Entomology. Bees. Comprehending the uses and economical management of the honey-bee of Britain and other countries, together with the descriptions of the known wild species

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Common humble Bee. Red tailed Bee

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PICCADILLY

THE

NATUEALIST'S LIBEAEY.

EDITED BY

SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, BART.

F.R.S.B., F.L.S., ETC., ETC.

VOL. XXXIV.

ENTOMOLOGY.
BEES.

COMPREHENDING THE USES AND ECONOMICAL MANAGEMENT OF THE

HONEY-BEE

OP BRITAIN AND OTHER COUNTRIES,
TOGETHER WITH DESCBIPTIONS OP THE KNOWN WILD SPECIES.

LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YOEK STEEET, COVENT GARDEN.

BIOLOGY

LIBRARY

G

CONTENTS.

MEMOIR OF HUBER, . . . 17

INTRODUCTION, ... . . 27

Anatomy of the Honey-Bee, • 31

The Senses of the Bees, . , 44

Sight, ... 44

Feeling or Touch, . 46

Taste, ... 48

Hearing, ... 51

Smelling, ... 55

Functions of the Inmates of a Hive, . 60

Functions of the Queen, . 60

Functions of the Worker-Bee, . 65

Functions of the Male or Drone, . . 70

The Impregnation of the Queen-Bee, . . . 73

Retarded Impregnation, ..... 74

Of the Brood, ...... 76

The Conversion of the Larva of a Worker into a Queen, ' 88

The Architecture of Bees, .... 99

The different Substances found in a Hive, viz. Honey,

Wax, Farina, and Propolis, . . . 113
The Formation of Swarms, . . . .134

The Diseases and Enemies of Bess, . . . 147
Enemies of Bees, . . . . .149

Practical Management, . . . . .157

The Apiary, 157

Hives, ...... 166

Straw Hives, 167

Wildman's Storied Straw Hive, . . * 168

CONTENTS.

Page

Grecian Hive, . . . . . 168

Lombard's Hive, . . . . . 173

Bee-Boxes, . . . . . .172

Huber's Hive, . m , . .177

Single-comb Hive, . . . . .179

On the Management of Bees in Spring, . . ] 85

• the Swarming Season, 197

Second Swarms, . . . . . .201

Third Swarms, . . . . . .201

Virgin Swarms, ...... 203

Artificial Swarms, ..... 208

Deprivation and Transportation, . . . 215

General Honey-Harvest, .... 220

Management of Bees during Winter, . . . 231

HU31BLE-BEES, ...... 239

Common Humble-Bee (Bombus Terrtstris)> Plate XIV. 243
Lapidary or Red-tailed Bee (Bo?rtbus Lapidarius), Plate

XVI. Figs. 1. 2. ..." .252
Moss or Carder Bee (Bomlus Muscorum), Plate XVI.

Fig. 3 253

Donovan's Humble-Bee (Bombus .Donovanettus), Plate

XVII. Fig. 1. . ' . . . .255
Harris' Humble-Bee (Bomb* Marrisellw), PI. XVIII.

Fig. 1. . . ... 256

Bombus Grandis. Plate XVII. Fig. 2. . . 256

Apaihus Vestcdis. Plate XVIII. Fig. 2. . . 257

Apathus Rupestris. Plate XVIII. Fig. 3. 259

FOREIGN BEES, . . . ... . 260

Euglossa Surinamensis. Plate XIX. Fig. 1. . 261

Euglossa Analis. Plate XIX. Fig. 2. , . . 262

Afflae Caendea. Plate XIX. Fig. 3. . . 263

Ceniris Nobilis. Plate XX. Fig. 1. . . 263

Centris Grossa. Plate XX. Fig. 2. . . 264
Xylocopa Violacea. Plate XX. Fig. 3. . .265
Xylocopa Teredo. Plate XXI. Fig. 1. Male.— Fig. 2.

Female, ...... 268

Xylocopa Corniger. Plate XXI. Fig. 3. . . 270
Xylocopa (Platynopoda,) West.) Tenuiscapa. PI. XXIII.

Fig. 2 271

CONTENTS

Page

Apis Ligustica. Plate XXIV. . 273

Apis Fasciata. ... 274

Apis Adanso?iii. ...... 274

Indicator Major. Greater Honey-guide, Plate XXV. 278

Apis Unicolor. ...... 279

Apis Indica ........ 281

Apis Perojiii ........ 282

Tyrannus Intrepidus. King-bird. Plate XXVI. 285

Trigonis Amalthea. Plate XXVII. . . . 292

lecheguana (Polistes) with Nest. Plate XXVIII. 295

Interior of a Mexican Bee's Nest. Plate XXII. . 300

The Rate I (Viverra MelUvora.) Plate XXIX. . 300

European Bee- Eater ( ' Merops Apiaster.) Plate XXX. 301

Portrait of Huber, ..... 2

Vignette Title-page, ..... 3

In all thirty-two plates in this volume.

MEMOIR OF HUBER.

M E MJiliir-OiL H U B E R.

THE Naturalist wEosFfesearches have been specially
directed to the instinct and operations of the domestic
Honey- Bee, will be strongly disposed to regard the
subject of this memoir as at the very head of Apiarian
science, and his writings as forming the safest and
most useful text-book. Multitudes have written on
this interesting department of Natural History, and
have added more or less to our knowledge of what
has been a subject of investigation for ages. But
none, either in ancient or modern times, have dis-
played so much sagacity of research as Francis Huber,
nor so much patient perseverance and accuracy of
experiment, even admitting some errors of minor
importance detected by succeeding observers. His
success in discovery, notwithstanding the singular
difficulty he had to struggle with, was proportioned
to his intelligence and acuteness ; and this difficulty
arose, not from what some of his advocates have, in
their zeal in his defence against the sneers of the
sceptical, termed " imperfect vision," but from total
blindness. For, from the period when he first applied
B

18 MEMOIR OF HUBEB.

himself in good earnest to investigate the nature of
his winged favourites, external nature presented to
his eyes one universal blank ;

" So thick a drop serene had quenched their orbs."

It is not, therefore, without reason that his friend
and eulogist De Candolle* asserts that c* nothing of
any importance has heen added to the history of hees
since his time ; and naturalists of unimpaired vision
have nothing of consequence to subjoin to the obser-
vations of a brother who was deprived of sight."

Francis Huber was born at Geneva on the 2d July,
1750. His father possessed a decided taste for sub-
jects of natural science ; the son inherited the taste of
his father ; and, even in his boyish days, pursued his
favourite studies with such intense ardour as mate-
rially to injure his health, and bring on that weakness
in his visual organs which eventually ended in total
blindness. His attention had been led to what be-
came his favourite, — indeed his sole and engrossing
study, the habits and economy of the Honey-Bee, by
his admiration of the writings of Reaumur, and above
all, by his acquaintance with Bonnet, — the illustrious
author of " Contemplation de la Nature," who quickly
discerned the intelligence and penetration of his
young friend, and who kindly and strongly encouraged
him in his peculiar researches. It is singular enough
that these two distinguished naturalists and friends

* See Memoir of Huber by M. de Candolle in the Edinburgh
rniiosophical Journal for April 1833.

MEMOIR OF HUBEB. 19

should both have laboured under a similar personal
defect, occasioned, too, by the same causes ; for the
same intenseness and minuteness of observation which
deprived Huber of sight altogether, had brought on
in Bonnet a weakness of vision which for a time
threatened total blindness, and from which he never
fully recovered.

It will readily occur to every one that the loss of
sight in Huber must not only have presented a very
serious obstacle to the successful study of his favourite
science, but must have had the effect also of throwing
considerable doubt on the accuracy of his experiments
and the reality of his discoveries. His most devoted
admirers and most unhesitating followers in every
thing connected with the economy of Bees, are bound
in candour to acknowledge, tbat his observations,
reported, as they were, at second hand, and depend-
ing for their accuracy on the intelligence and fidelity
of a half-educated assistant, were, of themselves, not
entitled to be received without caution and distrust.
Francis Burnens, his assistant, had no doubt entered
with enthusiasm into the pursuit, and appears to have
conducted the experiments not only with the most
patient assiduity, but with great address and no small
share of steadiness and courage, qualities indispensable
in those who take liberties with the irritabile genus
apum. Still Burnens was but an uncultivated peasant
when he became Huber' s hired servant, and possessed
none of those acquired accomplishments which serve
to sharpen the intellectual faculties, and fit the mind
for observing and discriminating with correctness.

20 MEMOIR OF HUBER.

It cannot reasonably excite our wonder, therefore,
that on the first appearance of Huber's observations,
the literary^ or rather the scientific world, was some-
what startled, not only at the novelty of his discoveries,
but also at the instrumentality by which they had
been effected. Huber, however, had taken great
pains in cultivating the naturally acute mind of the
young man, in directing his researches, and accus-
toming him to rigorous accuracy in his observations.
And the fact that a glimmering of many of the dis-
coveries reported by the assistant to his master had
presented themselves to the minds of Linnseus, Reau-
mur, and other preceding observers, should so far
satisfy us that they were not brought forward merely
to support a preconceived theory, (of which, it is
probable, Burnens had no idea,) nor owed their origin
to a vivid and exuberant imagination. At a future
period Hubef was deprived of the aid of this valuable
coadjutor ; but the loss was more than compensated,
and accuracy in experiment and observation, if pos-
sible, still more unquestionably secured, by the assis-
tance and co-operation of his son, P. Huber, who
has given so much delight to the lovers of natural
history by his <( Researches concerning the habits of
Ants."

But, whatever hesitation may arise in our minds
from the fact of Huber's discoveries not being the
result of his personal observation, no doubt can rea-
sonably remain as to such of them as have been
repeatedly confirmed and verified by subsequent ob-
servers. And this has actually taken place, and holds

MEMOIR OF IIUBER. 21

strictly true in regard to the most important of them.
His discoveries respecting the impregnation of the
Queen-Bee, — the consequences of retarded impreg-
nation,— the power possessed by the working-bees of
converting a worker-larva into a Queen, — a fact, though
not originally discovered by Huber, yet, until his deci-
sive experiments and illustrations, never entirely
known or credited, — the origin of Wax, and the
manner of its elaboration, — the nature of Propolis,
— the mode of constructing the combs and cells, —
and of ventilating or renovating the vitiated atmos-
phere of the hives, — these, and a variety of other
particulars of inferior moment, have almost all been
repeatedly verified by succeeding observers, and
many of them by the writer of this brief Memoir.
It is readily admitted, that some of his experiments,
when repeated,, have not been attended by the re-
sults which he led us to expect ; and some incidents
in the proceedings of the Bees stated as having been
observed by him or his assistant, have not yet been
witnessed by succeeding observers. But in some of
these, the error may have been in the repetition ; in
others, the result, even tinder circumstances appa-
rently the same, may not always be uniform, for the
instinct of Bees is liable to modification ; and in some,
he doubtless may be, and probably is, mistaken. In
passing judgment, however, on his reported disco-
veries, we ought to keep in view, that the author of
them has thrown more light on this portion of natural
history, and pursued it with a more assiduous and
minute accuracy, than all the other natur^ists taken

22 MEMOIR OF HUBER.

together, who have turned their attention to the same
pursuits ; and that therefore nothing short of the
direct evidence of our senses, the most rigid scrutiny,
and the most minute correctness of detail in experi-
ment, can justify our denouncing his accuracy, or
drawing different conclusions. His experiments were
admirably fitted to elicit the truth, and his inferences
so strictly logical, as to afford all reasonable security
against any very important error.

H uber's "Nouvelles observations sur les Abeilles",
addressed in the form of letters to his friend Bonnet,
appeared in 1792 in one volume. In 1814, a second
edition was published at Paris in two volumes, com-
prehending the result of additional researches on the
same subject, edited in part by his son. An English
version appeared in 1806, and was very favourably
noticed by the Edinburgh Review. A third edition
of this translation was published in Edinburgh in
1821, embracing not only the original work of 1792,
but also the several additions contained in thatof 1814,
and which had originally made their appearance in
the Bibliotheque Britannique. These additional ob-
servations were, On the Origin of Wax, On the use of
Farina or Pollen, On the Architecture of Bees, and
On the precautions adopted by these insects against
the ravages of the Sphinx Atropos.

To enlarge on the personal character and domestic
circumstances of Huber, falls not strictly within our
province, which embraces only, or chiefly, his cha-
racter and writings as a naturalist. There are how-
ever some features in his disposition, and some cir-

MEMOIR OF HUBER. 23

cumstances in his personal history, dwelt upon at
considerable length by De Candolle,* which appear so
well worthy the attention of our readers, that we
cannot forego the opportunity of detailing them,
though necessarily in an abridged form. His man-
ners were remarkably mild and amiable, — as is fre-
quently found to be the case with those who are af-
flicted with blindness, — and his conversation animated
and interesting. ee When any one," says his friend,
e spoke to him on subjects which interested his heart,
his noble figure became strikingly animated, and the
vivacity of his countenance seemed by a mysterious
magic to animate even his eyes, which had so long
been condemned to blindness." It appears that
some of his friends would gladly have persuaded him
to try the effect of an operation on one of his eyes,
which seemed to be affected only by simple cataract ;
but he declined the proposal, and bore not only with-
out complaint, but with habitual cheerfulness, his
sad deprivation. His marriage with Maria Aimee
Lullin, the daughter of a Swiss magistrate, was in a
high degree romantic. The attachment had begun
in their early youth, but was opposed by the lady's
father on the ground of Huber's increasing infirmity ;
for even then, the gradual decay of his organs of
vision was become but too manifest. The affection
and devotedness of the young lady, however, ap-
peared to strengthen in proportion to the helplessness
of their object. She declared to her parents, that

* See Edinburgh Phil. Journal for April 1833.

24 MEMOIR OF HUBER.

although she would have readily suhmitted to their
will, if the man of her choice could have done with-
out her ; yet as he now required the constant attend-
ance of a person who loved him, nothing should pre-
vent her from becoming his wife. Accordingly, as
soon as she had attained the age which she imagined
gave her a right to decide for herself, she, after re-
fusing many brilliant offers, united her fate with that
of Huber. The union was a happy one. Their
mutual good conduct soon brought about the pardon
of their disobedience. In the affection and society of
his amiable and generous minded wife, the blind man
felt no want ; she was " eyes to the blind," — " his
reader, — his secretary and observer," — a sharer in
his enthusiasm on the subject of natural science, and
an able assistant in his experiments. She was spared
to him forty years. " As long as she lived," said he
in his old age, " I was not sensible of the misfortune
of being blind." The last years of his life were
soothed by the affectionate attentions of his married
daughter, Madame de Molin,* whose residence was
at Lausanne, and to which place he had removed.

It was about this period that he learned the ex-
istence in Mexico of Bees without stings ; and he
was, by the kind exertions of a friend, soon after
gratified with the present of a hive of that species.

* We have to express our acknowledgments to this lady for
her ready kindness in permitting a friend in Geneva to have
a copy taken of the very interesting miniature likeness of her
venerable father in her possession, and which forms the Frontis-
Apiece to this volume.

MEMOIR OF HUBER. 25

To him, whose life had been almost exclusively de-
voted to the study and admiration of these insects,
we may conceive how great a source of enjoyment
this gift must have proved. His feeling towards his
bees was not a feeling of fondness in an ordinary
degree ; it was a,,passion, as it almost invariably be-
comes with every one who makes them his study.
" Beaucoup de gens aiment les abeilles," says the
enthusiastic Gelieu, " je n'ai vu personne qui les
aima mediocrement ; on se passionne pour elles."
The days of Huber were now drawing to a close.
In the full possession of his mental faculties, he was
able to converse with his friends with his accustomed
ease and tranquillity, and even to correspond by let*
ter with those at a distance, within two days of his
death. He died in the arms of his daughter on the
22d of December 1831, in the 81st year of his age.

THE HONEY-BEE.
APIS MELLIFICA. PLATE I.

INTRODUCTION.

THE domestic Honey-Bee has excited a lively and
almost universal interest from the earliest ages. The
philosopher and the poet have each delighted in the
study of an insect whose nature and habits afford
such ample scope for inquiry and contemplation ; and
even the less intellectual peasant, while not insensi-
ble of the profit arising from its judicious culture,
has regarded, with pleasure and admiration, its in-
genious operations and unceasing activity. " Wise
in their government," observes the venerable Kirby,
" diligent and active in their employments, devoted
to their young and to their queen, the Bees read a
lecture to mankind that exemplifies their oriental
name Deburah, she that speaketh"

So high did the ancients carry their admiration of
this tiny portion of animated nature, that one philo-
sopher, it is said, made it the sole object of his
study for nearly three-score years ; another retired
to the woods, and devoted to its contemplation the
whole of his life; while the great Latin poet, the

28 THE HONEY-BEE.

enthusiastic Virgil, stating, and probably adopting, a
prevalent opinion, speaks of the Bee as " having
received a direct emanation from the divine intelli-
gence." After all this study, however, these enthu-
siastic admirers have thrown but little light on the
real nature of this extraordinary insect ; and while
they have handed down to us many judicious pre-
cepts for its practical treatment, their disquisitions on
its natural history can now only excite a smile. The
chief cause of this failure may be fairly ascribed,
perhaps, to the want of those facilities for discovery
which modern science has afforded, and by which
the most hidden mysteries of Bee economy are ren-
dered clear and palpable. A host of writers on the
nature of the Bee appeared during the last century,
who, availing themselves of the improvements in
general science, made many interesting additions to
our stock of knowledge on the subject. Swammer-
dam, Maraldi, Reaumur, Bonnet, Schirach, and more
recently Huber on the Continent, and Thorley, Wild-
man, Keys, Hunter, and Bonner, among ourselves,
multiplied, a hundred-fold, the discoveries of Aris-
totle, Columella, and Varo ; and the vague conjec-
tures and fabulous details of the latter philosophers,
have been succeeded by rational research and dis-
criminating experiment. But even in the investiga-
tions of the first named writers, not excepting the
most accurate and successful experimenter of them
all, the indefatigable Huber, there are some obvious
errors which longer experience and observation have
been enabled to detect, and some questionable state-

THE HONEY-BEE. 29

ments which can be attributed only to a want of
cool and dispassionate inquiry. In fact, much has
been written and published on the subject calculated
to startle a sober reader; and some of those dis-
coveries which have been blazoned in publications,
both at home and abroad — though most frequently,
perhaps, on the Continent — will be found, on strict
examination, to have no existence but in the warm
fancy or blind enthusiasm of the observers. The
incontrovertible facts in the natural history of the
Bee, are, in themselves, too remarkable to justify
any attempt to draw upon the imagination for addi-
tional wonder; and the Naturalist who is desirous
of making himself thoroughly acquainted with the
instincts and habits of this interesting little creature,
should be cautious in considering, as an established
fact, any discovery, or supposed discovery, which
has not been, again and again, verified by rigid ex-
periment.

