its relative position to some external object. Most of the hives thus placed, which had young queens, became queenless, al- though supplied with other queens, again and again; and many, even of the workers, were constantly entering hives adjoining their own. If a traveler should be carried, in a dark night, to a hotel in a strange city, and on rising in the morning, should find the strees filled with buildings precisely like it, he would be able to return to his proper place, only by pre- viously ascertaining its number, or by counting the houses between it and the corner. Such a numbering faculty, however, was not given to the queen-bee; for who, ina state of nature, ever saw a dozen or more hollow trees or other places frequented by bees, standing close together, precisely alike in size, shape, and color, with their en- trances all facing the same way, and at exactly the same height from the ground! On describing to a friend my observations on the loss of queens, he told me that in the management of his hens, he had fallen into a somewhat similar mistake. To econo- 9°16 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. mize room, and to give easier access to his setting hens, he had partitioned a long box into a dozen or more separate apartments. ‘The hens, in returning to their nests, were deceived by the similarity of the entrances, so that often one box contained two or three unamiable aspirants for the honors of maternity, while others were entirely for- saken. Many eggs were broken, more were addled, and hardly enough hatched to establish one mother as the happy mistress of a flourishing family. Had he left his hens to their own instincts, they would have scattered their nests, and gladdened his eyes with a numerous off- spring. Through the length and breadth of our land, bee- keepers who suffer heavy losses, from the proximity and similarity of their hives, unsuspicious of the true cause of their misfortunes, impute them to the bee-moth, or some of the many enemies of the bee. Judge Fishback, of Batavia, Ohio, informed me, in the Fall of 1854, while on a visit to his large Apiary, that he had for many years guarded against the loss of young queens, by painting the fronts of his hives of different colors, and making their entrances face in various ways.“ Every bee-keeper, whose hives are so arranged that the young queens are liable to make mistakes, must count upon heavy losses. If he puts a number of hives, under circumstances similar to those described; upon a bench, or the shelves of a bee- house, he can never keep their number good without con- stant renewal. The first swarms, and those stocks which do not swarm, as they retain their fertile queens, will do well enough; but many of those that swarm will be robbed * John Mills, in a work published at London, in 1766, gives (p. 98) the following directions :—“‘ Forget not to paint the mouths of your colonies with different colors, as red, white, blue, yellow, &c., in form of a half-moon, or square, that the bees may the better know their own home.” Such precautions preserved the stocks from becoming queenless, although they were not adopted for that end, LOSS OF THE QUEEN. VAG by other bees, or fall a prey to the moth, or gradually dwindle away. As the bee-keeper, from limited space or other reasons, may prefer to keep his colonies close together, I have de- vised a way of effecting it, mpd risking the loss of the young queens :— If he relies upon natural swarming, he should remove the mother-stock, as soon as it has swarmed, to a new posi- tion, giving it two or three quarts of bees from the swarm, before they have entered the new hive, which is to be put on the old stand. These bees having the swarming propensity, will supply the place (p. i) of those which subsequently leave. If artificial swarming is practiced, the entrances to the hives of the nuclei should be marked with a leafy twig, and, if possible, made to face differently (p. 189) from those of the adjoinmg stocks. The new colonies should be formed as directed on page 186. If two Apiaries are used, the artificial swarms may be made in any of the ways previously described, and those colonies which have queens to be impregnated, removed to the second Apiary. The bees are sometimes so excessively agitated when their queen leaves for impregnation, that they exhibit all the appearance of swarming. They seem to have an in- stinctive perception of the dangers which await her, and I have known them to gather around her and confine her, _as though they could not bear to have her leave. Ifa queen is lost in what the Germans call “her wedding ex- cursion,” the bees of an old stock wilk gradually decline ; those of an after-swarm, will either unite with another colony, or speedily dwindle away. It would be interesting, could we learn how bees become informed of the loss of their queen. When she is taken from them, under circumstances that excite the whole 10 918 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. colony, we can easily see how they find it out; for as a tender mother, in time of danger, is all anxiety for her helpless children, so bees, when alarmed, always seek first to assure themselves of the safety of their queen. If however, the queen is very carefully removed, a day, or even more, may elapse, before they realize their loss.* How do they first become aware of it? Perhaps some dutiful bee, anxious to embrace her mother, makes diligent search for her through the hive. The intelligence that she cannot be found being noised abroad, the whole family is speedily alarmed. At such times, instead of calmly conversing, by touching each other’s antennz, they may be seen violently striking them together, and by the most | impassioned demonstrations manifesting their agony and despair. I once removed the queen of a small colony, the bees of which took wing and filled the air, in search of her. Although she was returned in a few minutes, royal cells were found two days later. The queen was*unhurt, and the cells untenanted. Was this work begun by some that did not believe the others, when assured that she was safe? or from the apprehension that she might be removed again ? All colonies whose queens are to be impregnated should be watched, that the Apiarian may be seasonably apprised of their loss. Such colonies, if provided with suitable brood-comb, will seldom forsake the hive, if the queen is lost. An old stock which cannot be suppplied with a queen or the means of raising one, should be broken up, * “Wor eighteen hours after the queen was taken away, the usual labors of the hive proceeded as regularly as if she were still present; but no sooner was her loss discovered than all was agitation and tumult—the bees hurried backward and for- ward over the combs, with a loud noise, rushed in crowds out of the hive, as if going to swarm, and in short, exhibited all the symptoms of bereavement and de- spair.”—BEVAN, p. 24. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 919 and the bees added to another colony; a new Swarm, unless a queen nearly mature can be given to it (p. 149), should always be broken up. If the new colony is large, it will be better, instead of breaking it up, to give it a queen from some old stock which can easily raise another. If, however, the Apiarian uses movable-comb hives, and pursues the nucleus system (p. 188), he will always have queens on hand for all emergencies. Huber has proved that bees do not ordinarily transport the eggs of the queen from one cell to another. I have, however, in several instances, known them to carry worker- eggs into royal cells. Mr. Wagner put some queenless bees, brought from.a distance, into empty combs that had lain for two years in his garret. When supplied with brood, they raised their queen in this old comb! Mr. Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, and other Apiarian friends, have communicated to me instances almost as striking. Having described the precautions necessary to prevent the loss of queens, it remains to show how the bee-keeper can ascertain that a hive is queenless, and how he can remedy such a misfortune. As soon as the bees begin to fly briskly in the Spring, a stock which does not industri- ously gather pollen,* or accept of rye flour, and which refuses clean water, given to it in an empty comb, is almost certain to have no queen, or one that is not fertile— unless it is on the eve of being destroyed by worms, or of perishing from starvation. A stock is sure to be queenless, if, after taking its first Spring-flight, the bees, by roaming, in an inquiring manner, in and out of the hive (p. 67), show that some great * “Mr. Randolph Peters, of Philadelphia, had a stock which he was satisfied was queenless, as the bees did not carry in pollen for 28 days. I put a queen into the hive, he holding a watch in his hand, and in 334 minutes from the time she was introduced, a bee was seen to enter with pollen on its legs! We both observed the entrance for some time, and saw many bees carry in pollen.”"—P. J. Manan, 990 | THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. calamity has befallen them... Those that come from the fields, instead of entering the hive with that dispatchful haste so characteristic of a bee returning, well loaded, to a prosperous home, usually linger about the entrance with an idle and dissatisfied appearance, and the colony is rest- less, late in the day, when other stocks are quiet. Their home, like that of a man who is cursed in his domestic relations, is a melancholy place, and they enter it only with reluctant and slow-moving steps. And here, if permitted to address a word of friendly advice, I would say to every wife—Do all that you can to make your husband’s home a place of attraction. When absent from it, let his heart glow at the thought of returning to its dear enjoyments; as he approaches it, let his countenance involuntarily assume a more cheerful ex- pression, while his joy-quickened steps proclaim that he feels that there is no place like the cheerful home where his chosen wife and companion presides as its happy and honored Queen.* If your home is not full of dear de- lights, try all the virtue of winning words and smiles, and the cheerful discharge of household duties, and ex- haust the utmost possible efficacy of love, and faith, and prayer, before those words of fearful agony, “¢ Anywhere, anywhere : Out of the world!” are extorted from your despairing lips, as you realize that there is no home for you, until you have passed into that habitation not fashioned by human hands, or inhabited by human hearts. 3 Although when bees commence their work in the Spring, * “The tenth and last species of women were made out of a bee; and happy is ‘the man who gets such a one for his wife. She is full of virtue and prudence, and is the best wife that Jupiter can bestow.”—Srrcrator, No. 209. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. _ , et they usually give reliable evidence either that all is well, or that ruin lurks within, if their first flight is not noticed, it is sometimes difficult, in the common hives, to get at the truth. If the bees are driven up among the combs, by smoke, the presence or absence of brood may often be ascertained. If a few imperfect bees are found on the bottom-board, or in front of the entrance, it shows that the hive has a fertile queen. I strongly advise giving every movable-comb hive a thorough examination, as soon as the bees begin to work in the Spring.* The combs, “with the adhering bees, may be put into a clean hive, and the old one, after being cleansed from everything offensive to the delicate senses of the bees, may be given to another stock. In making this thorough cleansing of his hives, the Apiarian will learn which require aid, and which can lend a helpmg hand to others; and any one needing repairs, may be put in order before being used again. Such hives, if occasionally re-painted, will last for generations, and prove cheaper, in the long run, than any other kind. If, in the Spring examination, a hive has no queen, it should be supplied, if populous, with one from a weaker stock. If it is small, comb, with hatching bees,} should be given to it from a stronger colony. Or it may change * I would refer those, who think that “7 7s too much trouble” to examine their hives in the Spring, to the practice of the ancient bee-keepers, as set forth by Columella :—“ The hives should be opened in the Spring, that all the filth which was gathered in them during the Winter may be removed. Spiders, which spoil their combs, and the worms from which the moths proceed, must be killed. When the hive has been thus cleaned, the bees will apply themselves to work with the greater diligence and resolution.” The sooner those abandon bee-keeping, who consider the proper care of their bees as “too much trouble,” the better for them- selves and their unfortunate bees. + That class of bee-keepers who suppose that all such operations are the “new- fangled ” inventions of modern times, will be surprised to learn that Columella, 1800 years ago, recommended strengthening feeble stocks, by cutting out combs ‘from stronger colonies, containing workers “just gnawing out of their cells.” 929 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. stands with a strong stock, when the bees are actively gathering stores; or bees brought from a distance may be added to it.* If it raises a queen before she can be seasonably impregnated, she may be killed, and more brood-comb given to them. ‘The smallest stocks may thus be preserved until the drones appear, by which time they may be made as strong as is desired. The stocks deprived of their queens should be managed in the same way. By this device, every queenless stock, however feeble, that survives the Winter, may be nursed into profitable strength. A vigilant eye should be kept upon every colony that has not an impregnated queen; and when its queen is about a week old it should be examined, and if she has become fertile, she will usually be found supplying one of the central combs with eggs. If neither queen nor eggs can be found, and there are no certain indications that she is lost, the hive should be examined a few days later, for some. queens are longer in becoming impregnated than others, and it is often difficult to find an unimpregnated one, on account of her adroit way of hiding among the bees. If the Apiarian relies on artificial swarming, he may deprive his queens of their wings, as soon as they are im- pregnated.+ In a large Apiary, where many swarms might otherwise come off together, this will greatly di- * If a common hive is found, in the Spring, to be very much reduced in numbers, it can be recruited in the last two ways, provided it has a healthy queen. Ifit has no queen, and is not sufficiently strong to justify giving it one from a weaker stock, the bees should be joined to another colony, and the hive reserved, with its combs, for future swarms. It should, however, be kept out of the reach of the bee-moth, and before it is used again a few of the central combs should be broken out, to see that it is not infested by worms. ~ + Virgil speaks of clipping the wings of queens, to prevent them from escaping with a swarm. John Mills (1766) quotes the following from an account published of the sheep of Spain:—“ The number of bee-hives kept in Spain is ineredible, I am almost ashamed to give under my hand, that I knew a parish priest who had five thousand hives. The bees suck all their honey from the aromatic flewers LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 223 minish the labor and perplexity of the bee-keeper. I have devised a way of doing this, so as to designate the age of the queens :—With a pair of scissors, let the wings, on one side, of a young queen be carefully cut off: when the hives are examined next year, let one of her two remain- ing wings be removed, and the last one the third year. The fertility of queens usually decreases after the second year, and before they die of old age the contents of their spermathecas sometimes become exhausted, and they lay only drone-eges.* Unless, therefore, queens are unusually fertile, it will be safer to remove them after they have entered on their third year.+ A young queen, or a sealed royal cell, should be given to a colony, the second day after the old one is removed— for if they raise a queen from the egg, she may find nearly all the cells filled with honey or bee-bread, and the popu- lation greatly reduced. Early in October—when some brood is usually found in every healthy stock, and when all the colonies should be examined, with reference to the coming Winter—if any are found to be queenless, they should be united to other stocks. If however, the old queens were seasonably re- moved, and the stocks that raised young ones were properly attended to, few queenless colonies will be found in which enamel and perfume two-thirds of the sheep-walks. This priest cautiously seizes the queens in a small crape fly-catch, and then clips off their wings. He assured me that he never lost a swarm from the day of this discovery to the day he saw me, which was, I think, five years after.”—p. 77. * Pasel says, that a queen that has suffered from hunger for 24 hours never re- covers her wonted fertility. I shall show, in another place, that after recovering from severe cold, queens cease to lay worker-eggs. + “ Queens differ much as to the degree of their fertility. Those are best which deposit their eggs with uniform regularity, leaving no cells unsupplied—as the brood hatches at the same time on the same range of comb, which can be again supplied: the queen thus losing no time in searching for empty cells.”—Dzierzon. In bee-life, as well as in human affairs, those who are systematic, ordinarily accom- plish the most. 924. THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. the Fall. At this season, or as soon as forage fails, such stocks may usually be detected by the incessant attempts of other colonies to rob them. The neglect of a colony to expel its drones, when they are destroyed in other hives, is always a suspicious sign, and generally an indication that it has no queen. Healthy stocks almost always destroy the drones, as soon as forage becomes scarce. In the vicmity of Philadelphia, there were only a few days n June, 1858, when it did not rain, and in that month the drones were destroyed in most of the hives. When the weather became more propitious, others were bred to take their place. In seasons when the honey-harvest has been abundant and long protracted, I have known the drones to be retained, in Northern Massachusetts, until the Ist of November. If bees could gather honey and could swarm the whole year, the drones would probably die a natural death. The importance of preventing the over-production of drones has been corroborated by the discovery of Mr. P.. J. Mahan, that those leaving the hive have quite a large drop of honey in their stomachs—while those returning from their pleasure excursions, having digested their dinners, are prepared for a new supply.* “The drone,” says quaint old Butler, “is a gross, sting- less bee, that spendeth his time in gluttony and idleness. For howsoever he brave it, with his round velvet cap, his side gown, his full paunch, and his loud voice, yet is he but an idle companion, living by the sweat of others’ brows, * Aristotle (History of Animals, Book IX., Chap. XI.), speaks of the trreguiar and thick combs built by some stocks, and the superabundance of drones issuing from them. He notices, also, the destruction of the drones when bee-forage fails, and describes their excursions as follows :—‘* The drones, when they go abroad, rise into the air with a circular flight, as though to take violent exercise, and when they have taken enough, return home, and gorge themselves with honey.” Columella says, that the proper time for removing the surplus honey is when the bees expel the drones. ho LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 25 He worketh not at all, either at home or abroad, and yet spendeth as much as two laborers: you shall never find his maw without a drop of the purest nectar. In the heat of the day he flieth abroad, aloft and about, and that with no small noise, as though he would do some great act; but it is only for his pleasure, and to get him a stomach, ~ and then returns he presently to his cheer.” It has already been stated (p. 51), that the beekeepers in Aristotle’s time were in the habit of destroying the excess of drones. They excluded them from the hive— when taking their accustomed airmg—by contracting the entrance with a kind of basket work. Butler recommends a similar trap, which he calls a “ drone-pot.” The arrange- ment used in my hives to prevent swarming, will serve also to exclude the drones. ‘Towards dark, or early in the morning—when clustered, for warmth, in the portico—they may be brushed into a vessel of water, and given to chickens, which will soon learn to devour them. In ex- cluding them from hives having an unimpregnated queen, the entrance must be adjusted to let her pass. It is interesting to notice the actions of the drones when they are excluded from the hive. For a while they eagerly search for a wider entrance, or strive to force their bulky bodies through the narrow gateway. Finding this to be im vain, they solicit honey from the workers, and when refreshed, renew their efforts for admission, ex- pressing, all the while, with plaintive notes, their deep sense of sucha cruelexclusion. ‘The bee-keeper, however, is deaf to their entreaties; it is better for him that they should stay without, and better for them—if they only knew it—to perish by his hands, than to be starved or butchered by the unfeeling workers. With movable- comb hives, pity and profit may be perfectly reconciled 10* 926 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. (p. 51), by removing all excess of drone-comb from the breeding apartment.” 3 In the Summer of 18538, I discovered that after a queen is taken from a paper cone (p. 159), the bees will run in and cut of it for a long time, thus proving that they recog- nize her peculiar scent. It is this odor which causes them to run inquiringly over our hands, after we have caught a queen, and over any spot where she alighted when her swarm came forth. This scent of the queen was probably known in Aristo- tle’s time, who says: ‘‘ When the bees swarm, if the king (queen) is lost, we are told that they all search for him, and follow him with their sagacious smell, until they find him.” Wildman says: “The scent of hefbody is so at- tractive to them, that the slightest touch of her along any place or substance will attract the bees to it, and induce them to pursue any path she takes.”+ The intelligent bee-keeper will readily perceive not only how the loss of queens may be remedied, by the movable- comb hive, but how any operation, which in other hives is performed with difficulty, if at all, is in this rendered easy and certain. No hive, however, can make the ignorant or negligent very successful, unless they live in a region where the climate is so propitious, and the honey resources so abundant, that bees will prosper in spite of mismanagement or neglect. Those who have not the leisure or disposition to manage their own bees, may, with my hives, entrust the care of * If a number of drones are confined in a small box, they give forth a strong odor: Swammerdam supposed that the queen was impregnated by this scent ( aura seminalis”) of the drones, t Before becoming acquainted with these authors, I supposed myself to have made an original discovery. Mr. P. J. Mahan informs me that after handling the queen he has had bees several times alight upon his fingers, when he was a mile or more from his Apiary. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 297 them to competent persons. The business of the gardener seems naturally associated with that of the Apiarian ; and practical gardeners may find the management of bees, for their employers, quite a lucrative part of their profession. With but little trouble, they can make new colonies, re- move the surplus honey, and on the approach of Winter prepare the bees to resist its rigors. 928 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. CHAPTER XII. THE BEE-MOTH, AND OTHER ENEMIES OF BEES—DISEASES OF BEES. THe Bee-Moth (Zinea mellonella) is mentioned by Aristotle, Virgil, Columella and other ancient authors, as one of the most formidable enemies of the honey-bee. Modern writers, almost without exception, have regarded it as the plague of their Apiaries; while in this country its ravages have been so fatal, that the majority of culti- vators have abandoned hee-keeping in despair. Most of the contrivances devised against it have proved worthless, and not a few have aided its nefarious designs. Having closely studied its habits, I am able to show how careful bee-keepers may protect their colonies from being ruined by its assaults. The careless will obtain a “ moth-proof” hive only when the sluggard finds a “weed-proof” soil. Before stating how to circumvent the moth, its habits will be briefly described. Swammerdam speaks of two species of the bee-moth (called in his time the “‘ bee-wolf”), one much larger than the other. lLinnzus*and Reaumur also describe two kinds — Tinea cereana and Tinea mellonella. Most writers suppose the former to be the male, and the latter the female of the same species. The following description | is abridged from Dr. Harris’ Report on the Insects of Massachusetts : “ Very few of the Zinew exceed or even equal it in size. In its adult state it is a winged moth, or miller, measuring, from the head to the tip of the closed wings, ENEMIES OF BEES. - 229 from five-eighths to three-quarters of an inch in length, and its wings expand from one inch and one-tenth to one inch and four-tenths. The fore-wings shut together flatly on the top of the back, slope steeply downwards at the sides, and are turned up at the end somewhat like the tail of a fowl. The female is much larger than the male, and much darker-colored. There are two broods of these insects in the course of the year. Some winged moths of the first brood begin to appear towards the end of April or early in May—earlier or later, according to climate and season. ‘Those of the second brood are most abundant in August; but some may be found between these periods, and even much later.” No writer with whom I am acquainted has given such an exact description of the difference between the sexes, that they can always be readily distinguished. The beautiful wood-cuts of the moths, larvae, and cocoons, which I present to my readers, were drawn from nature, by Mr. M. M. Tidd, of Boston, Mass., and engraved by Mr. D. T. Smith, of the same city, A large number of ‘specimens were furnished to Mr. 'Tidd, and great accuracy has been secured. He seems first to have noticed that the tongue of the female projects so as to resemble a beak, while that of the male is very short.* While some males are larger than some females, and some females much lighter-colored than the average of males, and occasionally some males as dark as the darkest females, the peculiarity of the tongue of the female is so marked, that she may always be distinguished at a glance. eee Female. * Dr. Harris speaks of the tongue of the moth as “very short, and hardly visible.” This is true only of that of the male. 230 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. The tongue of the female is double, and the line of separation is shown in the figure in which she is. repre- sented as lying on her back. Both male and female were accurately copied from specimens of the average size and form. — In this sketch, an under-sized male is represented.* His color was so dark that, but for the tongue, he might easily have been mistaken for a female of a different and much smaller species. These insects are seldom seen on the wing, unless started from their lurking places about the hives, until towards dark. On cloudy days, however, the female may be noticed endeavoring, before sunset, to gain an entrance into the hives. ‘If disturbed in the daytime,” says Dr. Harris, “they open their wings a little, and spring or glide swiftly away, so that it is very difficult to seize or to hold them.{ In the evening, they take wing, when the * The legs are shown in this figure. In the sitting position, they are usually concealed, as in the preceding figures. These drawings appear to better advantage in Plate XIII. + As all the specimens submitted to Mr. Tidd were taken from two adjoining hives, very late in the Fall, it is possible that observations at some other season, and in different localities, may confirm the view of those who believe that there are two species. Mr. Tidd, while experimenting to ascertain the sexes, found that a female, as soon as she was pinned fast, thrust out her ovipositor, which works with a telescopic motion, and began to feel for some crevice in which to deposit her eggs. Some cracks being mace with a small penknife in the wood to which she was fastened, she at once proceeded to fill them with eggs. Her abdomen was then cut off, and the egg-laying process continued as before, while the rest of the body leisurely walked away! The abdomen was now dissected, so as to show the ducts of the ovaries, and, even in this mutilated condition, she thrust out her ovipositor, all the while carefully seeking for appropriate crevices in which to deposit her eggs! I have repeated, with similar results, these experiments, so sug- gestive of curlous speculations as to insect volition. { They are surprisingly agile, both on foot and on the wing, the motions of a bee being very slow, in comparison. ‘“ They are,” says Reaumur, “the most nimble- footed creatures that I know.” ENEMIES OF BEES. 931 bees are at rest, and hover around the hive, till, having found the door, they go in and lay their eggs.’ “If the approach to the Apiary,” says Bevan, ‘“‘be observed of a moonlight evening, the moths will be found flying or running round the hives, watching an opportunity to en- ter, whilst the bees that have to guard the entrances against their intrusion, will be seen acting as vigilant sentinels, performing continual rounds near this important post, extending their antenne to the utmost, and moving them to the right and left alternately. Woe to the un- fortunate moth that comes within their reach!” “It is curious,” says Huber, “to observe how artfully the moth knows how to profit by the disadvantage of the bees, which require much light for seeing objects, and the pre- cautions taken by the latter in reconnoitering and expel- ling so dangerous an enemy.” “Those that are prevented from gettmg within the hive, lay their eggs in cracks on the outside; and the little worm-like caterpillar¥ hatched therefrom, easily creep into the hive through the cracks, or gnaw a passage for them- selves under the edges of it.°*—Dr. Harris. ‘“¢ As soon as hatched,ethe worm encloses itself in a case of white silk, which it spins around its body; at first it is like a mere thread, but gradually increases in size, and, during its growth, feeds upon the cells around it, for which purpose it has only to put forth its head, and find its wants supplied. It devours its food with great avidity, and, consequently, increases so much in bulk, that its gal- lery soon becomes too short and narrow, and the creature is obliged to thrust itself forward and lengthen the gal- lery, as well to obtain more room as to procure an addi- * If movable bottom-boards are used, it will be next to impossible to prevent the moth from laying her eggs between them and the edges of the hives. The smallest opening will enable her to thrust in her ovipositor, and place her eggs where her progeny will find an easy admission to the hive. 932 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. tional supply of food. Its augmented size exposing it to attacks from surrounding foes, the wary insect fortifies its new abode with additional strength and thickness, by blending with the filaments of its silken covering a mix- ture of wax and its own excrement, for the external barrier of a new gallery,* the interior and partitions of which are lined with a smooth surface of white silk, which admits the occasional movements of the insect, without injury to its delicate texture. In performing these opera- tions, the insect might be expected to meet with opposi- tion from the bees, and to be gradually rendered more assailable as it advanced in age. It never, however, exposes any part but its head and neck, both of which are covered with stout helmets, or scales, impenetrable to the sting of a bee, as is the composition of the galleries that surround it.”—Buvan. The worm is here given of full size, and with all its peculiarities carefully repre- sented. The scaly head is shown in one of the worms; while the three pairs of claw- like fore legs, and the five pairs of hind ones, which are suckers, are clearly delineated. The tail is also furnished with two of these suckers. The breathing holes are seen on the back. * This representation of the web, or gallery of the worm, was copied from Swammerdam. : ENEMIES OF BEES. 933 Wax is the chief food of these worms.* When obliged to steal their living among a strong stock of bees, they seldom fare well enough to reach the size which they attain when rioting at pleasure among the full combs of a discouraged population. In about three weeks, the larvee stop eating, and seek a suitable place for encasing them- selves in their silky shroud. In hives where they reign unmolested, almost any place will answer their purpose, and they often pile their cocoons one on another, or join them together in long rows. They sometimes occupy the empty combs, so that their cocoons resemble the capping of the honey-cells. In Plate XIX., Fig. 56, Mr. Tidd has given a drawing, accurate in size and form, of a curious instance of this kind. The black spots, resembling grains of gunpowder, are the excrements of the worms. In hives strongly guarded by healthy bees, many a worm, while prying about to find a snug hiding place, is seized by the nape of the neck, and served with an instant writ of ejectment. If a hive is thoroughly made, it runs a dangerous gauntlet, as it passes, in search of some erevice, through the ranks of its enraged foes. Its mo- tions, however, are exceedingly quick, and it is full of cunning devices, being able to crawl backwards, to twist round on itself, to curl up almost into a knot, and to flat- ten itself out like a pancake. If obliged to leave the hive, it gets under some board or concealed crack, spins its cocoon, and patiently awaits its transformation. In most hives, it readily finds a crack mto which it can creep, or a small space between the movable bottom- * “Tarve fed exclusively on pure wax will die, wax being a non-nitrogenous substance, and not furnishing the aliment required for their perfect develop- ment.” —DonuHorr. This statement agrees with the fact, that the larve prefer the brood-combs, and that the combs of an old stock are more liable to be devoured than those of a new one. 934 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. board and the edges of the hive. It can pass through a very small crevice, and as soon as safe from the bees, it will begin to enlarge its cramped tenement, by gnawing into the solid wood. The time required for the larvee to break forth into winged insects, varies with the tempera- ture to which they are exposed, and the season of the year when they spin their cocoons.* I have known them to spin and hatch m ten or eleven days; and they often spin so late in the Fall, as not to emerge until the ensuing Spring. The male usually keeps away from the hive, but the female seeks in every way to gain an entrance. If the stock is weak and discouraged, she lays her eggs} among * In November (1858), I procured a large number of cocoons for winter obser- vations. From many of them, the moths quickly emerged. In others, the larve slowly changed into pupe or erysalids; while, in others still, after being exposed for more than two months to a summer temperature, they remained in the worm state. A few were exposed for six weeks to a uniform temperature of over 80°, and only one passed into the winged moth. Some, after being taken out of their cocoons six times, would envelop themselves in a new shroud. Dr. Dénhoff says, that the larvee become motionless at a temperature of from 38° to 40°, and entirely torpid at a lower temperature. A number which he left all Winter in his summer-house, revived in the Spring, and passed through their natural changes. He appears to have been more successful than myself in induc- ing them to develop in Winter, by artificial heat; but this may be owing to the fact that he experimented with lary which greedily ate the food given to them, and not as I did, with worms which had spun their cocoons. Further experi- ments are needed, in order to determine whether dilatory development is peculiar to those reaching maturity late in the Fall, or is caused by the sudden check given by cold weather. “Tf when the thermometer stood at 10°, I dissected a chrysalis, it was not frozen, but congealed immediately afterwards. This shows that, at so low a temperature, the vital force is sufficient to resist frost. In the hive, the chrysalids and larve, in various stages of development, pass the Winter in a state of torpor, in corners and crevices, and among the waste on the bottom-boards. In March or April, they revive, and the bees of strong colonies commence operations for dislodging them.” —Donnorr. Some larvee which I exposed to a temperature of 6° below zero, froze solid, and never revived. Others, after remaining for 8 hours in a temperature of about 12°, seemed, after reviving, to remain for weeks in a crippled condition. + “The eggs of the bee-moth (see Plate XIII., Fig. 44) are perfectly round, and very small, being only about one-eighth of a line in diameter. In the ducts of the ovarium, they are ranged together in the form ofa rosary. They are not developed ENEMIES OF BEES. 935 the combs, or inserts them in the corners or crevices, or among the refuse wax and bee-bread on the bottom- board, where her progeny can be concealed and nourished till they are able to reach the combs. In Plate XX., Fig. 57, Mr. Tidd has faithfully de- lineated, and Mr. Smith skillfully engraved, the black mass of tangled webs, cocoons, excrements, and perfo- rated combs, which may be found in a hive where the worms have completed their work of destruction. The entrance of the moth into a hive and the ravages committed by her progeny, forcibly illustrate the havoe which vice often makes when admitted to prey unchecked on the precious treasures of the human heart. Only some tiny eggs are deposited by the insidious moth, which give birth to very innocent-looking worms; but let them once get the control, and the fragrance* of the honied dome is soon corrupted, the hum of happy industry stilled, and everything useful and beautiful ruthlessly destroyed. The honey-bee is not a native of the New World, and, when brought here, was called by the Indians the consecutively, like those of the queen bee, but are found in the ducts, fully and perfectly formed, a few days after the female moth emerges from the cocoon. She deposits them, usually, in little clusters on the combs. If we wish to witness the discharge of the eggs, itis only necessary to seize a female moth, two or three days old, with finger and thumb, by the head—she will instantly protrude her ovipo- sitor, and the eggs may then be distinctly seen passing along through the semi- transparent duct. (See Plate XIII, Fig. 46, C.) “Last Summer I reared a bee-moth larva inasmall box. Itspun a cocoon, from which issued a female moth. Holding her by the head, I allowed her to deposit eggs on a piece of honey-comb. Three weeks afterwards, I examined the comb, and found on it some web and two larve. The eggs were all shrivelled and dried up, except a few which were perforated, and from which, I suppose, the larvee emerged. This appears to be a case of true parthenogenesis in the bee- moth.”— Translated from Dr. Déinnorr by 8. WAGNER. As among hundreds of specimens furnished to Mr. Tidd very few males were noticed, I conjectured that the eggs of these females wouid hatch without impreg- nation, and took measures to have Dr. Joseph Leidy investigate the subject. It seems, however, that in this matter, our German brethren have the priority. * The odor of the moth and larva is very offensive. 936 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. white man’s fly.* Longfellow, in his ‘“ Song of Hiawatha,” in describing the advent of the Huropean to the New World, makes his Indian warrior say of the bee and the white clover :— ‘“ Wheresoe’er they move, before them Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo, Swarms the bee, the honey-maker ; Wheresoe’er they tread, beneath them Springs a flower unknown among us, Springs the White Man’s Foot in blossom.” As the bees flourished for years undisturbed by the moth, it seems probable that it was not brought over in the first hives, but at a much later period. In whatever way it was introduced, it has so multiplied in our propi- ‘tious climate of hot summers, that few districts are now exempt from its ravages. Fifty years ago our markets were proportionably better supplied with honey than they now are, and large tubs filled with snow-white combs were a common sight. Many Apiarians contend that newly-settled countries are most favorable to the bee; and an old German adage runs thus :— “ Bells’ ding dong, And choral song, Deter the bee From industry : But hoot of owl, And ‘ wolf’s long howl,’ Incite to moil And steady toil.” * “Ttis suprising in what countless swarms the bees have overspread the far West, within but a moderate number of years. The Indians consider them the harbingers of the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man, and say that, in proportion as the bee advances, the Indian and the buffalo retire...... They have been the heralds of civilization, steadily preceding it as it advances from the Atlantic borders; and some of the ancient settlers of the West pretend to give the rory year when the honey-bee first crossed the Mississippi. At present it swarm ENEMIES OF BEES. IST Others affirm that our colonies are too numerous to find sufficient food. ‘That neither of these reasons account for the change, will be subsequently shown. Others lay all the blame on the moth, and others still, on our departure - from the old-fashioned mode of keeping bees. It is undoubtedly true that the moth so super-abounds in many districts, that no profit can be derived from managing bees in the simple way which was once so suc- cessful. Often the old bee-keeper, after hiving his swarms, never looked at them again until the Fall, when all the colonies which had too few bees, or were too light to survive the Winter, were condemned to the -brimstone- pit. Some of the heaviest were also killed for the sake of their honey, and the very best were reserved for stock hives. In a newly-settled country, where weeds are almost unknown, the farmer who plants his corn and “lets it alone,” may often harvest a remunerative crop. If, in process of time, as the weeds increase, he continues to plough and plant in the “good old way,” he will only be laughed at for complaining that the pestiferous weeds have caused his corn to “run-out.” And yet, with equal folly, many bee-keepers do not understand why plans which answered when moths were unknown or were very scarce, cannot be made to succeed at the present time. If the old plans had been rigidly adhered to, the ravages of the moth, destructive as they must have been, would never have been as great as they now are. The use of patent hives has contributed to fill the land with myriads in the noble groves and forests that skirt and intersect the prairies, and’ extend along the alluvial bottoms of the rivers. Itseems to me as if these beauti- ful regions answer literally to the description of the land of promise—‘ a land flow- ing with milk and honey ;’ for the rich pasturage of the prairies is calculated to sustain herds of cattle as countless as the sands upon the sea-shore, while the flowers with which they are enamelled render them a very paradise for the nectar- seeking bee.”— W a8HINGTON Invina, Tour on the Prairies, Chap. 1X, 938 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. the devouring pest. Ever since their mtroduction, the notion has almost universally prevailed that stocks must not, under any circumstances, be voluntarily destroyed ; and hence, thousands of colonies, which, under the old system, were mercifully killed, are now left to perish by slow starvation, while thousands more are so feeble in the Spring that they serve only to breed a host of moths to be the pest of the Apiary. The truth is, that improved hives, without an improved system of management, have done, on the whole, more harm than good. In no country have they been so exten- sively used as in our own, and no where has the moth so completely gamed the ascendency. Just so far as they have discouraged ordinary bee-keepers from the old plan of “taking up” their weak swarms in the Fall, just so far have they extended “aid and comfort’? to the moth. Some of them might, unquestionably, be so managed as, in ordinary cases, to protect the bees against the moth; but no hive which does not give the control of the combs, can be relied on for all emergencies. As for many of the complicated contrivances, which have been devised by men ignorant of the first principles of bee-keeping, and the “swindle-traps” of sharpers, who, to fill their own pockets, would be glad to kill all the bees in the world, they not only afford no more security against the moth, than the old box-hive, but are full of fixtures, which serve no end but to annoy the bees and multiply lurking-places for moths and worms. ‘The more they are used, the worse the condition of the bees; just as the more a man uses the nostrums of the lying quack, the farther he gets from health.* * An intelligent man informed me that he paid ten dollars to a “ bee-quack” professing to have an infallible secret for protecting bees against the moth. After parting with his money, and learning that this secret consisted in ‘always keep- ing strong stocks,” he felt that he had been as grossly imposed upon, as if, after = ENEMIES OF BEES. 939 While freely admitting that the old plan of killing the bees has, in the hands of the ignorant, met with the best uccess, | am persuaded that a more humane and enlight- ened system can be made much more profitable. The use of movable frames permitting, as they do, the weakest stocks to be strengthened or united to others, will, I trust, in due time, introduce the happy era when the following epitaph, taken from a German work, might properly be placed over every pit of brimstoned bees :* | HERE RESTS, CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOR, A COLONY OF INDUSTRIOUS BEES, BASELY MURDERED BY ITS UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT OWNER. To the epitaph should be appended Thompson’s verses : ‘“* Ah, see, where robbed and murdered in that pit, Lies the still heaving hive! at evening snatched, Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, And fixed o’er sulphur! while, not dreaming ill, The happy people, in their waxen cells, Sat tending public cares. Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends, And, used to milder scents, the tender race, By thousands, tumble from their honied dome Into a gulf of blue sulphureous flame !” The following letter, on the first appearance of the bee-moth in this country, from Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, of paying a large sum for an infallible life-preserving secret, he had been tnrned off with the trnism that, to live forever, one must keep well! * Killing bees for their honey was, unquestionably, an invention of the dark ages, when the human family had lost—in Apiarian pursuits, as well as in other things—the skill of former ages. In the times of Aristotle, Varro, Columella, and Pliny, such a barbarous practice did not exist. The old cultivators took only what their bees could spare, killing no stocks, except such as were feeble or diseased. 940 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. Cleveland, Ohio, who is so widely known for bis interest in Horticultural and Apiarian pursuits, will be read with great interest : “CLEVELAND, Feb. 19th, 1859. “Dear Sm :—Until 1805, the honey-bee flourished in the United States. At the commencement of the present century, a majority of the farmers and mechanics in the State of Connecticut cultivated the bee. Few, if any, unfavorable contingencies interfered with that pursuit ; the simplest form of box-hives was usually employed, though, occasionally, a hollow gum, and, in a few instances, the conical straw skep supplied their place. , “Tn Autumn, the weak colonies, and such of the old as were depreciating in value, were destroyed by fire and brimstone. The honey thus obtained was sufficiently abundant to satisfy the demand; hence, in those days, caps, drawers, and side-boxes, for robbing bees, were not employed. “During the Spring of the year 1806, I read an article, in the Boston Patriot, describing the miller and worm, and their depredations, and representing them as of re- cent appearance in the vicinity of that city. A few months subsequently, a neighbor informed me that they were depredating extensively on his colonies ; and within two years of that time, four-fifths of all the Apiaries in that vicinity were abandoned.* * Judge Fishback, of Batavia, Ohio, says that the ravages of the moth, in his Apiary, were much more destructive the second season after its appearance, than at any subsequent period. I can only account for this, by supposing that, at first, the bees were ignorant of its nature, and took no special precautions to prevent it from entering their hives. In Europe, where it has been well known for more than two thousand years, its ravages have never been of such a wholesale character. AS both worms and moth have a peculiar smell, the bees would soon learn to repel from their hives, a moth smelling so much like the worms that were devouring their combs. That bees can learn to defend themselves against new enemies, is proved by the facts related by Huber, of their narrowing their entrances with propolis to keep ENEMIES OF BEES. DAL ‘Since that period, a succession of patent hives, whose originators were ignorant of the habits of the moth, has appeared as its auxiliaries, and the two combined, have nearly exterminated the bee from that section of the country. The efforts of a few individuals, of more than usual perseverance and ingenuity, were occasionally attended with limited success. “In the Summer of 1810, I resided in the county of Trumbull, Ohio. The moth had not reached this part of the country, and bee-culture was extensively pursued, and. with a success I have never witnessed elsewhere. The rich German farmers were on a strife to excel each other in the number of their colonies. Two or three hundred they frequently attained. “‘In 1818, I again visited that county, and permanently located there in 1823, and at both periods found that pursuit still prospermg. In August, 1828, while visiting a sick family in Mercer Co., Pa., I observed that a large Apiary was suffering severely from the attacks of the worm. ‘The proprietor informed me that it had made its appearance for the first time the present season. Within another year, it spread over all of Northern Ohio, and in the Winter of 1831-2, I learned, from members of the Legislature, that it had reached every part of our State. Similar results followed its progress here, as in the New England States. “Until the introduction of your system of movable frames, no successful means of counteracting its ravages were devised. Jam happy to say that, by the aid of your hives, I have not the least difficulty in meeting it. - “With great respect, yours, &c., “Rey. L. L. LANGstRoru. “‘ JareD P. KIRTLAND.” out the large death-head moth (Sphina atropos), a single one of which can swallow 2 tablespoonful of honey. An Apiarian, from Ohio, sent me some honey-eating moths, much larger than the bee-moth, which entered his weak hives and gorged themselves with honey. 1] Q49, THI HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. Almost anything hollow will often, for a series of years, be successfully tenanted by bees. To see hives, with large, open cracks, whose owners are ignorant and ¢are- less, bidding defiance to the moth, may, at first sight, impair confidence in the value of any precautions. While stocks often flourish in such log-cabin hives, others, in costly ‘‘ Bee-Palaces,” are frequently devoured by the worms—their owner, with all the newest devices in the Apiarian line, being unable to protect them against their enemies, or to explain why some colonies, like the chil- dren of the poor, appear almost to thrive upon neglect, while others, like the offspring of the rich, are feeble, apparently in exact proportion to the care lavished on them* I shall now explain why some stocks flourish in spite of neglect, while others, most cared for, fall a prey to the moth, and shall show how, in suitable hives, and with proper precautions, the moth may be kept from seriously annoying the bees. A feeble colony being unable to cover its combs, they are often filled with the eggs of the moth, and, frequently, their owner becomes aware of their condition only when their ruin is completed. But how, can the novice know when a stock, in a common hive, is seriously} in- fested with these all-devouring worms? The discouraged aspect of the bees plainly indicates that there is trouble of some kind within, and the bottom-board will be cov- ered with pieces of bee-bread mixed with the excrement of the worms, which looks like grains of gunpowder.} * Tt is very common to hear bee-keepers speak of having “gyod luck,” or “ bad luck,” with their bees; and, as bees are managed, success or failure often seems to depend almost entirely upon what is called “luck.” + Inexperienced bee-keepers, who imagine that a colony is nearly ruined when they find a few worms, should remember that almost every old stock, however strong or healthy, has some of these enemies lurking about its premises. ~ When bees in the Spring prepare their cells for brood, the bottom-board is often covered with small pieces of comb and bee-bread; but if these are not mixed with the black excrement, they are proofs of industry. instead of signs of ruin. ENEMIES OF BEES. 948 Early in the Spring, before the stocks become populous, the bees should be driven up among their combs by smoke, and the bottom-boards cleansed (p. 221). It too frequently happens that, in the common hives, nothing can be effectually done, even when the bee-keeper is aware of the plague within. With movable frames, however, the combs, and all parts of the hives, may be carefully cleansed, and if a stock is weak or queenless, the proper remedies may be easily applied. If a feeble stock cannot be strengthened so as to protect its empty combs, they may be taken away until the bees are numerous enough to need them. If the bee-moth were so constituted as to require but a small amount of heat for its full development, it would become exceedingly numerous early in the Spring, and might easily enter the hives and deposit its eggs where it pleases: for at this season, not only is there no guard maintained by the bees at night, but large portions of their comb are quite unprotected. How does every fact in the history of the bee, when properly investigated, point with unerring certainty to the wisdom of Him who made it ! ? Combs having no brood, may be smoked with the fumes of burning sulphur, to kill the eggs or worms of the moth, If kept from the bees, they should be carefully protected, in a dry place, from the moth, and examined occasionally, to be smoked again if any worms are found. Directions have been given on page 140 for preventing common hives from swarming so often that they cannot protect their empty combs. If not prevented from over-swarming, in the movable-comb hives, by methods which have been so fully described, some of the combs of the mother-stock may be given to the after-swarms, D44 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. instead of being left where they may be attacked by the moth. The most fruitful cause of the ravages of the moth still remains to be described. Jf a colony becomes hopelessly queenless, it must, unless otherwise destroyed, inevitably fall a prey to the bee-moth. By watching, in glass hives, the proceedings of colonies purposely made queenless, I have ascertained that they make little or no resistance to her entrance, and allow her to lay her eggs where she pleases. The worms, after hatching, appear to have their own way, and are even more at home than the dispirited bees.* How worthless, then, to a queenless colony, are all the traps and other devices which, of late years, have been so much relied upon. Any passage which admits a bee is large enough for the moth, and if a single female enters such a hive, she will lay eggs enough to destroy it, how- ever strong. Under a low estimate, she would lay, at least, two hundred eggs in the hive, and the second gene- ration will count by thousands, while those of the third will exceed a million.+ ) Not only do the bees of a hopelessly queenless hive * The fact that queenless stocks do not oppose any effectual resistance to the moths or worms—a fact which I once thought to be a discovery of my own—has for a long time been well known to the Germans. Mr. Wagner informs me “that their best treatises, for many years, speak of this as a settled fact, so that it has become an axiom that, ifa colony is overpowered by robber-bees, its owner is not entitled to compensation, as tt was, in all likelihood, queenless, and would cer- tainly have been destroyed by the moth. My attention has been recently called to an article in the Ohio Cultivator for 1849, page 185, by Micajah T. Johnson, in which, after detailing some experiments, he says :~“ One thing is certain—if bees, from any cause, should lose their queen, and not have the means in their power of raising another, the miller and the worms soon take possession. I believe no hive is destroyed by worms while an efficient queen remains in it.” This seems to be the earliest published notice of this important fact by any American observer. + This power of rapid increase accounts for Judge Fishback’s and Dr, Kirtland’s facts respecting the rapid dissemination of the moth. ENEMIES OF BEES. 945 make no effectual opposition to the bee-moth, but, by their forlorn condition, they positively invite her attacks. She appears to have an instinctive knowledge of their -con- dition, and no art of man can ever keep her out. She will pass by other colonies to get at a queenless one, as if aware that she will find in it the best conditions for the develop- ment of her young; and thus the strongest colonies, after losing their queens, are frequently devoured by the worms, while small ones, standing by their side, escape unharmed. ; It is certain that a queenless hive seldom maintains a guard at the entrance, and does not fill the air with the pleasant voice of happy industry. Even to our dull ears, the difference between the hum of a prosperous hive and the unhappy note of a despairing one is often sufii- ciently obvious; may it not be even more so to the acute senses of the provident mother-moth ? Her unerring sagacity resembles the instinct by which birds that prey upon carrion, single out from the herd a diseased animal, hovering over its head with their dismal croakings, or sitting in ill-omened flocks on the surround- ing trees, watching it as its life ebbs away, and snapping their blood-thirsty beaks, impatient to tear out its eyes, just glazing in death, and to banquet on its flesh, still warm with the blood of life. Let any fatal accident befall an animal, and how soon will you see them,— ‘First a speck and then a Vulture,” speeding, from all quarters of the heavens, their eager flicht to their destined prey, when only a short time before not one could be perceived. The common hives not only furnish no reliable remedy for the loss of the queen, but, in many cases, their owner cannot be sure that his bees are queenless until their DAG THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. destruction is certain; while not unfrequently, after an experience of years, he does not believe that there is such a thing asa queen-bee! In the Chapter on the Loss of the Queen, full directions have been given for protecting colonies in movable-comb hives, from a calamity which, more than all others—the want of food* excepted— exposes them to destruction. When a colony becomes hopelessly queenless, its destruction is certain. Even should the bees retain their wonted zeal in gathering stores and defending themselves against the moth, they must as certainly perish (p. 58) as a carcass must decay, even if it is not assailed by filthy flies and ravenous worms. Occasionally, after the death of the bees, large stores of honey are found in their hives. Such instances, however, though once not uncommon, are now rare; for a motherless hive is almost always assaulted by stronger stocks, which, seeming to have an instinctive knowledge of its orphanage, hasten to take possession of its spoils ; or, if it escape the Scylla of these pitiless plun- derers, it is dashed upon a more merciless Charybdis, when the miscreant moths find out its destitution. Every year, multitudes of hives are bereft of their queens, most of which are either robbed by other bees or sacked by the moth, or both robbed and sacked, while their owner im- putes allthe mischief to something else than the real cause. To one acquainted with the habits of the moth, the bee-keeper who is constantly lamenting its ravages, seems almost as much deluded as a farmer would be who, after diligently searching for his missing cow, and finding her nearly devoured by carrion worms, should denounce these worthy scavengers as the primary cause of her untimely end. * Colonies which are almost starved become almost as indifferent to the attacks of the moth as those which have no queen. ENEMIES OF BEES. DAG The bee-moth is the only insect known to feed on wax. It has, for thousands of years, supported itself on the labors of the bee, and there is no reason to suppose that it will ever become exterminated. In a state of nature, a queenless hive, or one whose inmates have died, being of no further account, the mission of the moth is to gather up its fragments that nothing may be lost.* From these remarks, the bee-keeper will see the means on which he must rely, to protect his colonies from the moth. Knowing that strong stocks which have a fertile queen, can take care of themselves in almost any kind of hive, he should do all that he can to keep them in this condition. They will thus do more to defend themselves than if he devoted the whole of his time to fighting the moth. It is hardly necessary, after the preceding remarks, to say much upon the various contrivances to which so many resort, as a safeguard against the bee-moth. The idea that gauze-wire doors, to be shut at dusk and opened again at morning, can exclude the moth, will not weigh much with those who have seen them on the wing, in dull weather, long before the bees have ceased their work. Even if they could be excluded by such a con- trivence, it would require, on the part of those using it, a regularity almost akin to that of the heavenly bodies. An ingenious device has been employed for dispensing * In the times of Aristotle and Columella, the ravages of the moth were kept under by a judicious system of management. It may be seriously questioned whether its extermination in any Apiary would be desirable, unless it could be destroyed everywhere else. The bees would soon forget all about it, and if again exposed to its attacks, similar results might follow to those described on p. 240; for unless the bees know how to protect themselves, no art of man can save them, as is clearly seen in queenless hives, where they will not attend to their combs. Aristotle says, “that good bees expel the moths and worms, but others, from slothfulness, neglect their combs, which then perish.” His bad bees were doubtless those which had no fertile queen. 248 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. with such close supervision, by governing the entrances of all the hives by a long lever-like hen-roost, so that they may be regularly closed by the crowing and cack- ling tribe when they go to bed at night, and opened again when they fly from their perch to greet the merry morn. Alas! that so much skill should be all in vain! Some chickens are sleepy, and wish to retire before the bees have completed their work, while others, from ill-health or lazmess, have no taste for early rising, and sit moping on their roost, long after the cheerful sun has purpled the glowing east. Even if this device could entirely exclude the moth, it could not save a colony which has lost its queen. The truth is, that most of the contrivances on which we are instructed to rely, are equivalent to the lock put upon the stable door after the horse has been stolen; or, to attempts to banish the chill of death by warm covering, or artificial heat. Let me not be understood as asserting that there are no means of protecting the common hives from the ravages of the bee-moth. Jf bee-keepers will be careful to place their hives where the young queens are not in danger of being lost (p. 214), they will lose comparatively jew of their colonies. The knowledge of this fact will enable the Apiarian to contend successfully against the moth, let him use what hive he will. He will, undoubt- edly, lose many colonies which have become queenless, from other causes than the close proximity of their hives, and which might be easily saved in movable comb-hives ; but his losses will not be of such a wholesale character as utterly to dishearten him in his attempts to keep bees, The prudent bee-keeper, remembering that “ prevention is better than cure,” will take unwearied pains to destroy, as early in the season as he can, the larvee of the moth. The destruction of a single female worm may thus be ENEMIES OF BEES. QA9 more effectual than the slaughter of hundreds at a later period.* If the common hives are used, the worms will usually be found where the hive rests upon the bottom- board. Such hives should be propped up on both ends with strips of wood, about three-eighths of an inch thick, and a piece of woolen-rag put between the bottom-board and the back of the hive. The full-grown worm retreat- ing to this warm hiding-place to spin its cocoon, may be easily caught, and effectually dealt with. Only provide some hollow, easily accessible to the worms when they wish to spin, and to yourself when you want them, and as bees in good condition will not permit them to spin among the combs, you can easily entrap them. If the hive has lost its queen, and the worms have gained pos- session of it, break it up, instead of reserving it as a moth-breeder, to infest your Apiary. In the movable-comb hive, blocks of a peculiar con- struction (Plates UL, VL, Figs. 11, 17) are used, both to entrap the worms and exclude the moth. The only place where she can get into these hives, is at the bee-entrance, and as abundant ventilation can be given, independent of this, it may be contracted to suit all possible emergencies, * Few, who have not seen their rayages by lifting out a comb, are aware how many young bees fall a prey to the worm as it burrows in the comb. Mr. M. Quinby, of St. Johnsyille, New York, whose common-sense treatise on “ The Mysteries of Bee-Keeping” will richly repay perusal, is of opinion that the larger number of imperfect bees carried out of the hive in the Spring, have been destroyed by the worms. He thinks that enough are often thus lost from a single hive to make a moderate swarm of bees. This estimate will not seem extravagant, if we take into account the number of breeding-cells which are destroyed, and the large vacancies which are often made by the bees in cutting out the webs and cocoons of the moth. Dr. Kirtland, in an article in the Ohio Farmer, Dec. 1857, alluding to the times before the advent of the bee-moth, says: “In those haleyon days of bee-raising, Swarms often came out earlier, and in larger numbers, than in recent times. It was no unusual occurrence for a Spring swarm to fill the hive with stores and young brood so rapidly, as to allow it, also, to throw off a swarm sufficiently early for the latter to lay up stores for Winter.” ray 950 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. and thus force her to pass over a space which, by continually narrowing, is more and more easily defended by the bees. These traps are slightly elevated, so that the heat and smell of the hive pass under them through small open- ings, into which the moth can enter, but which do not admit her to the hive. These openings, which resemble © the crevices between the common hives and their bottom- boards, she will enter, rather than attempt to force her way through the guards; and, finding here the nibblings of comb and bee-bread, in which her young can flourish, she deposits her eggs where they may be reached and destroyed. All this is on the supposition that the hive has a healthy queen, and that the bees have no more comb than they can warm and defend; for if there is no euard, or only a feeble resistance, she will penetrate to the heart of the citadel to deposit her seeds of mischief. These blocks have also grooves which communicate with the interior of the hives, and which appear to the prowling worm, in search of a comfortable nest, the very place—so warm and secure—in which to spin its web, and “ bide its time.” When the hand of the bee-master lights upon it, it finds that it has been caught in its own craftiness. All such contrivances, instead of helping the careless bee-keeper, will but give him greater facilities for injuring his bees. Worms will spin undisturbed under the blocks, and moths lay their eggs; his traps only affording them more effectual aid. If such incorrigibly careless persons will persist in the folly of keeping bees, they should use only smooth blocks, which, by regulating the entrance to the hives, will assist the bees in defending themselves against all enemies which seek admission to their castle.* * In Plate V., Fig. 16, a small entrance is shown in front of the hives above the frames. If the lower one is closed, and the bees of a feeble colony are allowed to ENEMIES OF BEES. — 951 If the worms, by any means, get the ascendancy in movable-comb hives, the frames should be removed, {p. 243), and the worms destroyed. If proper care has been exercised, such an operation will be seldom needed.* Shallow vessels of sweetened water, placed on the hives after sunset, will often entrap many of the moths. They are so fond of sweets, that I have caught them sticking fast to pieces of moist sugar candy. Whey and sour milk are said to destroy them.+ I shall close what I have to say upon the bee-moth, with an extract from that accomplished scholar, and well-known enthusiast in bee-culture, Henry K. Oliver, of Massachusetts : “The ravages of all the other enemies{ of the bee are but a baby bite to the destruction caused by the bee- moth, They are a paltry-looking, insignificant little gray- haired pestilent race of wax-and-honey-eating and bee- destroying rascals, that have baffled all contrivances that ingenuity has devised to conquer or destroy them. ‘““ Your committee would be very glad to be able to suggest any effectual means by which to assist the honey- bee and its friends against the inroads of this foe, whose desolating ravages are more despondingly referred to than those of any other enemy. “He who shall be successful in devising the means of ridding the bee-world of this destructive and merciless pest, will richly deserve to be crowned ‘ King Bee,’ in use this, it will be kept warm by the heat rising to the top of the hive, and will be guarded even in cool nights. Such an entrance may, in many cases, be found a great protection against the moth. * Old combs are much the most liable to suffer from the moth. In movable- comb hives, no combs need remain so long in the hive as to have their value seriously impaired. + Devices for burning the moth date back to the times of Columella, who recommends placing near the hives, at night, a brazen vessel, with a light burning in it, to destroy the moths resorting to it. + Report on Bees, to the Essex County Agricultural Society, 1851. Da, THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. perpetuity ; to be entitled to a never-fading wreath of budding honey flowers, from sweetly breathing fields, all murmuring with bees; to be privileged to use, during his natural life, ‘night tapers from their waxen thighs,’ (best wax candles, two to the pound!); to have an annual offering, from every bee-master, of ten pounds each of very best virgin honey ; and to a body guard, for protec- tion against all foes, of thrice ten thousand workers, all armed and equipped as Nature’s law directs. Who shall have these high honors ?” It seems almost incredible that such puny animals as mice should venture to invade a hive of bees; and yet they often slip in when cold compels the bees to retreat from the entrance. Having once gained admission, they build a warm nest in their comfortable abode, eat up the honey and such bees as are too much chilled to offer re- sistance, and fill the premises with such a stench, that the bees, on the arrival of warm weather, often abandon their polluted home. On the approach of cold weather, the entrances of the hives should be so contracted that a mouse cannot get in.* That various kinds of birds are fond of bees, every Apiarian knows to his cost. The King-bird (7yrannus musicapa), which devours them by scores, is said—when he can have a choice—to eat only the drones; but as he catches bees on the blossoms—which are never frequented by these fat and lazy gentlemen—the industrious workers must often fall a prey to his fatal snap. There is good reason to suspect that this gourmand can distinguish between an empty bee in search of food, and one which, returning laden to its fragrant home, is in excellent condi- tion to glide—already sweetened—down his voracious maw. * Tf, as the weather grows cold, the bees are allowed to use only the upper entrance (p. 250), it will be almost impossible for mice to effect a lodgment.. ENEMIES OF BEES. 2953 If—as in the olden time of fables—birds could be moved by human language, it would be worth while to post up, in the vicinity of our Apiaries, the old Greek poet’s address to the swallow: ‘¢ Attic maiden, honey fed, Chirping warbler, bears’t away Thou the busy buzzing bee, To thy callow brood a prey ? Warbler, thou a warbler seize? Winged, one with lovely wings? Guest thyself, by Summer brought, Yellow guests whom Summer brings ? Wilt not quickly let it drop? "Tis not fair; indeed, ’tis wrong, That the ceaseless warbler should Die by mouth of ceaseless song.” No Apiarian ought ever to encourage the destruction of birds, because of their fondness for his bees. Unless we can check the custom of destroying, on any pretence, our insectivorous birds, we shall soon, not only be de- prived of their rial melody among the leafy branches, but shall lament, more and more, the increase of insects, from whose ravages nothing but these birds can protect us. Let those who can enjoy no music made by these winged choristers of the skies, except that of their ago- nizing screams as they fall before their well-aimed weapons, and flutter out their innocent lives before their heartless gaze, drive away, as far as they please from their cruel premises, all the little birds that they cannot destroy, and they will, eventually, reap the fruits of their folly, when the caterpillars weave their destroying webs over their leafless trees, and insects of all kinds riot in glee on their blasted harvests.* * “ The farmers of Europe haying learned, by repeated observation, that, without the aid of mischievous birds, their work would be sacrificed to the more destructive 954 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEKF. The toad is a well-known devourer of bees. Sitting, towards evening, under a hive, he will sweep mto his mouth, with his swiftly-darting tongue, many a late returning bee, as it falls, heavily laden, to the ground; but as he is also a diligent consumer of various injurious insects, he can plead equal immunity with the insective- rous birds. It may seem amazing that birds and toads can swallow bees without being stung to death. They seldom, how- ever, meddle with any, except those returning fully laden to their hives, or such as, being away from home, are in- disposed to resent an injury. As they are usually swal- lowed without being crushed, they do not instinctively thrust out their stings, and before they can recover from their surprise, they are safely entombed. | Bears are excessively fond of honey; and in countries where they abound, great precautions are needed to prevent them from destroying the hives. In that quaint but admirably common-sense work, entitled, “ Zhe Lemenine Monarchie, written out of Efxperience, by Charles Butler; printed in the year 1609,” we have an amusing adventure, related by a Mus- covite ambassador to Rome: “A neighbor of mine, saith he, in searching in the woods for honey, slipped down into a great hollow tree, and there sunk into a lake of honey up to the breast ; where—when he had stuck fast two days, calling and ery- ing out in vain for help, because nobody in the meanwhile came nigh that solitary place—at length, when he was insect race, forgive the trespasses of such birds, as we forgive those of cats and dogs. The respect shown to birds by any people, seems to bear a certain ratio to the antiquity of the nation. Hence, the sacredness with which they are regarded in Japan, where the population isso dense that the inhabitants would feel that they could ill afford to divide the produce of their fields with the birds, unless they were convinced of their usefulness."—Atlentic Monthly jor 1859, p. 825 DISEASHS OF BEES. 955 out of all hope of life, he was strangely delivered by the means of a great bear, which, coming thither about the same business that he did, and smelling the honey, stirred with his striving, clambered up to the top of the tree, and then began to lower himself down, backwards, into it. The man bethinking himself, and knowing that the worst was but death, which in that place he was sure of, beclipt the bear fast with both his hands about the loins, and, withal, made an outcry as loud as he could. The bear being thus suddenly affrighted, what with the handling and what with the noise, made up again with all speed possible. The man held, and the bear pulled, until, with main force, he had drawn him out of the mire; and then, being let go, away he trots, more afeard than hurt, leaving the smeared swain in a joyful fear.” Ants, in some places, are so destructive, that it becomes necessary to put the hives on stands, whose legs are set in water.* My limits forbid me to speak of wasps, hornets, millepedes (or wood-lice), spiders, and other enemies of bees. If the Apiarian keeps his stocks strong, they will usually be their own best protectors, and, unless they are guarded by thousands ready to die in their defence, they are ever liable to fall a prey to some of their many enemies, who are all agreed on this one point, at least—that stolen honey is much sweeter than the slow accumulations of patient industry. DISEASES OF BEES. Bees are subject to but few diseases which deserve special notice. The fatal effects of dysentery have already been alluded to (p. 90). “The presence of this disorder,” says Bevan, “‘is indicated by the appearance of the excre- * Small ants often make their nests about hives, to have the benefit of their warmth, and neither molest the bees nor are molested by them. 956 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. ment, which, instead of a reddish yellow, exhibits a muddy black color, and has an intolerably offensive smell. Also, by its being voided upon the floors and at the entrance of the hives, which bees, in a healthy state, are particularly careful to keep clean.””* Various opinions have prevailed as to the causes of this disease. All Apiarians are agreed that dampness in the hives, especially if the bees are long confined, is sure to produce it. Feeding bees late in the Fall on liquid honey— which they have not time to seal over, and which sours by attracting moisture—should be avoided ; also, all unne- cessary disturbance of colonies in the Winter, which, by exciting them, causes an excessive consumption of food. Populous stocks, well stored with honey, in hives so venti- lated as to keep the combs dry, will seldom suffer severely from this disease. | The disease called by the Germans “foul brood,” is of all others the most fatal (p. 19) to bees. The sealed brood die in the cells, and the stench from their decaying bodies seems to paralyze the bees.t+ There are two species of foul-brood, one of which the Germans call the dry, and the other, the moist or fetid. The dry appears to be only partial in its effects, and not contagious, the brood simply dying and drying up in cer- * I have discovered a kind of dysentery which confines its ravages to a few bees in a colony. Those attacked are at first excessively irritable, and sting without any provocation. In the latter stages of this complaint, they may often be seen on the ground, stupid and unable to fly, their abdomens unnaturally distended with an offensive yellow matter. I can assign neither cause nor cure for this disease. t Dzierzon thinks that this disease was produced in his Apiary by feeding bees on “ American honey” (honey from the West India Islands), As this honey does not ordinarily produce it, he probably used some taken from colonies haying the disease. Such honey is always infectious. Mr. Quinby informs me that he has lost as many as 100 colonies in a year from - this pestilence. It has never made its appearance in my Apiaries, and I should regard its general dissemination through our country as the greatest possible calamity to bee-keeping. DISEASES OF BEES. Oa tain parts of the combs. In the moist, the brood, instead of drying up, decays, and produces a noisome stench, which may be perceived at some distance from the hive.* In the Spring or Summer, when the weather is fine and pasturage abounds, the following cure for foul-brood is recommended by a German Apiarian :—‘“ Drive out the bees into any clean hive, and shut them up in a dark place without food for twenty-four hours; prepare for them a clean hive, properly fitted up with comb from healthy colonies, transfer the bees into it, and confine them two days longer, feeding them with pure honey.” My readers are indebted to Mr. Samuel Wagner for a translation of Dzierzon’s mode of treating foul-brood: “T admit that I can furnish no prescriptions by which a diseased colony may be forthwith cured. Nay, I consider it highly improbable that a colony, in which the disease has made marked progress, can be cured by any medica- ments. The removal of the putrid and infectious matter, already so abundant in the cells, must at least be simul- taneously effected—and this seems to be altogether impracticable. Nevertheless, there would be much gained if we could neutralize or destroy the virus in the bees themselves, and also render the infected honey harmless. A bee-keeping friend recently informed me that, if such honey be somewhat diluted with water, and then well boiled and skimmed, it may be safely used in feeding bees. Suspected honey should invariably be boiled and skimmed before it 1s fed to bees. For the hive itself, chloride of lime might prove an efficient disinfectant. I simply let the hives, which contained diseased colonies, stand exposed * As Aristotle (History of Animals, Book LX., Chap. 40) speaks of a disease which is accompanied by a disgusting smell of the hive, there is reason to believe that foul-brood was common more than two thousand years ago. 258 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. to sun and air for two seasons, and stock them thereafter without experiencing a return of the malady. ““On the whole, the disease has now lost its terrors for me. Though my bees may re-introduce it from neighbor- ing Apiaries or other foreign sources, I no longer appre- hend that it will suddenly break out in a number of my colonies, or spread rapidly in any of my Apiaries, because I shall hereafter avoid feeding foreign or imported honey, even if, in an unfavorable year, it should become neces- sary to reduce the number of my stocks to one-half or one-fourth of the usual complement. “ ‘But when the malady makes its appearance in only two or three of the colonies, and is discovered early (which may readily be done in hives having movable- combs), it can be arrested and cured without damage or diminution of profit. Zo prevent the disease from spreading in a colony, there is no more reliable and effi- cient process THAN TO STOP THE PRODUCTION OF BROOD, for where no brood exists, none can perish and putrefy. The disease is thus deprived both of its aliment and its subjects. ‘The healthy brood will mature and emerge in due time, and the putrid matter remaining in a few cells will dry up and be removed by the workers. All this will certainly result from a well-timed removal of the queen from such colonies. If such removal becomes necessary in the Spring or early part of Summer, a super- numerary queen is thereby obtained, by means of which an artificial colony may be started, which will certainly be healthy if the bees and brood used, be taken from healthy colonies. Should the removal be made in the latter part of Summer, the useless production of brood will at once be stopped, and an unnecessary consumption of honey prevented. Thus, in either case, we are gainers by the operation. If we have a larger number of colonies DISEASES OF BEES. 959 than it is desired to winter, it is judicious to take the honey from the colonies deprived of their queens, imme- diately after all the brood has emerged, as they usually contain the greatest quantity of stores at that time. If the disease be not malignant foul-brood, the colony may be allowed to remain undisturbed after it has bred a new queen, and, in most instances, such colonies will subse- quently be found free from disease. I have, indeed, ascer- tained the singular fact that, if both bees and combs be removed from an infected hive, and healthy bees and pure comb be placed therein, these will speedily be infected with foul-brood ; whereas, when the gueen of an incipiently infected colony is removed, or simply confined in a cage, and the workers are still sufficiently numerous to remove all impurities, the colony will speedily be restored to a healthy condition. It thus seems as though the bees can become accustomed to the virus which usually adheres so pertinaciously to the hive. “ Foul-brood, mdeed, is a disease exclusively of the larve, and not of the emerged bees, or of brood sufli- ciently advanced to be nearly ready to emerge. Hence, the cause of the disease may exist already in the food provided jor the larve, and have its seat in the chyle- stomach of the nursing bees, though these latter may not themselves be injuriously affected thereby. “Though the colonies treated in this manner generally appear to be free from infection during the ensuing season, and the brood proceeding from the eggs of a queen subsequently given to them, or from those of one reared by themselves, is healthy, maturing and emerging in due time, still, the disease, in most instances, re-appears im the following Summer. It 1s, indeed, possible that the bees may have re-introduced it from foreign sources, but it is not unlikely, also, that the infectious matter really 260 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. remained latent in the hive. The bees do not usually remove all the putrid matter from the cells, but let some portions remain in the corners after it has become dry, merely covering it with a film of wax or propolis, through which, subsequently, when circumstances favor its action, the virus may exert a malignant influence and cause a revival of the disease. Hence, when I do not break up such colonies altogether in Autumn, and transfer the bees to new hives or other colonies with pure combs, I invariably regard them with suspicion, as unreliable, and keep them under strict surveillance at least a year longer. “‘T also use these suspected colonies, by preference, for the production of queens with which to supply queenless colonies or start artificial swarms—successively removing from them the young queens as soon as they prove to be fertile or I have occasion to use them. In this way, I make such a colony furnish three or four—nay, sometimes, by imserting sealed royal cells, even five or six young queens. But, in such operations, I invariably take the bees and brood for the artificial swarms, from colonies which are unquestionably free from the disease. or this purpose, I select strong colonies having young and vigorous queens, and which are consequently able to furnish the required supplies without any serious diminu- tion of population, when the season is at all favorable to the multiplication of stocks. In such seasons, strong colonies, in good condition, with a vigorous queen in the prime of life, can easily supply brood and bees suflicient for four swarms.”—_Bienenzeitung, 1857, No. 4. é ROBBING. 