In the following details, embracing the Natural
History and Practical Management of the Honey-Bee,
we have endeavoured to avoid this error, stating
nothing as fact, but what we know to be so from
undoubted testimony, or from our own knowledge
and experience. At the same time, we have not
omitted to notice such alleged discoveries or results
of experiments, as appear to us to be unsupported
by sufficient evidence, or at variance with experi-
ments of our own, made for the express purpose of
verification, leaving it to the reader to receive or re-
ject them as his judgment may dictate. We have

30 THE HONEY-BEE.

availed ourselves of the information dispersed through-
out a variety of publications, both ancient and mo-
dern,* with such additions of our own, as have been
acquired by the observation of Bees for a period of
thirty years. Our prescribed limits have restricted
us, in a great degree, to mere matters of fact, and
prevented us often from illustrating our subject, as
we might have done with advantage, by reference to
the habits and instincts of other of the insect tribes.
The same cause has operated as a bar to our indulg-
ing so frequently as our inclination would have led
us, in those reflections which the wonders in animal
economy are so well fitted to excite, and which lead
so irresistibly to the conclusion that there is a Wise
and Designing Cause. We trust, however, that the
facts detailed, will, of themselves, lead the mind of
the intelligent reader to such reflections, and thus
become the source of a purer gratification than would
have been derived from the suggestions of others.

* We have to acknowledge our special obligations to the
Treatises of M. Feburier of Paris, and of Dr. Bevan of South
Wales, Author of" The Honey-Bee."

%* Some of our readers may be inclined to question the
propriety of having placed the Queen-bee upon flowers, on
which she is never seen, but it has, throughout our plates,
been our endeavour to make them pictorial as well as scienti-
fically correct, the more necessary in a volume such as the
present, where our materials are rather scanty, a loss, however,
fully compensated by the extraordinary interest in the subject
itself.

ON THE ANATOMY OF THE HONEY-BEE.

THE Honey-Bee, Apis mettifica, is of the order
Hymenoptera, or that of insects having four membran-
aceous wings. Its anatomic structure presents, even
to the superficial observer, striking evidences of design
in the All-wise Contriver, and of the admirable adap-
tation of its parts to their several uses.

The body of the insect is about half an inch long,
of a blackish-brown colour which deepens with age,
and is wholly covered with close-set hairs, which
assist greatly in collecting the farina of flowers.
(Wood-cut, Fig. 2.)

b

32 ON THE ANATOMY OF

Tearing open the anthers of the plant on which it
has alighted, and rolling its little body in the bottom
of the corolla, the insect rapidly brushes off the farina,
moistens it with its mouth, and passes it from one
pair of legs to another, till it is safely lodged in the
form of a kidney-shaped pellet in a spoon-like recep-
tacle in its thigh to be afterwards noticed. These
hairs deserve to be particularly remarked on account
of their peculiar formation, being feather -shaped, or
rather consisting each of a stem with branches dis-
posed around it, and, therefore, besides their more
effectually retaining the animal heat, peculiarly adapted
for their office of sweeping off the farina.

The HEAD, which is of a triangular shape and much
flattened, is furnished with a pair of large eyes, (Wood-
cut, p. 3 1 , Fig. 1 , a a, ) of what is called by naturalists the
composite construction, and consisting of a vast assem-
blage of small hexagonal surfaces, dispooed with
exquisite regularity, each constituting in itself a per-
fect eye ; they are thickly studded with hairs, which
preserve them from dust, &c. In addition to these
means of vision, the bee is provided with three small
stemmata, or coronetted eyes, situated in the very
crown of the head, and arranged in the form of a
triangle. These must add considerably to the capa-
city of vision in an insect whose most important
operations are carried on in deep obscurity. As to
the special or peculiar use these ocelli may serve,
Reaumur and Blumeribach were of opinion, that,
while the large compound organs are used for viewing
distant objects, the simple ones are employed on

'

Honey-bee.
2. Qiteerv.

3. Worker.

THE HONEY-BEE. S3

objects close at hand. It is not improbable., however
tli at these last, from their peculiar position, are ap-
propriated to upward vision.

The ANTENNA (Fig. I. £.) present us with another
remarkable appendage of the head. These are
two tubes about the thickness of a hair, springing
from between the eyes, and a little below the ocelli ;
they are jointed throughout their whole length, each
consisting of twelve articulations, and therefore cap-
able of every variety of flexure. Their extremities
are tipped with small round knobs, exquisitely sensi-
ble ; and which, from their resemblance to the stem-
mata or ocelli, have been supposed by some to serve
as organs of vision ; by others, as connected with the
sense of hearing ; and by others, as organs of feeling
or touch. This last seems the most probable con-
jecture, as on approaching any solid object or obstacle,
the Bee cautiously brings its antennae in contact with
it, as if exploring its nature. The insects use these
organs, also, as a means of recognizing one another ;
and an interesting instance is stated by Huber, in
which they were employed to ascertain the presence
of their queen, (vide page 48.)

The MOUTH of the Bee comprehends the tongue,
the mandibles or upper jaws, the maxillae or lower
jaws, the labrum or upper lip, the labium or lower
lip, with the proboscis connected with it, and four
palpi or feelers. The tongue of the Bee, like that
of other animals, is situated within the mouth, and
is so small and insignificant in its form, as not to be
easily discernible. In most anatomical descriptions

34 ON THE ANATOMY OF

of the Bee, the real tongue, now described, has been
erroneously confounded with the ligula or central
piece of the proboscis, afterwards to be described.
The upper jaw (Wood-Cut, page 31, fig. 1. c, c.)
of the Bee, as of all other insects, is divided verti-
cally into two, thus forming, in fact, & pair of jaws
under the name of mandibles. They move horizon-
tally, are furnished with teeth, and serve to the little
labourers as tools, with which they perform a variety
of operations, as manipulating the wax, constructing
the combs, and polishing them, seizing their enemies,
destroying the drones, &c. The lower jaws or maxillae,
divided vertically as the others, form, together with
the labium or under lip, the complicated apparatus
of the PROBOSCIS. Its parts are represented in the
following figure.

THE HONEY-BEE. 35

This organ, beautiful in its construction, and
admirably adapted to its end, serving to tbe insect
the purpose of extracting the juices secreted in the
nectaries of flowers, consists, principally, of a long
slender piece, named, by entomologists, the Ligula,
and erroneously, though, considering its position and
use, not unnaturally, regarded as the tongue, (Wood-
Cut, page 34, fig. a.) It is, strictly speaking, formed
by a prolongation of the lower lip. It is not tubular,
as has been supposed, but solid throughout, consisting
of a close succession of cartilaginous rings, above
forty in number, each of which is fringed with very
minute hairs, and having also a small tuft of hair
at its extremity. It is of a flattish form, and about
the thickness of a human hair; and from its car-
tilaginous structure, capable of being easily moved
in all directions, rolling from side to side, and lapping
or licking up whatever, by the aid of the hairy fringes,
adheres to it. It is probably, by muscular motion,
that the fluid which it laps, is propelled into the
pharynx or canal, situated at its root, and through
which it is conveyed to the honey-bag.

From the base of this lapping instrument, arise the
labial Palpi or Feelers, composed of four articulations,
(b, £.) of unequal length, the basal one being by much
the longest, and whose peculiar office is to ascertain
the nature of the food ; and both these and the ligula
are protected from injury by the maxillae or lower
jaws, (c, c.) which envelop them, when in a quiescent
state, as between two demi-sheaths, and thus pre-
sent the appearance of a single tube. About the
middle of the maxillse, are situated the maxillary

36 ON THE ANATOMY OF

palpi, of very diminutive size, but having the same
office to perform as those situated at the base of the
ligula. The whole of the apparatus is capable of
being doubled up by means of an articulation or joint
in the middle. The half next the lip bends itset*
inwards, and lays itself along the other half which
stretches towards the root, and both are folded
together, within a very small compass, under the
head and neck. The whole machinery rests on a
pedicle, not seen in the figure, which admits of its
being drawn back or propelled forwards to a con-
siderable extent. The celebrated naturalist, Ray,
whose knowledge of the minutiae of insect anatomy
was but slender, " was/' Kirby remarks, " at a loss
to conceive what could be the use of the complex
machinery of the proboscis. We who know the
admirable art and contrivance manifested in the con-
struction of this organ, need not wonder, but we
shall be inexcusable if we do not adore." *

The TRUNK of the Bee, or Thorax, (Wood-Cut,
p. 31, fig. 2, a.) approaches in figure to a sphere,
and is united to the head by a pedicle or thread-like
ligament. It contains the muscles of the wings and
legs. The former consist of two pair of unequal
size, and are attached to each other by slender hooks,
easily discernible through a microscope, and thereby
their motion, and the flight of the insect, are rendered
more steady. Behind the wings, on each side of the
Trunk, are situated several small orifices, called
stigmata or spiracles, through which respiration is
effected. These orifices are connected with a system
* Monographia Apura Angliae, II. 342.

THE HONEY-BEE. 37

of air-vessels, pervading every part of the body, and
serving the purpose of lungs. The rushing of the
air through them against the wings, while in motion,
is supposed to he the cause of the humming sound
made by the Bees.

To the lower part of the trunk are attached three
pair of LEGS. The anterior pair, which are most effi-
cient instruments, serving to the insect the same pur-
pose as the arms and hands to man, are the shortest,
and the posterior pair the longest. In each of these
limbs there are several articulations or joints, of
which three are larger than the others, serving to
connect the thigh, the leg or pallet, and the foot or
tarsus ; the others are situated chiefly in the tarsus.
(Plate II. Fig. 2,, a. the haunch, b. the thigh, c. the
tibia or pallet, containing on the opposite side, as
represented at Fig. 4 a., the basket or cavity ; d} e.
the foot.) In each of the hinder limbs, one of
which is represented in Plate II. Fig. 2, there is
an admirable provision made for enabling the Bee
to carry to its hive an important part of its stores,
and which neither the queen nor the male possess,
^eing exempted from that labour, viz. a small trian-
gular cavity of a spoon-like shape, the exterior of
which is smooth and glossy, while its inner surface
is lined with strong close-set hairs. This cavity forms
a, kind of basket, destined to receive the pollen of
flowers, one of the ingredients composing the food of
the young. It receives also the propolis, a viscous
substance, by which the combs are attached to the
roof and walls of the hive, and by which any open-
ings are stopped that might admit vermin or the cold.

ON THE ANATOMY OF

The hairs with which the basket is lined, are designed
to retain firmly the materials with which the thigh is
loaded. The three pair of legs are all furnished,
particularly at the joints, with thick-set hairs, form-
ing brushes, some of them round, some flattened,
and which serve the purpose of sweeping off the
farina. There is yet another remark ahle peculiarity
in this third pair of limbs. The junction of the pallet
and tarsus is effected in such a manner as to form,
by the curved shape of the corresponding parts, " a
pair of real pincers. A row of shelly teeth, (PL II. Fig.
3 a,) like those of a comb, proceed from the lower edge
of the pallet, corresponding to bundles of very strong
hairs, with which the neighbouring portion of the
brush is provided. When the two edges of the pin-
cers meet — that is, the under edge of the pallet, and
the upper edge of the brush, the hairs of each are
incorporated together."* The extremities of the six
feet or tarsi, terminate each in two hooks, with their
points opposed to each other, by means of which the
Bees fix themselves to the roof of the hive, and to
one another, when suspended, as they often are, in
the form of curtains, inverted cones, festoons, lad-
ders, &c. From the middle of these hooks proceeds
a little thin appendix, which, when not in use, lies
folded double through its whole breadth ; when in
action it enables the insect to sustain its body in
opposition to the force of gravity, and thereby adhere
to, and walk freely and securely upon glass and
other slippery substances, with its feet upwards.

* Huber's Observations on Bees, p. 351.

Fig. 4.

ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE UK THE BE]
{Copied^ frmn Jin. '/,-/•

THE HONEY-BEE. 39

The ABDOMEN, (Plate III. figs. 3, 4, 5, & 6,)
attached to the posterior part of the thorax by a
slender ligament like that which unites the thorax
and the head, consists of six scaly rings of unequal
breadth. It contains two stomachs, the small in-
testines, the venom-bag, and the sting. An open-
ing, placed at the root of the proboscis, is the mouth
of the oesophagus or gullet, which traverses the
trunk, and leads to the anterior stomach. This last
named vessel is but a dilatation of the gullet, and in
fact forms the honey-bag. When full, it exhibits
the form of a small transparent globe, somewhat less
in size than a pea. It is susceptible of contraction,
and so organised as to enable the Bee to disgorge its
contents. The second stomach, which is separated
from the first, of which it appears to be merely a
continuation, only by a very short tube, is cylin-
drical, and very muscular ; it is the receptacle for
the food, which is there digested, and conveyed by
the small intestines to all parts of the body for ite
nutriment. It receives also the honey from which
wax is elaborated. Scales of this last mentioned
substance are found ranged in pairs, and contained
in minute receptacles under the lower segments of
the abdomen. No direct channel of communication
between the stomach and these receptacles or wax-
pockets has yet been discovered ; but Huber con-
jectures that the secreting vessels are contained in
the membrane which lines these receptacles, and
which is covered with a reticulation of hexagonal
meshes analogous to the inner coat of the second
stomach of ruminating quadrupeds. Plate III. Fi*?. 1,

40

ON THE ANATOMY OF

copied from Huber, gives a representation of one
of the segments or rings, in which a b is a small
horny prominence, forming the division between two
areas which are bounded by a solid edge c n d g m e,
" The scales of wax, (Fig. 2,) are deposited in thes<
two areas, and assume the same shape, viz. an irregulai
pentagon. Only eight scales are furnished by each
individual Bee, for the first and last ring, constituted
differently from the others, afford none. The scales
do not rest immediately on the body of the insect ;
a slight liquid medium is interposed, which serves
to lubricate the junctures of the rings, and facilitate
the extraction of the scales, which might otherwise
adhere too firmly to the sides of the receptacles." *

* Huberts Observations on Bees, page 324.

Tig. /.

THE HONEY-BEE. 41

THE STING, with its appendages, (annexed Wood-
Cut,) lies close to the last stomach,, and, like the
proboscis, may seem to the naked eye a simple in-
strument, while it is, in fact, no less complex in its
structure than the former apparatus. Instead of
being a simple sharp-pointed weapon,, like a fine
needle, it is composed of two branches or darts, a a,
applied to each other longitudinally, and lodged in
one sheath, b b. One of these darts is somewhat
longer than the other; they penetrate alternately,
taking hold of the flesh, till the whole sting is com-
pletely buried. The sheath is formed by two horny
scales, (themselves inclosed within two fleshy sheaths,
c c,) along the groove of which, when the sting is
extruded, flows the poison from a bag or reservoir d,
in the body of the insect near the root of the sting.
The darts composing this weapon, are each furnished
with five teeth or barbs, set obliquely on their outer
side, which give the instrument the appearance of an
arrow, and by which it is retained in the wound it
has made, till the poison has been injected ; and
though it is said the insect has the power of raising
or depressing them at pleasure, it often happens that
when suddenly driven away, it is unable to extricate
itself without leaving behind it the whole apparatus,
and even part of its intestines ; death is the inevit-
able consequence. Though detached from the ani-
mal, this formidable weapon still retains, by means
of the strong muscles by which it is impelled, the
power of forcing itself still deeper. On the subject

42 ON THE ANATOMY OF

of the sting, Paley* ingeniously remarks : <e The
action of the sting affords an example of the .union
of chemistry and mechanism ; of chemistry, in re-
spect to the venom which in so small a quantity can
produce such powerful effects : of mechanism, as
the sting is not a simple, but a compound instru-
ment. The machinery would have heen compara-
tively useless — telum imbelle — had it not been for
the chemical process, by which, in the insect's body,
honey is converted into poison ; and on the other
hand, the poison would have been ineffectual with-
out an instrument to wound, and a syringe to inject
the fluid."

Having noticed these particulars in the anatomi-
cal structure of the working-bee, as the general re-
presentative of the species, we shall next point out
in what it differs from the conformation of the queen,
and the male or drone. The queen is frequently
styled by the Continental Naturalists the Mother-Bee,
and with great propriety; as it seems now ascer-
tained that her distinguishing qualities have a closer
reference to the properties of a parent, than to the
province of a sovereign. Her body differs from that of
the worker, (PI. 1, fig. 2,) in being considerably larger,
and of a deeper black in the upper parts, while the
under surface and the limbs are of a rich tawnj
colour. Her proboscis is more slender ; her legs are
longer than those of the worker, but without the
hairy brushes at the joints ; and as she is exempted

* Natural Theology, page 234.

OVARTI7M OF THE QUEEN-BEE

THE HONEY-BEE. 43

from the drudgery of collecting farina or propolis,
the posterior pair are without the spoon-like cavity
found in those of her labouring offspring. When
about to become a mother, her body is considerably
swollen and elongated, and her wings in consequence
appear disproportionally short. The abdomen of the
queen contains the ovarium, (Plate IV.,) consisting
of two branches, each of which contains a large as-
semblage of vessels filled with eggs, and terminating
in what is called the oviduct. This duct, when ap-
proaching the anus, dilates itself into a larger re-
ceptacle into which the eggs are discharged, and
which is considered by Naturalists as the sperm-re-
servoir, or depository of fecundating matter; from
thence they are extruded by the insect, and depo-
sited in the cell prepared for their reception. The
sting possessed by the Queen is bent, while that of
the worker is straight ; it is seldom, however, brought
into action, — perhaps only in a conflict with a rival
queen.

The male, (PL 1, fig. 1,) is considerably more
bulky than the working Bee. The eyes are more
prominent ; the antennae have thirteen articulations
instead of twelve ; the proboscis is shorter, the hind-
legs have not the basket for containing farina, and
he is unprovided with a sting. The cavity of the
abdomen is wholly occupied with the digestive and
reproductive organs. The very loud humming noise
he makes in flying, has fixed upon him the appella-
tion of Drone.

THE SENSES OF BEES.

Much uncertainty has prevailed on the suhject 01
the senses possessed by this insect, not so much, per-
haps, in regard to their existence as to the locality of
the organs. Most naturalists admit their possession
of five senses, analogous to those of man, though the
celebrated Huher seems to have some doubt as to the
existence of the faculty of hearing in Bees, at least
without some important modifications. Greater diver-
sity of opinion, however, prevails as to the situation
t>f those organs by which the impressions of sight,
touch, taste, sound, and smell are produced on their
sensations ; and many curious experiments by diffe-
rent naturalists have been made with a view to ascer-
tain the truth, but which have not always led to the
same results. In researches so minute, it is, perhaps,
vain to look for perfect accuracy in our conclusions,
and we must be satisfied with any thing like a reason-
able approximation to the truth.