261 CHAPTER XIII. ROBBING, AND HOW PREVENTED. BrEs are so prone to rob each other, that, unless great precautions are used, the Apiarian will often lose some of his most promising stocks. Idleness is with them, as with men, a fruitful mother of mischief. They are, however, far more excusable than the lazy rogues of the human family; for they seldom attempt to live on stolen sweets when they can procure a sufficiency by honest industry. As soon as they can leave their hives in the Spring, if urged by the dread of famine, they begin to assail the weaker stocks. In this matter, however, the morals of our little friends seem to be sadly at fault; for, often those stocks which have the largest surplus are—like some rich oppressors—the most anxious to prey upon the meagre possessions of others. if the marauders, who are ever prowling about in search of plunder, attack a strong and healthy colony, they are usually glad to escape with their lives from its resolute defenders. The bee-keeper, therefore, who ne- glects to feed his needy colonies, and to assist such as are weak or queenless (p. 221), must count upon suffer- ing heavy losses from robber-bees. It is sometimes difficult for the novice to discriminate between the honest inhabitants of a hive, and the robbers which often mingle with them. There is, however, an air of roguery about a thieving bee which, to the expert, is as characteristic as are the motions of a pickpocket to a 962 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. skillful policeman. Its sneaking look, and nervous, guilty agitation, once seen, can never be mistaken. It does not, like the laborer carrying home the fruits of honest toil, alight boldly upon the entrance-board, or face the guards, knowing weil that, if caught by these trusty guardians, its life would hardly be worth insuring. If it can glide by without touching any of the sentinels, those within—taking for granted that all is right—usually per- mit it to help itself. Bees which lose their way, and alight upon a strange hive, can be readily distinguished from these thieving scamps. The rogue, when caught, strives to pull away from his executioners, while the bewildered unfortunate shrinks into the smallest compass, submitting to any fate his captors may award. These dishonest bees are the “ Jerry Sneaks’ of their profession, and, after following it for a time, lose all taste for honest pursuits. Constantly creeping through small holes, and daubing themselves with honey, their plumes assume a smooth and almost black* appearance, just as the hat and garments of a thievish loafer acquire a “seedy” aspect. ‘* Honesty is as good policy” among bees as among men, and, if the pilfering bee only knew its true interests, it would be safely laboring amid the smiling fieids, instead of risking its life for a taste of for- bidden sweets. It is said that bees occasionally act the part of highway robbers, by waylaying a humble-bee as it returns to its nest with a well-stored sac. Seizing the honest fellow, they give him to understand that they want his honey. If they killed him, they would never be able to extract * Dzierzon thinks that these black bees, which Huber has described asso bitterly persecuted by the rest, are nothing more than thieves. Aristotle speaks of “a black bee which is called a thief” ROBBING. 963 his spoils from their deep recesses ; they, therefore, bite and tease him, after their most approved fashion, all the time singing in his ears, “* Your honey or your life,” until he empties his capacious receptacle, when they release him and lick up his sweets. Bees sometimes carry on their depredations upon a more imposing scale. Having ascertained the weakness of some neighboring colony, they sally out by thousands, eager to engage in a pitched battle. A furious onset is made, and the ground in front of the assaulted hive is soon covered with the bodies of innumerable victims. Sometimes the bafiled invaders are compelled to sound a retreat; too often, however, as in human contests—right proving but a feeble barrier against superior might—the citadel is stormed, and the work of rapine forthwith begins. And yet, after all, matters are not so bad as at first they seemed to be, for often the conquered bees, giving up the unequal struggle, assist the victors in plunder- ing their own hive, and are rewarded by being incorpo- rated into the triumphant nation. The poor mother, however, remains in her pillaged hive, some few of her children—faithful to the last—staying with her to perish by her side amid the ruins of their once happy home.* If the bee-keeper would not have his bees so demoral- ized that their value will be seriously diminished, he will be exceedingly careful (p. 199) to prevent them from robbing each other. If the bees of a strong stock once get a taste of forbidden sweets, they will seldom stop * “ Bees, like men, have their different dispositions, so that even their loyalty will sometimes fail them. An instance not long ago came to our knowledge, which probably few bee-keepers will credit. It is that of a hive which, having early exhausted its store, was found, on being examined one morning, to be utterly deserted. The comb wasempty, and the only symptom of life was the poor queen herself, ‘unfriended, melancholy, slow,’ crawling over the honeyless cells, a sad spectacle of the fall of bee-greatness, Marius among the ruins of Carthage—Napo- leon at Fontainebleau—was nothing to this."— London Quarterly Review. 264 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. until they have tested the strength of every hive. Even if all the colonies are able to defend themselves, many bees will be lost in these encounters, and much time wasted ; for bees, whether engaged in robbing, or battling against the robbery of others, lose both the disposition and the ability to engage in useful labors.* By keeping the movable entrance-blocks of my hives very close together, when a colony is feeble, if thieves try to slip in, they are almost sure to be overhauled and put to death; and if robbers are bold enough to attempt to force an entrance, as the bottom-board slants forward, it gives the occupants of the hive a decided advantage. If any succeed in entering, they find hundreds standing in battle-array, and fare as badly as a forlorn hope that has stormed the walls of a beleaguered fortress, only to perish among thousands of enraged enemies. By putting these blocks before the entrance of a hive which has ceased to offer any effectual resistance, the dispirited colony will often recover heart, and drive off their assailants. When bees are actively engaged in robbing, they sally out with the first peep of light, and often continue their depredations until it is so late that they cannot find the entrance to their hive. When robbing has become a habit, they are sometimes so infatuated with it as to neglect their own brood ! The cloud of robbers arriving and departing need * Tf the Apiarian would guard his bees against dishonest courses, he must be exceedingly careful, in his various operations, not to leave any combs where strange bees can find them (see note, p. 172); for, after once getting a taste of stolen honey, they will hover round him as soon as they see him operating on a hive, all ready to pounce upon it and snatch what they can of its exposed treasures. Some bee-keepers question whether a bee that once learns to steal ever returns to honest courses. I have known the value of an Apiary to be so seriously im- paired by the bees beginning early in the season to rob each other, that the owner was often tempted to wish that he had never seen a bee. ROBBING. 265 never be mistaken for honest laborers carrying, with un- wieldy flight, their heavy burdens to the hive. These bold plunderers, as they enter a hive, are almost as hungry-looking as Pharaoh’s lean kine, while, on coming out, they show by their burly looks that, like aldermen who have dined at the expense of the city, they are stuffed to their utmost capacity. When robbing-bees have fairly overcome a colony, the attempt to stop them—by shutting up the hive or by moving it to a new stand—if improperly conducted, 1s often far more disastrous than to allow them to finish their work. The air will be quickly filled with greedy bees, who, unable to bear their disappointment, will assail, with almost frantic desperation, some of the adjoining stocks. In this way, the strongest colonies are sometimes over- powered, or thousands of bees slain in the desperate contest. When an Apiarian perceives that a colony is being robbed, he should contract the entrance, and, if the assailants persist in forcing their way in, he must close it entirely. In a few minutes the hive will be black with the greedy cormorants, who will not abandon it till they have attempted to squeeze themselves through the smallest openings. Before they assail a neighboring colony, they should be thoroughly sprinkled with cold water, which will make them glad to return to their homes. Unless the bees that were shut up can have an abund- ance of air, they should be carried to a cool and dark* * “In Germany, when colonies in common hives are being robbed, they are often removed to a distant location, or put in a dark cellar. A hive, similar in appear- ance, is placed on their stand, and leaves of wormwood and the expressed juice of the plant are put on the bottom-board. Bees have such an antipathy to the odor of this plant, that the robbers speedily forsake the place, and the assailed colony may then be brought back. “The Rey. Mr. Kleine says, that robbers may be repelled by imparting to the 12 266 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. place. Early the next morning they may be examined,* and, if necessary, united to another stock. There is a kind of pillage which is carried on so secretly as often to escape all notice. The bees engaged in it do not enter in large numbers, no fighting is visible, and the labors of the hive appear to be progressing with their usual quietness. All the while, however, strange bees are carrying off the honey as fast as it is gathered. After watching such a colony for some days, it occurred to me, one evening, as it had an unhatched queen, to give it a fertile one. On the next morning, rising before the rogues were up, I had the pleasure of seeing them meet with such a warm reception, that they were glad to make a speedy retreat. May not the fertile mother give to each hive (p. 203) its distinguishing scent? And may not a hive without such a queen be so pleased (p. 226) with the odor of other bees, as to let them do what they will with its stores? As bees are seldom engaged in raising young queens, except in the swarming season, when honey is so plenty that they are not inclined to rob, this may, if my conjec- tures are correct, account for the scarcity of this kind of pillage. hive some intensely powerful and unaccustomed oder. He effects this the most readily by placing in it, in the evening, a small portion of musk, and on the follow- ing morning the bees, if they have a healthy queen, will boldly meet their assailants. These are nonplussed by the unwonted odor, and, if any of them enter the hive and carry off some of the coveted booty, on their return home, having a strange smell, they will be killed by their own household. The robbing is thus soon brought to a close."—S. WAGNER, * Jt will usually be found that a stock which is overpowered by robbers has no queen, or one that is diseased (p. 244, note). FEEDING. 267 CHAPTER XIV. DIRECTIONS FOR FEEDING BEES. Frew things in practical bee-keeping are more important than the feeding of bees; yet none have been more erossly mismanaged or neglected. Since the sulphur-pit has been discarded, thousands Of feeble colonies starve in the Winter, or early Spring; while often, when an unfa- vorable Summer is followed by a severe Winter and late Spring, many persons lose most of their stocks, and abandon bee-keeping in discust. In the Spring, the prudent bee-keeper will no more neglect to feed his destitute colonies, than to provide for his own table. At this season, being stimulated by the returning warmth, and being largely engaged in breed- ing, bees require a liberal supply of food, and many populous stocks perish, which might have been saved with but trifling trouble or expense.* “Tf e’er dark Autumn, with untimely storm, The honey’d harvest of the year deform ; Or the chill blast from Eurus’ mildew wing, ‘Blight the fair promise of returning Spring ; Full many a hive, but late alert and gay, Droops in the lap of all-inspiring May.”—Evans. * “Tf the Spring is not favorable to bees, they should be fed, because that is the season of their greatest expense in honey, for feeding their young. Having plenty at that time, enables them to yield early and strong swarms.”— WILDMAN. A bee-keeper, whose stocks are allowed to perish after the Spring has opened, is on a level with a farmer whose cattle are allowed to starve in their stalls; while those who withhold from them the needed aid, in seasons when they cannot gather a supply, resemble the merchant who burns up his ships, if they have made an unfavorable voyage. Columella gives minute instructions for feeding needy stocks, and quotes approv- 268 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. When bees first begin to fly in the Spring, it is well to feed them a Jittle, even when they have abundant stores, as a small addition to their hoards encourages the pro- duction of brood. Great caution, however, should be used to prevent robbing, and as soon as forage abounds, the feeding should be discontinued. If a colony is over- Jed, the bees will fill their brood-combs, so as to inter- fere with the production of young, and thus the honey given to them is worse than thrown away. The over-feeding of bees resembles, in its results, the noxious influences under which too many children of the rich are reared. Pampered and fed to the full, how often does their wealth prove only a legacy of withering curses, as, bankrupt In purse and character, they prema- turely sink to dishonored graves. | The prudent Apiarian will regard the feeding of bees —the little given by way of encouragement excepted— as an evil to be submitted to only when it cannot be avoided, and will much prefer that they should obtain their supplies in the manner so beautifully described by him whose inimitable writings furnish us, on almost every subject, with the happiest illustrations: ‘So work the honey bees, Creatures that, by a rule in Nature, teach The art of order to a peopled kingdom. They have a king and officers of sorts, Where some, like magistrates, correct at home ; Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad ; Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, Make boot upon the Summer’s velvet buds ; Which pillage they, with merry march, bring home - To the tent royal of their emperor, Who, busied in his majesty, surveys ingly the directions of Hyginus—whose writings are no longer extant—that this matter should be most carefully (“ diligentissime”) attended to. FEEDING. 2969 The singing masons building roofs of gold; The civil citizens kneading up the honey; The poor mechanic porters crowding in Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate ; The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum, Delivering o’er, to executors pale, The lazy, yawning drone.” SHAKSPEARE’S Henry V., Act I., Scene 2. Impoverished stocks, if in common hives, may be fed by inverting the hives and pouring a teacupfull of honey among the combs in which the bees are clustered. A bee deluged by sweets, when away from home, is a sorry spectacle; but what is thus given them does no harm, and they will lick each other clean, with as much satisfaction as a little child sucks its fingers while feasting on sugar candy. When the bees have taken up what has been poured upon them, the hive may be replaced, and the operation repeated, at intervals, as often as is needed. If the stock is in a movable-comb hive, the food may be put into an empty comb, and placed where it can be easily reached by the bees. If a colony has too few bees, its population must be replenished (p. 221) before it is fed. If it has but a small quantity of brood-combs, unless fed very moder- ately, it will fill the cells with honey instead of brood. If the Apiarian wishes the bees to build new comb, the food must be given so regularly as to resemble natural supplies, or they will store it in the cells already built. To build up small colonies by feeding, requires more care and judgment than any other process in bee-culture, and will rarely be required by those who have movable- comb hives. It can only sueceed when everything is made subservient to the most rapid production of brood. By the time the honey-harvest closes, all the colonies ought to be strong in numbers; and, in favorable sea- 270 THE HIVE AND HONKY-BEE. sons, their aggregate resources should be such that, when an equal division is made, there will be enough food for all. If some have more and others less than they need, an equitable division may usually be effected in movable- comb hives. Such an agrarian procedure would soon overthrow human society; but bees thus helped, will not spend the next season in idleness; nor will those which were deprived of their surplus, limit their gatherings to a bare competency. Karly in October—in northern latitudes, by the mid- dle of September—if forage is over, all feeding required for wintering bees should be carefully attended to. If delayed to a later period, the bees may not have sufficient time to seal over their honey, which, by attracting moist- ure and souring, may expose them (p. 256) to dysentery. Such colonies as have too few bees to winter well, should be added to other stocks West India honey is, ordinarily, the cheapest liquid bee-food. To remove its impurities, and prevent it from souring or candying in the cells, it should have a little water added to it, and, after boiling a few minutes, should be set to cool; the scum on the top should then be removed. A mixture of three lbs. of honey, two of brown sugar, and one of water, prepared as above, has been used by me (p. 257) for many years, without injury to my bees. It is desirable to get through with feeding as rapidly as possible,* as the bees are so excited by it, that they consume more food than they otherwise would. In my hives, the feeder may be put over one of the holes of the honey-board, into which the heat ascends. The bees can then get their food without being chilled in cold weather, * Feeding stocks, driven late in the Fall into empty hives, unless combs (p. 71) can be given to them, will seldom pay expenses. FEEDING. O71 and its smell is not so likely to attract robber bees. To make a cheap and convenient feeder (see Plate XI, Fig. 26), take any wooden box holding at least two quarts; about two inches from one end put a thin partition, com- ing within half an inch of the top; cut a hole in the bottom of the small apartment, so that when the feeder is put over any hole, the bees can pass into it and get access to the division holding the food. The joints of the feeding apartment should be made honey-tight, by ranning into the corners a mixture (p. 78) of wax and rosin; and if the sides are washed with the same hot mixture, the wood, absorbing no honey, will keep sweet. The lid should have a piece of glass, to show when the feeder needs replenishing, and a hole, for pouring in the food, made and closed like *those admitting the bees to the spare honey receptacles. Some clean straw, cut short enough to sink readily, as the bees consume the honey, will prevent them from being drowned.* Water is indispensable to bees when building comb or raising brocd. They take advantage of any warm Win- ter day (see Chapter on Wintering Bees) to bring it to their hives; and, in early Spring, may be seen busily drinking around pumps, drains, and other moist places. Later in the season, they sip the dew from the grass and leaves. Every careful bee-keeper will see that his bees are well supplied with water.+ If he has not some sunny spot where they can safely obtain it, he will furnish them with * Tf such a box is covered thickly with cotton or wool, so as to retain the . ascending heat, it may be used all Winter as a honey or water-feeder. Columella recommends wool, soaked in honey, for feeding bees. When the weather is not too cold, a saucer, bowl, or vessel of any kind, filled with straw, will make a convenient feeder. + An old Grecian bee-keeper says, “ that if the weather is such that the bees are prevented from flying, for only a few days, the brood will perish from want of water.” 272 THE HIVE AND HONHY-BEER. shallow wooden troughs, or vessels filled with floats or straw, from which—sheltered from cold winds, and warmed by the genial rays of the sun—they can drink without risk of drowning. Bees seem to be so fond of salt, that they will alight upon our hands to lick up the saline perspiration. “ During the early part of the breeding season,” says Dr. Bevan, “till the beginning of May, I keep a constant supply of salt and water near my Apiary, and find it thronged with bees from early morn till late in the evening. About this period, the quantity they consume is considerable, but afterwards they seem indifferent to it. The eagerness they evince for it at one period of the season, and their indifference at another, may account for the opposite opinions entertained respecting it.’ The Rev. Mr. Weigel, of Silesia, recommends plain sugar-candy as a substitute for liquid honey. If bees can get access to it, without being chilled, they will cluster on it, and, when supplied with water, will gradually eat it up. Four pounds of candy* will, it is said, sustain a colony having scarcely any winter stores. It is cheaper than liquid food, and less liable to sour in the cells. If the common hives are inverted, and sticks of candy placed gently between the combs where the bees are clustered, they may be easily fed in the coldest weather. In my hives, if the spare honey-board, or cover, is elevated on strips of wood, about an inch and a half above the frames, and the candy laid on them just above the clus- tered bees, it will be accessible to them in the coldest * To make candy for bee-feed: add water to the sugar, and clarify the syrap with eggs; put about a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to about 20 Ibs. of sugar, and boil until the water is evaporated. To know when it is done, dip your finger first into cold water and then into the syrup. If what adheres is brittle when chewed, it is boiled enough. Pour it into shallow pans, slightly greased, and, when cold, break it into pieces of a suitable size. After boiling, balm, or any other flavor agreeable to bees, may be put into the syrup. ‘FEEDING. 273 weather. It may also be gently put between the combs, in an upright position, among the bees.* Mr. Wagner has furnished me with the following interesting facts, translated by him from the Bienen- Zeitung ¢ “*The use of sugar-candy for feeding bees,’ says the Rev. Mr. Kleine, ‘ gives to bee-keeping a security which it did not possess before. Still, we must not base over-sanguine calculations on it, or attempt to winter very weak stocks, which a prudent Apiarian would at once unite with a stronger colony. I have used sugar- candy for feeding, for the last five years, and made many experi- ments with it, which satisfy me that it cannot be too strongly recommended, especially after unfavorable Summers. Colonies well furnished with comb, and having plenty of pollen, though deficient in honey, may be very profitably fed with candy, and will richly repay the service thus rendered them. ‘“* Sugar-candy, dissolved in a small quantity of water, may be safely fed to bees late in the Fall, and even in Winter, if abso- lutely necessary. It is prepared by dissolving two pounds of candy in a quart of water, and evaporating, by boiling, about two gills of the solution ; then skimming and straining through a hair sieve. Three quarts of this solution, fed in Autumn, will earry a colony safely through the Winter, in an ordinary location and season. The bees will carry it up into the cells of such combs as they prefer, where it speedily thickens and becomes covered with a thin film, which keeps it from souring. “* Grape-sugar, for correcting sour wines, is now extensively made from potato-starch, in various places on the Rhine, and has been highly recommended for bee-food. It can be obtained at a much lower price than cane-sugar, and is better adapted to the constitution of the bee, as it constitutes the saccharine matter of honey, and hence, is frequently termed honey-sugar. ““= B22, THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. character of the breed itself. So also with the bee. We find marked differences in point of industry, even among our common bees; but the Italian bee surpasses these in every respect. A chief difficulty in the way of a more general attention to bee- culture, arises from the almost universal dread of the sting of this insect. Many fear even the momentary pain which it inflicts, though no other unpleasant consequences follow; but in some per- sons it causes severe and long-protracted swelling and inflamma- tion. This, especially, deters ladies from engaging in this pur- suit. All this can be avoided by the introduction of the Italian bee, which is by no means an irascible insect.* It will sting only when it happens to be injured, when it is intentionally annoyed, or when it is attacked by robbing bees; then it will defend itself with undaunted courage, and such are its extraordi- nary vigor and agility, that it is never overpowered, so long as the colony is in a normal condition. Colonies of common bees may speedily be converted into Italian stocks, by simply removing the queen from each, and, after the lapse of two or three days, or as soon as the workers decidedly manifest consciousness of the deprivation, supplying them with an Italian queen. We are thereby also enabled to note the gradual disappearance of the old race, as it becomes supplanted by the new. Besides the increased profit thus derivable from bee-culture, this species also furnishes us with no small gratification, in studying the nature, habits, and economy of the insect to greater advantage, because, by means of it, the most interesting experiments, investigations, and observa- tions may be instituted, and thus the remaining doubts and diffi- culties be cleared up.’ “He further says: ‘It has been questioned, even by experienced and expert Apiarians, whether the Italian race can be preserved in its purity, in countries where the common kind prevail. There need be no uneasiness on this score. Their preservation could be accomplished, even if natural swarming had to be relied on, because they swarm earlier in the season than the common kind, * Spinola speaks of the more peaceable disposition of this bee; and Columella, , 1800 years ago, had noticed the same peculiarity, describing itas “métior mort- ~ bus.” Both its superior industry and peaceableness have been noticed from the earliest ages. * THE ITALIAN BEE. 323 and also more frequently. Captain Baldenstein’s want of success was most probably the result of a deficiency of drone-comb* in his Italian hives, as a consequence of which, only few drones were produced.’ “The main thing to be attended to in any localities where common bees are found or kept, is to secure the production of drones in numbers overwhelmingly large; though Dzierzon is under the impression, that where both kinds of drones exist in about equal numbers, the Italian queens will usually encounter Italian drones, both queens and drones being more active and agile than the common kind. Besides, the wings of both queens and drones are finer and more delicate than those of the common kind, and the sounds produced in flying are clearer and higher- toned. Hence, probably, they are readily able to distinguish each other when on the wing.} “The Baron of Berlepsch, one of the most enthusiastic and skillful Apiarians, on a large scale, in Germany, says he can, from his own experience confirm the statements of Dzierzon, in relation to the Italian bee, having found, * “Dzierzon guarded against this, by giving to a very large colony, which ordi- narily produced drones in great numbers, a fertile queen very early in the season. Thousands of drones soon made their appearance, and he immediately formed an artificial colony by removing this queen, with a sufficient number of workers, adding worker-brood from other colonies. On the twelfth day following, he heard ayoung queen ‘teeting’ in the parent hive and, to his surprise, a large swarm issued from it on the same day, though the weather was then cool and cloudy. This swarm came forth suddenly, without any previous indication of its intention, just as after-swarms usually do. On a similar day, Dzierzon says, he had never seen a first swarm of common bees leave. So cold wasthe weather, that some of the bees became chilled before the swarm was hived. As the swarm was unusually large, he divided it into two, as he was able to procure an additional queen from the parent hive. Both throve well, and each of the queens was impregnated by an Italian drone. From this occurrence, he judged that these bees have an instinctive proclivity to swarm early. Our common kind would have lingered long, rather than ‘swarm in weather so cold and cloudy,’ "—S. WAGNER. + “If, at the time when young queens are emerging, the bees and drones be tempted to sally out earlier than usual in the day, hours before the common drones come forth, by feeding them with diluted honey, the perpetuation of the genuine breed will the more probably be secured. But this end will the most certainly be attained, if measures are taken to have Italian queens and drones bred early in the season, before the common drones make their appearance ; and again late, after the latter have been ‘killed off... This may readily be done by the improved hive, and the application of certain known principles in bee-culture.”—S. WAGNER. 324A THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. “1. That the Italian bees are less sensitive to cold than ihe common kind. 2. That their queens are more prolific. 3. That - the colonies swarm earlier and more frequently, though of this he has less experience than Dzierzon. 4. That they are less apt to sting. Not only are they less apt, but scarcely are they inclined to sting, though they will do so if intentionally annoyed or irri- tated. 5. That they are more industrious. Of this fact he had but one Summer’s experience, but all the results and indications go to confirm Dzierzon’s statements, and satisfy him of the superiority of this kind in every point of view. 6. That they are more disposed to rob than common bees, and more courageous and active in self-defence. They strive on all hands to force their way into colonies of common bees ; but when strange bees attack their hives, they fight with great fierceness, and with an incredible adroitness.* ‘‘From one Italian queen sent him by Dzierzon, Berlepsch suc- ceeded in obtaining, in the ensuing season, one hundred and thirty- nine fertile young queens, of which number about fifty produced - pure Italian progeny.t ‘Busch (Die Honig-biene, Gotha, 1855) describes the Italian bee as follows: ‘The workers are smooth and glossy, and the color of their abdominal rings is a medium between the pale yellow of straw and the deeper yellow of ochre. These rings have a narrow black edge or border, so that the yellow (which might * Spinola speaks of these bees as “ velociores motw”—quicker in their motions than the common bees. t “Itisa remarkable fact that an Italian queen, impregnated by a common drone and 2 common queen impregnated by an Italian drone, do not produce workers of a uniform intermediate cast, or hybrids; but some of the workers bred from the eggs of each queen will be purely of the Italian, and others as purely of the common race, only a few of them, indeed, being apparently hybrids. Berlepsch also had several bastardized queens, which at first produced Italian workers exclu- sively, and afterwards common workers as exclusively. Some such queens pro- duced fully three-fourths Italian workers; others, common workers in the same proportion. Nay, he states that he had one beautiful orange-yellow bastardized Italian queen which did not produce a single Italian worker, but only common” workers, perhaps a shade lighter in color. The drones, however, produced by a bastardized Jtaliam queen are uniformly of the Italian race, and this fact, besides demonstrating the truth of Dzierzon’s theory, renders the preservation and per- petuation of the Italian race, in its purity, entirely feasible in any country where they may be introduced.”—S. WAGNER. THE ITALIAN BEE. 3825 be called leather-colored) constitutes the ground, and is seemingly barred over by these slight black edges, or borders. This is most distinctly perceptible when a brood-comb, on which bees are densely crowded, is taken out of a hive. The drones differ from the workers in having the upper half of their abdominal rings black, and the lower half an ochry-yellow, thus causing the abdomen, when viewed from above, to appear annulated. The queen differs from the common kind chiefly in the greater bright- ness and brillianey of her colors.’ ** Otto Radlkofer, Jr., of Munich, in a communication to the Bienenzeitung, says that a colony of Italian bees, which he trans- ferred in February, began to build new comb before the middle of March, while his common bees had not, at the date of his commu- nication (the last of April), begun to build any new comb. ‘ Not only,’ says Mr. Radlkofer, ‘are the Italian bees distinguished by an earlier-awakened impulse to activity and labor, but they are remarkable also for the sedulous use they make of every opening flower, visiting some on which common bees are seldom or never seen. They have also demonstrated their superior agility in self- defence ; nay, they would not tolerate the presence of other bees on comb that had been strewed with flour for their common use. In all these respects, the palm of superiority must be awarded to the Italian bee.’ “‘ Considerable difficulty has been encountered, even by expe- rienced Apiarians, in inducing a colony of common bees, deprived of its queen, to accept an Italian queen in its stead, and many failures have occurred, involving the loss of the offered queen, and causing grievous disappointment. The safest course appears to be, to remove the queen several days before the substitution is intended to be made, and to destroy all the royal cells and embryo queens the day before the Italian queen is introduced. At the time of her introduction, the combs should again be thoroughly examined, and, if any more royal cells have been started, they must likewise be destroyed. The Italian queen should be placed in a cage for her protection, and a small quantity of pure honey in open cells should be put in the cage. The conduct of the workers will speedily show whether and when 326 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. they will receive her. Mr. Lange advises that the Italian queen © be introduced immediately after the bees of a deprived colony manifest undoubted consciousness of the loss they have sustained, and before they have started any royal cells, or made arrangements for doing so.— Yours truly, SaMuEL WAGNER.” “Rev. L. L. LanestrotH.” The chief obstacle to the rapid diffusion of this valuable variety has been the difficulty experienced by the ablest German Apiarians in preserving the breed pure, even Berlepsch having failed entirely to do so. By means of my non-swarmer, however, this difficulty may be readily overcome. Let the bee-keeper who obtains an Italian queen in the Spring, give her, with proper precautions (p. 200), to a populous colony, whose hive is well furnished with drone. combs, having first deprived it of its queen. When the drone cells are filled with sealed brood, let mzeclet (p. 189) be formed from this stock, and replace the combs removed, with others containing workers ready to hatch. By thus keeping the parent-stock always populous, a large number of nuclei may be formed from it. Just before the young Italian queens mature, adjust the non- swarmer (Plates IL, V., Figs. 5, 17) to all the hives con- taining common drones, so as to shut them in, while free egress is given to queens and workers. As only the drones bred by the Italian queen have their liberty, all the young females will be fertilized by them. As fast as the queens of the nuclei become fertile, they may be given to the various stocks, and from these, in a short time, other nuclei which will raise Italian queens, may be formed. In this way, an expert, who can be sure of having Italian drones until late in the season, might easily convert an Apiary of a thousand or more hives into stocks containing none but the new variety. THE ITALIAN BEE, _ 3827 ~ 'To secure the requisite number of drones, part of the Italian drone-brood should be given to some of the nuclei, so that, in case the parent-stock kills its drones, others may be on hand. If the Apiarian removes the queen from this colony before the drones are Killed, the bees will tolerate their presence much longer. The same object may also be accomplished by liberal feeding as soon as natural forage fails (p. 224). Dzierzon found that a queen which had been refri- gerated for a long time, after being brought to life by warmth, laid only male eggs, whilst previously she had also laid female eggs. Berlepsch refrigerated three queens by placing them thirty-six hours in an ice-house,* two of which never revived, and the third laid, as before, thousands of eges, but from all of them only males were evolved. In two instances, Mr. Mahan has, at my sug- gestion, tried similar experiments, and with like results. It does not seem to have occurred to the German Apiarians that by this refrigerating process we may secure as many Italian drones as we need. All that is necessary is to convert by it one or more of the queens of the nuclei into drone-layers. The reception of an Italian queen quite late in the season may thus be turned to good account. If the Apiarian is in the vicinity of hives to which he cannot apply the non-swarmer, it will be necessary for him to seek some place where the common drones cannot interfere with his proceedings. Unless the breed is kept pure, the advantages proposed by its introduction cannot be secured. Italian queens may be safely sent in my hives to any part of the country. ,’’ deep from the outside of the box, and then bore through with 12” bit. Sides, two pieces, 2” x 53’ wide x5” high. Ends, glass, two pieces, 5” x6’, cut from glass 10”x12". A block, 53x 5x52", will be found very convenient to nail the boxes together upon. Movable Stool for Hives. Figs. 16 and 17, page 48. Two pieces for uprights, or legs; rear leg 7” wide, front leg 5” wide, both 20” x%’'.. Take two pieces, 32” x12’ x#", and nail them to the top edge of the rear leg, flush with its ends, and pro- jecting beyond it 4”; nail them also to the front leg in the same way, but let them project 9”. Then brace the legs and top strips, as shown in the figure. Hive No. 1, and any of the forms of Hive No. 2, will sit upon this stool, between the top strips; cotton cloth (p. 279) is tacked to the alighting board, and to the longest ends of the top strips. Hive No. 5, also sits upon this stool, the top strips going between’ the clamps on the bottom of the hive. Hive No. 4 must be set wpon the strips of this stool. \ Movable Blocks for Entrance-Regulators, + Figs. 11, 16, 17, and 18, pages 24 and 48. Fig. 11 is a right-angled triangle, %” thick x4’x52"x7. In the bottom, grooves are cut }’’ deep x} wide, as traps for the larve of the bee-moth. Two of these blocks, made right and * To save beveling the first edge of the board by hand, the edge of the angular bed on the saw bench should be placed against the gage, with the saw passing through it, instead of against the saw, as represented in the figure. + Figs. 12 and 19, pages 24 and 48, show the old arrangement for uniting the Non-Swarmer with the entrance-blocks. 316 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. left, are used for a hive. By changing the position of these blocks on the alighting-board (see Fig. 18, page 48, in which some of the positions are shown), the size of the entrance to the hive may be varied in a great many ways, and the bees always directed to it by the shape of the block, without any loss of time in search- ing for it. Non-Swarmer. Figs. 5 and 17, pages 24 and 48. Two pieces, #’ thick x 44” long x#” wide: sawa slot through one of these, in the centre of its length and width, 2” long x=” wide ; bevel the other piece to each edge, leaving a surface of 3 x in the middle of the width, the bevels being made for 2” only in the centre of the length of the piece; these pieces are to be fast- ened together with a piece between them at each end, 3” thick x14” long x2” wide, and the whole together then beveled off equally at each end, so as to make the length of one of the sides, where the passage appears, 2,',".. A metallic slide, to be used in the slot, is 1 wide x 14” long, and is cut away on one edge to the exact depth of 3”, ‘aul on the other, 34”, leaving projections at each end, of 2’ each, which serve as feet, and rest on the plane surface left on the lower piece; sheet brass is the best metal for the slide.* The Non-Swarmer may be varied from the above in length and bevel of the ends, so as to fit between the entrance- blocks in any of the positions shown in Fig. 18, page 48. Movable Divider. No Figure One piece, 184’ x 98x 1’, each end made 4” beveling, for easy adjustment; the bevels should be parallel to each other. One piece, x3’ x 192”, nailed on the first piece, like the top piece (t) of the movable an frames. By this divider the size of any hive may be diminished at will. Temporary Movable Partition. No Figure. 143” x82" x2", from each end, cut to within 1” of the upper *By making the slot wider, a wooden slide might be made to answer. These measurements may have to be slightly varied for the Italian bees. This Non- Swarmer is designed to prevent alterations by warping or swelling, and to allow of adjustment without confusing the bees. It may also be used for excluding the drones (p. 225), or confining them to the hive (p. 329). EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Sek edge, 2’; into the opposite, or short edge, drive two nails near the ends of the partition, letting them project +”. These nails serve the purpose of feet to support the weight of the honey which is stored in the short frames resting by one end on this partition. The par- tition is further held, across the centre of the length of the hive, by two screws, one passing through each side of the hive into the partition, at the projections left upon the upper part of the ends. This partition is used only when a double set of small frames are put in a surplus honey-box of the same size as the lower hive. Small Frames for Surplus Honey. Fig. 23, page 72. Pp Yi to} iss Konriteo) Top, 93” x14" x8". Bottom, 73x 8"’x#". Ends, or ver- tical pieces, two pieces, 88x %"’x+#”". Triangular comb-guide (if used), 63x 3" x4" xB". Hive No. 2, with observing-glass on the back. See perspective drawings (Figs. 16 and 17, p. 48), and the vertical longitudinal section (Fig. 9, p. 24), and the vertical cross-section (Fig. 13, p. 24), in which sectional drawings, and this bill of stock, and the two others immediately succeeding it, parts that are similar are marked with similar letters. This hive, in one of the three forms given, is recommended as the best for general use. (a) Bottom board, 258x144" x%”, tongued and grooved to- gether, with the grain * of the wood running across the hive; six holes are to be bored from the upper side of this board, first with a 13” centre-bit, j,"" deep, and then through with a 14” bit.t The centres of these holes are to be in the intersections of lines gaged 32” from each of the longest edges of the board, and 42”, 102”, and 162”, from the rear of it. (b) Front of hive, two pieces, one 14757 x92’ xz, the other, 144 x 8%" x7; nail these together with their lower edges even. (c) Sides of hive, two pieces, 258” x10" x"; notch out of one corner of each, 4” on the length of the piece x 2} deep, to receive portico roof. If upper ventilators are required, bore two 4” holes through each side, their centres being in the intersections of lines gaged 22” from the * If preferred, the grain of the wood may run from end to end. + These holes, when not in use, are closed most conveniently by small covers cut out of refuse tin with a punch. 319 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. notched edge, and 63” from each end: then slot through from hole to hole. Gage on 4” from the notched end, across these two side pieces, for a line by which to set the outside of the front, which should come flush with the tops of the sides. (d) Ledges around sides and rear end of hive-body, nailed thereon 12” down from top edge; two pieces, 218 x#’’x#", and one piece, 173” x4" x #".- Roof of portico, 172" x ay" xz yn beveled off from 4” thick at front edge, back 34” to full thiaeiest: front edge rounded over from upper side only. *— Cover for ae ore AO" ee tongued and grooved together, and rain-grooved, the grain of the wood running from front to rear of the hive. — Cleats for cover, two pieces, 19’ x12’’x ’, nailed flush with the edges on the under side of cover, — One a in rear of hive, 14” x 6” an outer glass of the same size can be used, if desired, for. addi- tional protection in Winter. — Cover over observing-glass, 14” x 3%" x 64” wide outside, and 62” wide inside, the bevel being made on the upper edge. Clamps on this cover, two pieces, nailed upon outside, each projecting 4’' over the end of the cover, to hide the joint, 6p” «12x $". — Two pieces, 144”x13" x"; one of these (nailed to a piece, 144""x 2’ x }”’, so that one edge of both will come flush with each other) is to be nailed between the sides (c), flush with their ends, and +” above the bottom board, or to a mark gaged on from the lower edges of (c), 13”; the other piece is to be nailed to a piece which is 144” long x iy" wide on one side, and 22’’ on the other ; to nail these pieces together, gage on the narrowest side of the beveled piece %” from its square edge, then nail these pieces between the sides (c), so that the square edge and widest side come flush with the tops and ends of the sides. — Strips to hold the observing-glass, +” wide x’ thick, are nailed all around the place left to receive it, =," from the in- > 16 terior of the hive. — Cover for rear ventilator,f 15%” x 22" x £"; * Those parts marked with a dash (—), are not lettered in any of the Figures. + These are for the back of the hive, and the glass is between them. + The ventilators may be made of wire-cloth, or strips of wood fastened so as to prevent the escape of bees. Mr. Wheaton uses no back ventilator, but depends upon a current of air from the front entrances of the lower and upper hive, the upper one being used for storing surplus honey on trames. The amount of ven- tilation needed will depend much upen climate and location. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 379 rabbet out on one side all round {x4 4". — Covers for side ventilators (if any are used), two pieces, 15£ x £’ x 3”, each held in place over or off from the ventilators, by means of two buttons, as shown in Fig. 16, page 48. Two such hives, having one cover, are placed one on the top of the other (facing the same way), the upper one being designed to receive surplus honey, either in boxes placed over the holes in the bottom-board, or on frames. Hive No. 2, without observing-glass. This Hive is precisely like ‘‘ Hive No. 2, with observing-glass,” with the exception that those parts rendered necessary by the use of glass are omitted, and the rear is a duplicate of the front (4). As the back ventilator will admit of all necessary inspection for general purposes (p. 365, note), a hive of this form will probably be best for those largely engaged in bee-culture. Hive No. 2, with box-cover. Figs. 9** and 13, page 48. This hive is made precisely like either Hive No. 2, with observ- ing-glass, or Hive No. 2, without observing-glass, with the addi- tion of a box-top, to cover either small honey-boxes placed directly on the honey-board, or a larger box, designed to receive frames for the storage of surplus honey. The following bill comprises the additions referred to: (f) Honey-board, 214x152" x<¢", tongued and grooved, and held together by cleats tongued and grooved to the ends of the board. Bore such holes through this board as are described in bottom-board (a), and at proper distances to receive the size of small honey-boxes used. (k) Honey-box cover, like (f), without the holes. (h) Front and rear of honey box, front 144x938" x }"; rear, two pieces, 144’ x 18” x2”; nail the front between the sides, the lower edges flush, as is also one of the rear pieces, the other being $"" below the top edges of the sides. (i) Two pieces, sides of honey-box, 19%’ x10” x". (7) Ledges at front and rear of honey- box, two pieces, 154" x 12’"x $”, nailed on flush with the top edges * Fig. 9 shows the construction, when neither observing-glass nor back venti- lator are used. 380 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. of the sides. (m) Observing-glass in rear of honey-box, 14” x6”. (n) Strips to hold observing-glass, 4x4", nailed all around the space left for the glass, and within 8,” of the interior of the honey- box. (0) Top of box cover, tongued and grooved together, and rain-grooved, 268” x 194" x2’. (p) Two pieces, front and rear of upper part of box cover, 163” x82 x%'; these pieces are nailed between the sides. (g) Two pieces, sides of upper part of box cover, 244’""x 82" xf". (r) Two pieces, front and rear of lower part of box cover, 163 x5” x2". (s) Two pieces, sides of lower part of box cover, 244”x5"x 2’. (w) Four pieces, 2""x1""x 2", buttons for holding the upper to the lower part of the cover, to which they are nailed ; the upper inside part of the but- tons is beveled off, to allow the upper part of the cover to set down readily on the lower part. Upper or Winter Entrance. Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 17, pages 24 and 48. In all the Hives No. 2, a winter entrance for the bees may be made to open upon the portico roof for an alighting-board; gage from the upper edge of the front (b), 1” and 12”, and then mortise a slot through, 2” long, in the centre of the length of (6), between the gage marks, and slanting upward, so that the lower side of the slot will come even with the rabbet upon which the frames rest. This entrance, which is proposed for trial, may be made, if preferred, on the back of the hives, and in Hive No. 1. Hive No. 3, Observing-Hive (p. 332). Figs. 14 and 15, page 24. Fig. 14, is a side view, and Fig. 15, a vertical cross-section. (a) Base-board, 243” x 44"x 3%". Amnentrance-hole, §”, is bored 34 inches deep into the end of (a), and two holes are bored in its centre, 7’ in diameter and 14” from centre to centre, the wood being eut out between them. (6) Bottom of hive, 24” x 183" x2"; make a rabbet at both upper corners, #” on x74" deep: start-a &” hole, 1” from ihe end, and bore slanting, to meet entrance-hole in (a), and make a hole in the centre to match centre hole in (a), for a ventilator, and cover with wire-gauze on the inside. (c) Front and rear of hive, 1}’’x 2} x 102; rabbet the inner corners, é EXPLANATION OF PLATES. ool up and down, #’ x"; make a ventilator in each piece, like the one in (a); gt from the upper ends, cut in 7’; and 2%” from the lower end, cut in #”. (d) Side strips, 3” x 1” x 208”; on one cor- 2”, and in, #’’ for the glass. (e) Movable cover, O18! x AR" xd y; holes may "Be made in this cover, as in Fig. 21, over which sine receptacles for honey may be placed. (f) Glass, two panes, 93"x 183". (g) Alighting-board, 4” x 44” x 4/". (hk) Clamps on base-board, 44” x 2" x4". (¢and7) Clamps on cover, and ledges on hive, ate pieces, 42° <5 xs), ner of each, rabbet on, Hive No. 4, Double-story Glass Hive. Figs. 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23, pages 48 and 72. This and the following hive are not intended for general use in the Apiary, but for those who want one or more elegant hives. Fig. 19 is a perspective view with the cover down. Fig. 20 is a perspective view with the cover elevated, so as to show the working of the bees, both in the main hive and the upper honey- box. Fig. 21 is a plan of the lower part of the hive, showing the surplus honey-board in place, and the holes made in it to allow the bees to pass up into the surplus honey-receptacles. On this board, receptacles of glass or wood, of any size or shape, may be set (see Glass hive opposite to the Frontispiece), instead of the upper box. Fig. 22 is a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 23 a vertical cross-section. This hive has glass on four sides, for purposes of general observation. A cornice under the projecting reof of the cover would improve its appearance. (a) Main bottom of hive, tongued and grooved, 31” x 203” x3". (5) Outer * bottom of hive, 273’ x 184" x2”. (c) Rabbeted strips for outer bottom, two pieces, 293’""x14’"x%", and two pieces, 174” x13" xq". (d) Front and rear of lower outer case of hive, one rabbet in upper outer corner of each, 74" x 3"; front, 114’ x 20%’ x#"; eut out of the centre of the lower edge, 144’x#"; rear, 44" x 202" x#". (e) Sides of lower outer part, with rabbets the same as front and rear (for form of this, see Fig. 20), two *This outer bottom may be dispensed with, and clamps, 27% x2x% inches, nailed lengthwise to the bottom of the hive, about 1 inch under and from its sides, for getting hold of the hive to lift it, and to prevent dampness, 382 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. pieces, 31%” long x }” thick, 42’ wide at one end, and 12%” wide at 4}’ from the other end, where a notch is cut out, 1,3,” deep x4” long. (f) Roof of alighting-board, 233”*4$"x3#"; $7 thick in rear, and }” thick in front. (g) Board under which bees pass into the hive, 144” x4"x4". (h) Front posts of lower hive, two pieces, 94’ long x4”x 4%". (2) Rear posts of lower. hive, two pieces, 10” long x12” x". with tenon, $#’x3" x", on one end. (j) Front and rear strips of lower hive, on which the frames hang, two: pieces, 154’ x12 X37, with rabbet, 3 x, and notch, al” x #’, cut at each end from upper side. (#) Side strips from post to post, in lower hive, 218’ x $x #”, with notch, zdeep la. ent, in the underside sof each vend. (7) Spare honey-board, 173!" x 218"x#", nine holes bored 13” diameter =," deep, and then bored through with a 12” bit; these holes when not in use are covered with pieces of tin, cut out with a “punch ; they may be bored plain, and covered with pieces of glass or wood. (m) Front and rear of lower part of cover, 62” x 203” x 7’, rabbets (Fig. 22) 3.x 7", on both upper and lower edges. (1) Sides of lower part of cover, two pieces, 273’ from front to rear X62” x4", with rabbets s4" x 4%"; for shape of these pieces, see Fig. 20. (0) Front and rear of upper part of cover, one piece, ba) x 202" e and one piece, 1320202 <2. -(p) Sides of upper part of cover, two pieces, each 5 and 133x272" x2", with rabbets, 7""x7,""; for shape, see Fig. 20. (q) Top of cover, tongued and grooved from front to rear, and rain-grooved on top (Figs, V9"and 23), 242x303" x3". ( r) Honey-box cover, 213” x198" x3". (s) Clamps for honey-box cover, two pieces, 213” x¥"xz". (2.) Triangular checks to hold the cover when elevated, two pieces, 12” x 12" x 22"x". (3.) Four buttons, 14’ x 2” x yn (w) Posts of surplus honey-box, four pieces, 12!" x 83!" x ee) Front and rear bottom-strips of honey-box, two pieces, 12 x 153” x8". (y) Side-bottom strips of honey-box, two pieces, 213’ x 3” x #"; (x) and (y) are halved together at ends. (z) Front, rear, and cae top pieces of honey-box, made up of two strips, 12 x $” x 178", two strips, 12 x #’ x 212”, halved together at ends; and two strips, 173 x 4" x $”, two strips, 193” x” x#". (4.) Clamps for spare honey-board, two pieces, 212’x#’ x". Glass, two EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 383 pieces 149, four pieces 189, and two pieces 14x8, for the double glass of lower hive; two pieces 18 x8, and two pieces 14x 8, for the spare honey-box. Hive No. 5, Single-story Glass Hive. See Perspective opposite to the Frontispiece ; also the Figures referred to in Hive No. 4, (a) Bottom-board,* %” thick x 233” lengthwise, and 35%” across the grain of the wood, tongued and grooved together, two square mortises cut through, the centres of which are in the intersection of lines gaged 4% from the rear, and 4,5 inches from the sides. — Front of inside body of hive, two pieces, one 218” x10" x3", eut out of one edge, in centre of length, 14§’x%"; the aes 15%" x 84” x #”, cut out of two upper corners, 3” lone x4" deep, and out of two lower corners, 3” long x" deep; gage from the unnotched edge of the first piece, 8’, and fasten the two pieces together, the latter to the gage mark, and in the centre of. the length of the first. —— Cleats for bottom, two pieces, 353” x 14” x #; to be nailed to bottom of hive, 1” under and from the sides. (d) front and rear of case, bottom part, front, 233’’x10"x}": cut out from centre of the length on one edge, 143” x4": rear, 23%" x 4""x #’, rabbet one edge, ¥%"’x 5%", and mortice or slot 3 from the other edge, in the centre of the length, 143x%". (e) Sides of case, loweck part, two pieces, 362x104" wide, 5’! from one end, and 32 at the other; at the wide end, where the slant terminates, cut out for roof of portico, 133;’x 5", and rabbet the slant edges, 7’ x 7%"; for shape of (e), (n), and (p), see Fig. 20, pias. (7 ))-Rortico ne 268" x6" x2"; bevel from $” thick on front edge, back 5” to full thickness, and round the front edge from the upper side. (g) Cover of passage-way into hive, 18’ x 4’’x 4"; bore four holes in this, as directed for the holes in ((), in the centre of its width, the centre of the end holes being 3” from the ends ; space the others equally between. (h) Front posts, two pieces, 93’"x4" x7". (2) Rear posts, two pieces, 10” x12” ww _ * Myr. Colyin—to prevent warping—prefers to make the grain of the wood in the bottom-board to run from end to end, and to fasten the posts of Hives No. 4 and 5 by screws to the outer case, instead of by tenons mortised into the bottom-board. O84 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. x 1’ tenon formed on centre of one end of each, $” square x” long; in each post, 4’ above the shoulder of the tenon, cut a groove +” strip of hive, 157/"x 18" x2’; rabbet one edge 4" wide x 3” deep, and eut from the ends to the depth of the rabbet, 7’ on. (k) Side top strips, two pieces, 203 x2" x2"; cut out of one end of each, 12x72". (1) Surplus honey-board, 4” x 214" x18", the grain of the wood to run crosswise of the board, which is to have clamps, tongued and grooved against the edge of the grain; 9 holes are to deep and 4” wide, in one side and edge. (7) Rear top be bored for surplus honey-boxes ; they are first bored ;,” deep with 12” centre-bit, and then through with 14” bit; these holes are arranged in 3 rows, one in the centre, and the others at 3” from the edges of the board, the end holes of each row being 3” from the ends of the board ; 62’’ from each end of the board, cut slots through, 14’ long x3" wide; make a slight rabbet all around the slots, to receive wire-gauze ventilators. (m) Front and rear of case, middle * part, front, 234” x 42#"xZ"; rabbet out of one edge, 7" x "5 rear, 230 x42" x2"; rabbet out from opposite corners of each edge, j;"’x 7%". (n) Sides of case, middle part, two pieces; for shape of these, see Fig. 20, p. 48; 322” from front to rear, measured square across, or 334’ measured on the angle, x 42’ wide measured vertically, or 43’ measured square across; rabbet out from opposite corner of each edge, 7” x jG”. (o) Front and rear of case, upper part, front, 232” x 83" xf"; rab- bet one edge, 7" x75" 5 rear, 233’"x 153 x }” ; rabbet one edge, a,x". (p) Sides of ease, upper part, 323x152” wide at back, and 8%” wide at front x 3%” thick; rabbet the slant edges, qe’ x7%"; for shape, see Fig. 20, p. 48. (gq) Top of upper part of case, 342 x 282" x2", tongued and grooved together, and rain- erooved from front to rear (see Fig. 23, p. 72). — Collateral side honey-boards, for surplus honey-glasses, two pieces, 243” x 32” x4"; bore 6 holes as directed in (/), in the centre of width, two of them 2” from each end, and the rest spaced between. — Lower side rails for glass supports, 193/’x $” x3” notch out from the }” side }” on, and 3’’ deep, at one end ofeach. — Col- s ¢ * This middle part should not be made unless the hive is intended to be used for two stories, as in Hive No. 4. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 385 boards at convenient intervals. (/) Surplus honey-board, 3’ x 214""x 18”, the grain of the wood to run crosswise of the board, which is to have clamps, tongued and grooved against the ede of the grain; 9 holes are to be bored for surplus honey-boxes ; they are first bored 54,” deep with 13” centre-bit, and then through with 14” bit; these holes are arranged in 3 rows, one in the cen- tre, and the others at 3’’ from the edges of the board, the end holes of each row being 3’ from the ends of the board; 62” from each end of the board, cut slots through, 14” long x}” wide; make a slight rabbet all around the slots, to receive wire-gauze ventilators. (m) Front and rear of case, middle* part, two pieces, He #” x42" x #"; rabbet out from opposite corners of each edge, ye xqe"". (n ) Sides of case, middle part, two pieces; for shape of these, see Fig. 20, p. 48; 313” from front to rear, meas- ured square across, or 32}’’ measured on the angle, x 42” wide measured vertically, or 43” teases square across: rabbet out from opposite corner of each edge, 34" x7&". (0) Front and rear a of case, upper part: front, 242” x 83" x x¥"; rabbet one edge, +4 ll xe a ; rear, oa9! x 159! x x3; rabbet one edge, 34" x75". (n) Sides of case, upper part, 312” x 154” wide at Bes and BE” wide at front x4 a thick ; rabbet the slant edges, 3" x7Q"; for shape, see Fig. 20, p. 68. (q) Top of upper part of case, 333 x 28%" x #’, tongued and grooved together, and rain-grooved from front to rear (see Fig. = p. 96); (n) and (p), sides of case, are halved out at the ends, #” x %,", to receive the front and rear of the case (m) and (0). (2) Triangular checks to hold the case when elevated, 12x 12x3"x%", two pieces. (3) Guides on outside of case (see Fig. 19, p. 48), four pieces, 13x 2" xy". — Cover to upper ventilator, 253x1"x#"; this ventilator is made by boring — holes, 3” in diameter, in Ale rear of upper part of case, as near to (2) as possible. — Cover to lower back ventilator, 15 x1” x2’. — Buttons for holding ventilating cov- s; their construction and form are shown in Fig. 16, p. 44, and also opposite p. 13 ; four Bee ae all around the spaces left for glass, strips $” bE’, within 5%," of the inner boundaries of the hive. -—— Small front eee 2x AR" x18"; three holes bored as directed in (/). * Two frames, 1 inch less than the usual height, and 4 inches less than the usual length, may be put here for surplus honey, or glasses may be used. - 386 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. DESCRIPTION OF IMPLEMENTS USED IN THE APIARY. PuaTe XI., page 144. ig. 24 is a Box for storing surplus honey ; see page 289. ig. 25 is a Bee-hat; see page 316. . 26 is a Box for feeding bees; see page 271. ig. 27 is an India-rubber Glove ; See page 317. 28—Shoemaker’s Pincers, a convenient tool for many opera- tions in the Apiary. ig. 29 is a Knife for cutting the combs from a box-hive. . 30 is a Scraper for cleaning the bottom-board ; see page 347. ie le LouN. DE ..X.. A. Adobe, for hives, 331 (note 2). Advantages required in complete hives, Adventure, amusing, in seareh of honey, 254. ; After-swarming, 120; causes and indi- cations of, 121; easily prevented in moy. comb hives, 124, 140; evils of, 140; author’s mode of obviating evils of, before invention of mov. comb hive, 140 (mote); excessive, exposes stock to bee-moth, 2 After-swarms, easily strengthened in moy. comb hives, 140; when to ex- pect, 122; often issue in bad weather, 122; often have more than one queen, 122: seriously reduce strength of parent-stocks, 124, 140; wise arrange- ment concerning, 124; easily prevent- ed in moy. comb hive, 124; weak, of little value, 140; 141; returning of, to parent-stock, or doubling, unprofit- able, 140; make few drone-cells the first season, 184 (note). Age, of bees, 58; queen-bee, 49; of workers, proved from Italian bee, 59 (note); signs of old, 59; of colonies, 59; of queens, designated by the clip- pings of their wings, 223. Air, necessary for bees, 88; bees need in Winter, 89, 338; pure, necessary for eggs, brood, and bees, 89; pure, neces- sary for health of man, 91; abundance of, supplied by mov. comb hive, 94; new swarms require more than old, 281; cold, alarms bees, 311 (note); how to give in Winter, to mov. comb hives, 338. Ia stoves, deficient in ventilation, Alighting-board, should shelter from wind and wet, 103; improved, by at- taching muslin, 279 (note): Pi Y., Figs. 16, 17. Alsike, or Swedish white clover, 294; value of, for bees and stock, 295. American women, their sufferings from bad ventilation, 92. Analysis of royal jelly, 64. 387 Anger of bees, 808-314; difficult to re- press, when once aroused, 170; excit- ed by the human breath, quick mo- tions, or jarring, 170; and sometimes by smoke, 168 (note); should not be violently repelled, 170; occasioned by disease, 256 (note); never necessary to provoke a colony to, 809; when provoked to, terribly vindictive, 310; of dyspeptic bees, troublesome, 310; bee-hat a protection from, 310; But- ler’s directions how to prevent the rising of, 311; warm breath provokes, 311 (note 2); when excited, how to act, 311; never excited away from home, 312; excited by disagreeable odors, and uncleanly persons,- 313; aroused by asmell of the bee-poison, 314; and by rough and hairy substan- ces, 317. Ants, white, their fecundity, 32; some- times injure bees, 205; small, harm- less, 255 (note); extravagantly fond of honey, 287. Aphides, singular mode of propagation of, 42; description of, 285; cause of honey-dew, 285. Apiarians, see Bee-Keepers. Apiaries, must be closely watched in sSwarming-season, 143 ; large, rendered difficult by natural swarming, 145; danger of crowded, 214; stocking, &c., 279-284; in establishing, a knowledge of the honey resources of the locality important, 279 (and note 1) ; should be protected from high winds, and from cattle, and sweaty horses, 279 (note 2); should be in sight of occupied rooms, 279; proper exposure for, 279 ; covered, objectionable, 280; shaded, agreeable to bees, 280; location of, how to change, 28); procuring bees for, 280; to secure bees in their hives, for removal to, 281; precautions to be observed in moying hives to, 281; transferring bees from common to mov. comb hive, for, 282; large, in Europe, 300; should be fenced against cattle and horses, 313. Apple-tree, yields much honey, 292. | Apricot-tree, honey-yielding, 292. 888 Aristotle, noticed similarity of drone and worker-eges, 42; observed that bees collect pollen from one kind of flower at a time, 83; observation of, concerning the flight and feeding of drones, 224 (note); on the difficulties which perplexed the Apiarian, 276 (note) ; described the Italian bee, 318 Artificial honey, recipe for, 276 (note). Artificial rearing of queens, 188; the process to be performed late in the day, 188; honey and water to be sup- plied to bees in, 189; when to confine bees in, 189. Artificial swarming, 143,211; not per- formed by Columella, 147 (note) ; ill- success of ancient method of, 148; Huber’s plan of, objectionable, 148; by dividing hives, unsatisfactory, 149; by removing full hives and substituting empty ones, worse, 150, 151; by self- colonizing hives, ineffectual, 151; causes of failure of, 152; has received great attention from author, 153; mode of, adapted to common hives, 154; cautious handling of combs in, needful, 155 (and note); how to pre- vent bees in, from returning to old stand, 156,157; not to be performed till drones appear, 158; tokens of the absence or presence of the queen in, 158; how to proceed if the queen is absent, 159; if done in morning or late in afternoon, how to proceed to secure bees for the old stock, 160; proportion of bees necessary for old stocks in, 160 ; new and decoy-hive should resemble that of parent stock, or adjoining hives be covered, 160; mode of, by exchang- ing hives, 160; by juxta-position, 161; by confining bees in parent stock, 161 ; preferable plan when to be done on a large scale, 162; rapidity of this plan, 162 (note); its advantages, 163; Dr. Dénhoff’s method of, 163; how to at- tach bees to new places, in, 163 (note) ; difficult for persons ignorant of the laws which control the breeding of bees, 164; easily performed with mov. comb hive, 164; mode of per- forming it, 165; queen to be sought for, 166; supply of sealed queens pro- vided for, 166; great care necessary in transferring sealed queens, 167; should not be attempted in cool wea- ther, or when dark, 167; early morn- ing best time for, 167; little danger atten(ling, 167, 168; perfectly safe, even at midday, 168; sugar-water often better than smoke, useful in, 168; honey-water objectionable, 169 (note) ; caution in, enjoined, 170; how to apply sugar-water in, 170; how to remove frames in, 170; rapidly performed, 173; best mode of, 180, 181; supply of queens to mother- stocks, in, 182; obviates the risk of INDEX. after-swarming, 184; capable of safe . expansion, 185; how to double stocks by, 185; Dzierzon’s mode of, 186; author’s mode of, for single apiaries, 186; mode of, resembling natural swarming, 186 ; mode of, by reversing position of hives, 187; how to provide a full supply of queens for, 188; nucleus for rearing queens for, 189; rapid increase of stocks by, 190; how to induce bees, in, to rear queens on convenient parts of the comb, 191; how to secure adhering bees for the nuclei in, 192 (and note 2); queens, in, made to supply several stocks with eggs, 193; mother-stocks, in, should be kept strong, 199; most successful when forage is abundant, 199; hazard- ous in a crowded apiary, 200; how to supply stocks, in, with stranger- queens, 200; queen-cage for, 201; union of bees of different stocks in, 203; practiced in ancient times, 210. Artificial swarms, where should be put, 158; how to know whether they have a queen, 158; will ac- cept a strange queen, 159 (note); cautions to be observed in locating, 159; how to make, by slightly chang- ing position of parent stock, 161; how to form several with one natural swarm, 163; quickly made in moy. comb hive, 164,173; when to force, in cases of retarded swarming, 174; can- not be formed by merely transferring combs and bees into an empty hive, 175; caution against too rapid multi- © plication of, 175 (note); the piling mode of forming, its advantages, 188 ; not to be increased so as to reduce the strength of the mother stock, 199; at- tempts at rapid increase of, in vicinity of sugar-houses, &c., 199; difficult to form when forage is scarce, 199. Asters, furnish valuable pasturage for bees, 298. Attica, its yield of wax and honey, 304. Austria, value of its honey crop, 304. Axioms, bee-keepe’s, 369. B. Baldenstein, Capt., on Italian bee, 318; ill-success of, in propagating pure breed, 319. Bar-hives, ancient, 210 (note); author's experiments with, 14. Basket, used asa hiver, 133. Bass-wood, see Linden. Bears, destroyers of bees, 254. Bee-bob, to attract swarms, 132. Bee-bread, see Pollen. Bee-dress, use of, recommended, 182, 209, 316. Bee-glue, see Propolis. Bee-hat, author’s, how made, 316 (PL - XL, Fig. 25). INDEX. Bee-journal, much needed in this country, 22. Bee-keeping, depressed condition of, in America, 13, 145; a fascinating pur- suit, 144, 146; estimate of profit of, 146 (note); better understood by the ancients than the moderns, 147 (note) ; with feeble stocks, unprofitable, 177; no “royal road ” to, 211; demands care and experience, 211; in Spain, exten- sive, 222 (note 2); on a large scale, unprofitable to beginners, 282. 389 pearance of their cocoons in empt combs, 233 (and Pl. XIX., Fig. 56); activity of, 233 ; transformation of, to the winged form, and effect of cold on, 234 (and note), 243; movable frames a remedy against, 239, 241 ; signs of presence of, in hives, 242; sulphur fumes fatal to, 243; should be destroyed early in the season, 248; extent of their ravages, 249 (and note); how to entrap them, 249; traps for, of no use to the careless, ®ee-moth, permanent bottom-boards, a 250. security against, 97; easily dislodged | Bee-palaces, objections to, 61, 242. from moy. comb hive, 141; has more | Bees, honey, will work in the light, 16, 23, 332; may be tamed, 24, 25, 308; in- tended for man’s comfort, 24; never attack when gorged with honey, 25, 132, 169; when swarming, peaceable, 25, 1382; always accept of offered sweets, 26, 168, 169, 170; sometimes attracted from other hives by sprink- ling sugar-water, 27; gorge themselves when frightened, 27, 155, 169; sab- dued by smoke or drumming on the hive, 27, 154; and chloroform or ether, 210; the most timid may manage, 28; can flourish only in colonies, 29 ; how affected by loss of queen, 31 ; in- telligence of, 48; breed in Winter, 48, 339 ; number of, in a colony, 54; honey- bag of, 56 (Pl. XVII., Fig. 54); pol- len-basket, 56; proboscis of, 56 (Pl. XVI., Fig. 51, Pl. XIII, Wig. 63); sting, 56 (Pl. XVIL., Fig. 53); loss of sting fatal, 57; age of, 58; industry of, instructive, 59; number of, in a colo-~ ny, why limited, 61; advantages of their being able to Winter in a colony state, 62; despair of, when without queen or brood-comb, 67, 245; work night and day, 73; sagacity of, in the structure of their cells, 743; supersti- tions connected with, 80; not injuri- ous to fruit, 85; need little airin Win- ter, if comfortable, 89 ; when distur- bed or confined, require much air, 90; become diseased in impure air, 90; annoyed by thin hives in hot weather, 90; superior to man in ven- tilation, 91; why they do not cluster on sealed honey in hot weather, 91 ; averse to jarring, 96; not torpid in Winter, 110, 335 ; chilled by cold, 110; must live in communities, 110 ; conduct of, when queen is lost in swarming, 118; sometimes abandon hives te avoid starvation, 116; why they do not select new homes beforo abandoning the old, 116; intercom- municate quickly on the wing, 117; send scouts to seek new abodes, 117 ; sight of, for distant objects, acute 117; commotion of, during absence o queen for impregnation, 129, 217; na- tive of hot climate, 128 (note); detest smell of fresh paint, 129 often per- sins to bear than she commits, 216, 246; habits, &c., of, described, 22S— 252; mentioned by ancient authors, 228; pest of modern apiaries, 228, 251; when a moth-proof hive will be ob- tained, 228; Dr. Harris's account of, 228; to distinguish female of, from male, 229; cut of female and male, 230; nocturnal, 230; interesting expe- riment with female 230 (note 2); agility of, 230 (and note 3); eggs of, laid in the cracks of the hive, &c., 231, 235 ; cut of gallery of, 232; cocoons of, in empty combs, 233 (and Pl. XIX., Fig. 56); female will deposit eggs on pres- sure, 234 (note 2); condition of a hive destroyed by, 235 (and Pl. XX., Fig. 57) ; did not appear simultaneously in this country with the bee, 236 ; multi- plied by the use of patent hives, 237, 241 ; movable frames a remedy for the evils of, 239, 241; first appearance noted, 240; rapid spread of, in Ohio, 241; commonly infest old stocks, 251 (note); eggs of, deposited on un- covered combs in weak stocks, 242 ; signs of presence of, in hives, 242; not developed in low temperature, 243; sulphur fumes will kill the eggs and larvee of, in combs, 2435; will certainly destroy queenless stocks, 244 (and note); fertility of, 244; instinct of, in discovering queenless stocks, 245; easily conquer stocks suffering from hunger, 246 (and note); mission of, 247 (and note) ; keeping stocks strong the surest defence against, 247; inse- curity of other contrivances, 247; placing hives so as not to endanger the loss of their queens, an important protection against, 248; adaptation of mov. comb hive to protect stocks from, 249; facilities of destroying, of no use to careless bee-keepers, 250; protection from, by an upper entrance, 250 (note); caught by sweets and sour ae 251; destroyed by fire, 251 (note 2) 3 . Bee-moth, Larvee of (with cuts), 229; how it secures itself from the attacks of the bees, 231; representation of its gallery, 232; food of, 233, 247; ap- 590 spire while swarming, and reluctant to enter heated hives, 130; pleased to find comb in hive, 131; modes of secur- ing swarms in difficult places, 135; acute of hearing, 138; refusing to swarm, should have plenty of storage-room, 139; may be advanta- geously kept in cities, 144; often re- fuse to swarm, 145; seldom colonize unless blossoms abound in honey, 147 ; ability of, to rear queens from work- er-brood, when discovered, 148; with- out mature queens, build combs with large cells, 149, 150 (and note); diminish rapidly in number after swarming, 151 (and note); will not form independent colonies in inter- communicating hives, 152; work bet- ter in new swarms than in old golo- nies, 153 ; laden with stores, welcom- ed by strange swarms, 15); without stores, expelled, 155; frightened by rappings on the hive, 155; disposition f, when moved, to return to old lo- cation, 156; effect on, of temporary loss of home, 157 ; how to make ad- here to old home, wherever put, 157 ; losing their queens, will accept of others, 159 (note); more irascible at night, 167; confounded by sudden in- troduction of light into their hives, 168, 169; difficult to subdue when once thoroughly excited, 170; use all available space for honey 172 (note 2); tenacious adherence of, to their combs, 172; losing their queen when swarming, return to parent stock, 174; their mode of communication 174 (note 1); storing surplus honey to be unmolested, 180 (and note 1); amusing conduct of, on finding a strange hive where their own should be, 181 (note 1); emboldened to self- defence by presence of queen, 182; judicious renewal of, for swarms, not injurious to mother-stocks, 153 ; their instinct to become over-rich, 183 (note 2); their passion for forage, 186 (note 1); when destitute of queen, will rear young ones, if they have brood-comb, 188; need water when confined, 189 (note) ; how encouraged to work in an upper hive, 189; do not always cluster on brood-comb in nuclei, 192 (note); sometimes start queen-cells that fail, 193; young, do inside, and old, outside work, 194; young are wax-workers, 196; their occasional refusal to make royal cells explained, 197 (note); a worthy trait of, 197; their treatment of strange queens, 200; to cause, to receive strange queens kindly, 201 ; of different colo- nies may be united, 203; distinguish their hive companions by smell and actions, 203; conduct of, when fright- ened, 203 ; when disturbed and scent- INDEX. _ ed, willreadily mingle, 203 (and note); in too large hives, become dispirited, 208 ; in large apiaries, if the hives are alike, liable to mistake them, 214; effect on, of loss of queen, 217; ene- mies of, 228-255; vigilance of, against the moth, 231; not a native of the New World, 235 ; a harbinger of civ- ilization, 236 (note) ; can learn to de- fend themselves against new enemies, 240; destroyed by mice and by birds, 252: by toads and bears, 204; dis- eases of, 255-260; propensities of, to rob, and appearance of thieving bees, 261; habitual robbers become black, 262 (and note); sometimes rob the humble-bee, 262 ; grand battles of, 263; of conquered colonies, incorpor- ate themselves with the victors, 263 ; frantic fury of robbers, when deprived of their spoil, 265 ; how to cool them into temporary honesty, 265; feeding of, 267-278; are fond of salt, 272 ; in- fatuation of, for confectionary, 277 ; compared to intemperate men, 278 ; the avaricious, folly of, 278; fond of shade, 280; procuring for an apiary, 280; transferring from common to mov. comb hives, 282; get supplies from honey-dews, 287; flight of, its extent, 305; pacific temper of, 308 ; incident illustrating good nature of, while swarming, 303; readily taught by ill treatment to be vindictive, 310; human breath offensive to, 311 ; at a distance from their hives, never sting unless hurt, 312; kindness of, at home, a lesson for man, 312; their treat- ment of the sick, 312; their sense of smell, 313; dcad, medicinal qualities of, 315 (note) ; will more surely sting hairy than bare parts, 317; maintain a high temperature in Winter, 335; eat less in Winter when kept quiet, 335, 355; wintering of, 335-861 ; unit- ing small colonies of, for wintering, 836; do not store honey so as always to be accessible in Winter, 336 5 can- not be relied on to make Winter pas- sages in combs, 336; should be pro- tected from Winter winds, 337, 348; if out of doors in Winter should be allowed to fly, 337 ; sometimes perish in snow, 338 (note 1); experiments on wintering, by author, 339; need water in cold weather, 342-346; need water to eat candied honey, 342-344 ; injured by being disturbed in Winter, 847, 355; seldom discharge their feces in the hive, 347; on wintering in dry cellars, 348; in special depositories, 849-360; eat less and fewer die in clamps than in other special Winter depositories, 355, 358. Bee-keepers, common hives do not teach the laws of bee-breeding, 164; if timid, should use bee-dress, 209; INDEX. - ignorance of, the greatest obstacle to speedy introduction of mov. comb hive, 209; often captivated by shal- low devices, 211; scepticism of many, in regard to the wonders of the bee- hive, 211; often mistake the cause of the loss of their queens, 216; careless, will be unsuccessful, 226, 250 ; should not encourage the destruction of birds, 253 ; specimen of, opposed to improye- ments, 3057. Bee-quack’s secret, 238 (note). Bees, queen of, see Queen Bees. Beginners, should be cautious in experi- menting, 179, 307. Berg, Rey. Dr., first informed author of - Dzierzon’s discoveries, 16 Berlepsch, Baron of, his stocks injured by scientific experiments, 179 (note) ; uses frames similar to the author’s, 321 (note 2); experiments on impregna- tion of queens, 126 (note); Italian bee, 323; his experiments on the effect of cold on queens, 327; shows that bees need water in Winter, 342. Bevan, on eggs. and larve of bees,4447; on “driving,” or forced swarming . (note), 154; an experiment of, in re- moving a queen, 218 (note); feeds salt to bees, 272; his description of honey-dew, 286. Birds, bee-devouring, 252; why they should not be destroyed, 253 (and note). Blocks, entrance regulating (Plate IIT., Figs. 11, 12); useful to prevent swarming, 174 (and note); security against mice, 175, 252; against robber- bees, 264. Bodwell, J. C., experiments of, in win- tering bees, 345. Boerhave’s account of Swammerdam’s labors, 65 (note). Bohemia, its production of honey, 304. Boiling honey improves it, 287. Borage, valuable for bees, 298. Bottom-boards, should be permanently fixed to hive, 97; should slant towards entrance, 97; cleaning of, 98; dangers of movable, from the moth, 231; Spring cleaning of, 243; Winter _ cleaning of, 347. Boxes for spare honey, 289, 290. Braum, Mr. A., his experiment to ascer- tain the increase of honey in a hive, 303. 7 Breath, human, offensive to bees, 170, Breeding “in-and-in,” injurious, 54 ; early, encouraged by spring-feeding, Brood, temperature necessary for its development, 46,48; attended to by young bees, 197; production of, check- ed by over-feeding, 268; found in hives in Winter, 48, 339, Brood-comb, see Comb. 391 Brown, Hon. Simon, his description of a combat between two queens, 2085. Buckwheat, valuable for late bee-pas- ture, 296; its yield, and quality of honey variable, 296 (and notes 1 and 2); its cultivation recommended, 296 (and note 3) ; blossoming of, may cause swarming, 566. Buera, on the need of water for bees, 344, Burnens, great merits of, as an observer, 33 ; laborious experiment of, 83 (note) ; Hubev’s tribute to, 194 (note). Busch, his description of the Italian bee, 324. Butler's description of the drone, 224; his drone-pot, 225; his anecdote of a honey-hunting swain, 254; his direc- tions for procuring the favor of bees, 311, 317. e Cage, see Queen Cage. Calendar, bee-keeper’s, 862-870, Candied honey, bees need water to dis- solve, 342-344. Candy, sugar, recommended for bee- feed, 272; recipe for making, 272 (note). Cary, Wm. W., his mode of uniting colonies, 204; of fastening comb in frames, 283 (note); his mode of mak- ing winter-passages in combs, 337 (note) ; on wintering bees, 346 (note 2). Casts, see After-Swarms. Catalogue of bee-plants, 298. Cellars, dry, good for wintering bees, 345, 348. Cells, of bees, their contents, 29; ecvers of, 44; for breeding, become too small, 60; wood-cuts of, Plates XIII, XIV.,and XYV.; royal, 62, 218; thin- ness of their Sides, 71 (note); sizes of, 74, Pl. XY., Fig. 48; demonstrate the existence of God, Td. Cherry-tree yields honey, 292. Chickens, curious use of, 248. Children of the rich, compared te pam- pered bees, 268 ; may learn from bees how to treat their mothers, 312. Chloride of lime, useful as a disinfectant of foul hives, 257. Chloroform, subdues bees by stupefac- tion, 210. Clamps, for wintering bees, 348-360. Clover, white, most important source of honey, 294; Mr. Holbrook, on the value of, for stock, 294; Swedish, 294, Clustering of swarms, 113, 116. Cocoon, complete one, spun by drone and worker-larve, 46; imperfect one, by queen-larve, 46; of larve, never removed from cells, 60; of the moth, 231, (Pl. XIX). Cold, moderate, makes bees almost dor- mant, 89; chills bees, 110; water, use- ful in subduing robbers, 265. Colonies, of bees (see also Stocks of O92 bees); rapid increase of, in Australia, 51 (note); age of, 59; new, composed of young and old bees, 119; impossible to multiply rapidly, by natural swarm- ing, 147; folly of attempting to mul- tiply, by dividing-hives, 149; to re- move, from old locations, 156, 157; artificial, not to.be formed till drones appear, 158; artificial, time necessary to form, 1738; cautions against too rapid increase of, 175 (note), 176-178 ; weak, easily strengthened by use of moy. comb hive, 178; possible extent of multiplication of, 178; most profit- able rate of increase, 179; to form one new colony from two old ones, 180; mother, easily supplied with young fertile queens, in mov. comb hive, 182; sometimes over-stored with honey, 183 (notes 1 and 2); table illustrating rapid increase of, 185; new, must remain where first put, 185; many bees may be removed from, when the queens are fertile, 186; hhew, formed by reversing position of hives,187; piling mode of forming, 188; should, when moved, be suppli- ed with water, 189 (note); to supply queens for rapid increase of, 190-193 ; how they may be safely mingled, 203, 836; if small, should be confined by movable partition, to suitable limits, 208; endangered by loss of queen, 217, 246; having young queens, should be watched, 218, 222; signs that, have no queen, 219; Spring care of, 221; queenless in October, to be united with other colonies, 223; old, more liable than young, to the rav- ages of worms, 233, 251 (note); queen- less, will be destroyed by the moth, 244 (and note); when hopelessly queenless, their destruction certain, 246; how to be treated when infected With dysentery, 256; how, when attacked with foul brood, 257-260; suspected, used by Dzierzon to rear surplus queezs for artificial stocks, 260; strong, can, in a season, supply materials for four swarms, 260; feed- ing of, 267-278; should be strong when honey harvest closes, 269; weak, in the Fall, should be added to other stocks, 270, 336; location of, how to change, 280; removal of, to new Apiaries, 281; weak, ill success of, has led to the belief that we are ° over-stocked, 299 ; only strong, profit- able, 299, 803 (and note); itinerating, 305 (note 2); when broken up for their honey, the queens should be removed beforehand, 306 (note); of common bees, readily converted into Italian, 322. Color, aids in recognizing their hive, 214, 216. Columella, notice of his Treatise on INDEX. Bee-Keeping, 147 (note); his remedy against the over-storing of- hives, 183 (note 2); advice of, concerning Spring examination of stocks, 221 (note 1); recommended that weak stocks be strengthened from strong ones, 2¥1 (note 2); his suggestion as to the proper time to remove surplus honey, 224 (note); his mode of feeding bees, 271 (note 1); his directions how to gain the favor of bees, 311. Comb, 69-76; too old, can be easily re- moved in mov. comb hives, 60, 209; materials of, 69; wood-cuts of, repre- senting various kinds of cells, Plates XIII, XIV., and XV.; empty, great value of, to bee-keeper, 71; should not be melted into wax. 71; rapidly refilled by bees, 71; easily supplied to bees in moy. comb hive, 71; how at- tached te frames, 72, 283 (and note) ; drone-comb, not to be put in breed- ing apartment, 72, 1380; artificial, sug- gestion concerning, 72; author’s ex- periments to induce bees to make it from old wax, 72; building of, carried on most actively by night, 72; comb- building and honey-gathering simul- taneous, 73; danger to, in hot weather, 91; caution respecting, in artificial- swarming from common hives, 155 (and note); generally built somewhat waving, 171; how to examine, when ing mov. comb hive, 172; brood, used for nuclei, 189; worker, used to rear queens, 191; building of, by young bees, 196; worker, should never be destroyed, 207 (and note 2); prefer- able to artificial comb-guides, 207, 208; control of, essential to a system of management, adapted to the wants of ail bee-keepers, 208; safely taken from hive when bees are filled with honey or sugar-water, 210; old, most liable to be infested with worms, 233, 251 (note); empty, should sometimes be removed from feebie stocks, 2438; new, unsafe to move in warm weather, 281; containing bee-bread, has in- ferior honey, 288; very old brood, not worth rendering into wax, 288; to make Winter bee-passages in, 337 (and note 1). Composition for corners of hives, to secure them from moths, 78. Confectioners, how they may prevent annoyance from bees, 277. Control of comb, essential to a true system of bee-culture, 208. = Corsica, ancient, yield of honey of, 804. D. Dampness, injurious to bees, 90, 95, 838-42, 345, 848; produces dysentery, 256. Dandelion, furnishes honey and pollen, 292. INDEX. Dangers gf too rapidly multiplying stocks, 176-178; of using hives of uni- form size, shape, and color, 214. Daylight, needed for operations on bees, 167 Denmark, its honey-produce, 304. Desertion of hives- by swarms, indica- tions and prevention of, 115. Diseases of bees, 255-260. Dishonesty, as poor policy in bees as in men, 262. ' Dissection of queen bees, 34, 218 (note). Disturbing bees in cold weather, in- jurious, 256, 335, 347, 355. Dividing-hives, worthless for artificial swarming, 149, 150. Donhoff, Dr., on artificial impregnation of a drone-egg, 41; on thickness of sides of cells, 71 (mote); his mode of forced swarming, 163; his experiment indicating a division of labor among bees according to age, 194; on food of bee-moth larve, 233 (note); on eggs of bee-moth, 234 (note 2). Doubled stocks, produce a large yield of honey, 135. Doubling stocks, yearly, 185. Draining combs of honey, 288. Drawings, explanation of, for making moy. comb hive, 371. Dronec-comb, wood-cut of, Pl. XV., Fig. . 