Sight. — In our remarks on the anatomical structure
of the head of the Bee, we observed, that, besides the
large reticulated eyes placed, as in other animals, on
the sides of the head, this insect possessed three stem-

THE SENSES OF BEES. 45

mata or coronetted eyes, arranged triangularly on its
centre, between the antennae. That these little specks
are, in reality, organs of vision, has been made appa-
;ent from accurate experiments, in which, when the
reticulated eyes were blindfolded, the insect was evi-
dently not deprived of sight, though the direction of
its flight, being vertical, seemed to prove that the
stemmata were adapted only or chiefly to upward
vision. This additional organ must, doubtless, add
considerably to its power of sight, though, probably,
its aid may be confined chiefly to the obscure recesses
of the hive. As the internal operations of the insect
in the honey season are carried on during the night as
well as the day, the coronet-eyes may, as Reaumur
conjectures, serve to it the purpose of a microscope.
As to the general power of vision hi the Bee, its
organs appear better adapted to distant objects than
to such as are close at hand. When returning loaded
from the fields, it flies with unerring certainty, and
distinguishes at once its own domicile in the midst of
a crowded apiary. Yet every person who has at all
made this insect the subject of observation, must have
seen it often at a loss, in returning to its hive to find the
entrance, especially if its habitation has been shifted
ever so little from its former station ; nay, if, without
moving the hive, the entrance has been turned round
a single inch from its former position, the Bee flies
with unerring precision to that point on the alighting
board where the door formerly stood, and frequently,
after many fruitless attempts to find the entrance, it
is forced to rise again into the air, with a view, vsi

46 THE SENSES OF BEES.

may suppose, of removing to such a distance from the
desired ohject as is suited to the properties or focus
of its visual organ. We are led to conclude, therefore,
from these well-known facts, that the eye of the Bee
has a lengthened focus, and that it must depend on
the aid of other organs in those operations wherein its
attention is directed to objects close at hand.

Feeling or Touch. — The organs of this sense are
supposed, with reason, to reside in the antennse and
palpi or feelers, particularly in the former, Huber
concludes that the antennae supply the want of sight
in the interior of the hive, and that it is solely by
Jieir means they are enabled to construct their combs
m darkness, pour their honey into the magazines, feed
ihe young, judge of their age and necessities, and recog-
nise their queen. Though it does by no means appear
dear that the bees are devoid of sight when employed
in their in-door operations, — though, on the contrary,
there is reason to believe, as already stated, that the
stemmata or ocelli serve as orbs of vision, — this natu-
ralist is probably not wrong in ascribing to the antennae
an important share in these operations. That the
bees use them as means of communication and recog-
nition, seems readily admitted by apiarians. When
a hive has lost its queen, the event, as may well be
supposed, causes a high degree of agitation in the
colony; the disturbed workers, who have first, by
some unknown means, acquired the knowledge of this
public calamity, soon quit their immediate circle, and,
"meeting their companions," says Huber, "the an-
tennae are reciprocally crossed, and they slightly strike

THE SENSES OP BEES. 4~

them." The communication made by these means
_s quickly disseminated, and in a few minutes the
whole colony is in a state of agitation and distress.
Of the antennae being employed as instruments of
recognition, the same naturalist gives a striking in-
stance, which our limits prohibit us from giving in
his own words ; suffice it to say here, that by means
of a wire grating, wide enough only to admit the cir-
culation of air, inserted in the middle of the hive, he
separated the queen from the half of her subjects,
and ascertained that neither sight, hearing, nor smell
made the near neighbourhood of their sovereign known
to them, for they proceeded to rear a new queen from
the larva of a worker, as if the other were irrecoverably
lost. But when he substituted a grating wide enough
to allow the transmission of the antennae, all went on
as usual, for the bees soon ascertained by these organs
the existence of their queen.

Another important use which the bees make of this
organ of touch deserves notice. " Let us follow their
operations by moonshine, when they keep watch at
the opening of the hive to prevent the intrusion of
moths then on the wing. It is curious to observe how
artfully the moth knows to profit to the disadvantage
of the bees which require much light for seeing objects,
and the precautions taken by the latter in reconnoitering
and expelling so dangerous an enemy. Like vigilant
sentinels, they patrole around their habitations with
their antennae stretched out straight before them, or
turning to right and left ; woe to the moth if it can-
not escape their contact; it tries to glide along bet ween

43 THE SENSES OF BEES.

the guards, carefully avoiding their flexible organs,
as if aware that its safety depended on its caution/'*
Taste. In Bees, Taste appears, on a slight view,
to differ most materially fron* that sense in man ;
and because with all their eager fondness for the
rich nectar of flowers, they are frequently detected
lapping the impure fluid from corrupted marshes, it
has been hastily concluded, that their sense of Taste
is very defective. Huber thought it the least perfect
of the Bee-senses, and instances their gathering
honey even from poisonous flowers, and regaling
themselves with foetid liquids. Now, with deference
to this distinguished observer, it may be permitted,
perhaps, to defend our favourites from so injurious
an imputation. We have prima facie evidence of
the delicacy of their taste in their eager activity in
collecting their delicious stores of honey secreted by
the most fragrant flowers ; and such is their ardour
in these operations, that they defy the elements when
the honey-season is at its height, and, laying aside
their usual fears of bad weather, boldly encounter
wind and rain to get at their favourite fluid. Huber
acknowledges, that when fe the lime-tree and black
grain blossom, they brave the rain, depart before sun-
rise, and return later than ordinary. But their activity
relaxes after the flowers have faded ; and when the
enamel adorning the meadows has fallen under the
scythe, the Bees remain in their dwelling, however
brilliant the sunshine/' Wherefore have they not,

* Huber, 284.

THE HONEY-BE*.. 49

in this decline of the flowering season, recourse to
the foul marsh and slimy pool, which they are
charged with frequenting ? Simply because the pur-
poses for which they did frequent these unwholesome
liquids have already heen answered. The truth is,
the Bees have recourse in spring, but generally
speaking, in spring only, to dunghills and stagnant
marshes, for the sake of the salts with which they
are impregnated, and which their instinct teaches
tli em are advantageous to their health after their
long winter confinement. If we place before the
Bees a portion of honey, and a portion of liquid
drawn from a corrupt source, their choice will com-
pletely vindicate the purity of their taste, and their
power of discrimination in the selection of their food.
It is not meant to be denied, however, that the
sense of taste in Bees is ever at fault. This would
be going in the face of some well authenticated in-
stances of honey being injured, and even rendered
dangerous, in consequence of the Bees feeding on
noxious plants. Towards the close of the year,
when flowers become scarce, and in those parts
of the country where alders abound, and where
onions and leeks are cultivated on a large scale, and
allowed to run to seed, the Bees, from taste, or from
necessity, or from anxiety to complete their winter
stores, are seen to feed on these plants, which com-
municate to the honey a very disagreeable flavour.
But this is not all. The fact stated by Xenophon
in the retreat of the Ten Thousand, and confirmed
by Diodorus Siculus, proves that there are plants in

5t) 'THE SENSES OF BEES.

Asia Minor which give to the honey not only dis-
agreeable,, but poisonous qualities. He tells us that
the soldiers., having eaten a quantity of honey in the
environs of Trebizonde, were seized with vertigo,
vomitings, &c. This effect was attributed to the
rose-laurel, (Rhododendron Ponticum,) and yellow
azalea, (Azalea Pontica.) Father Lamberti, also,
assures us that a shrub of Mingrelia produces a kind
of honey which causes very deleterious effects. It
is quite possible that the poisonous juices extracted
from these plants might be innoxious to the Bees
themselves, and thus the correctness of their taste
might be so far vindicated. Sir J. E. Smith asserts,
that " the nectar of plants is not poisonous to Bees ;"
and an instance is given in the American Philosophical
Transactions, of a party of young men, who, induced
by the prospect of gain, having removed their hives
from Pennsylvania to the Jerseys, where there are
vast savannahs, finely painted with the flowers of the
Kalmia angustifolia,, could not use or dispose of their
honey on account of its intoxicating quality; yet
' the Bees increased prodigiously ;" an increase only
to be explained, says Dr. Bevan in his Honey- Bee,
by their being well and harmlessly fed. Nor is this
defence of the taste of Bees successfully controverted
Dy the following occurrence stated in Nicholson's
Tournal.* <( A large swarm of Bees having settled,"
observe that they had merely alighted upon it, tc
lest perhaps after a long flight, " on a branch of the
Boison-ash, (Rhus Vernix, L.) in the county of West
* Page 237.

THE HONEY-BEE. 51

Chester in the province of New York, was put into
a hive and removed to the place where it was to
remain. Next morning the Bees were found dead,
swelled to douhle their natural size, and black,
except a few which appeared torpid and feeble, and
soon died on exposure to the air/' This was attri-
buted to their being poisoned, not by their having
fed upon, but by the effluvia of the Rhus Vernix.

Hearing. — Considerable difference of opinion has
prevailed amongst Naturalists, both as to the exist-
ence of this sense in Bees, and the situation of
the organ. Aristotle was doubtful whether Bees
possess this sense: " Incertum est, an audiant."
Linnaeus and Bonnet denied them the faculty, and
Huber seems undecided on the point ; while a host
of others, among whom are ranked Kirby and
Spence, maintain its existence, and place the organ
in the antennae. We know that the Bees dislike
noise, for an apiar}7 situated near mills, smithies, or
other noisy work- shops, is seldom prosperous. The
different modulations of sound produced by the wings
in flying, seem intended as means of communication
addressed to an organ of hearing, as signals of attack,
of recal, of departure, &c. In consequence of a
belief in the reality of this sense in Bees, the practice
is common of beating sonorous bodies at the moment
of swarming, in order to prevent them from com-
municating with one another, and thus to present
an obstacle to their flying away. We know also
that many other insects possess this faculty; and, as
we observe in the proceedings of Bees, the same

52 THE SENSES OF BEES.

effects which in other insects unquestionably proceed
from the sense of hearing, we regard these effects
as presumptive evidence of the former possessing
the same faculty. 'Huber sets out with intimating a
doubt of its existence, — possibly in deference to his
friend Bonnet, to whom his letters are addressed,
and who was an unbeliever in its reality, — yet in the
end confesses that he is strongly tempted to believe
in it, or at least to admit a sense in Bees analogous
to hearing, observing that certain sounds, as produced
by Bees, apparently serve as a signal to their com-
panions, and are followed by regular consequences, and
that, therefore, they may be additional means of com-
munication to those afforded by the antennae. He
mentions particularly a sound emitted by the queen,
which produces paralyzing effects on the Bees in
certain circumstances. Describing the attempts of a
reigning queen to destroy her rivals while yet jn
their cells, he tells us, that " the Bees on guard
pulled, bit her, and chased her away." In these
circumstances she emitted the sound alluded to;
"standing, while doing so, with her thorax against
a comb, and her wings crossed on her back, in
motion, but without being unfolded or farther opened.
Whatever might be the cause of her assuming this
attitude, the Bees were affected by it ; all hung down
their heads, and remained motionless."* On another
occasion, after a queen had put her rival to death,
" she approached a royal cell, and took this moment
to utter the sound, and assume that posture which
* Huber, 157.

THE HONEY-BEE. 53

Strikes the Bees motionless/'* This discovery of
Huber has been brought forward on his authority by
Naturalists, as a conclusive evidence of line existence
of the auditory faculty in Bees. And so it would
be, if Huber was not mistaken in his supposed dis-
covery. A voice of sovereignty producing such
powerful and instantaneous effects on her subjects,
is so remarkable a property of her Bee-majesty, that
it would be desirable to have its existence proved
beyond doubt by succeeding experiments. With
much confidence in the accuracy of this distinguished
Naturalist's observations, we entertain some hesita-
tion on the subject of this magical sound. We have
seen the queen in all the circumstances, and in all
the positions observable within a hive ; (with one
exception, viz. combating a rival queen,) we have
observed her very frequently in the particular situa-
tion described by Huber when he first heard the
commanding voice, endeavouring to tear open the
cell of a rival, and angrily repulsed by the workers ;
then standing at a little distance on the surface of
the comb, with her wings crossed over her back,
and in motion, though not fully unfolded, and emit-
ting the dear distinct sound which is heard in a hive
for a day or two before the departure of a second
swarm ; and certainly we never witnessed any such
effect produced on the Bees as Huber speaks of, and
which, had it taken place, could not possibly have
escaped our observation. On the contrary, the Bees
Eeemed not in the slightest degree affected by her
* Huber, 162.

54 THE SENSES OF BEES.

wrath, for she was evidently in a state of great irrita-
tion, but continued to surround the cell of the captive
queen with a dogged-looking obstinacy, apparently
expecting and prepared for another attempt on it by
the enraged sovereign. Huber may be in the right,
and his general accuracy affords a presumption in his
favour; nevertheless^ it would be very satisfactory
to have his accuracy in this particular point confirmed
by some other observer. Taking it for granted that
the sense of hearing does exist in Bees, where are
we to look for the situation of the organ ? Natura-
lists are not agreed on this point, but the majority
seem to vest it in the antennae. Kirby and Spenoe
notice the analogy borne by antennae to the ears of
vertebrate animals, such as their corresponding in
number, and standing out of the head ; and observe
that no other organ has been found which can be
supposed to represent the ear. In that case this ap-
pendage of the head of the Bee must be regarded as
a compound organ, exercising the functions of both
hearing and touch. It has already been hinted that
some observers have regarded it as the organ of
vision ; and we shall afterwards find that there are
those who look upon it as the organ of smell. In
this deficiency of precise knowledge on the subject
we may perhaps rest satisfied with the opinion of
Kirby, that " the antennae, by a peculiar structure,
may collect notices from the atmosphere, receive
pulses or vibrations, and communicate them to the
sensorium, which communications, though not pre-
cisely to be called hwing> may answer the same

THE HONEY-BEE. 55

purpose/' The same author gives an anecdote of
another insect, which goes to prove that the antennse
are indeed the organs of this sense : — " A little moth
was reposing on my window ; I made a quiet^ not
loud, but distinct noise ; the nearest antennse imme-
diately moved towards me; I repeated the noise at
least a dozen times, and it was followed every time
by the same motion of that organ, till at length the
insect being alarmed, became agitated and violent in
its motions. In this instance it could not be touch)
since the antennae were not applied to a surface, but
directed towards the quarters from which the sound
came, as if to listen/'

Smelling. — Of all their senses, that of smell in Bees
is the most acute. Attracted by the fragrance of the
flowers, we see them winging their eager way to a
very considerable distance, in a straight undeviating
course, and in the very teeth of a strong wind,* in
search of those plants which promise an abundant
* It has been said that Bees ballast themselves with sand
or gravel when in danger of being blown away by the wind.
The notion was first entertained by Aristotle, and repeated by
Virgil, to whose poetic imagination such a trait in the habits
of his favourite insects would be highly grateful : —

Saepe lapillos

Ut cymbae instabiles, fluctu jactante saburram
Tollunt : his sese per inania nubila librant.

Pliny has also lent his aid to the currency of this notion ; and
it is found in Dissertations on the Natural History of Bees,
as a surprising instance of bee-instinct, notwithstanding the
corrections of Swammerdam and Reaumur, both of whom have
shewn that the Mason-Bee has been mistaken for the Honei*
Bee, the former of whom is often seen hastening through feht
air, loaded with sand and gravel, the materials of its nest.

56 THE SENSES OF BEES.

honey- harvest. Very striking proofs of the acuteness
of this sense may be observed within the limits of
the apiary. Early in spring, when the bee-master
begins feeding his colony, he has reason to marvel
at the instantaneous notice which this organ gives
"hem of his approach. Arriving amongst his hives,
hough from the dullness of a spring morning, not a
bee is seen stirring out of doors, he has not time t«
fill the feeding-troughs from the vessel in his hand
>efore he is surrounded by hundreds; and in the
space of five minutes or less, the float-board of every
trough is covered with a dense mass of eager feeders.
In feeding a newly-lodged swarm during unfavour-
able weather in summer, it is curious to observe
through the glass, in pushing in the sliding- trough
which runs flush with the floor, the motionless hemi-
spherical mass at the ceiling of the hive, becoming
instantaneously elongated, and changed into the form
of an inverted living pyramid, having its apex resting
on the float-board, while a score or two of stragglers,
who have in the confusion been separated or have
fallen from the mass above, hasten along the floor,
snuffing the grateful fragrance, ranging themselves in
i line on the edge of the trough, and eagerly plung-
ing their probosces into the liquid. It is to their ex-
quisite sense of smell also, in all likelihood, that we
must attribute their capability of distinguishing friend
from foe among their own species. If a stranger-bee
by mistake enter a hive, and this sometimes happens
in consequence of some slight alteration in the arrange-
ment of the apiary, his close resemblance to his

THE HONEY-BEE. 57

fellow-insects will not secure him from an immediate
attack from all quarters ; he is detected by a more
subtle sense than vision., and instant flight alone can
save him. Huber, to whose researches we are so
nuch indebted in regard to the senses of Bees, has
lade some very conclusive experiments on that of
inell, all of which we have repeated with precisely
die same results. Like his, our first experiment was
to ascertain the acuteness of the sense. He con-
cealed a vessel with honey behind the shutters of an
open window, near the apiary. In our experiment,
a small box containing a portion of honey mingled
with ale, and covered with a piece of wire-gauze, was
placed at a distance of 100 yards from the apiary,
close to the bottom of a hedge, where it was by no
means conspicuous. In a quarter of an hour, a bee
alighted on the box, and in a few minutes more,
while this bee was eagerly exploring and striving to
gain an entrance, several more joined it. The cover
was then raised, and admission given ; and after the
first visitors had gone off with a bellyful, the feeders
increased in the space of an hour to hundreds.