48; the cause of excess of, 513 excess of, should be removed from breeding apartments, 51, 225; if new, advan- ~ _ tageous in boxes for surplus honey, 130. Drone-eggs, not impregnated, 37; at- tempt of bees to rear a queen from, 39; artificial impregnation of, 41; laid by superannuated queens, 49. Drone-laying queens, 38, 40, 213 (note) ; use to be made of, 214 (note), 327. Drones, or male bees, produced by re- tarded impregnation of queens, 36; always by unfecundated eggs, 87; often by unfecundated queens, 37, 127 (note); their development from egy to insect, 46; description and wood- euts of, 49; Pl. XIL, Figs. 33, 34 (natural and magnified size); office of, to impregnate young queens, 49; time of their appearance, 50; often very numerous, 50; how to prevent excessive multiplication of, 51; why destroyed by workers, 52, 224; wis- dom displayed in providing so many, 533; length of life, 58; perish in im- pregnation of queen, 125, 126 (note) ; never molest queens in hive, 127 (note); on leaving the hive, are filled with honey, but on returning are empty, 224; Butler’s description of, 224; destroyed by ancient bee-keepers, 51, 225; easily destroyed by use of moy. comb hive, 225; their anxiety, when excluded from the hive, 225; their odor, 226 (note 1); how to pre- vent common, from impregnating 17* 393 Italian queens, 826; refrigerated queens produce only, 327. | Drought, failure occasioned by, 178 (note). Drumming on hive subdues bees, 210 (note). Dunbar, his description of how queen lays, 43. Dysentery, from bad ventilation, 90; from dampness and sour honey, 256; how prevented, 256 ; makes bees cross, 310; caused by want of water in Winter, 343. Dzierzon, facts connected with inven- tion of his hive, 19; rise of his system, 19; his apiary nearly destroyed by “foul brood,” 19; committee of apia- rian convention report favorably on his system, 20; it creates a revolution in German bee-keeping, 20; profits of his apiary, 21; discovered that un- fecundated eggs produce males, 87; thinks some brood may be raised without pollen, 81; discovered rye- meal to be a good substitute for pol- len, 84; supposes sound of @ueen’s wings excites drones, 127 (note); his mode of forcing swarming, 186; his estimate of the value of a queen, 192 (note); his treatment of foul brood, 257; recommends the cultivation of buckwheat, 296; on the difliculty of estimating profits of bee-culture, 806 (note); his experiments with the Ita- lian bee, 320; thinks bees not injured by the opening of their hives, 321 ae his mode of wintering bees, 348. K. Eggs of bees, how fecundated, 35; fecun- dated produce females, unfecundated, males, 37 ; sex of, determined by queen, » 88; what is necessary to their impreg- nation, 41; no difference in size be- tween drone and worker eggs, 42; process of laying, 43; description of, 44; Pl. XIII., Fig. 39; degree of heat necessary to hatch them, 46 ; power of queens. over their development, 47 ; laid ten months in the year, 48, 339; supernumerary, how disposed of, 48 5 ventilation necessary for hatching, 89 ; of workers transferred to royal cells, 219; of bee-moth 234 (note 2). Ehrenfels, profits of his large apiary, 300. Enemies of bees, 228-255; moth, 228~ 252; mice, 252; birds, 2625; toads, 254; bears, 254; ants, 255; wasps, spiders, &c., 255; all agreed in fond- ness for honey, 250. Energy of bees, instructive, 197. Engravings, see wood-cuts. Entrance of hives, should not ordin- . arily be above the level of the bottom- 394 board, 98 ; should be readily varied without perplexing the bees, 98; a small upper one, uses of, 250, 388 (and note); should be nearly: closed when colony is threatened by robbers, 264 ; how to regulate in Winter, 338. Epitaph on bees killed by sulphur, 239. Ether, used for stupefying bees, 210. Evans, Dr., quotations from poem of, on bees, 50, 60, 69, 76, 77, 78, 79, 109, 267, 292. Experiments, an interesting one, 67; of Huber, showing the use of pollen, 80; author’s, to the same effect, 81; nume- rous, of author, 179; cautions con- cerning, to beginners, 179; bee-keep- ers invited to make, 180; of Huber, showing two kinds of workers, 193 (note); difficulty of demonstration by, 193 (note); Dr. Donhoff’s, showing that young bees are nurses and old bees honey-gatherers, 194; of author in wintering bees, 339; of E. T. Stur- tevant, 340; of Berlepsch and Eber- hardtg@42; of J. C. Bodwell, 345; of Mr. Scholtz, 348; further, needed in wintering bees, 360. Examination of combs and bees in hive, importance of, in Spring, 221. Experience renders bee-keeping profit- able, 282. F. Facts, however wonderful, should be received, 42. Feees, appearance of, in young and old bees, different, 197; healthy bees do not discharge,in hive, 347; how to make bees in mov. comb hives, safely discharge, 361 (and note). Faint-heartedness rebuked, 198. Bee, causes bees to abandon hives, Fear, effect of,in taming bees, 27; in” uniting swarms, 204. Heoble stocks unprofitable, 141, 177, 269, Feeder, convenience of, in moy. comb hive, 270; construction of, 271; Pl. XL., Fig. 26. Feeding bees, 267-278; few things more important in practical bee-keeping, 267; Spring feeding specially neces- sary, 267 (and note); caution in, re- quired, 268; over-feeding, like pam- pering children, 268; to be submitted to only in extremities, 268 ; how done, in common hives, 269; diffi- cult to build up small colonies by, 269 ; equitable division of resources, in, 270; when it should be done for Winter, 270; what should be used in, 270; unprofitable in late Fall stocks, 270 (note); mode of, by means of a feeder, 271; water should be supplied, 271, 342; importance of salt, in, 272; INDEX. sugar-candy a good and.chemp article for, 272 (and note), and 273 (note); Kleine’s mode of using candy, 273, 274; value of grape-sugar for, 2733; Sholz’ sugar-honey for, 274 5 granu- lated sugar for, 274 (and note); quan- tity of honey needed for, to Winter bees, 274; weight of hives, unsafe standard to determine amount of honey for, 275 (note); caution to be observed in, 277; should not be too early in the Fall, 298; cheap honey, . to sell again, unprofitable in, 275. Fertility of queens, 82; diminishes with age, 141, 223; diminished by hunger and cold, 223 (note 1). Fishback, Judge, his precautions to pre-— vent loss of young queens, 216; his experience with the bee-moth, 240 (note). Flight of bees, its extent, 305; its rapid- ity, 305 (note 2). Flowers for bees, Nutt’s catalogue of, pee garden, furnish little bee-pasture, Foul-brood, its malignity, 19, 256; dry and moist, 256; remedy, 257, 258; a disease exclusively of the larva, 259; supposed cause, 206 (note), 259 ; liable to appear the second time, 259. Forcing-box, its size and use, 154, 165. Frames, movable, invented by author, . 15; how they must be made to be - lifted out of hive, 150, 171, 209 (note) ; process of removing from the hive, 171, 370 (PILXXIV.); with comb used for patterns, 208 ; effect on bee-culture, 211 (note); a protection against the ravages of the moth, 239, 241; render the cleaning of hive easy, 243; used by Berlepsch, 321 (note 2) ; approved of by Siebold, 321 (note 2); not well adapted to tall hives, 330. Friesland, East, its productiveness in honey, 304. Fruit, honey-bees beneficial to, 85-87 ; wasps and hornets injurious to, 86. Pemaisees) blossoms of, yield honey, 292. Fumigation of hives with puff-ball, ob- jectionable, 210. G. Gardeners might manage their em ployer’s bees, in mov. comb hive, 226 Garden plants insufficient to furnish bee-pasture, 297. Glass, vessels of, for spare honey, should have guide-combs, 290 ; objections to, 290 (note). Gloves, india-rubber, to protect the hands, 317 (Pl. XI., Fig. 27); woolen, objectionable, 317. Goldsmith, on spontaneous and fashion- 2 able joys, 3o4. INDEX. “Good old way” of corn-raising, 237. Golden-rod, some varieties of, furnish food for bees, 298. Governments, of Europe, interest of some in disseminating knowledge of bee-culture, 320 (note). Grape-sugar, as food for bees, 273. Guide for combs, artificial, secure regu- larity in building comb, 130, 207; can- not be invariably relied on, 208; Ger- man invention of, (Pl. VI., Fig. 72). Gundelach, on the necessity of pollen for rearing brood, 81. H. Hairy objects, why offensive to bees, 317. on Dr., his account of the bee-moth, 228. Hartshorn, spirits of, remedy for bee- stings, 316. sore Health, bad ventilation of houses im- pairs, 92 Hearing, in bees, acute, 138. Heat, degree required to hatch the eggs of bees and develop the pupa, 46; great, attendant on comb-building, 71. Hens, too much crowded, mistake their nests, 215; not good tenders of moth- traps, 248. Heyne, on over-stocking, 301. Hiver, basket for, 133. Hives (see Moy. Comb Hive), Huber’s, author’s experiments with, 14; made with slats, 15, 210 (note); should be made of sound lumber, 78; mixture for sealing corners of, 78; thin, an- noying to bees in hot weather, 90; sixty-one requisites for complete, 95- 108; size of, should admit of variation, 96; “improved,” often bad, 107 ; quali- ties of best, 107; paint on, should be very dry before hiving, 129; heated in the sun, should not be used for new swarms, 129; should incline forward, but stand level from side to side, 180; if clean, need no washing or rubbing with herbs, 131; five stocks in one, 137; should be placed where it is to stand, as s00n aS swarm is secured, 138; if not ready to swarm, how to proceed, 139; difficult to rid of bee- moth, 141; common, difficult to re- move unfertile queen from, 141; Huber’s, 148; “dividing,” and objec- tions to, 149; self-colonizing, ineffec- tual, 151; thorough inspection of, necessary for success, 152; non- swarming, likely to exterminate the bee, if generally used, 153; decoy, ‘when to be used, 155; for surplus honey, should be undisturbed, 180 (and note); like Dzierzon’s, even with movable frames, give inadequate con- trol of bees, 187 (note); should be opened before or after sun-light, when 395 forage is scarce, 199; royal combat wit- nessed in author's observing, 205; with poor arrangements, educate bees to re- gard their keeper as an enemy, 210 (note) ; wonders of, unknown by many bee-keepers, 211; .in crowded apiary, 214-216; condition of, should be ascer- tained, 221; patent, evil results of, 287, 241; should be cleaned in early Spring, 2483; common, furnish no re~ liable remedy for loss of queen, 245; infected with foul-brood, to disinfect, 257; common, how prepared for re- moval when ocenpied by stocks, 281; to transfer becs from common to mov. comb, 282; size, shape, and materials for, 329-832; size of author’s can be varied at pleasure, 329; tall, advan- tages and disadvantages of, 329; most advantageous form of, 330; Dzierzon’s, disadvantages of, 331; double and triple, 331 (note); proper materials for, 831; suggestions as to making mov. comb, 332. Hives, mov. comb, see Movable Comb Hives. Hives, patent, see Patent Hives. Hiving bees, directions for, 129; expert- ness in, makes pleasant, 129; should be conducted in shade, 130; should be attended to soon after swarm set- tles, 182; process of, 183; basket for, 183; sheet for, how arranged, 1383; how to expedite, 133; process of, ‘must be repeated when queen not secured, 184; when settled out of reach, how to secure the swarm, 134; when swarm alights in difficult place, or two swarms cluster together, 185; how to secure the queen, 136; old- fashioned way of, bad, 186; so as to prevent swarms uniting, 188; when done, remove swarms to proper stands, 188; danger of delaying, 138; what to doif no hiveis ready, 139. Holbrook, Hon. F., on cultivation of white clover, 294. Home, should be made attractive, 220. Honey, 285-292 ; its elements, 70; quan- tity consumed in secreting wax, 71, 176; gathered by day, 72; sometimes gathered by moonlight, 73 (note); honey-gathering and comb-building simultaneous, 73; surplus, incom- patible with rapid increase of colonies, 176; how tosecure the largest yield of, 180; more abundant fifty years ago than now, 236; reasons assigned for the deficiency, 237; foreign, sup- posed cause of foul-brood, 256, 258 ; from foul-brood colonies, infectious, 256 (note 2); infected, how purified, 257; West India, used for bee-feed, 256 (note), 270; and sugar (Sholz’ com- position), 274; quantity of, necessary for wintering stocks, 274; poor, not convertible into good, 275; not asecre 396 tion of the bee, 275 (and note 2); re- tains the flavor of the blossoms from whence it is taken, 275; evaporation produces the principal change in, 276 (and note 1); “making over” honey not profitable, 276; recipe for artifi- cial, 276 (note); a vegetable product, 285; qualities of, vary, 287; hurtful qualities cured by boiling, 287 (and note) ; should not be exposed to low temperature, 287; old, more whole- some than new, 287 ; virtues ascribed to it by old writers, 287 (note); to drain from the comb, 288, 366; to make liquid when candied, 288; cau- tion as to West India, 288 (note) ; of Hymettus, 293 (note); yield of, affect- ed by soil, 294 (note); from the rasp- berry, delicious, 296; yield of, by plants uncertain, 296 (note 2); large amount gathered in a day, 303; on the hands, protects them against bee- stings, 317; bees eat less in Winter, when Kept quiet, 335, 348, 358; how to get, in centre of hive, for Winter, 336 ; candied, bees need water to dis- solve, 342-44. Tee worker's, 56 (PI. XVIL., Fig. 4). s Honey bees, see Bees. Honey-board, spare, holes in, left open in Winter, 838; sometimes strongly glued by bees, 172 (note); care in placing necessary, 178. Honey-dews, 285; of California, 285 (note); when most abundant and where found, 286. Honey-hornets, Mexican, 58 (note), 87. Honey-resources, how to increase, 293. Honey-suckle, juice of, a remedy for bee-stings, 315. Honey, surplus, much, incompatible with rapid multiplication of stocks, 176, 178; best yield of, from undis- turbed stocks, 180; receptacles for, when to admit bees to, 288, 364; how secured, 289; quantity from one stock, 289 (note 2); large boxes more profit- able than small, for, 289 (and note 2), 290 (note 1); glass vessels and small boxes, for, 290, air-tight boxes, to preserve, 290 (note 2); receptacles of, how and when to remove them, 291, 365; boxes for, bees reluctant to fill, late in the season, 366. Honey-water, objectionable for subdu- ing bees, 169 (note). 3 Ifornets, fecundation of, 35; Mexican, honey, 58 (note), 87; injure fruit, 86; should be destroyed in Spring, 87; torpid in Winter, 109. Horses sweaty, very offensive to bees, 279, 313. Horticulturists, friends, 85, 87. Houses, ventilation of, neglected, 91. Huber, Francis, tribute to, 32-84; dis- honey-bees _ their INDEX. covered how queens are impregnated, 84; that unfecundated queens pro- duce only drones, 36; experiments of, to test the secretion of wax, 69; to show the use of pollen, 80; his dis- covery of ventilation by bees, 88; his supposition as to development in queen of male eggs, 128 (note); his plan for artificial swarming and its objections, 148; effect of his leaf hive in pacitying bees, 168; his mistake as to the cause, 169; an inconvenience of his hive, 171 (note); his description of workers, 192 (note 2); his curious experiments showing a distinction among them, 193 (mote); his tribute to Burnens, 194 (note); his acconnt of the treatment by bees of strange queens, 200; his trial of two queens in a hive, 207 (note); splendid discoy- eries of, formerly ridiculed, 211. Humble-bee robbed by honey-bees, 262. Hunger impairs fertility of queen-bee, 223 (note 1). Hunt, Rey. T. P., his mode of securing swarms, 132. Hunter, Dr., discovers pollen in the stomach of bees, 80, Hurting bees, important to avoid, 95. Hyginus, on feeding bees, 267 (note). I, Impregnation, of queen-bees, 34-43; re- tarded, effect of, 36; remarkable law of, in aphides, 42; takes place in the air, 50, 320; act of, fatal to drone, 125, 126 (note); Shrimplin’s experiment illustrative of, 127. : Italian honey-bees, 41; singular result of crossing with common drones, 41, 324 (note 2); used to show a division of labor among bees, 194; account of 318 -328; deseribed by Aristetle and Vir- gil, 318; Mr. Wagner’s letter on, 318 ; their modern introduction to notice, 318; value of, in the study of the physiology of the honey-bee, 319; cells of, the same size as those of the common bee, 320; Dzierzon’s experi- ments with, 320; frequent disturbances abate nothing from the industry of, 321 (note); general diffusion of, de- sirable, 321; superior to common bee, 322, 324, 325; peaceable disposition of, 322; may readily be introduced into hives of common bees, 322; furnishes new means of studying the habits of bees, 322; the purity of, can be pre- served, 322; character of, as tested by Berlepsch, 3824; number of queens obtained in one season, from one queen, 324; remarkable fact in rela- tion to hybrids, 324 (mote); descrip- tion of, by Busch, 324; Radlkoffer’s account of, 825; how to introduce an Italian queen to a stock of common INDEX. bees, 325; advantages of author’s non- swarmer in preserving the Italian bee pure, 326; how to produce abundance of drones of, 327; precaution suggest- ed when non-swarmer cannot be used, 327; queens of, safely moved in mov. comb hive, 327; introduction of, into this country, important, 328; arrangements to that end, 328 (note). Itinerating colonies, 305 (note 2). Ignorance, the occasion of the inyen- tion of costly and useless hives, 209 (and note). Increase of colonies, rapid, impractica- ble, by natural swarming, 147; or by dividing-hives, 149; rapid, cautions against, 175-178; rapid, incompatible with large yield of surplus honey, 176; a tenfold, possible, in mov. comb hive, 178; sure, not rapid, to be aimed at, 179 ; forming one new from two old colonies best, and how effected, 180; rapid, requires liberal feeding, 184. Inexperienced persons should not begin bee-keeping on a large scale 282. Indian name for honey-bee, 236. Industry taught by the bee, 59. Intemperate men, compared to infatu- ated bees, 278. Intercommunication of bees in hives, important, 103, 336, 337 (and note), 339 (and note). d Irving, Washington, his account of the i abundance of bees.at the West, 236 (note). = Jansha, on impregnation of queen, 36. Japanese, veneration for birds, 2653 (note). Jarring, disliked by bees, 96, 170, 309. Jelly, royal, the food of immature queens, 63 ; a secretion of the bees, 64; analysis of, 64; effect of, in develop- ing larve, 64, 191; pollen necessary . for its production, 197. Johnson, M. T., the first American observer of the fact that queenless stocks are soon destroyed by the moth, 244 (note). K. Kaden, Mr., on over-stocking, 301. Killing bees for honey, an invention of the dark ages, 239 (note); more humane than to starve them, 238 ; not necessary, 239. Kindness of bees at home, a lesson for man, 312. King-bird, eats bees, 252. Kirby and Spence, on ants and aphides, 285. Kirtland, Dr. J. P., his letter on the in- troduction of the bee-moth, 240; on benefits of transferring stocks into moy. comb hive, 284. Knight, on honey-dews, 286. EJ 397 Kleine, Rey. Mr., on making bees rear queens in selected cells, 191; his method of preventing robberies among bees, 265 (note); on feeding bees, 273 ; on over-stocking, 301; on accus-_ toming the human system to the poison of bees, 316 (note). L. Larve of honey-bee, development of, 44 (Pl. XIII, Figs. 40, 41, 42); royal, 64; perish without ventilation, 89; of bee-moth, see Bee-moth, Larve of; _ of honey-bee, disease of, 259. Leidy, Dr. Joseph, his dissection of fer- tile and drone-laying queens, 34, 39 213 (note); of a queen just impreg- nated, 126 (note). Light, bees will work when exposed to, 16, 205, 332; its sudden admission, effect of, on bees, 168, 169; of day, needed for operations about the hive, 167. Ligurian, or Italian, bee, 318 (note). Linden, or bass-wood tree, yields much honey, 293 (and note). Liriodendron, yields much honey, 292. Locust, valuable for bees, 293. Lombard, his interesting anecdote of Swarming, 308. Longfellow, H. W., his Indian warrior’s description of the bee, 236. Loss of queen, 213-227 ; frequent, though the queen is usually the last to perish in any casualty, 213; when by old age, bees prepare for her successor, 213 ; occurs oftenest when queen leaves hives for impregnation, 213, 214 ; how occasioned, by queens mistaking their hives, 214,215; bees, like hens in this respect, 215; Judge Fishback’s pre- ventive of, 216; author’s preventive, 217 ; effect of, on stocks, 217; some- times not discovered by bees for some time, 218 (and note) ; excitement in hive when discovered, 218 ; will not cause bees to abandon the hive if they are supplied with brood-comb, 218; nucleus system will remedy it, 219; indications of, 219; the most common cause of destruction of stocks by bee-moth, 219. Lunenburg, number of colonies of bees in, 802; bees of, more than pay all the taxes, 302. M. Mahan, P. J., on causing bees to adhere to new locations, 163 (note); inter- esting observations of, 219 (note); his discovery that drones leave their hives with honey and return without any, 224; on the odor of the queen, 226 (note 2). Maple-tree a source of honey, 292. 398 Maraldi, anecdote from, of bees and a snail, 78. Materials for hives, 331. — : Meal, a substitute for pollen, 84, 219. Medicine, poison of bee, used for, 315 (note). Mice, ravages of, and protection against, 252. Miller, see Bee-moth. Mills, John, on marking hives with dif- ferent colors, 216 (note). Mixing of bees, of different colonies, 203; precautions concerning, 203. Months of the year, direction for treat-_ ing bees in, 362-369. Moonlight, bees sometimes gather ho- ney by, 73 (note). More, Sir J., on the sovereign virtues of honey, 287 (note). Mcth, see Bee-moth. Moth, death-head, 240 (note). Moth, large honey-eating, from Ohio, 241 (note). Mothers, unkind treatment of, reproved by bees, 312. Mother-stock, in forced swarming, easily supplied with fertile queen, 182; ex- posed to perish without a prompt supply of queen, and by over swarm- ing, if left to supply itself, 182; also to be robbed, 182; advantages of sup- plying with fertile queen, 183. Moth-proof hives a delusion, 228, 288, 247. Moths, honey-eating, ravages of, 240 (and note). Motions, in operating on hives, should be deliberate, 170. Movable-comb hive, invention of, 13-23 ; superiority to Dzierzon’s, 16,18; ena- bles each bee-keeper to observe for himself, 23, 164; admits of easy re- moval of old comb, 60; bees in it easily supplied with empty comb, 71; its facilities for ventilation, 94, 276 (note 1); size of, adjustable to the wants of colony, 96, 329; facilities of, for securing surplus honey, 100, 289, 829; advantages of, for preventing after-swarming, 124, 140; enables one person to superintend various colo- nies, 102, 226; not easily blown down, 103; may be made secure against mice, 103, 252, and thieves, 104; dur- ability of, 104; cheapness and simpli- city of, 105; some desirables it does ' not possess, 105; invention of, result of experience, 105; perfection dis- claimed for, 105; merits of, submit- ted to experienced bee-keepers, 108; desertion of, by swarms easily pre- vented, 115; by use of, can employ all good worker comb, 1380; furnishes storage-room for non-swarming bees, 139 ; importance of, in supplying ex- tra queens, 141, 188 ; easily cleared of the bee-moth, 246; best for non- INDEX. swarming plan, 153; enables the api- arian to learn the laws regulating the internal economy of bees, 164; ena- bles artificial swarming to be quickly performed, 164; advantages of mov- able top of, 168; affords facilities for supply of fertile queens to mother stocks, in foreed swarming, 182, 192 ; danger of being stung, diminished by use of, 209; the greatest obstacle to its speedy introduction, 209; the au- thor sanguine of its extensive use by skillful. bee-keepers, 211; should be thoroughly examined in Spring, 221; durable and cheap, if properly taken eare of, 221; advantages of, readily perceived by intelligent bee-keepers, 226; adaptation of, to protect stocks from the moth, 249; enables the apia- rian to know the amount of honey stocks contain, 275 (note); how pre- pared for transporting bees, 281; to transfer into, from common hive, 283; designed to economize the labor of bees, 305 ; experiments concerning the size of, 330 (note 3); suggestions as to making, 332; observing, 332; how to get honey in centre of, for Winter, 336; how to make Winter passages in combs of, 3837 (and note 1); how to ventilate, in Winter, 338; bills of stock for making, 371 Movable entrance blocks, see Blocks, entrance regulating. Movable bottom-boards, dangerous, 231. Movable stands for hives, 279. . Moving stocks, 281 Munn, W. A., his “bar and frame hive,” 209 (note). : Musk, used to stop robbing, 265 (note). N. Narcotics, in managing bees, worse than useless, 211. Natural swarming and hiving of swarms, 109-142: guards against extinction of bees, 109; not unnatural, 1115; time of, 111; seldom occurs in Northern climates, when hives are not well fill- ed with comb, 111 (note); signs of, * 111; only in fair weather, 112; time of day of, 112; preparation of bees for, 112; queen often lost in, 113; ringing of bells and tanging, useless, 113; how to stop a fugitive swarm, 114; after, ventilation should be regulated, 124 ;_ hiving should be done in shade, or hive be covered, i130; should be promptly attended to after swarm settles, 182; process of, 183; basket for, 183; sheet for, 183; how arranged, 183 ; how to expedite if bees are dilatory, 183, 134; must be repeated if queen not secured, 1384; small limbs cut with pruning-shears in, 134 ; when swarm out of reach, how to secure, & _ INDEX. 