To diversify the trial, Huber procured four small
ooxes, to the apertures of which, large enough to admit
i bee, he fitted shutters or valves, made of card-paper,
,vhich it was necessary should be forced open in order
o gain admission. Honey being t»ut into them, they
vere placed at the distance of 200 paces from the
piary. In half an hour, bees were seen arriving; care-
oily traversing the boxes, they soon discovered the
Denings, pressed against the valves, and reached the

58 THE SENSES OF BEES.

honey This is a striking instance of the delicacy of
smell in these insects, as not only was the honey
quite concealed from view, but its odorous effluvia
from its being covered and disguised in the experi-
ment, could not be much diffused. We repeated
successfully the same experiment. In fact, after the
first trial, we had no doubt of the issue of the second ;
for if once the sense of smell in the Bees ascertained
the existence and situation of the honey, we had seen
enough of their ingenuity in other cases, not to doubt
their success in obtaining entrance. In endeavouring
to ascertain the precise situation of the organ, there
is considerable difficulty, and our curiosity cannot
easily be gratified without some sacrifice of bee-life.
Huber's experiment to ascertain this point, is full of
interest, and we recommend a perusal of the account
of it as detailed in his work. He dipped a pencil in
oil of turpentine, a substance very disagreeable to
insects, and presented it to the thorax, the stigmata,
the abdomen, the antennae, the eyes, and the pro-
boscis, without the bee betraying the slightest symp-
tom of uneasy feeling. It was otherwise when he
held it to the mouth ; it started, left the honey by
ivhich it had been enticed, and was on the point of
taking flight when the pencil was withdrawn. He
next filled the mouth with flour-paste, when the in-
sect seemed to have lost the sense of smell altogether.
Honey did not attract it, nor did offensive odours,
even the formidable turpentine, annoy it. The organ
of smell, therefore, appears to reside in the mouth,
or in the parts depending on it. To those who

THE HONEY-BEE. 59

may wish to repeat this experiment, we would
recommend that they previously deprive the hee under
operation of a portion of its sting, which may be easily
done by forcing the insect to extrude it, and then
snipping it off about the middle with a pair of scissors ;
the excision will not vitally injure the insect, and
will give confidence to the experimenter.

We cannot conclude this disquisition on the sense
of smell in Bees, without gratifying our readers by
extracting from Dr. Bevan's work, a remarkable in-
stance of its acuteness and delicacy ; and which had
been communicated to him, by the son of the gentle-
man who is the subject of it. It is generally believed
that bees have an antipathy to particular individuals,
arising, probably from some peculiar odour about
them, which, though not discernible by, or unpleasant
to man, may be so to this sensitive insect. ' ' M. de
Hofer, Conseilleur d* Etat du Grand Due de Baden,
had for years been a proprietor and admirer of Bees,
and rivalled Wildman, in the power he possessed of
approaching them with impunity. He would at any
time search for the queen, and taking hold of her
gently, place her on his hand. But he was unfor-
tunately attacked with a violent fever, and long con-
fined by it. On his recovery, he attempted to resume
his favourite amusement among the Bees, returning
to them with all that confidence and pleasure which
he had felt on former occasions ; when, to Bis great
surprise and disappointment, he discovered that he
was no longer in possession of their favour; and
that instead of being received by them as an old

60 THE SENSES OF BEES.

friend, he was treated as a trespasser ; nor was hft
ever able after this period to perform any operation
with them, or to approach within their precincts,
without exciting their anger. Here then it is pretty
evident that some change had taken place in the
Counsellor's secretions in consequence of the fever,
which though not noticeable by his friends, was
offensive to the olfactory nerves of the Bees." *

Functions of the inmates of a hive. — A hive con-
sists of the Queen, or mother-bee, the Workers vary-
ing in numbers, from 10,000, to 20,000 or 30,000,
and the Males or Drones, from 700 to double that
number.

Functions of the Queen. — (see PL I. Fig. 2.) —
The QUEEN is the parent of the hive ; and her sole
province and occupation consist in laying the eggs,,
from which originate those prodigious multitudes
that people a hive, and emigrate from it in the
course of one summer. In the height of the season,
her fertility is truly astonishing, as she lays not fewer
than 200 eggs per day, and even more when the
season is particularly warm and genial, and flowers
are abundant ; and this laying continues, though at a
gradually diminishing rate, till the approach of cold
weather in October. So early as February, she re-
sumes her labours in the same department, and sup-
plies the great blank made in the population by
the numerous casualties that take place between the
end of summer and commencement of spring. Her
great laying of the eggs of workers begins generally
* Bevan's Honey- Bee, p. 304.

THE HONEY-BEE. 61

about the fifth day of her age ; and she continues
to deposit eggs of the same kind for the succeeding
eleven months; after which she commences laying
those of males. It is during the depositing of
these last, that the Bees are led by their instinct to
lay the foundation of royal cells, in which, if the
population be abundant, the Queen deposits eggs at
intervals of one or two days between each. In the
operation of laying, which we have a thousand times
witnessed, the Queen puts her head into a cell, and
remains in that position about a second or two, as if
to ascertain whether it is in a fit state to receive the
deposit. She then withdraws her head, curves her
body downwards, inserts her abdomen into the cell,
and turns half round on herself ; having kept this
position for a few seconds, she withdraws her body,
having in the mean time laid an egg. The egg itself,
which is attached to the bottom of the cell by a glu-
tinous matter with which it is imbued, is of a slender
oval shape, slightly curved, rather more pointed
in the lower end than in the other. She passes on
from cell to cell, furnishing each with the germ
of a future inhabitant ; arid during these proceedings,
she receives the most marked and affectionate atten-
tion from the workers. She is seen continually
surrounded by a circle of them, who caress her fondly
with their antenna, and occasionally supply her with
food from their probosces. This appearance has
given rise to the notion commonly entertained, and
asserted even by some Naturalists, that the Queen is
followed in her progress through the hive by a num

02 'THE SENSES OF BEES.

ber of her subjects formed in a circle round her, and
these of course have been regarded as the Queen's
body guards. The truth is, however that her Bee-
majesty has no attendants, strictly speaking ; none
who follow in her train; but wherever she moves,
the workers whom she encounters in her progress
instantly and hurriedly clear the way before her, and
all turning their heads towards their approaching
sovereign, lavish their caresses upon her with much
apparent affection, and touch her softly with their
antennse ; and these circumstances, which maybe
observed every hour in the day, in a properly con-
structed glass hive, have given rise to the idea of
guards. The moment she has left the circle, the
bees who had surrounded her instantly resume their
labours, and she passes on, v receiving from every
group in her way the homage due to a Mother and a
Queen. On one occasion we gave her subjects an
opportunity of testifying their courage in her defence
as well as their affection and zeal. Observing her
»aying eggs in the comb next to the glass of the hive,
we gently but quickly opened the pane, and endea-
voured to seize her. But no sooner did the removal
of the glass afford room, — (while shut it was almost
in contact with her back;) — and before we could
accomplish our purpose, they threw their bodies
upon her to the number of at least a hundred, and
formed a cone over her of such magnitude that she
could not be less than two inches distant from any
Dart of the surface. We dispersed the mass with
Dur finger, and got hold of her precious person, and

THE HONEY-BEE. 63

kept looking at her for some minutes before we re-
stored the captive to her alarmed defenders. It is
remarkable that this violence was not resented by
them ; though they coursed over our hands in scores,
while we kept hold of their mistress/ not one indivi-
dual used its sting. The all engrossing object was
the Queen. They may be handled, and roughly too,
with like impunity when they are swarming. Intent
then only on securing a habitation for themselves and
their sovereign, they seem incapable of entertaining
at the same moment two different ideas, if we may
use such an expression, and their natural irritability
is not awakened to exertion.

There is a fact connected with the instinct of the
Queen in laying her eggs, which deserves particular
notice, and which we have not seen stated by any
other writer on the subject of Bees.* When she
has laid a cluster of eggs to the number of thirty or
forty, more or less according to circumstances, on
one side of the comb ; instead of laying in all the
empty cells in the same quarter, she removes to the
other side, and lays in the cells which are directly
opposite to those which she has just supplied with
eggs, and, generally speaking, in none else. This
mode of proceeding is of a piece with that wise ar-
rangement which runs through all the operations of
the Bees, and is another effect of that remarkable
instinot by which they are guided. For as they clus-
ter closely in those parts of the comb which are filled
with brood, in order to concentrate the heat neces-

* The writer stated this fact several yeais ago in the Edin-
' burgh Philosophical Journal.

64 THE SENSES OF BEES.

sary for their being hatched, the heat will of course
penetrate to the other side, and some portion of it
would be wasted if the cells on that side were eithoa*
empty, or filled only with honey. But when both
sides are filled with brood, and covered with hive-bees,
the heat is confined to the spot where it is necessary,
and is turned to full account in bringing the young to
maturity. See PL XII. Fig. 1, in which a, b, c, repre-
sent that part of the comb in an experimental hive
where the observation was made, which was filled with
brood, the rest of the square being, with the exception
of the uncoloured part, sealed honey. On the opposite
side, the brood comb was exactly of the same figure,
insomuch, that on the narrowest inspection, I could
hardly discern one cell which contained brood while
its opposite contained honey. PL VI. exhibits a Royal
Cell, e, containing a larva nearly ready to be sealed
up ; /, form of the Royal Cell at the time of the egg
being deposited in it; g, ditto, when sealed, and just
before hatching takes place ; i, ditto, after the young
Queen has been hatched ; h, ditto, with a ragged open-
ing in the broadside through which the dead body of
a young Queen, destroyed by the Queen regnant, has
been dragged out by the bees.

The mutual aversion of Queens is a striking feature
in the natural history of this insect ; and though not
perhaps strictly in place, one extraordinary effect of
it may be mentioned here. Their mutual enmity
xnay be truly said to be an in-born disposition with
them, for no sooner has the first of the race, in a
hive about to throw off a second swarm, escaped
from her own cradle, than she hurries away in search

:'RE OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CELLS. W

THE HONEY-BEE.

of those of her rivals, and, as will be afterwards
scribed, exerts herself with the most impetuous
eagerness to destroy them. When two Queens hap-
pen to emerge from their cells at the same time, a
pitched battle takes place, which ends in the death
of one of the combatants. We have never witness-
ed this interesting exhibition of bee-warfare, — this
duellumj as described by Huber, but we have no
doubt of its being a fact, after the very unequivocal
proofs we have witnessed of this mutual aversion, and
particularly the instance to be afterwards stated.

Functions of the Worker-Bee — (See PL I. Fig. 3.)
— The workers, to the number of 10,000, 20,000,
and even 30,000, constitute the great mass of the
population, and on them devolve the whole labours
of the establishment. Theirs is the office of search-
ing for and collecting the precious fluid which not
only furnishes their daily food, as well as that of
their young, and the surplus of which is laid up for
winter stores, but also the materials from which they
rear their beautiful combs. In the little basket-sha-
ped cavity in their hind-legs, they bring home the
pollen or farinaceous dust of flowers, kneaded by the
help of the morning dew into tiny balls, which form
an important ingredient in the nourishment of the
brood ; and also the propolis or adhesive gum ex-
tracted from willows, &c. with which they attach
their combs to the upper part and sides of the hive,
and stop every crevice that might admit the winter's
coid. Exploring a glass hive in a soft spring morn-
ing, and following with his eye a Bee loaded wit ft

E

66 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES.

farina, the observer will perceive the little
forager, on her arrival in the interior, hurrying ove*
the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell m
which to deposit her burden ; and having found one
fastening herself by the two fore-feet on its superior
border, then bending her body a little forward, that
her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edge
of the cell. In this position she is next seen thrust-
ing back her second pair of feet, one on each side,
and sweeping with them from top to bottom along
the two hinder legs, where the farina balls are fixed,
and by this means detaching them from the hairy
linings of the cavities, and depositing them in the
cell. To the workers, also, are committed the va-
rious offices of guarding the entrance of the hive by
night and day, during the honey season ; of repulsing
marauders — of keeping their abode free from all
offensive matters — of renewing the air within by an
ingenious mode of ventilation — of replacing a lost
Queen, and of destroying the drones at the decline
of the honey season. Receiving from nature these
weighty charges, they labour assiduously to fulfil
them ; and, while each member of the community
acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works
less for private than for the general good. These
labours appear unceasing ; yet do the weary labour-
ers sometimes snatch an interval of repose. During
the busy season, we have seen hundreds of the
workers retiring into the cells, and exhibiting all the
marks of profound sleep. This fact is very easily
observable, especially in those .cells which are con-

THE HONEY-BEE. 0?

structed — as sometimes happens — against the glass,
and where that substance forms one side of the cell.
There they are, the fatigued labourers, stretched at
full length, with their heads at the bottom, and every
limb apparently in a relaxed state, while the little
body is seen heaving gently from the process of respira-
tion. Huber thinks he has ascertained that there are
two kinds of workers in a hive, one of which he calls
Wax-workers, and the other Nurses. The difference
between these Bees had probably been observed by
Aristotle and Pliny. The former speaks of *e opti-
mum genus apum, quce breves, varies, et in rotundi-
tatem compactiles ; secundce quce longoe et vespis si-
miles" Pliny uses similar language. It does not
appear, however, that these naturalists were acquaint-
ed with the different functions — if the difference
really does exist — of the two classes. The office of
the first class, according to Huber, is not only to
collect honey — which both kinds do — but also to
elaborate the wax, and construct the combs. The
particular function of the other, is to take care of the
young. They may be distinguished in entering the
hive, by carefully examining their shape ; the wax-
workers having their bellies somewhat cylindrical,
while those of the nurses retain their ovoidal figure.
The anatomical structure of the two is said to be
different, and the capacity of stomach not the same ;
so that the one species is incapable of fulfilling all the
functions of the other. Huber has also directed our
attention to a class of workers, which he calls Black

68 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES.

Bees,* and which he first observed in 1809, and on
several other occasions from that time to the year
1813. In every thing they bear a perfect resem-
blance to their fellow- workers, except in colour,, which
in them is a deep black. He describes them as per-
secuted by the other workers, and finally expelled
the hives, or destroyed. We have noticed them,
though rarely ; perhaps not more than one or two in
a season. The other Bees did not molest them, as
far as we observed, nor indeed seem in any way sen
sible of their presence. It is not improbable, as
Kirby and Spence conjecture, that they are merely
aged Bees, and that their deeper colour arises from
the hair or down, with which the young are so thickly
clothed, being worn off their bodies.

In describing the functions of the Working Bee,
it would be improper to pass over unnoticed the fact,
hat it sometimes exercises the functions of a mother.
To account for this apparent anomaly, we must
remember that it has been ascertained by minutely
accurate dissection, that all the workers are females,
though of imperfect organization, — a fact confirmed
by the very circumstance we are now discussing.
We must also keep in mind, that the larva of a Queen
is nourished with food of a different kind from that
of common Bees ; and this difference, in conjunction
with a more roomy cell, has, in the opinion of natu-
•nahsts, the effect of expanding the ovarium, and
qualifying her to become a mother. It is evident,
* Huber, 235.

THE HONEY-BEE. 69

therefore, that, if the larva of a common Bee were
fed with the royal jelly, the imperfection in her bodily
organs would, as far at least as depended on the
nature of the food, be removed, and she would be-
come capable of laying eggs. Now this does occa-
sionally take place; some of the royal food is dropped,
probably by accident, into some of the cells adjoining
that of the Queen, and the Bees therein reared
acquire the power of laying eggs. This fact was
discovered by the naturalist Biem, and has been con-
firmed by Huber. There is, however, a very ma-
terial and hitherto unaccounted for difference between
these fertile workers and perfect Queens, — the former
lay the eggs of males only. We would certainly have
expected, a priori, that a difference between them
should exist ; because the workers have fed on the
royal jelly only for a short time, and because their
birth-place is so much smaller. But we cannot easily
conceive how these circumstances should be the cause
of their laying only male-eggs. In truth, it appears
to be one of those mysteries in bee -economy
which, with all our researches on the subject, we
cannot yet unravel. These fertile workers are never
found in any hives but such as have lost their natural
Queen.

The natural term of the worker's existence does
not extend, we think, beyond six or eight months.
It is the opinion of Dr. Bevan that all the Bees brought
into existence at the Queen's great laying in spring,
die before winter. But many never reach that period
Showers of rain, violent blasts of wind, sudden changes

70 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES.

of atmosphere, destroy them in hundreds. In the
clear cold mornings and evenings of autumn, their
eagerness for foraging entices them ahroad early and
late ; when, alighting on the ground, many are chilled,
and quickly perish. And should they escape the
blighting atmosphere at the close of autumn, a bright
sunshine in a winter day, when the ground perhaps is
covered with snow, brings them abroad in multitudes,
and the half of them never return. From these causes,
independent of the numbers which fall a prey to
enemies, a swarm which in July amounted to fifteen
or twenty thousand, will, by the following February
or March, have dwindled to a mere handful. It is
otherwise with the Queen ; going seldom abroad, she
is little exposed to accidents. Her natural life is
prolonged to several years, though the precise extent
has not been accurately ascertained. In 1834 we
had one in our possession, which we had every rea-
son to believe was not less than four years old.

Functions of the Male or Drone, — (see PL I. Fig.
1.) — The sole office of the Male, or at least the pri-
mary one, is to pair with the Queen. He is the
father of the hive. Indolent and luxurious, he takes
no part in the internal operations of the domicile,
fend never leaves it with a view of sharing in the
labours of the field. When he does venture abroad,
it is only in the finest weather, and during the
warmest part of the day, at which time the young
Queens are instinctively led to go out in search of the
male. He is easily distinguished from the workers
by his larger sis&e, by his heavy motion in flight, and

THE HONEY-BEE. 71

by his loud humming sound. We have said that
the primary function of the drones is to perpetuate
the race of Bees by pairing with the Queen, but some
Naturalists have assigned them a secondary office,
namely, that of contributing by their numbers to the
heat of the hive, and thus aiding in bringing the brood
to maturity. In some parts of the continent, accord-
ingly, Feburier tells us, they have received the name
of Hatchers. There are occasionally found Drones
of a small size in hives where the impregnation of
the Queen has been retarded. In such circumstances,
her instinct, as we shall have occasion to shew in the
following chapter, is so impaired, that she lays her
eggs indiscriminately in all kinds of cells, — those of
males sometimes in the cells of workers. The con-
sequence is, that these males, when hatched, are
diminutive in size, having been cramped in their
growth by the smallness of their birth-place.

The life of this vir gregis is extremely short ; the
favoured lover perishes soon after his union with the
female, and thus anticipates, though only by a short
period, the destruction which awaits his race. So
early as the beginning of August, the Bees, as if
wishing to apply (< the preventive check" to a super-
abundant idle population, begin to manifest deadly in-
tentions towards them ; and the unfortunate victims,
as if to derive consolation from one another's society,
or perhaps driven together by their irascible supe-
riors, may be seen about that period clustering closely
together in some corner of the combs, where they
remain without motion, and without once venturing

72 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES.

to approach the provision-cells. Thus weakened by
hunger and captivity, and disqualified for resistance
hy the want of a sting, they fall an easy prey to
their merciless assailants; and a scene of carnage
takes place which it is difficult to describe. The
unhappy wretches are seen driven to the bottom of
the hive, pursued with such fury, that, in spite of
their strength, which is greatly superior to that of
their persecutors, and which enables them to drag
two or three of their assailants along the board, and
even to fly off with them, they are unable to avoid
the mortal thrust of their formidable stings, and ex-
pire instantaneously from the effects of the poison.
But death overtakes them in various forms ; for
their enemies sometimes seize them by the wings,
and with their strong mandibles gnaw them at the
roots, and disable them from flying. They may then
be seen in numbers crawling on the ground, where
they perish from the cold, or are trampled under
foot, and devoured by birds or frogs. Such as escape
for a while, may be seen flying from destruction,
lighting on the shrubs and flowers to enjoy a mo-
ment's respite from their terrors ; or buzzing about
our windows, or wandering about from hive to hive,
into one of which they no sooner enter, than certain
death awaits them. Nay, so bitter is the fury of
their tormentors, that, not satisfied with destroying
these unhappy beings themselves, they tear from
the cells such of the doomed race as are yet in the
state of larvae, and sucking from their bodies, with
instinctive economy, the fluids they contain, cast the

THE HONEY-BEE. 73

lifeless remains out of the hive. There are cases
however, in which this destruction of males does
not take place. fc In hives that have lost their
queen/' says Huber, "the males are spared; and,
while a savage massacre rages in other hives, they
here find an asylum. They are tolerated and fed,
and many are seen even in the middle of January."
The cause of this may perhaps he looked for in the
additional heat which they would generate in winter ;
or perhaps they may he preserved for the purpose of
pairing with a new queen.

On the Impregnation of the Queen-Bee. — In look-
ing into a hive in spring or summer, the Queen will
be seen laying eggs in the cells ; in the smaller cells,
those of workers, and in the larger those of males or
drones. These eggs, if examined on the fourth day
from their being deposited, will be found hatched,
and a small worm produced, which is floating in a
whitish liquid, ascertained to be food introduced foi
the nourishment of the infant brood; and in due
time a perfect bee emerges from the cell. But how
is this living animal generated ? The Queen lays
the egg without doubt, and the insect is evolved
from it ; but Low is the egg fecundated or rendered
fertile? Has the Queen had personal union with
the male ? No one can speak positively to such a
fact ; by what other means, then, is this effect pro-
duced?

The impregnation of the Queen-Bee is a branch of
Natural History which has given rise to more dis-
cussion than almost any other fact, connected with

74 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES.

the nature of the insect. And indeed the difficulty,
we might almost say impossibility of obtaining any
thing like ocular evidence on the subject, will readily
account for the diversity of opinion that has hitherto
prevailed. And we should hope that this difficulty
alone, and not any preconceived theory or unreason-
able prejudice, is the cause of that determined per-
tinacity with which the discoveries and conclusions
of Huber, on this subject, are still in some instances
rejected. That justly celebrated Naturalist, insti-
tuted a set of experiments on the subject of the
queen's impregnation, the result of which leads to the
conclusion that it takes place in the air. For an ac-
count of these experiments, we must refer our read-
ers to his Observations, page 18.

Retarded Impregnation. — There is a fact connect-
ed with this part of the natural history of the mother
bee which involves great difficulties. The fact itself
was discovered by Huber, but its cause he was unable
to develope, and no succeeding naturalist has been
able to free it from the obscurity in which he has left
it, — we mean the effects of Retarded Impregnation.
These effects are such as we could hardly credit, were
not the fact confirmed by numerous experiments. If
impregnation be delayed longer than twenty days
from the Queen's birth, the consequence is that none
but male eggs are laid, even during the whole of the
Queen's life. This phenomenon has baffled every
attempt to explain its cause. " There are mysteries/'
observes Feburier, " in the operations of nature, both
in reference to the rational and irrational creation,

THE HONEY-BEE. 75

which will, probably, for ever remain inscrutable to
man." In the natural state of things, that is, when
fecundation has not been postponed, the Queen lays
the eggs of workers in forty-six hours after her union
with the male, and continues for the subsequent eleven
months to produce these alone, and it is only after this
period that a considerable laying of the eggs of drones
commences. These male eggs require eleven months
to attain to maturity, but, under the effects of retarda-
tion, they are matured in forty-six hours. The eggs c/
workers,|which, in the usual state of things, would havi
been laid first, never come to light ; their vitality has
been destroyed by some vitiation which has taken place,
and the cause of which has not yet been discovered.
Huber, in reasoning on the subject, and contemplating
the difficulty attending it, declares it to be " an abyss
in which he is lost/' There is another circumstance
which he has not adverted to, and which seems to
increase these difficulties. He asserts that before a
Queen commences her great laying of male-eggs, she
must be eleven months old. But he acknowledges
that " a Queen, hatched in spring, will perhaps lay
fifty or sixty eggs of drones in whole, during the course
of the ensuing summer." * We know this to be true
from our own experience ; and also as the usual con-
sequence of this appearance of male-eggs, that the
Bees commence building royal cells, — the Queen lays
in them, and swarming takes place. Now this partial
laying of drone-eggs takes place only in the case of
very early swarms ; and if the weather be unfavour-
* Huber, page 169.

76 THE BROOD.

able, it does not happen even in them. But if in the
natural state,, the space of eleven months be necessary
for the male-eggs to acquire that degree of increment
they must have attained when laid, how are we to
explain the fact of two or three score of these male-
eggs making their appearance before the Mother-bee
is six weeks old ? Leaving this matter in the obscu-
rity which we cannot dispel, we have only farther to
observe, that in every case of retarded impregnation
the instinct of the Queen appears to be greatly im-
paired. She lays her eggs indiscriminately in drone
and worker cells ; now and then even in royal cells ;
and does not evince that jealousy and irritable temper-
ament towards her rivals, which, in the natural state,
characterize the Queen.

Of the Brood. — In forty-six hours after impregna-
tion, the Queen-bee, as already noticed, begins to lay
the eggs of workers, and continues to do so without
interruption throughout the season, at the rate of
between 100 and 200 a day, unless cold weather in-
tervene, when her operations are suspended, as well
as the hatching retarded of the eggs already laid.
The fruitfulness of the mother-bee is indeed aston-
ishing. It has been computed that the numbers pro-
duced in a hive by one Queen during the laying sea-
son, amount to 100,000 ; and we are satisfied the
computation is correct. In the beginning of the year
it is a tolerably good stock hive which possesses a
population of 2000 or 3000. Yet that same hive
shall in June throw off swarms amounting to 40,000
or 50,000 ; in many cases the first swarm itself, and

THE HONEY BEE. 77

in some even the casl or second swarm throws off a
colony of 10,000 or 12,000 ; and still, at the end of
harvest, this original stock -hive shall exhibit a popu-
lation of 1 8,000 or 20,000. Add to all this, in some
instances, though rdre, a first swarm throws off two
colonies.

Before depositing her egg, the Queen carefully
examines the cell, inserting her head into it, and
keeping it there for a second or two ; and, as already
stated (page 63), after having laid a few eggs on one
side of the comh, proceeds to the other side, and with
a view probably of economizing heat, supplies the
corresponding cells upon that side. Her impatience
or necessity to commence laying is such, that in
newly-established hive eggs will be found before there
are three inches square of comb constructed, and even
before the cells have attained their full depth. And
in a well-peopled hive, even during winter, and while
the temperature is chilled by the frosts and snows of
January, and the bleak winds of the following month,
the indefatigable Mother-bee is found busied in de-
positing eggs. We have said that the Queen begins
laying eggs forty-six hours after impregnation. This
does not hold true invariably. A sudden change of
temperature may prolong the interval to a very con-
siderable extent. Huber had a Queen impregnated
in October, which, on account of the inclemency of
the season, did not begin laying till the following
spring.

The eggs, when laid, remain fixed on the superior
angle of the cell, to which they are attached by a

78 THE BROOD.

viscoas matter covering them, for three days ; on the
fourth, the shell, or thin enveloping membrane,
bursts, and a small lively worm is deposited at the
bottom. The nursing-bees instantly enter upon their
vocation, and administer a copious supply of liquid
food — of which farina, honey, and probably water,
are the ingredients. As the larva increases in growth,
the attention of the Bees in nourishing it is augmented,
and indeed unremitting ; for at whatever time we in-
spect a brood-comb, we shall observe hundreds of
nurses with their bodies inserted in the cells supply-
ing the wants of the infant progeny. Although in
the vermicular state, and consequently without feet,
the larvae are capable of moving in a spiral direction.
During the first three days, their motion is so slow as
to be scarcely perceptible, but it afterwards becomes
more evident, and they have been observed to per-
form two complete revolutions in less than two hours.
The slightest movement of the nurse-bees approach-
ing to minister to their wants, is sufficient to attract
them to their food, which they devour most vora-
ciously, and it is unsparingly lavished upon them.
At first the liquor is nearly insipid, but acquires gra-
dually a perceptible flavour of honey, and becomes
more and more saccharine and transparent in pro-
portion as the larva advances in growth. " It is in-
describable/' says Feburier, " the care which the
workers lavish on these little nurslings, towards whom
they seem to cherish the tenderest attachment. A
comb filled with brood, and placed in an empty hive,
never fails to retain them there, to the utter disregard

THE HONEY BEE 79

of the loss of their stores. The tenderest mother
could not watch over her children with more affec-
tion, nor supply them with nourishment more impar-
tially, or in greater abundance. At the same time it
is done without waste, for the quantity is so propor-
tioned to the demand, that none of it remains in the
cells where the larvae undergo their transformation to
the nymph state." *

At the moment of being hatched, the insect pre-
sents the appearance of a small straight worm, com-
posed of several ventral wings. It quickly grows
so as to touch the sides of the cell, when it con-
tracts its body, and coils itself into a semicircular
figure, and continues enlarging its dimensions till the
extremities meet, and form a complete ring. In this
state it continues, receiving food from its nurses fo»
five days, when it ceases to eat ; its supplies are, of
course, cut off, and the bees proceed to seal up the
cell with a waxen cover, of a brownish colour, and
slightly convex. Thus left to itself, the larva begins
spinning around its body, after the manner of the
silk-worm, a fine silken film or cocoon, which com-
pletely envelops it. " The silken thread employed
in forming this covering," Kirby and Spence tell us,
fi proceeds from the middle part of the under lip, and
is in fact composed of two threads, gummed together,,
as they issue from the two adjoining orifices of the
spinner." In the formation of its cocoon, the larva
occupies thirty-six hours, and in three days after, it
is metamorphosed into a nymph or pupa — terms ap-
* TraitS des Abeilles.

80 THE BROOD.

plied to the mummy-like .state to which the larva is
subjected, previous to its becoming a perfect insect,
or imago, as it is termed.

During this state of concealment, various changes
happen to the enclosed insect.* The first change in
its situation is its ceasing to continue in that coiled
position in which it originally lay at the bottom of
the cell, and extending itself along its whole length
with its head in the direction of the mouth of the
cell. The head begins to appear from the inert-
looking mass, having a small protuberance, probably
the rudiment of the proboscis ; the first lineaments
of the feet also appear, though of diminutive size.
After the head is formed, and the proboscis prolonged,
all the other parts display themselves successively
and the worm is changed into the perfect insect, ex-
cept that its outer covering is yet white and soft, and
has not that dark scaly texture which, as a proper
coat of defence, it afterwards acquires. By this trans-
formation the larva becomes divested of its cocoon,
which is attached so closely to the internal surface
of the cell, that it appears to form part of its substance,
and adds considerably to its thickness. These linings
are sometimes found to the number of seven or eight,
adhering to the sides of the cell, and have an injurious
effect often, diminishing, as they do, the cell's capa-
city, and exciting, by their strong smell, the attacks
of moths and other enemies. The number of linings
found adhering to a cell, and which may be disjoined
by soaking the comb in water, indicates the number
* Wildmaa

THE HONEY-BEE. 81

of bees to which it has been the birth-place.* The
Bee, thus stripped of its silken envelope, and having
all its parts unfolded by degrees, and changed through
a succession of colours, from a dull white to black,
arrives at the state of a perfect insect on the 20th
day, counting from the moment the egg is laid. She
then eagerly commences the operation of cutting
through, with her mandibles, the cover of her cell,
and in half an hour succeeds in escaping from her
prison. On quitting her cradle she appears, for a
few seconds, drowsy and listless, but soon assumes
the agility natural to the race — and on the same day
on which she has emerged from her prison, sets out
with her seniors to engage in the labours of the field.
Some of the ancient Bee-masters enlarge on the
attention paid by the seniors to the young worker on
emerging from her prison, describing them as licking
her body, supplying her with food, and seeming to
instruct her in what is necessary to render her a use-
ful member of the community. These descriptions
have been repeated by succeeding writers on the sub-
ject ; and the existence of these amiable traits in the
kind nurses of the young, is taken for granted as an
indubitable fact in their natural history. We have
reason, in consequence of repeated observations, to

* The late Dr. Barclay of Edinburgh, imagined he had
discovered that the partitions of the bee-cells are double, and
regarded this circumstance as an additional instance of the
wonderful architectural powers of the Bee. It is not impro-
bable that what he considered to be separate laminae of wax.
are but the silken linings of the cells.

82 THE BROOD.

disbelieve the alleged fact, and must, in accordance
with the truth, withhold from our favourites the un-
merited eulogiums they have received on this head.
They are, in fact, in this particular, harsh and unfeel-
ing in the extreme. In hundreds of instances have
we seen and pitied the infant insect, when after having
long struggled to get out of its cradle, it has at last
succeeded so far as to extrude the head ; and when
labouring with the most eager impatience, and on the
very point of extricating the shoulders also, which
would at once secure its exit, a dozen or two of
workers, in following their avocations, trample with-
out ceremony over the struggling creature, which is
then forced, for the safety of its head, to pop quickly
down into its cell, and wait till the unfeeling crowd
pass on, before it can renew its efforts to escape.
Again and again are the same impatient exertions re-
peated by the same individual, and with similar mor-
tifying interruptions, before it succeeds in obtaining
its freedom. Not the slightest attention or sympathy
is observable on the part of the workers in these cir-
cumstances ; nor did we ever, in a single instance,
witness the kind parental cares which seem to owe
their existence to the fancy of the writers alluded to.
During the larva-stage, as we have shewn, the soli^
citude of the workers about the welfare and nourish-
ment of their infant charge is extreme ; but from the
moment they have sealed up the cell, and while the
larva is undergoing its transformation, they seem to
cease from every thing like individual attention ; and.
though when a brood-comb is meddled with, their

THE HONEY-BEE. 83

utmost ire is kindled against the invader, as far as
concerns the reception of the newly-hatched insetvs
and its introduction to the duties and avocations of
the Bee-community, they appear altogether selfish
and indifferent. There is another case in which this
indifference appears very striking : a sudden change
of weather about the end of autumn, from a mild
temperature to raw frost, has such an immediate
effect on the brood, that it is not uncommon to ob-
serve a young bee, which shall have so far succeeded
in breaking its prison, as to extricate its head, and
nearly its shoulders, yet perishing from cold in this
situation, without the slightest effort on the part of
the workers to save the life of a companion whose
rearing has already cost them so much labour.

Immediately after the young bee has issued from
the cell, the workers hasten to clean it out, clear
away the ragged remains of the cover, fortify it anew
with the usual strong bordering of wax, and thus pre-
pare it for the reception of another egg, or of honey
or farina.

We have hitherto confined our observations to the
progress of a worker) from the egg to the state of the
perfect insect. The same process takes place in the
case of the Males and of the Queen, though with
some difference as to the time occupied in the trans-
formation. Like those of the common bees, the eggs
of Males are hatched in three days ; the larva state
continues six and a half days, and after having formed
their cocoon, and been ir °tamorphosed into nymphs,

84 THE BROOD.

they attain to the state of perfect insects on the
twenty-fourth day.

We may briefly notice here the statement of Huher
respecting the order in which the different kinds of
eggs are arranged in the ovarium of the Queen,, and
the law which regulates her laying. He says, that
"nature does not allow the Queen the choice of the
eggs she is to lay ;" that " it is ordained she shall, at
a certain time of the year, produce those of males,
and, at another time, the eggs of workers ; an order
which cannot be inverted ; " that " the eggs are not
indiscriminately mixed in the ovaries of the Queen,
but arranged so that at a particular season she can
lay only a certain kind;" that "she can lay no male
eggs until those of the workers, occupying the first
place in the oviducts, are discharged/'* We do
not mean to question this statement, as holding true
generally, but we think it made in terms too unquali-
fied, and that there are palpable and frequent excep-
tions. He'has himself acknowledged elsewhere that
a Queen hatched in spring will sometimes lay fifty or
sixty eggs of males during the course of the ensuing
summer, and we have repeatedly witnessed the fact.
Now, this takes place only in certain circumstances,
and under certain conditions, namely, that the family
of the Queen so laying shall have been a very early
swarm, that it shall abound in population, and that
the season shall be genial, and the secretion of honey
in the flowers plentiful. In such a favourable junc-
ture of circumstances, it almost invariably happens
* Huber, 44 and 136.

THE HONEY-BEE. 85

that the Queen lays male eggs, and that, as the natu-
ral consequence, royal cells are built, in which she
lays, and, in due time, she leads off a swarm. Now,
does not this fact seem to imply that there is no such
arbitrary arrangement of the several kinds of eggs as
Huber imagines ? and if it would be stretching the
inference too far to say, that the Queen has the power
of laying those of males or of workers as circumstances
may require, — does it not imply that the statement of
Huber may admit of very important and frequent
exceptions ?

About the twentieth day from the commencement
of the laying of male eggs, the bees begin to lay the
foundations of royal cells, and the Queen having re-
sumed laying female eggs, deposits them, at intervals
of one or two days, in these cells, from which are
hatched, in due time, other Queens. This regular
process is, however, sometimes interrupted : — if the
Queen be not a fertile one, and the colony is, in con-
sequence, weak in population ; if the hive or domicile
itself be large in proportion to the number of its in-
habitants ; or if the temperature of the season has been
such as to interfere with the copious collection of
honey or farina, in these circumstances no male eggs
will be laid, no royal cells founded, and no swarms
will issue. But, in favourable circumstances, the
laying of royal eggs takes place regularly during the
laying of those of males, and swarming is the conse-
quence. The royal cell (PI. VI.) is an inch in depth, and
it has been considered difficult to comprehend how the
body of the Queen can reach the bottom, so as to

8fl THE BROOD.

attach the egg to it ; hut, in fact, the Queen lays
when the cell is merely founded, and not deeper than
that of a common bee, and it is not until the precious
deposit has heen made,, that the workers lengthen it
to the full size. The egg destined to produce a
Queen, like that which is laid in a drone-cell and that
of a worker, is three days old before it is hatched ; as
soon as this takes place, the royal larva becomes an ob-
ject of devoted attention to the bees, who watch over
and feed it with unremitting attention and care. " It
is difficult," says M. Feburier, " to form an idea of the
anxious care and attention bestowed by the bees
on the royal larva. The comparison of the affection
of a mother for an only child can alone furnish any
thing like a conception of it. They seem to feel that
their own fate is involved in that of their young sove-
reign; they feed her with a jelly different from that
which is destined for the workers and males ; it is
more pungent, and moderately acid ; and they supply
it in such profusion that she is unable to consume
it all, for, after her transformation, some remains of
it are found at the bottom of the cell."