184; when in difficult places, or two swarms cluster together, 135; how to secure queen, 156 ; old-fashioned way, objectionable, 1386; more than one swarm in a hive, 137; to prevent swarms uniting while hiving, 138 ; swarms, aS soon as hived, should be removed to their stands, 188; an ex- pedient, if no hive be ready, 139; sug- gestions for making more profitable, 139--142 ; excessive, prevented by use of mov. comb hive, 140; affords no fa- cilities for strengthening late and fee- ble stocks, 140; objections to, 139-147 ; uncertainty of, 147; why some stocks refuse to swarm, 147. ‘“New England Farmer,” extract from, describing a combat of queens, 205. Night-work, on bees, hazardous, 167. Non-swarmer, author’s prevents swarm- ing, 174; excludes drones, 225; facili- ties it offers to preserve pure the Ita- an Pe 326; wood-cut of, Pl. IL, ig. 5. Non-swarming colonies, may lose their queens, or queens become unfertile, in common hive, 153; queens may be. supplied to, in moy. comb hive, 153. Non-swarming hive, advocated by many, 154; objections to, 153; mov. comb hive best for, 153. Nuclei, what they are, and how to form them, 189; to obtain adhering bees . for, 192 (and note) ; must not be allow- ed to get too much reduced, 197; always furnish plenty of queens, 219, Nutt, his list of bee flowers, 298. Nymph, bee, see Pupa. O. Objections to natural swarming, 148- 147. Observing-hive, mov. comb, 332-834; Hon. 8. Brown’s experiment with, 205 ; its facilities for observing the internal operations of the bees, 332; for wintering, 832 (note); those with single frames recommended, 3838; adapted for the parlor, 333 ; how to stock with bees, 333 ; source of plea- sure and instruction, 333; may be kept in cities, 833. Odor, of queens, 226, 266; of drones, 226 “(mote 1); of workers, 203. Jdors, unpleasant, offensive to bees, 313; used to prevent robberies, 265 (note) ; excite bees to anger, 313. Jettl, remarks of, on over-stocking, 803; his golden rule in bee-keeping, 303; his statistics of bee culture, 303. Old age, signs of in bees, 59. Oliver, H. K., observations of, on bee- moth, 251. On blossoms of, yield much honey, Ve 399. Ovaries of queen-bee, 35, (Pl. XVIII); of workers, are undeveloped, 29, 54. Over-stocking, 299-307; no danger of 299; Wagner’s letter on, 300; Oettl and Braun’s statistics un, 303. Ovum, what necessary to impregnate it, 41. = Paint, smell of fresh, detested by bees, 129; if fresh be used, it should con- tain no white lead, and be made to dry quickly, 129; recipe for, preferable to oy paint, 129; color of, for hives, 8. Pasturage for bees, 292; effect of, on removal of colonies, 157 ; honey-yield- ing trees and plants, 292-299; gardens too limited for, 297; catalogue of bee- plants, 298; range of, 305. Patent hives, deceptions in vending, 61 (note), 106, 146 (note); have greatly multiplied the bee-moth, 237; and done more harm than good, 287, 241. Peach-tree, yields honey, 292. Pear-tree yields honey, 292. Peppermint, use of, in uniting colonies, 203. Perfection, folly of claiming for hives, 6 Perfumes, disagreeable to bees, 818 (note). Perseverance of bees, worthy of imita- tion by man, 197. Persons, attacked by bees, directions for, 312, 314. Peters, Randolph, interesting experi- ment of, 219 (note). Pillage of hives, secret, cause and remedy of, 266. Piping of queens, an indication of after- swarming, 121 Plantain, a remedy for bee-stings, 315. Plum-tree, a source of honey, 292. Poison of bees, smell of, strong and irri- tating to bees, 314; effect of, on the eye, 314 (note); remedies for, 314- 317 ; effect of, when taken into the mouth, 315 ; cold water the best rem- edy for, 815; a homeopathic remedy, 315 (note); the human system can be inured to, 316 (note). Poisonous honey, and how to remove its injurious qualities, 287. Pollen, or bee-bread, 50-87; found in stomachs of wax-makers, 80; may aid in secretion of wax, 80; whence ob- tained, 80; food of immature bees, as shown by Hubev’s experiments, 80; author's, to the same eftect, 81; Gun- delach’s opinion of, 81; useful in se- cretion of wax, 82; bees prefer fresh to old, 82; in moy. comb hives, excess of, in old stocks, can be given to others, 82; how gathered and stored by bees, 83; bees gathering, aid in im- pregnating plants, 83; bees collect, 400 INDEX. only from one kind of flower at a time, 83; wheat and rye meal a sub- stitute for, 84; necessary for the pro- duction of wax and jelly, 197; the gathering of, by bees, indicates a fer- tile queen in the hive 219 (and note), Pollen-basket, on leg of bee, 56. Poppy; white, a remedy for bee-stings, 10. Posel, discovery of, on use of sperma- theca, 36 (note). Proboscis of a worker, 56; wood-cuts of, Plates XIII., XVI., Figs. 63, 51. Profits of bee-keeping, Dzierzon’s expe- rience in, 21; Sydserff’s calculation of, 146 (note); dependent on strong stocks, 176; difficulty of estimating, 306 (note); safe estimate of, 306. Propolis, 76-80 ; whence obtained, 76; curious sources of, in Mexico, 77 ; its uses, 77; bee-moth lays her eggs in, 78 ; curious anecdotes, illustrating its uses, 78. Prussia, bee-keeping encouraged by go- vernment of, 320 (note). Pupa, or bee-nymph, 45; heat required for its development, 46. Punk, smoke of, subdues bees, 27, 154. Q. Queén-bee, wood-cut of (natural and magnified size), Pl. XII., Figs. 31, 32; wood-cut of ovaries and spermatheca of, 35, Pl. XVIII. ; description of, 30 ; the mother of the whole colony, 30; affectionate treatment of, by the other bees, 31; effect of her loss on the colony, 31; her fertility, 82; how her eggs are fecundated, 3441; Huber discovers impregnation of, to take place out of hive, 34; dissection of, by Dr. Leidy, 34, 126 (note), 213 (note); effect of retarded impregnation on, 36 ; she determines the sex of the egg, 08 ; Dr. Leidy’s dissection of a drone- laying, 88, 126 (note), 218 (note); at- tempt of bees to rear, from a drone- egg, 39; account of a drone-laying, afterwards laying worker-eggs, 40; a drone-laying, with shrivelled wings, 40; Italian, impregnated by common drones, produce Italian drones, while the females are a cross, 41, 824 (note 2); becomes incapable of impregna- tion, 42 ; process of laying, 43; deve- lopment of, in pupa state, 46; enmity of, to each other, 46, 120, 205-207; can regulate development of eggs in her ovaries, 47; disposition by, of super- numerary eggs, 48; fertility of, de- creases with age, 49, 223; longevity of, 49,58; when superannuated, lays only drone-eggs, 49; why impreg- nated in the air, 58; office of, no sine- cure, 58 ; Italian, use of, to show how Jong workers live, 59 ; manner of rear- ing, 62; larvee of, effects of royal jelly on, 63; process of rearing in special emergency, 66; development of, an argument against infidelity, 68; old, leads first swarm, 111; often lost in swarming, 112; loss of, in swarming, causes bees to return to parent stock, 113; how to prevent, from deserting new hive, 115 ; influence of, in causing bees to cluster, 117; prevented by bees from killing inmates of royal cells, 121; piping of, 121; several sometimes accompany after-swarms, 122; emerges from her cell mature, 122; young more active on wing than old, 123; young, often reluctant to leave hive, 123; young, does not leave for impregnation till established as sole head, 51, 125; her precautions to regain her hive, 125; never molest- ed by drones in hive, 127 (note); begins laying two days after impreg- nation, 128; lays mostly worker-eges the first year, 128; never stings ex- cept in combat with other queens, 136, 204; alacrity of, in entering hive for new swarm, 136; young, often lost after swarming, 141; her loss easily remedied by moy. comb hive, 141; unfertile, difficult to remove in com- mon hives, 141; when immature, bees do not build worker-comh, 149; sel- dom enters side-apartments, 152; signs indicating her presence or ab- sence in forced swarms, 158; supply of sealed, for forced swarming, how to secure, 166; how to cut sealed ones from comb, 166; fertile, deprived of wings to prevent swarming, 173; may be confined to prevent swarming, 174; unfertile, should not be confined, 175; fertile, easily supplied to desti- tute mother-stocks, 182; young, in after-swarms, lay few drone-eggs, 184 (note); to raise, for artificial-swarm- ing, 188; when to be given to newly- forced swarms, 189; to induce bees to raise, on what part of the comb you please, 191; her value, 192 (note); can she be developed from any worker-larvee ? 192 (note 2); made to supply several stocks with eggs, 193; willlay eggs while under inspection, 196 (note): caution needed in giving, to strange stocks, 200; stranger, how to induce stocks to receive, 201; pro- tected by queen-cage, 201; care tobe used in catching, 202; never stings, but sometimes bites, 202, 204; may be lost if allowed to fly, 202 ; her great appetite, 202; her life indispensable to the safety of the colony, 2043 loss of, see ‘ Loss of Queen ;” young, dangers besetting, 218; should be given to queenless stocks in Spring, 221; when unimpregnated, colony should be watched, 222; when unimpregnated, INDEX. hides, 222; wings of, may be clipped for artificial swarming, 222; how to mark the age of, 223; fertility of, dim- inished by hunger and cold, 223 (note 1); should be removed in their third year, and new one given, 228 ; regular and systematic, best, 223 (note 2); odor of, 226; removal of, a remedy for foul-brood, 258 ; surplus, reared by Dzierzon, in suspected hives, 260; de- serted by her subjects when they have been conquered by stronger stocks, 263 (and note); should be removed before smothering the bees, when stocks are broken up for their honey, 306 (note) ; Italian, how to propagate, 326; after being chilled, lay only drone- eggs, 527, Queen Bees, why, when two fight, both are not killed, 205; combat of, as wit- nessed in one of author's observing hives, 205. Queen-cage, use and construction of, 201, 325. Queen cells, see Royal Cells. Queenless stocks, signs of, 219, 245; to be supplied with queens, 221 ; in Oc- tober, should be united with other stocks, 223; a sure prey to the moth, ifnot protected in time, 244 (and note). Quinby, M., author of a very valuable work on bee-keeping, 249 (note) ; on - the ravages of the larvee of bee-moth, 249 (note); on shape of moy. comb hives, 330 (note 3); on wintering bees, 348 ; on equalizing colonies when re- moved from Winter repository, 361, (note 2); on making bees work in a double tier of surplus honey-boxes, 365 (note). Radlkofer, Doctor, on over-stocking, 300; on the Italian bee, 325. Rapping on hives, its effect on bees, 27, 155, 204 : ' Raspberry, one of the best bee-plants, and very abundant in hill towns of New England, 296. Reaumur, his account of a snail cover- ed with propolis, by bees, 78; his error as to the treatment of strange queens by bees, 201; thought there were two species of bee-moth, 228. Reid, Dr. on the shape of honey-cells, 75. Religion, revealed, appeal to those who reject, 52. Remedies for bee-stings, 314-317. Riem, the first to notice fertile workers, 55 Ringing bells, in swarming time, use- less, 113. Requisites of a complete hive, 95-108. Robbers, highway, bees sometimes act the part of, 262. Robbing, by bees, frequent when forage is scarce, and caution against, 199, 261, 401 263; how prevented, 261-266 ; commit- ted chiefly on feeble or queenless colo- nies, 261; signs indicating a bee en- gaged in, 261, 265; begets a disrelish for honest pursuits, 262, 264 (and note); movable entrance blocks pro- tect bees against, 264; infatuation produced by, on bees, 264; caution needed in checking, when a hive is vigorously attacked, 265; how to stop bees engaged in, 265; secret, its re- medy, 266. Royal cells, described, 62; wood-cuts of, Plates XIII., XIV., and XV.; attention paid to, by workers, 62; why they open downward, 63 ; number of, in a hive, 63; how supplied with eggs, 63; description of, 66; when built, 111; queen prevented from destroy- ing, 121 ; remains of, indicate number of queens, hatched, 121; may be re- moved in moy. comb hives, to pre- vent after swarming, 124; how to de- cide whether inmate of has been hatched or killed, 121; how to cut out of combs, 166; sign that the queens in, are nearly mature, 167 ; how to make bees rear, in convenient places on the comb, 191; to be given to colonies porene day after removal of queen, 23. Royal jelly, see Jelly, royal. Rye-meal, see Meal. 8. Sagacity of bees, 47, 48. Salt, fondness of bees for, 272. Scent, see smell and odor. Schirach, on artificial rearing of queens, 148. Scoutssent out by swarms to find a new home, 117; necessity of, 118. Seraper, for cleaning the bottom-board of moy. comb hive, 347. Scudamore, Dr., on many swarms clus- tering together, 137. : Secret recipe for keeping stocks strong, sham yendor of, 238. Scholtz, Mr., on wintering bees in clamps, 348-360. Sex of bees, determined by queen, 38. Shakspeare’s description of the Hive, Shrimplin, experiment of, showing im- pregnation to take place in the air, 127. Sick persons, the care of, beneficial to man, 313. Siebold, Professor, extracts from his Parthenogenesis, 126 (note); his dis- section of spermatheca, 127 (note); found spermatozoa in worker, but not in drone eggs, 41; on bee life, 144 (note); recommends movable frames, 321 (note 2). ; Sight of bees, acute, for distant objects, Tal 402- Signs of swarming, 111; of queenless colonies, 219, 224; of presence of moths in hive, 242. Size of hives, 329-332. Smell, of hives, in gathering season, 177 (note); strange bees distinguished by, _ 203; the same, to be given in uniting colonies, 203 ; sense of, in bees, acute, 313; of their own poison irritates bees, 314. Smoke, importance of, in subduing bees, 97, 154; its use in forced swarming, 165, 168, 169; its use of, very ancient, 210; drives clustered bees inside of hive, 281; useful in removing surplus honey, 289. Smothering bees, cautions for prevent- ing, 281. Snails, sometimes covered by bees with propolis, 78. Snow, bees perish on, when carrying out their dead, 98; sometimes fatal to bees, 888 (note 1); often harmless to bees, 361 (note 1). Solidago, see Golden Rod. Sontag, F.,on meal as a substitute for pollen, 84. Spare honey; see Honey, surplus. Spermatheca, of the queen-bee, wood- cut and description of, 35; Pl. XVIII, Fig. 55: dissection of, 34, 126 (note), 213 (note). Spermatozoa, found in spermatheca of queen-bee, 34, 126 (note), Sphinx Atropos, see Moth, Death-head. Spinola, described the Italian bee, 318 (note). Spring, importance of sun-heat, in, to hives, 101 ; feeble stocks, in, unprofit- able, 177; examination of bees, in, im- portant, 221; colonies should be fed, in, 267, 268. Sprinkling bees, should not be done to excess, 170; cools their robbing fren- zy, 260. Starving of bees, often happens when there is honey in the hive, 336, 342. Sting, Bevan’s description of, 56; Pl. XVII., Fig. 58; microscopic appear- ance of, 57; loss of, fatal to bees, 57; loss of,,in stinging, a benefit to man, 58; of queen, 65; wood-cut of queens, Pl. XVIII. - Sting, poison of, dangerous to some, 313; remedies for, 314-317; smell of poison ~ of, irritating to bees, 314; instant ex- traction of, important, 314; rubbing the wound made by, should be avoid- ed, 814; Mr. Wagner’s remedy for, $15; different remedies answer for different persons, 315; human system may be inured to, 316 (note); amus- ing remedy for, 316 (note). Stinging, bees when gorged, disinclined to, 25, 169, 308; little risk of, unless bees are irritated, 28, 168, 170; risk of, diminished by use of mov. comb | INDEX. hive, 209; diseased bees inclined to, 810; risk of, not increased by prox- imity to the hive, 311 (mote) ; not to be feared from a bee away from its hive, 312; effect of, sometimes danger- ous, 8185 Italian bee less inclined to, than common bee, 322, 324. Stocks, of bees, (see also Colonies of bees), enfeebled by “in-and-in breed- ing,” 54; strong, will rapidly fill emp- ty comb, 71; often lose young queens after swarming, 141; fewer in this country than there were years ago, 145; often refuse to swarm, 139, 145, 147; new, work better than old, 158 ; if weak in Spring, usually unprofit- able, and sometimes require to be fed, 177; the less disturbed, the better for surplus honey, 180; best mode for rapid increase of, 184; doubling, treb- ling, &e., 185; subject to great loss of bees in storms, 186; rapid increase of, hopeless in vicinity of sugar-houses, &¢c., 199; hostility of, to strange queens, 200; when united, the bees should be gorged with honey, 204; will adhere to the hive when the queen is lost, if sup- plied with brood-comb, 218; queenless, should be broken up, if not supptied with a queen or brood-comb, 218; Spring-care of, 221; healthy, destroy the drones when forage is scarce, 224 ; weak, with uncovered comb, infested by moths, 242; suffering from hunger, are an easy prey tothe moth, 246 (and note). ; Stocks, union of, see Union of Colo- nies. Stomach of worker, wood-cut of, Pl. XVIL., Fig. 54. Stoves, air-tight, deficient in ventilation, 92; Franklin, a good kind of, 92 (note). Straw, use of, for protecting hives, 337. Stupefaction of bees, by smoke, chloro- form, and ether, 210. Se au E. T., on wintering bees, Shae ans of bees, Symptoms attend- ing, 90. 4 Sugar, its elements, 70. Sugar-candy, see Candy. : Sugar-water, use of, to pacify bees, 26, 154, 168-170; how to apply it, 170; used in mingling stocks, 203. Sulphur, use of, in killing eggs and worms of bee-moth, 248. % Sun, heat of, important to bees in Spring, 101, 368. , Superstitions about bees, 79. Surplus honey, see Honey, surplus. - Swallow, address of Grecian poet, to 2 bee-eating, 253. Swammerdam, his drawing of queen’s ovaries described, 35; great merits of, as an observer, 65 (note); his drawing of queen’s ovaries, Pl. XVIII.; how INDEX. he learned the internal economy of the hive, and his reverence in studying the works of Nature, 164 (note); spoke of two species of bee-moth, 228, Swarms, new, often construct drone- comb to store honey, 51; number of bees in a good one, 54; first ones led by old queens, 111; no sure indica- tions of first, 111; will settle without ringing of bells, &e¢., 113; more in- clined to elope, if bees are neglected, _ 114; how to arrest a fugitive, 114; how to prevent, from deserting a new hive, 115; indications of intended de- sertion, 115; clustering of, before de- parture, of special benefit to man, 116; send out scouts, 117; sometimes build comb on fence-rails, &c., 118; how parent hive is re-populated, after de- parture of, 119; composed of young and old bees, 119; none of the bees of new, return to parent hive, 120; signs and time of second, 122; sometimes settle in several clusters, 122; singular instance of plurality of queens (in Mexico), 122; signs and time of third, 123; first, sometimes swarms again, 128; new, reluctant to enter heated hives, 130; often take possession of deserted hives stored with comb, but seldom of empty hives, 131; trees con- venient for clustering of, 131; can be made to alight on a selected spot, 131; hiving of, should not be delayed, 132; several, clustering together, 137; may be separated by hiving in large hive, 137; hissing sound of bees, while Swarming, causes other stocks to swarm, 137; how to prevent their mingling, 138 ; should be placed where intended to stand, as soon as hived, 138; how to proceed when hive is not teady to receive, 139; feeble after- swarms, of little value, 140, 141; strong, tempted to evil courses, 141; many, annually lost, 143; danger of losing, in swarming season, 144; decrease of, in bees, after swarming, 151 (and note) ; new, have greater energy than old, 153; forced, 154; will enter hives without the queen, 159 (note); when forced, how to induce to adhere to new locations, 168 (and note); to avoid risk of losing, in swarming-time, 178; too rapid multiplication of, un- profitable, 176; second, usually val- uelegs, unless early, and season gvod, 177; weak, may be strengthened by use of moy. comb hive, 178; one new, made from two old ones, 181 (note 3); artificial, rapid increase of with mov. comb hive, 183; dangers attending, in large apiaries where the hives are uniform in appearance, and near to- gether, 216; how to avoid the danger, 217; Washington Irving's account cf, in the West, 236 (note); new, need 403 more air than old, 281; precautions in moving, 2815; a late one, 366. Swarming, signs of, 111; indisposes bees to return to parent hive, 120; unsea- sonable, often caused by famine, 116; causes bees to mark the place of their new abode, 120; incident in, in Mex- ico, 123; after, care needed to pre- serve young brood in parent hive, 124; in tropical climates, at all sea- sons, 128; season of, 128; inconve- niences of, 139-147; artificial, mode of for common hives, 154; best pre- vented by use of author’s hive, 153; for the season, can be accomplished in few days with author’s hive, 178; time of natural, easily determined in au- thor’s hive, 173 (note); prevented by clipping wings of queen, 173, 228 ; pre- vented by contracting the entrance . of hive, 174; last plan not thoroughly tested, 174 (note 3); frequent, unprofit- able, 176; best mode of artificial, 181 ; how to obtain extra queens in natu- tal, 190 (mote); interesting anecdote of, 308. Swarming, Artificial Swarming. Swarming, natural, see Natural Swarm- ing, Swarming season, commencement and duration of, 111, 128. Sweaty horses, detested and often killed by bees, 313. Sydsertf's calculation of profits of bee- culture, 146 (note). T. artificial, see Table, illustrating the increase of stocks by artificial swarming, 185; of form- ing nuclei, 191. 3 “Taking up bees,” facilitated by moy. comb hive, 209; suggestions as to time of, 806 (note). Temperature of hive, rises at time of swarming, 130. Theories often fail, when put to a prac- tical test, 175 (note). Thistle, Canada, a good bee-plant, 296. Thompson, poetical extract from, upon killing bees,239; on bees in linden trees, 298. Thorley, John, first stupefied bees by puff-ball smoke, 210. Tidd, M. M., his experiment on a female moth, 230 (note 2); notices the differ- ence between tongue of the male and female moth, 230. Time of bees, economized in moy. comb hive, 95, 96; importance of saving, 805. Timid persons may safely remove sur- plus honey, 289-291 ; should use bee- dress while hiving bees, 132, 154; often stung while other persons seldom are, 404. 168 ; some should not attempt to rear bees, 209. Toad, eats bees, 254. Tobacco, should not be used for subdu- ing bees, 169. Top-boxes, for surplus honey, should be used with caution, 330 (note). Transferring bees from common to mov. comb hive, 282-284; mode of, 282; best time for, 283; results of, 284. Transportation of bees, easy in mov. comb hive, 281. ee for moths, usually worthless, 244, Trees, combs built on, by bees, 118; apiaries should be near, 151; substi- tute for, 131 ; limbs of, need not be cut, in hiving bees, 183; shade of, agree- se to bees, 280; honey-producing, Tulip (poplar, or whitewood,) tree yields great quantities of honey, 292. U. Union of colonies, facilitated by giving them the same smell, 203; mode of, 203, 204; for wintering, 336. Unbelief in revelation not prompted by true philosophy, 52. Greeny persons disagreeable to bees, 3818. Vv. vee used by bees in place of propo- is, S02. . Varro, his remark that bees in large hives become dispirited, 208. Ventilation, furnished to larvee by shape of cells, 75; of the hive, 88-94; pro- duced by the fanning of bees, 88; Huber on, 88; its neceessity, 89; re- marks on, in human dwellings, 91; provided for and easily controlled in mov. comb hive, 93, 943; artificial, must be simple to be useful, 93; should be attended to, after swarming, 124; ample, should be given, while bees are storing honey, 288, 366 ; how to give, in Winter, 338; upward, need- ee in Winter, 388, 340 (note), 341, 360. Vice, effect of, on man, compared to ra- vages of the moth, 235. Virgil, described the Italian bee, 818. W. Wagner, Samuel, letter of, on moy. comb hive, 17-18 ; theory of, on how queen determines sex of egg, 38; his account of bees building comb on a tree, 118 ; on the effect of soil on the quality of honey-yielding plants, 294 (note) ; on the Swedish white clover, for bees and stock, 295; letter of, on over- INDEX. stocking, 300; letter of, on the Italian bee, 818; extracts from, on preserv- ing the purity of the Italian bee, 323 (notes); states a remarkable fact con- cerning hybrid bees, 324 (note 2); attempt of, to import Italian bee, 328 (note) ; translation of Scholtz on win- tering bees, 348-360. Me how waged by different colonies, 3 Wasps, fecundation of, 35; injure fruit, 86; should be destroyed in Spring, 87; torpid in Winter, 109. Water, necessary to be supplied for bees confined, 189 (and note) ; the refusal of, in Spring, by bees, indicative of a queenless colony, 219 (and note) ; cold, useful in checking robbery, 265; in- dispensable to bees when buiiding comb, or rearing brood, 271, 342-346 ; bees need, in cold weather, 342--346 ; advantages of giving, to bees in cold Springs, 3438. Wax, scales of, wood-cuts, Pl. XIIL., Figs. 37 and 88; secreted from honey, 69, 275 ; pouches for, 69; wood-cut of, Pl. XIIL., Fig. 88; Huber’s experi- ments on secretion of, 69 ; pollen may aid its secretion, 70; its elements, 71 ; large quantity of honey consumed in secretion of, 71; shavings of, used by bees, to build new comb, 72; a bad conductor of heat, 738; pollen useful in its secretion, $2, 197; origin of, dis- covered by Hornbostel, 204 (note) ; the food of the larvee of the bee-moth, 233, 247; how to render, from comb, 288. : Weather, unpleasant, delays or pre- vents Swarming, 112. West India honey, as bee-food, 256 (note), 270. Wetherell, Dr. C. M., his analysis of royal jelly, 64. Wheaton, Levi, on upward ventilation, 276 (note 1); on wintering bees, 846 (note 1). White clover, see Clover, white. Weigel, Rev. Mr., first recommended candy, as bee-feed, 272. Wheeler, George, on ancient bar-hives, 210 (note), Willow, varieties of, abound in honey and pollen, 292. Wildman, Thomas, feats of, in hand- ling bees, 808 ; states the fact that fear disposes colonies to unite, 205 (note) ; his approach to modern modes of taming bees, 204 (note); on the queen’s odor, 226. Winds, bees should be against, 103, 186, 279. Wings of queens, may be made to mark their age, 223. Winter, wasps and hornets, but not bees, torpid in, 109, 335; quantity of honey needed by a stock in, 274; protected 4 INDEX. bees eat less in, when kept quiet, 835, 355, 858 ; bees should be protected from winds of, 837; bees in, if out of doors, should be allowed to fly, 837; how to ventilate hives in, 338; snow in, when injurious to bees, 338 (note 1); bees need water in, 342-346; when honey is candied in, bees need water, 342-344 ; disturbing bees in, injurious, 847, 355; fewer bees die in, when hives are in clamps, than when in other special depositories, 358; tem- porary removal of colonies in, toa warm room, 341, 362. Wintering bees, 335-861 ; objections to, in the open air, 335; how to get honey for, in centre of hive, 336; bee pas- sages in comb for, 337 (and note 1), 339 (and note); ina dry vault or cel- lar, 348 ; in special repositories, 348- 3860; further experiments in, needed, 360 ; requires caution in removing ' them from winter quarters, 361. Wives, a friendly word to, 220. W ood-cuts, explanation of, 11, 371. Women, American, suffer from bad ventilation, 92. Worker-comb, size of the cells of, 74; all good, can be used in mov. comb hive, 130; not built unless bees have a mature queen, 149, Worker-bees, are females with undevel- oped ovaries, 29; when fertile, their 405 progeny always drones, 36; Huber’s _ theory concerning fertile, 87, 55; sometimes exalted to be queens, 37 ; one raised from a drone egg, by Dr. Dénhoff, 41; incapable of impregna- tion, 42; wood-cuts of, Plate XII., Figs. 35, 36 ; number of, in swarm, 54; author’s opinion respecting fertile, 55; fertile prefer to lay in drone cells, 55; honey-bag, 56; representation of, Pl. XVII., Fig. 54,4; use of proboscis of, 56; wood-cut of proboscis of, Pl. XYVI., Fig. 51 ; pollen-basket, 56 ; sting, 56; wood-cut of, Pl. XVII., Fig. 53; loss of sting fatal, 57; do all the work of the hive, 58; their age, 58; lesson of industry from, 59 ; attention to royal cells, 62; wood-cut of abdomen of, Pl. XVLI., Fig. 52; two kinds of, described by Huber, 192 (note 2); differently occupied in different periods of life, 194; impulse of, to gather honey, un- developed in early life, 195. Worms, see Bee-Moth, larvee of. Wormwood, use of, for driving away robbing bees, 265 (note). Wurtemberg, number of its colonies of bees, 304. Z. Zollickoffer, H. M., his account of bees building combs on a tree, 118, Ty pricy % 2 ae gh hte Sol ox wa bt OFa ke Me ADVERTISEMENT. An individual or farm right, to make and use the Movable-Comb Hive, will be sold for five dollars. Such a right entitles the owner, in the territory where it is purchased, to make for his own use, and not — otherwise, auy number of hives. ; Ministers of the Gospel, ef all denominations, are entitled to an indi- vidual right for their own use, without any charge. The Inventor has secured, to all purchasers of individual rights, the privilege of using, without any further charge, any improvements which he may hereafter patent. For the information of the Public (see note on page 61), the following extract is given from the Patent Office Report of 1852-8: . “ Patent No, 9300—Improvement in Bee-Hives. “What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is— “ First.—The use of a shallow chamber, substantially as described, in combination with a perforated cover, for enlarging or diminishing at will the size and number of the spare honey receptacles. “« Second.—The use of the movable frames, A, A, Fig. 4, or their equivalents, sub- stantially as described; also, their use in combination with the shallow chamber, with or without my arrangement for spare honey receptacles. “ Third.—A divider, substantially as described, in combination with a movable cover, allowing the divider to be inserted from above, between the ranges of comb. “ Fourth.—The use of the double glass sides in a single frame, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. “ Fifth.—The construction of the trap for excluding moths and catching worms, so arranged as to increase or diminish at will the size of the entrance for bees, sub- stantially in the manner, and for the purposes set forth. L. L. LANGSTROTH.” For individual and territorial rights, in the States of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and the Counties of Cheshire, Hillsboro’, Rocking- ham, Merrimack, Sullivan and Belknap, in New Hampshire, address W.B.Gleason, No. 70 State Street, Boston. For individual and territorial rights in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, address P. J. Mahan, No. 720 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. For individual rights in the following Counties in Ohio, Adams, Athens, Belmont, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Crawford, Dark, Delaware, Fairfield, 407 408 ADVERTISEMENT, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Har. din, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Medina, Meigs, Mont- gomery, Monroe, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Richiand, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union, Vinton, Warren, Washington, and Wyan- dott, address Richard Colvin, Delaware, Ohio. : For individual and territorial rights in the State of Kentucky, and the Counties of Ashtabula, Cayahoga, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning, Port- age, Summit, and Trumbull, in Ohio, address EH. T. Sturtevant & Co., Cleveland, Ohio. ; For individual and territorial rights in the States of Maine, Ver- mont, Connecticut, and the Counties of Grafton, Carroll, and Coos, in New Hampshire—also, for rights in Connecticut, New York, and the Western States and Territories, address R. C. Otis, Kenosha, Wis- consin. . N. B.—Owners of territorial rights, who may wish to have their ‘names inserted in this advertisement, can ascertain terms by ad- dressing A. O. Moore & Co., 140 Fulton Street, New York, ioe: | Baro Napanee We KK_EE|Q{|[B1BSVSLLA A a {UEIILULLSCOEC CUT ££ 5 ever_,”y5py MA yD| 6 uuu EET TT iu Ny SSS NezzyggSSdT’ST’’E=CE#™™=”"WHLEW SE \ ‘| Hil | | i Mi Hh il | \ i | | | WY I I | | | Ht SS aa == pee Hc | f | al UI Puate II. . 1) 5 Fig. 4. Pio 5: ae ea PareAuiney ele qQ \ ——- =, i SS== \ S ==> \ S ——— LR, ANY: yy, ‘7 ANN = ua i ZZ/DZZZZ-E LZ Z LL