At the end of the fifth day of the larva state, the
royal cell is closed, and the inhabitant begins spinning
her cocoon. It is worthy of remark, that this cover-
ing is left incomplete, unlike those of the workers and
males, which inclose the whole body. This fact
beautifully demonstrates the admirable art with which
the Author of nature has connected the various cha-
racteristics of this interesting tribe of his creatures.
And the fact now under consideration is one of no

THE HONEY-BEE. 87

small importance in bee-economy; for., were the
Queen's cocoon completely to envelope her body,, her
destruction by her rivals would be rendered extremely
difficult ; the texture of the covering is so close, that
the sting would be unable to penetrate it, or, if the
attempt were made, it might be entangled by its barbs
in the meshes of the cocoon, and the struggling female,
unable to disengage it, would become the victim of
her own fury. In spinning the cocoon, the Queen
spends only 24 hours ; she remains in a death-like
torpidity between two and three days, is then meta-
morphosed into a nymph, and, after remaining in that
state four days and a half, she comes forth a perfect
Queen on the sixteenth day. In the case of the wor-
kers and males, the transformation is no sooner com-
pleted than they are at liberty to abandon the confine-
ment of the cradle, and hasten, — the former, at least,
—to partake of the labours of the community, and
to range the fields and * flower-gardens in the very
plenitude of bee-enjoyment. But the case is different
with the young Queens ; like other sovereigns, they
pay the tax of their high estate in having their inclin-
ations put under restraint for the public good. The
royal insect is not permitted to leave the cell, and,
as generally happens, to lead off a swarm, unless the
weather be very favourable. Were she to obtain her
liberty, while, at the same time, emigration was
prevented by the state of the external atmosphere,
or other circumstances, there would be a plurality of
Queens in the hive, and mortal strife would ensue.
The young Queen, therefore, is detained a captive,

88 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS.

and the workers,, piercing a hole in the cover of the
cell, insert their probosces, and supply her with food
during her captivity.

On the conversion of the larva of a Worker into a
Queen. — Bees, when deprived of their Queen, are
endowed hy nature with the power of remedying this
calamity, by converting a worker larva into a royal
one ; and, hy means of a cell of a larger size, and of a
peculiar kind of nourishment, of producing a female
that shall be, to all intents and purposes, a Queen or
mother-bee, capable of perpetuating her kind. The
discovery of this singular fact is generally attributed
to Schirach, and, probably, with justice ; for, although
the practice of making artificial swarms, which can
only be effected by causing the production of artificial
Queens, is said to have prevailed amongst the modern
Greeks and Italians from a very early period, it does
not follow, nor does it appear from any authentic
documents, that they were aware of the reason why.
The manner in which Schirach made the discovery is
interesting : — Having used a great quantity of smoke
in some of his operations, the bees were so annoyed
by it that numbers of them left the hive, and, amongst
them, the Queen. Knowing the consequences of her
loss, he sought for her diligently, but in vain. Next
morning he observed a cluster of bees about the size
of an apple on the prop of the hive whose Queen had
fled ; here he discovered a Queen, and, having carried
her to the entrance of the hive which had lost its own,
she was immediately surrounded by the bees, and
treated in such a manner as plainly announced that

THE HONEY-BEE. 89

she was tlieir Queen. ' ' What was my astonishment,"
he proceeds, " when, wishing to introduce her among
the combs, I saw that the hees remaining had already
planned and almost finished three royal cells ! Struck
with the activity and sagacity of these creatures, to
save themselves from impending distruction, I was
filled with admiration, and adored the infinite goodness
of God in the care taken to perpetuate his works.
Having carried away two of the cells to ascertain
whether the hees would continue their operations,
I beheld, next morning, with the utmost surprise,
that they had removed all the food from around the
third worm left behind, on purpose to prevent its
conversion to a Queen." The fact of this power
possessed by the bees is so extraordinary, that its
reality was at first called in question by several emi-
nent naturalists, among others, by the justly cele-
brated Bonnet. This naturalist was at last, however,
convinced of its reality by experiments instituted by
himself, and, satisfied that all the working-bees are
females of imperfect organisation, expressed his opi-
nion that the evolution of the germ is effected by
the action of the prolific matter as a stimulant, as
a substantial nutriment suitable for that purpose ; and
he supposes that a certain quality of food, administered
more copiously than in ordinary cases, may unfold
those organs in the larvae of bees that never would
have appeared without it. He conceived, also, that
a habitation, like a Queen-cell, considerably more
spacious, and differently placed, is absolutely neces-
sary to the complete developement, of organs, which

90 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS.

the new nutriment may cause to grow in all directions.
It furnishes a surprising evidence of the slow degrees
by which scientific facts make their way, if not essen-
tial to general utility, when we consider that to this
day, the knowledge of this singularity in the natural
history of this insect, is confined almost exclusively
to apiarians, and even rejected by some of them.
It has, however, been confirmed by so many experi-
ments instituted by many different individuals, that
no unprejudiced mind can withhold its assent from
its truth. Extraordinary, however, as this fact is,
it is not more so than many others which have not
attracted our particular notice, merely because they
are familiar to us. " If we preserve the seed of a
plant," says Feburier, "for a series of years, and
supply it with different nourishment and soil, and
bestow upon it different treatment from that which
was destined for it by nature, we destroy its powers
of fecundity; the flower no longer possesses pistils
or stamina, petals replace them, and announce the
sterility of the plant/' Something analogous to this
holds true, it is said, in the case of one of our domestic
quadrupeds. We find the twin-calf, stinted as it has
been for room in the ovarium of its mother, and the
recipient of but half the nourishment which would
otherwise have fallen to its share, becomes in after
years a barren cow. In the case of the bee, ' e the egg
of a worker, placed in a royal cell, only produces
an insect which has its powers more fully developed,
in proportion to the ampler space which it occupies^
but it acquires no new powers. The germ of the ovary

THE HONEY-BEE. 91

existed originally in the common lee as well as in the
mother-bee, but the confined limits of its cell, and
the want of the peculiar food provided for the royal
race prevented its developement."

The proceedings of the hees in order to supply
the loss of their Queen, are extremely interesting. In
about twenty-four hours they are aware of the misfor-
tune that has befallen them, and, without loss of time,
they set about repairing the disaster. They fix upon
a worm not more than three days old, demolish the
three contiguous cells, and raise around it a regular
cylindrical inclosure. At the end of three days, the
workers change the direction of the cell, which has
hitherto been horizontal, into a perpendicular position,
working downwards till it assume the appearance of
a stalactite. In due time it is sealed, and the larva
undergoes its metamorphosis into a royal nymph. Hu-
ber gives a detail of some interesting experiments on
this head, the substance only of which we can pre-
sent to our readers. He deprived a hive of its
Queen, and put into it some pieces of comb con-
taining worker eggs. The same day several cells were
enlarged by the bees, and converted into royal cells,
and the larvae supplied with a profusion of jelly. He
then removed these worms from the royal cells, and
substituted for them as many common worms from
workers' cells. The bees did not seem aware of the
change, they watched over the new worms as intently
as over those chosen by themselves ; they continued
enlarging the cells, and closed them at the usual time.
At the proper time, two Queens were hatched, almost

92 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS.

at the same moment, of the largest size, and well
formed in every respect. Nothing could he more
conclusive than this experiment. It demonstrated that
bees have the power of converting the worms of wor-
kers into Queens, since they succeeded in procuring
them by operating on worms not chosen by them-
selves, but selected for them.

In addition to this conclusive experiment, we shall
take the liberty of detailing two of our own on the
same subject, which were made nearly twenty
years ago, and which we have repeated almost every
year since with the same success. We give these
experiments not from any idea that those of Huber
require confirmation, or that ours are of importance
enough to supply any such supposed deficiency, but
on the obvious principle that the more numerous the
experiments, and the greater the diversity of experi-
menters, the more irrefragably is the alleged fact
established, if the result be uniformly the same. In
June 1822, we instituted an experiment with a view
of witnessing a combat between two queens, and the
result as to that object will be afterwards noticed.
It was only incidentally that we derived from it a
confirmation of the fact in question, and we shall now
state the particulars. Into a hive well peopled, but
not possessing, as far as we could discern, any very
young brood, we introduced a stranger-queen, with
the expectation that the two rival potentates, each of
whom, like the jealous Turk, can bear no rival near
her throne, would decide by single combat which of
them should retain the honours and privileges of

THE HONEY-BEE. 93

royalty. We contemplated the possibility of both
falling in the conflict at the same moment — an in-
stance of such a calamity haying come to our know-
ledge— and therefore with a view of remedying such
an evil, if it should occur, and thus of preventing the
total destruction of the hive, we took a piece of comb
from another hive, containing worker eggs, and worms
of the proper age, according to the directions of
Huber, and fixed it in the experimental hive, that
the bees might rear for themselves a new queen,
should the combat terminate with a double death.
To our astonishment, for at this time both queens
were alive, we saw the bees next morning busily
occupied in building a royal cell in the new piece of
comb. They had demolished two or three cells ad-
joining the one they had pitched on for the royal
cradle, and were now eagerly labouring at its enlarge
ment, giving it a circular instead of a hexagonal form,
and bestowing unceasing attention on the larva it
contained. During the day the royal cell made con-
siderable progress, and in the afternoon of the day
following, it extended about half an inch vertically.
Next day, it advanced rapidly; the worm had attained
to a great size, and the bees were unwearied in feed-
ing it. On the fifth day, the cell was sealed, and on
the fourteenth a young queen was hatched ; but her
enjoyment of life and liberty was very short. She was
instantly surrounded by a mass of bees, who hemmed
her in so closely, that but a very small part of her body
was visible. She made many painful and unavailing
struggles to escape, and emitted every minute a plain-
*'ve sound. All the wtile, the reigning queen (for the

94 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS.

stranger had by this time heen dispatched,, though not
in our sight) occupied herself in laying eggs, often
within an inch or two of the prisoner, going ahout her
avocations with as much unconcern as if she knew that
her subjects would, of themselves, soon and effectually
rid her of her puny rival. In two hours from her birth,
accordingly, the body of the young queen dropped
lifeless from the dense mass of her inexorable guards.
Of the other experiment which we are now to de-
tail, the sole object was to prove the existence of the
power inherent in the Bees of rearing an artificial
queen, when deprived by any accident of their original
mother. This, indeed, had been proved by the ex-
periment above detailed, but only incidentally ; and
we were anxious, by an experiment instituted exclu-
sively for that object, and conducted with minute and
scrupulous accuracy, to put the matter out of all doubt
in our own mind at least. In July, our experimental
hive was full of bees, brood and honey; the Queen
was very fertile, and laying at the rate of more than
100 eggs a-day. We opened the hive and carried
her off. For about eighteen hours the bees continued
their labours as earnestly and contentedly as if she
were still with them. At the end of that time, they
became aware of their loss, and all was instantly
agitation and tumult; the bees hurried backwards
and forwards over the comb with a loud noise, rushed
in crowds to the door and out of the hive, as if going
to swarm ; and, in short, exhibited all the symptoms
of bereavement arid despair. Next morning, they
had laid the foundations of five royal cells, having
demolished the three cells contiguous to each of those

THE HONEY-BEE. 95

containing eggs or worms, which suited their pur-
pose ; and by the afternoon, there were visible the
rudiments of four more royal cells, all in quarters of
the comb where before were nothing but eggs and
common larvse, of one or two clays old. Two of these
royal cells advanced more rapidly than the rest, pro-
bably from the larvae being of an age the fittest for
the purpose ; four came on more slowly, and three
made no progress after the third day. On the seventh
day, the two first were sealed, two more were nearly
so, but neither these last nor any of the rest advanced
farther, as if the bees, satisfied that they had secured
at least one queen, judged it unnecessary to carry
forward the others to maturity. On the morning of
the fourteenth day, from the removal of the old queen,
a young one emerged from her cell, strong and active,
and exactly resembling those produced in the natural
way. While watching her motions, I saw her hasten
to the other royal cell, and attempt to tear it open,
doubtless with the intention of killing its inmate ;
but the workers pulled her violently back, and con-
tinued to do so as often as she renewed the assault.
At every repulse she assumed a sulky attitude, and
emitted the shrill monotonous peep, peep, peep, so
well known to Bee-masters, while the unhatched
queen emitted the same kind of sound, but in a
hoarser tone, the consequence of her confined situa-
tion ; and this, by the way, accounts for the two
different sounds which are generally heard from a
hive on the eve of throwing a second swarm. The
shrill sound proceeds from the reigning queen, and

96 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS,

seems to express her rage and disappointment at
being baffled by tbe watchful guardians of the un-
hatched queen, from whom the hoarse sound comes.
In the afternoon of the same day., the last mentioned
female left her cell. We saw her come forth in
majesty, finely and delicately formed, but smaller
than the other. She immediately retired within a
cluster of workers, and we lost sight of her. Next
morning on opening the shutter of the hive, we per-
ceived the younger queen rushing apparent!}' in great
terror across the surface of the comb, and hurrying
round the edge of it to the other side ; and in the
next moment, the other royal personage came in
sight, hotly pursuing her rival. We now fully ex-
pected to witness Huber's combat of queens, and
were about to wheel round the hive on its pivot, to
contemplate the fray, when business called us away.
In half an hour we returned, hoping we might be in
time, but all was over ! the younger queen was lying
upon the alighting-board on her back, in the pangs
of death, newly dragged out by the bees, and doubt-
less the victim of her jealous senior.

We observed two circumstances respecting these
artificial queens, which may be noticed here, though
rather, perhaps, out of place — one of them agreeing
perfectly with the experience of Huber, while the
other is at variance with it. While the surviving
queen remained a virgin, not the slightest mark of
attention or respect was shewn to her by the bees ;
no one gave her food, she was obliged as often as
she required it, to help hersef.f, and in crossing

THE HONEY-BEE. ' 97

to the honey cells for that purpose, she had to
scramble, often with great difficulty, over the crowd,
not an individual of which got out of her way, or
seemed to care whether she fed or starved. But no
sooner did she hecome a mother than the scene was
changed indeed, and all vied in testifying their affec-
tion and regard; one after another presented her
proboscis with food, and at every step of her pro-
gress, a circle was formed around her by her admir-
ing subjects. The other circumstance alluded to,
which varies from the experience of Huber, respects
the vigilance of the workers in such cases, and the
sound emitted by the queens. He says, that the
workers form no guard around the cells of artificial
queens, and that these last are perfectly mute ; and
the Naturalist makes some remarks by way of account-
ing for it.* The above experiment is completely in
contradiction to this. The cell of the younger queen
was most strictly guarded, and both emitted the
sounds alluded to, perhaps once every minute, for
several hours together. — To these experiments we
have only to add farther, that, as already stated, we
have very frequently repeated the same operation,
and always with success ; and that in the summer
of 1832, we removed the reigning queen of the
same experimental hive three times successively,
suffering each queen to remain just long enough to
lay a score or two of eggs before her removal ; and
each time the workers laid the foundations of five or
six royal cells, and brought two or three Queens to
• Huber, p. 181. :

98 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS.

maturity. Within the space of six weeks, we saw
the foundations laid of fourteen or fifteen royal cells,
and at the last removal, no fewer than three Queens
were visible at the same moment on the surface of the
comb ; yet we had not the good fortune to witness a
regular combat between any two of them. The first
hatched of the three, we had reason to conclude,
dispatched two of her rivals, but without our wit-
nessing the deed of death. The third we saw her
sting repeatedly, at the instant of the former emerging
from her cell, and without any attempt on the part
of the bees to restrain her. The wounded Queen
had strength enough to move a few inches across the
comb, when she paused, and seemed to sicken from
tfhe effects of the venom ; she moved again, with a
very languid step, an inch or two, and then stopped ;
her limbs became visibly paralyzed, and in a few
minutes she dropped lifeless to the bottom of the hive.
— From all these experiments, it seems now a fact
established beyond all doubt, that Bees can at all times
procure a Queen for themselves, provided they have
a comb containing larvae not more than three days old,
in the common cells, and that nothing but certain im-
portant conditions, such as a particular kind of food
and more spacious lodgment, are requisite for the con-
version of common larvse into Queens.

At the same time, it ought to be candidly con-
fessed, that while the fact itself seems now com-
pletely established, there are circumstances connect-
CQ with it which we are unable satisfactorily to ex-
pmin. That a more abundant supply of food, and

THE HONEY-BEE.

of a more stimulant quality, administered
larger dimensions, should give full development to
organs which, by the ordinary treatment, would have
remained but partially expanded, we can readily
comprehend; but that such extra supplies of food
and space should effect an absolute change in the
anatomical structure and instinctive propensities, —
should produce a more slender proboscis, deprive the
transformed insect of the downy brushes at the joints
of her limbs, and of the basket-shaped cavities in the
posterior pair, for retaining the pellets of farina, —
and, above all, should effect so great an alteration in
her instincts, rendering them \n numerous particulars
entirely different from those of the worker class, for
which she was originally destined, — these are cir-
cumstances which, notwithstanding all our researches,
are still involved in mysterious obscurity, and furnish
ample scope for future investigation.

On the Architecture of Bees. — The peculiarities of
instinct in the different orders of animals, if pursued
through all its variations, would supply us with an
inexhaustible fund of admiration and instruction ;
and in none of the lower animals is this wonderful
faculty more worthy of our notice and investigation
than in the Bee. So much, however, has been al-
ready written on this particular point, that the sub-
ject is pretty nearly exhausted. We should perhaps
find, notwithstanding, but little difficulty in treating
our readers with an additional disquisition on the same
subject, but as we do not pretend to be able to give
a more satisfactory elucidation of the mystery of

100 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

animal instinct than has been already furnished by
writers* well entitled to our respect, we shall restrict
ourselves to one or two brief remarks having a spe-
cial reference to the subject of this chapter. It has
been said of Instinct generally, that, taken the least
out of its way, it seems an undistinguishing, limited
faculty, and blind to any circumstance that does not,
immediately respect self-preservation, or lead at once
to the propagation or support of the species. As far
as the instinct of Bees is concerned, this maxim
must be taken in a qualified sense; for there are
numerous instances in the proceedings of this insect
in which instinct does vary, and conform to the cir-
cumstances of place and convenience ; and in no part
of their economy do we see more striking instances
of this half-reasoning faculty than in their Architec-
ture. In the ordinary operations of collecting their
food, feeding their young, following their queen, &c*
they are prompted, doubtless, by pure and simple
instinct. In avoiding danger, and in returning to
the spot where food had formerly been provided for
them, they seem guided by an exertion of memory, a
faculty which they appear to possess in a consider-
able degree. But in adapting their waxen structures
to change of circumstances, and so as to overcome
any artificial obstacle, — in building upwards, con-
trary to their natural mode of procedure, — in building
laterally, when unable to find a sure foundation for
their works, either above or below,— in curving their
combs, and constructing them angularly, when de-
*See Bonnet, Huber, Virey, Kirby and Spence, Eevan, &c.

THE HONEY-EEE. 101

sirous of avoiding some interposing substance having
a smooth or glassy surface, — these are results which
seem to manifest something more than simple in-
stinct ; they afford a wonderful proof of the resources
of this faculty, when compelled to deviate from the
ordinary course ; they imply, in fact, the possession
of a certain degree of intellect, or of reasoning power,
by which their instinct is modified and counteracted.
We cannot, indeed, but be filled with astonishment,
when we see their ingenious expedients in getting
the better of difficulties, which would not have occur-
red in their natural state, — and with admiration of
the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty Parent,
so conspicuously visible, even in the unconscious in-
stinctive operations of these tiny creatures of his
hand.

The material of which the bees construct those
beautiful combs, which deserve so much admiration,
is Wax — the nature and production of which will be
considered in a subsequent chapter. No sooner has
a swarm been safely lodged in a hive, than the in-
dustrious labourers commence the operation of build-
ing. One portion of the population employs itself in
cleaning out their new abode, whilst a large number
hastens to the fields, some of them to collect honey,
the saccharine part of which is the source of the wax
used in the construction of the combs, — and others
to gather propolis, which is a tenacious substance
employed in fixing the less adhesive wax to the roof
of the hive, and in stopping up any crevices that
might give entrance to vermin, or admit the cold.

102 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

On their return, those bees which have been occu-
pied in collecting honey, cluster closely together at
the top of the hive, and, suspended from each other
by their hooked claws, form a variety of fantastical
and often graceful figures, festoons, curtains, ladders,
&c., crossing each other in all directions, (PL V.),
and seem sunk in a profound inactivity, which con-
tinues about twenty-four hours. The inactivity, how-
ever, is only apparent. The time which they pass
in this seeming repose is doubtless necessary for the
elaboration of the honey, and the transfusion of the
saccharine part in the form of wax. But in the
centre of the mass, one worker has left its fellows,
and laid the foundation of the future structure ; it is
succeeded by several others, each of whom, singly
and separately, contributes its quantum of material
and skill to the rising edifice, while succeeding bands
of nurse-bees busy themselves in finishing and polish-
ing the work, which the wax-workers have only
rough hewn. For it is to be observed, that in the
construction of the combs, the two classes of wax-
workers and nurse-bees have their separate and dis-
tinct provinces. That of the former is to supply the
rough materials, and attach them coarsely together ;
and that of the latter to finish and perfect the edifice.
And while these last are occupied in this more re-
fined operation of finishing and polishing,, the former,
like industrious labourers, are continually bringing
forward additional loads of materials. One comb is
scarcely begun, or contains not more than two or
three rows of cells, when the busy architects proceed

THE HONEY-BEE. 103

to lay the foundations of two others, one on eacli side
of that already founded, continuing their operations in
this manner, till they have taken in the whole range
of their building ground ; and, with such diligence do
they ply their labours, that in one day, during the
height of the honey-season, they will construct no
fewer than 4000 cells. A comb measures in thick-
ness, generally speaking, one inch, and the interval
between them is about one third of an inch, affording
• a passage for two bees, back to back, without ob-
struction or inconvenience. These dimensions, how-
ever, are varied according to circumstances. Towards
the top of the hive, (PL VI. fig. 1, a, a,) where the
honey magazines are situated, the cells are deepened,
consequently the thickness of the comb is increased,
and the road-way contracted. This is no inconve-
nience to the bees, for, after the honey-cells are sealed,
they have seldom occasion to visit that quarter of the
hive, and can, therefore, put up with less room.

When the breeding season returns, however, these
cells are all reduced to their original size, if emptied
of their contents, and thus fitted for the reception
of brood. The combs, attached as they are to the
roof of the hive, descend vertically. Unlike human
builders, they begin their work at the top or ceiling,
and suspend their structures from above. This is
their usual mode of proceeding, but circumstances
induce them sometimes to vary it. The following
is an instance from our personal observation : We
put a swarm into our experimental hive, which is so
thin, as to admit of one comb only being constructed.

104 ARCHITECTURE OP BEES.

Its confined limits prevented any considerable numbei
of -bees from working at the foundation of the comb
above. A large portion of them, therefore, began
a comb, or rather two, (PI. XII. Fig. 2, o, £,) on
the rod which crosses the hive in the middle ; and
thus two combs were being constructed at the same
time, and which ultimately became one. It ap-
peared, however, that there was still a want of room,
and of employment for these willing and industrious
labourers; for to our surprise a portion of them'
began a comb (d, e^) on the upper side of the cross
rod, and, contrary to their natural mode of proceed-
ing, worked upwards; so that in a short period, the
upper comb and the central piece met, and the whole
formed ultimately one solid square. The surface of
a new comb is not quite flat, but lenticular, that is,
its thickness decreases towards the edges, and, conse-
quently, the latest made cells are shorter or shallower
than the others. So long as the comb has not
reached its utmost limits, this shape is preserved ;
but when the bees have no more room for its en-
largement, they make all the cells of equal depth,
and thus it obtains two flat and straight surfaces,
which it will continue to retain, unless in certain
circumstances. Should it be broken by any means;
the edges of what remains must be reduced again to
their lenticular shape before the bees can repair the
structure, and prolong it to its former dimensions.*
This happens also when the hive is enlarged, by
giving it what is called in Scotland an eek, or addition
* Huber. 372.

THE HONEY-BEE. 105

below. Previous to availing themselves of the
added room, the bees reduce the thickness of the
edges of the combs. When new, the combs are of
a remarkably pure white colour, but soon assume a
yellowish hue, and when a year old, are of a deep
brown. This discoloration is believed by many to arise
from the vapours and heated air of the hive ; but is
attributed by Huber, erroneously we think, to some
direct action on the part of the Bees, which are fre-
quently seen rubbing the surface of the comb with
their teeth and fore-feet. In the construction of the
cells, the Bees adopt the hexagonal form, (PL VI. Fig.
\,b, £,) consisting of six equal sides, and begin their
operations at the bottom, prolonging by degrees the
pannels or sides. The bottom of a cell is composed
of three rhombs, or plates of wax in the shape of
lozenges or of card-diamonds, and disposed in such a
manner as to form a hollow pyramid. " The apex of
each pyramidal bottom, on one side of a comb, forms
the angles of the bases of three cells on the opposite
side, the three lozenges respectively concurring in
the formation of the bases of the same cells."* The
whole structure is so delicately thin, that three or
four of the sides, placed upon one another, have no
more thickness than a leaf of common paper. But
by the admirable disposition and arrangement of its
parts, ' ' each cell, separately weak, is strengthened
by coincidence with others. The bottom of each
cell rests upon three partitions or pannels of opposite
cells, from which it receives a great accession of
* Bevan on the Honey-Bee, 3d Edit. p. 391.

1 06 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

strength." Besides,, each cell is strengthened at its
mouth by a strong thread formed of a mixture of
wax and propolis, soldered to the inner edges, and
giving it, hy filling up the angles, a circular form.
This gives great solidity to the fabric, and prevents
the mouths of the cells from being easily injured by
the unceasing ingress and egress of the bees.

It is remarkable that the cell of a honey-comb,
including its hexagonal sides and its pyramidal basis,
is the figure, of all others, the best adapted for con-
taining the greatest possible quantity, in the least
possible space, and with the least expense of mate-
rial. " There are only three possible figures of the
cells," says Dr. Reid, "which can make them all
equal and similar without any useless interstices*
These are the equilateral triangle, the square, and
the regular hexagon." Of these, the hexagon is the
best fitted for the bee-cell, for it unites to the
requisites stated by Dr. Reid, economy of material,
and a figure better adapted to the shape of the insect.
This last property would have been possessed in a
greater degree by the cylindrical form, but it would
Lave left a vacant space between every three contigu-
ous cells. The square and the triangle would have
left no interstices, but would have consumed more wax,
and been ill-adapted to the shape of the bee. The
hexagonal form employed combines all the requisites ;
for, together with a convenient figure for the reception
of the body of the insect, it secures economy of material
and economy of space, both as respects the number of

THE HONEY-BEE. 107

cells contained in a comb, and the internal capacity of
each. The same, or, if possible, still more admirable
skill and arrangement are displayed in the basis of the
cell. The three rhombuses of which it is composed,
have the two obtuse angles each of 110 degrees, and,
consequently, each of the two acute angles of 70 de-
grees. This measurement was taken by Maraldi,
and it was verified by Koenig, a celebrated mathema-
tician and pupil of Bernouilli, who, on being desired by
Reaumur to calculate the quantity that should be given
to this angle in order to employ the least wax pos-
sible in a cell of the same capacity, found that the
angle in question ought to be 1 09° 26' or 1 10° nearly,
the very angle which the insect adopts. What a sur-
prising agreement ! A difficult mathematical pro-
blem is proposed for solution to a man of pro-
found science, and it is found that an insect, ' f little
among such as fly," instructed by the Fountain of
Wisdom, has anticipated the calculations of the
Geometer, and practically exhibited in its waxen
structures the same conclusion precisely which the
philosopher arrived at, only by the exercise of con-
siderable ingenuity, and deep thought ! The cal-
culation has also been verified by our distinguished
countryman Maclaurin, who very justly observes,
that " the bees do truly construct their cells of the
best figure, not only nearly, but with exactness, and
that their proceedings could not have been more
perfect from the greatest knowledge of geometry."
After all, as Dr. Reid remarks, the geometry is not

108 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

in the bee, but in the Geometrician who made the
bee, and made all things in number, weight, and
measure.

The cells in a honey-comb are of different dimen-
sions, corresponding to the different classes of bees,
of which they form the birth-place. Those of the
workers (PL VI. fig. 1, c, c,) are in depth about five
lines, or less than half an inch, and in diameter 2f
lines; those of the males (d, d, d:) are between six
and seven lines in depth, and 3% in diameter. Both
of these are ultimately employed, after the breeding
season is past, as receptacles for honey. The male,
or drone cells are few compared with those of workers,
which last generally compose the whole of the central
combs, while the first are most frequently constructed
on the extremities of combs at some distance from
the centre.

It is curious to note the proceedings of the bees
when about to pass from the construction of worker-
cells to those of males. They do not all at once
commence the latter of their full diameter ; such a
proceeding would utterly disorder the delicate arrange-
ment of the bases of the cells. But they build a few
rows of intermediate cells, whose diameter augments
progressively, until they gain the proportion proper
to the cells required. And in returning to those of
workers, a similar gradation is rigidly observed. The
irregularity apparent in these transition cells has
been accounted a defect. It is, on the contrary, an
additional instance of that wise instinct which teaches
them to quit the ordinary mode of proceeding, when

THE HONEY-BEE. 1 09

circumstances demand the construction of enlarged
cells, and after building 30 or 40 rows of them, to
return to the proper proportions from which they
have departed, by successive reductions. Both of
these kinds of cells being nearly horizontal, it may
seem surprising that they can be filled with, and re-
tain, the honey-fluid. The fact is, however, that
they are not horizontal, but are elevated at an angle
of never less than 5°, and sometimes when the honey
is rendered peculiarly thin and fluid by the warmth
of the season, at not less than from 15° to 20° above
the level of the horizon. We have often observed
in the months of July and August, when the weather
was very favourable for the secretion of honey and
wax, the bees eagerly engaged in forming cells de-
signed for honey only, and differing considerably
from those which are intended in the first instance
for the reception of eggs. The texture of the former
is thinner, and their depth much greater ; and as the
honey is at this period of the year of a rarer and
more fluid quality, these cells are by a wise instinct
made with a much greater dip or inclination than
the ordinary ones, that there may be less risk of the
liquid running out before they are sealed. Doubtless,
also, the honey is prevented from escaping, partly
by its own viscosity, and partly by the force of capil-
lary attraction. For if we carefully examine a cell
when nearly full, it will be observed that the sur-
face of the fluid is considerably concave, from its ad-
hesion to the sides of the cell. It will also be ob-
served how ingeniously the bees seal up their trea-

110 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

sures. They first form a ring of wax around the
inside of the mouth of the cell ; to this first ring, ad-
ditional ones are applied as the increased deposit of
honey renders necessary, till at last the opening is
completely sealed up hy a succession of concentric
rings. Besides the cells of workers and males, we
find, during the swarming season, other cells, to the
number of six, eight, ten, or twelve, differing alto-
gether from those first mentioned. These are the
royal cells, the cradles of the infant queens. (PL VI.
fig. 1, e, £.) They are found always on the edges of
the combs, of such particularly as extend but half-
way across the interior. These cells are constructed
not entirely of wax, Mr. Hunter thinks, but of a
mixture of that substance with farina. Their position
is almost vertical, and somewhat resembling a hang-
ing acorn ; their dimensions about one inch in length,
and 3J lines in diameter. " Their oblong cylindri-
cal form, smoothly polished within, and covered ex-
ternally with a kind of fret- work, gives them the re-
semblance of a suspended stalactite, and announces
a particular destination. In fact, the imposing ap-
pearance of this cradle, and the profusion of materials
expended on it, which is such, that one of them out-
weighs 100 common cells, point it out as destined
for receiving and rearing the most important person-
age of the colony — the mother and queen." *

In the architectural operations of bees, the modus
operandi has been minutely detailed in the writings of
Huber. His observations and experiments on this
* Feburier, Traite des Abeilles.

THE HONEY-BEE. Ill

branch of their natural history are calculated to excite
the deepest interest, and we regret that our limits
oblige us to forego the pleasure of reciting them, and
to refer our readers to the original work. We cannot,
nowever, omit one extract from his observations,
which strikingly proves that though the bees, when
left to themselves, regulate their operations with per-
fect uniformity, they are yet capable of modifying
them in particular circumstances. "Having seen
bees," says he, " work both upwards and downwards,
we wished to investigate whether we could compel
them to construct their combs in any other direction.
We tried to confound them with a hive glazed above
and below, so that they had no place of support but
the upright sides of their dwelling; lodging themselves
in the upper angle, they built their combs perpendi-
cular to one of these sides, and as regularly asfhose
which they usually build under a horizontal surface.
I put them to a still greater trial : As they now testified
their inclination to carry their combs in the shortest
way to the opposite side of the hive, — for they prefer
uniting them to wood, or a surface rougher than glass,
— I covered it with a pane of this last mentioned
material. Whenever this smooth and slippery sub-
stance was interposed between them and the wood,
they departed from the straight line hitherto followed
and bent the structure of their comb at a right angle
to what was already made, so that the prolongation
of the extremity might reach another side of the hive
which had been left free. Varying this experiment
after several fashions, I saw the bees constantly change

112 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

the direction of their combs, wheii I approximated a
surface too smooth to admit of their clustering on it.
They always sought the wooden sides. I thus com-
pelled them to curve the combs in the strangest shapes,
by placing a pane of glass at a certain distance from
their edges. These results indicate a degree of in-
stinct truly wonderful. They denote even more than
instinct ; for glass is not a substance against which
bees can be warned by nature. In trees, their natu-
ral abode, there is nothing that resembles it, or with
the same polish. The most singular part of their
proceeding is changing the direction of the work, be-
fore arriving at the surface cf the glass, and while yet
at a distance suitable for doing so. Do they antici-
pate the inconvenience which would attend any other
mode .of building ? No less curious is the plan adopted
by the bees for producing an angle in the combs ;
the wonted fashion of the work, and the dimensions
of the cells, must be altered. Therefore, the cells
on the upper or convex side of the comb are enlarged.,;
they are constructed of three or four times the width
of those on the opposite surface. How can so many
insects, occupied at once on the edges of the combs,
concur in giving them a common curvature from one
extremity to the other ? How do they resolve on
establishing cells so small on one side, while dimen-
sions so enlarged are bestowed on those of the other ?
And is it not still more singular that they have the
art of making a correspondence between cells of such
reciprocal discrepance ? The bottom being common
to both, the tubes alone assume a taper form. Per-

THE HONEY-BEE. 113

haps no other insect has afforded a more decisive
proof of the resources of instinct, when compelled to
deviate from the ordinary course."

It is singular that though the construction of the
cells of a honey-comb, so geometrically just, and so
well adapted to produce the greatest capacity, at the
least possible expense of superficial extent or of
materials, has been long an object of general admira-
tion ; one Naturalist, and that of no mean celebrity,
affects to disdain partaking of this almost universal
feeling. Buifon, as if to evince his superiority to
what he considers the vulgar enthusiasm excited by
the architecture of the bees, declares that " these
bee-cells — these hexagons so much applauded and
admired, serve only to furnish us with a new argument
against enthusiasm and admiration. This figure, cor-
rectly regular and geometrical as it appears to us, and
as it actually is in theory, is, in this instance, but the
effect of a mechanical result, which is often found in
nature, and may be observed even in the most inani-
mate productions. Crystals, and several other stones,
and some kinds of salts, assume constantly this figure
in their conformation. Let a vessel be filled with
peas, or rather with some seeds of a cylindrical shape,
and let it be closely shut, after having first poured
in a sufficient quantity of water to fill up all the in-
tervals between the seeds ; let this water be boiled,
and all the cylindrical seeds will become columns of
six sides. The cause, it is evident, is purely me-
chanical. Every cylinder-shaped seed tends, by its
swelling, to occupy the greatest possible space in a

114 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES.

given space ; they become, therefore, necessarily
hexagons by reciprocal compression. In like man-
ner, every bee seeks to occupy the greatest possible
room in a given space ; it is therefore necessary here
also, since the body of the bee is cylindrical, that;
their cells should be cylindrical, by reason of the same
reciprocal compression."

To this reasoning it may be answered, that there
is no analogy between the cases. A hive without
comb as Lombard argues, is not above one- fourth
filled with bees ; and there is no cover, as in the case
of the vessel, to keep the mass together. To make
the cases perfectly similar, and fit subjects of com-
parison, the vessel with water ought to be filled but to
the extent of one-fourth ; and in that case, the cylin-
drical seeds will not be converted into hexagons.
Besides, the cells at the extremities of the combs,
though not so deep as those at the centre, are as
exactly hexagonal in their forms. Now, if hexagons
are formed by the reciprocal impression of the bodies
of the bees against each other, how does it happen
that the cells at the extremities, which are not attached
to the sides or bottom of the hive, and where, con-
sequently, there can be no reciprocal compression,
should yet be as perfect hexagons as the rest ? And,
not to dwell on other proofs adduced by Lombard
and other writers, of the utter insignificancy of this
naturalist's theory — the cells have not all the same
figure, the same dimensions, depth, and diameter,
which they would necessarily have, if they had been
produced merely by reciprocal compression. No;

THE HONEY-BEE. 115

the works of the Bee demonstrate an intelligence, or,
if we please, an instinct superior to that of most ani-
mals ; and what is this instinct but the teaching of
the Almighty — a manifestation, even in the organiza-
tion of a creature so unimportant as a tiny fly — of his
eternal wisdom, which can render an insect of the
earth an object of wonder to man himself, with all
his boasted endowments ; and which, while it guides
the planets in their courses, and sustains and upholds
innumerable myriads of rational and immortal beings,
directs the minutest animalcule to do those things
that are necessary to the preservation and comfort of
its existence.

On the different substances found in a hive —
Honey, Wax, Farina or Pollen, and Propolis. —
Honey is well known to be a vegetable product,
secreted in the nectaries at the base of the corollse
of flowers. It has been supposed by some writers
to be the elemental principle of all vegetables, with-
out exception, and indispensable to their existence ;
although there is, perhaps, no sufficient evidence of
the saccharine matter of plants being in all cases con-
vertible into honey. As one of its secondary uses,
it seems destined by nature for the food of bees ; and
these industrious collectors fail not to appropriate the
rich liquid. Sweeping the hollow of the honey-cup
with their little probosces, the little skilful chemists
eagerly imbibe the saccharine juices as they exude
from the nectarium, receive them into the globular
honey-bag, which forms their anterior stomach, and
hurrying homewards with their precious load, dis-

116 SUBSTANCES IN A HIVE.

gorge it into the cells prepared for its reception. The
quantity which each bee deposits at one time is very
small, the honey-bag when full not exceeding the
size of a pea ; but the aggregate quantity collected
by the whole population is prodigious. We have, in
a fine summer day, repeatedly counted the bees of a
hive as they return from the fields laden with sweets,
and found the number to be between sixty and seventy
in a minute. When the cell is full, it is carefully
sealed with a waxen cover, and reserved for use in
winter and spring, particularly in the latter season ;
for more honey is consumed in the months of March
and April, when breeding goes on actively, than dur-
ing the four preceding months. At the same time,
many cells are left open and half-filled only, for daily
consumption. It has been a subject of discussion
among Naturalists, whether the honey, after being
extracted from the flowers, undergoes any change in
the stomach of the insect before being deposited in
the cell. Feburier is of opinion that it is subjected
to the digestive process. The celebrated John Hun-
ter thought it remained pure, and in no respect what-
ever altered, however long it had been retained in
the stomach of the bee ; and he is followed in this
conclusion by his countryman, Bonner. Kirby and
Spence, entomologists of no mean fame, have adopted
the opposite opinion ; but it does not appear that
they had been led to this conclusion by the result of
any experiment instituted for the purpose of deciding
the matter. Reaumur, however, tells us, that from
his experiments, he was satisfied that a process of

THE HONEY-BEE. 117

slaboration does take place in the food with which
he had supplied his bees ; and that the sugar with
which he fed them had precisely the taste and flavour
of honey. Our experience, if we may venture to
differ in the matter from men so deservedly celebrated
for attainments in natural science, leads us, with
Hunter and Bonner, to a different conclusion. We
have repeatedly tasted the syrup of sugar, which we
had seen the bees taking from the feeding-trough,
and depositing in the cells, and could never discover
the slightest difference in any respect, at least so far
as taste and flavour are concerned. Perhaps the
liquid was clearer — we sometimes imagined it was —
if so, this constituted the only difference.

The secretion of honey depends greatly on the
state of the atmosphere. During the prevalence Oi
dry easterly winds, the fields present to the bees no-
thing but barrenness ; their out-door labours are sus-
pended, and but for the already hoarded stores, the
brood would be in imminent danger of starvation,
But when the weather is moist and sultry, and the
air charged with electricity, the circulation of this
vegetable fluid is considerably accelerated, and the
bees know well how to avail themselves of so favour-
able a juncture for collecting their treasure. Huber
remarks, that the collection is never more abundant
nor their operations in wax more active, than when the
wind is from the south, the air moist and warm, and
a storm approaching. Heat too long protracted, how-
ever, and its concomitant drought, — chill rains and
a north wind, entirely suspend the elaboration of

118 HONEY.

honey in vegetables, and consequently the operations
of the bees. The quality of the saccharine fluid is
influenced by various causes. Something depends
on the particular period of the season in which it is
collected. In Scotland, the best honey is gathered
in the months of June and July, when the white
clover (Trifolium repens,} is in bloom; and what
is stored in spring, or rather in April and May, is
purer and better flavoured than what is obtained in
autumn, unless the bees have been during the latter
season within reach of heath, the honey from which
is of a rich wild flavour, but of a darker colour. The
quality of honey is, of course, much influenced by
the nature of the plants most frequented by the bees.
The famed honey of Hymettus derives its excellence,
it is said, from the wild thyme growing so luxuriant-
ly on the celebrated mountain from which it derives
its name ; that of Narbonne, from the wild rosemary
(Rosmarinus officinalis.} The white Dutch clover,
and the heath have been already noticed as furnish-
ing honey of a superior kind ; and there is a district
in Galloway, North Britain, where perhaps the best
honey in the kingdom is produced, owing, it is sup-
posed, to the great abundance of wild thyme (Thymus
serpyllum^) with which the country abounds.

Instances of honey of a deleterious nature being
sometimes met with, have been already noticed,
(p. 49.) We have seen it remarked, in. Bee-publi-
cations, that the finest honey is got from young
swarms ; the fact is so, generally speaking, but not,
as we might naturally be led to infer from the asser-

THE HONEY BEE. 119

tion, because it is the produce of young bees or of
fresh swarms, but because bees swarm only at the
height of the honey-season, when the flowers are in
their richest fragrance, and because the combs are
then new, and have not as yet served as receptacles
for the brood. The above remarks apply to the qua-
lity of the honey in the state in which it is secreted
in the flowers ; its after-treatment does not improve
it. The heat and vapour of the hive are injurious to
it ; in very severe seasons it is sometimes candied ;
and in the honey-harvest, when it is being separated
from the wax, its purity may easily be injured by
imperfect management.

As an article of nourishment to man, honey has
been highly valued from time immemorial, whether
used separately, or blended with other aliments. It
was held out to the children of Israel as one of the
valuable products of the promised land ; and to this
day it is in high estimation in Eastern countries.
Among the Greeks and Romans it was highly relish-
ed ; they compounded it with many other nourishing
substances, and even mixed it with their wines. It
is nutritious in proportion to the saccharine matter it
contains, and is regarded by medical men as a good
stomachic.* Its use as an article of food has been
greatly diminished by the culture of the sugar-cane ;
but it is still an article of very considerable traffic,
and large quantities are imported into this country
annually, both from the European continent and
from America. It forms, we are told, a very im-
* Feburier.

120 HONEY.

portant ingredient in those fine ales which are brew-
ed in Scotland ; and certainly it must add not a little
to the nutritive qualities of that wholesome beverage.
It will not, perhaps, be considered out of place to
take notice here of the Honey-dew. When the close
of summer happens to be hot and sultry, and the air
calm, the bees find a large supply of food on the
leaves of certain plants and trees. This is the honey-
dew. It is believed, generally, to be an exudation
of the surplus sap of trees, by means of the pores of
the upper surface of the leaves ; and is most fre-
quently found in the oak, the elm, the plane, the
lime, and the beech, and also in many fruit-trees and
ever-green plants. The idea has been entertained
of its falling from the atmosphere ; and perhaps the
supposition is, in a certain sense, not altogether with-
out foundation, nor inconsistent with the notion of its
being originally a vegetable exudation. Certain it is
that, in very sultry evenings, we have observed not
only the leaves of trees shining with the liquid, but
the dry stones also and gravel completely bespotted
with it, as if it had fallen in a gentle shower or dew.
White of Selbourne regarded it as the effluvia of
flowers, evaporated and drawn up into the atmos-
phere by the heat of the weather, and falling down
again in the night with the dews that entangle them.
Curtis* is of opinion that it is neither an exudation
of the sap of trees, nor falls from the atmosphere,
but that the true and only source of this saccharine
matter is to be found in the insect Aphis, or vine-
* Linnaean Transactions, vol. vi. page 75.

THE HONEY-BEE. 121

fretter. That a species of honey-dew is secreted by
the Aphides, there can he no doubt; but that in
these insects we are to look for its exclusive source,
is a proposition we do not think borne out by facts.
" If it fell from the atmosphere," says Curtis, " it
would cover every thing on which it fell indiscri-
minately ; whereas, we never find it but on certain
living plants and trees." The proposition in the be-
ginning of this quotation we readily accede to ; the
assertion at its close we can contradict from personal
observation. We have, as already stated, seen the
dry stones and gravel walks in the neighbourhood of
plantations completely spotted with the liquid in a
sultry summer evening ; and this, be it observed, not
immediately under the trees, so as to warrant the
supposition that it had been projected there by the
aphides above, but at the distance of many yards
from any plant or tree on which the insects might
have taken their station. Curtis maintains, also, that
" though wasps are partial to this food, bees appear
totally to disregard it." He is surely mistaken in
this. During the continuance of honey-dew, every
oak, elm, plane, and lime tree is literally covered
with these insects; and the observer has only to
bring the tip of his tongue in contact with one of the
leaves, to be convinced that the honey-dew is there,
and that this is the great attraction to the bees, which
are eagerly availing themselves of the liquid treasure,
and expressing their delight in the joyous hum that
is heard over head. The most obvious way, per.
haps, of reconciling such well-known facts with the

122 HONEY.

opinions and observations of the distinguished Natu-
ralist alluded to, is, that he applies the term honey-
dew, not to the saccharine fluid that transudes through
the leaves of certain trees, but exclusively to the ex-
crementitious matter deposited on them by the aphi-
des. Assuming, then, that there are two kinds of
honey-dew, one only of which is spoken of by Curtis,
the following appears to us to be the rationale of the
matter. Honey-dew, in whatever mode obtained, is
the saccharine juice or sap of vegetables, indispens-
able to their vitality. During extreme heats it exudes
through the pores of the upper surface of the leaves.
In this state it may be exhaled during the sultry heat
of the day, and fall again in the form of condensed
vapour in the night ; while what is secreted near the
time of sunset remains on the leaves till the follow-
ing morning. And, further, this same vegetable juice
is extracted by another process besides the perspira-
tory,— namely, by the sucker of the aphis inserted
into the tender bark of the tree, or into the footstalks
of the leaves, and conveyed through the insect's sys-
tem, and finally discharged almost in its primitive
purity, from the abdomen, in liquid jets, unless there
are ants at hand. In that case, the precious juice is
sucked in by the last-named insects, with an eager-
ness which strongly testifies their sense of its rich-
ness.*

* See P. Huberts Researches concerning Ants.
Since the above was written, the author has met with the fol-
lowing confirmation of his opinion as to the origin of Honey-
dew, in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. 44, March
1 839, from the pen of an intelligent contributor to that work ;

THE HONEY BEE. ] 23

Wax. — Wax is a vegetable product, deriving its ori-
gin from the saccharine principle existing abundantly

— 4» The honey-dew was noticed by the ancients, and is men-
tioned by Pliny by the fanciful designation of ' the sweats of
the heavens,' and ' the saliva of the stars,' though he question-
ed whether it is not a deposition from the air, purging this
from some contracted impurity. More modern philosophers
have been quite as erroneous and discordant in their opinions
relative to its nature. Some, with the most immitigable aspe-
rity, declare that it is the excrement of aphides ; others as ex-
clusively maintain that it is an atmospheric deposite ; and a
third party consider that it arises from bleeding consequent to
the wounds of insects. That there may be a glutinous sac-
charine liquid found upon the leaves of plants, arising from
the first and third named causes, is probable, or rather cer-
tain ; but this is by no means conclusive that there is not a
similar liquid extra vasated upon the surface of the leaves, ow-
ing to some unhealthy action of their vessels. It is with this
description of honey-dew that we are here concerned. The
error into which writers on this subject appear to have fallen,
consists in their having endeavoured to assign the origin of
every kind of honey-dew to the same cause." After noticing
the theories of White and Curtis, the writer goes on to say,
** The various successful application of liquids to plants, in
order to prevent the occurrence of honey-dew, and similar dis-
eases, would seem to indicate that a morbid state of the sap is
the chief cause of the honey-dew : for otherwise it would be
difficult to explain the reason why the use of a solution of
common salt in water, applied to the soil in which a plant is
growing, can prevent the appearance of a disease caused by
insects. But if we admit that the irregular action of the sap
is the cause of the disorder, then we can understand that a
portion of salt, introduced into the juices of the plant, would
naturally have a tendency to correct or vary any morbid tend-
ency, either correcting the too rapid secretion of sap, stimu-
lating it in promoting its regular formation, or preserving its

124 WAX.

in the productions of nature. It is found on the
upper surface of the leaves of many trees in the form
of a varnish, possessing all the properties of bees- wax.
The wax-bearing myrtle, (Wyrica Cerifera,) a shrub
which grows abundantly in Louisiana and other parts
of North America, bears a small berry, of which wax
forms the outer coating, and which, when exposed to
flame, burns with an agreeable aromatic odour. Dr.
Darwin supposes that the design of the waxy varnish
which covers the flowers is " to glaze over the fecun-
dating dust of the anthers, and prevent its premature
explosion from excessive moisture," and ascribes to an
unseasonable diffusion of the anther dust, the failure of
orchard and corn crops in summers of extreme humidity.
The quantity of wax found in this form is small
compared with that which is produced by the honey-
bee, and also of inferior quality. When pure, it is
of a whitish colour, destitute of taste, and with scarcely
any smell; it grows brown and even blackish with age.
After manipulation it has an aromatic smell, which,
however, disappears on exposure to the atmosphere.
The dust of flowers, called pollen or farina, was long
supposed to be the element of wax; and it is a curious
instance of the tardy progress of the knowledge of
natural history, that, though the mode in which wax -
is produced by the bees was ascertained beyond all
doubt by Huber, 40 years ago, the fact is yet little
known, and scarcely believed ; and farina has, with

fluidity. And that by such treatment, the honey-dew may
be entirely prevented, I have often myself witnessed in my
own garden," &c.

THE HONEY-BEE. 125

many, still the credit of being what is called " crude
wax." Buffon was of this opinion, and, in an edition
of his works published so late as 1821, no notice is
taken of the recent discoveries on the subject which
prove his opinion to be erroneous. Reaumur was
inclined to believe that pollen, by receiving some pe-
culiar elaboration from the bees, was converted in the
stomach to real wax, and disgorged under the ap-
pearance of paste. Later observers, however, denied
that wax was disgorged by the mouth ; they affirmed
that it exudes from the rings of the abdomen in the
form of small scales, and that pollen was used for very
different purposes. That this last mentioned substance
is not the prime constituent of wax was a conclusion
drawn from repeated and accurate observations. It
had been observed, for instance, that pollen is carried
in great quantities into hives which are already full
of comb, — that it is often of various colours, while new
combs are always of a pure white, — that fresh swarms
for some days carry no pollen, although their first ope-
ration after being housed is the construction of combs,
the building of which goes on with unremitted rapidi-
ty,— and that while it has been calculated that 100
pounds weight of pollen is carried into a hive during
the season, the whole wax of a hive, when separated
from the honey, weighs something less than two pounds.
On the other hand, the evidence is strong that wax
derives its origin from honey. It is observed that
seasons unproductive in honey are also unproductive
in wax, although pollen is at the same time abundant,
— that, by the accurate dissections of John Hunter,

126 WAX.

the receptacles were discovered where the wax is
lodged after its transudation from the body of the bee,
— that a vast number of small scales, proved to be
wax, are to be seen at the bottom of the hive in which
bees have recently been lodged, and which have cer-
tainly fallen from them while hurriedly occupied in
fixing the foundation of their combs, — and, that these
scales have been observed by many, ourselves among
the number, appearing under the rings of the abdomen,
and more than half extruded. And, finally, these dis-
coveries, which some, perhaps, might regard as little
more than presumptive evidence, have been followed
up by Huber with his usual success, and the formation
of wax from honey or sugar, the saccharine part of which
last-mentioned substance constitutes one principal in-
gredient of honey, established by such unequivocal ex-
periments as to force conviction on the most sceptical.
We have again to express our regret that our narrow
limits oblige us to give only a very brief abstract of these
most interesting and conclusive experiments, and to
refer the reader to the ampler details to be found inHu-
ber's work. He lodged a young swarm in a straw hive,
furnishing them with honey and water, and confining
them for five days ; at the end of that period the bees
had consumed the whole of their provisions, and had
constructed several combs of beautiful wax. These
combs were removed and more honey given them,
and the result was the same. This removal was made
five times successively, and on each occasion, being
supplied exclusively with honey, they produced new
combs ; thus putting it beyond dispute that this sub-

THE HONEY-BEE. 127

stance effected the secretion of wax in the body of the
bee. And further, to ascertain whether the saccharine
principle were the real source of wax, he supplied the
captive bees with sugar in the form of syrup ; the result
was still the same ; wax was produced, and that in a
shorter period, and in greater abundance than from
honey. As the reverse of this experiment would prove
whether the pollen or farina itself had the same pro-
perty, instead of supplying the bees with honey or
sugar, he fed them only on fruit and farina. They
were kept eight days in captivity under a glass bell,
with a comb having only farina in the cells, yet they
neither made wax, nor were scales seen under the
rings.

It is but justice to the Scotch bee-master, Bonner,
to remark, that, amidst the errors on the subject which
prevailed in his day, he had a strong impression of the
real source of wax, and the manner of its secretion.
In this, as in other points of bee-science, his natural
shrewdness and acuteness of observation led him to the
very verge of some of the most important of those facts
in the natural history of bees which we owe to the
more scientific researches of Huber. " I have some-
times/'says he," been inclined to think that wax might
be an excrescence, exudation, or production from
the bodies of the bees, and that, as the Queen can lay
eggs when she pleases, so, if need require, the working
bees can produce wax from the substance of their own
bodies. If this conjecture be right, it will follow, of
course, that all the food which the bee takes, contri-
butes to the formation of wax, in the same manner as

128 FARINA.

all the food which a cow eats contributes to the pro-
duction of milk, or, to adopt a nearer simile from the
insect tribe, as all the food which a spider takes con-
tributes not only to the nourishment of the animal, but
to the production of the substance of the cob- web from
its body. Numberless other analogies in nature might
be adduced in favour of the probability of this theory.
The silk, for instance, produced from the body of the
silk-worm, is a substance as different from that of the
animal itself, or of the mulberry leaf it feeds on, as
wax is from that of the body of the bee, or of the
honey or flower she su<*ks. And the excrescence pro-
duced in the human ear, which also goes by the name
of wax, is certainly a substance as different from that
of the body which produces it as either the one or the
other. Upon the whole, until I meet with a more
probable theory, supported by facts, I must give it as
my humble opinion that the wax is produced from the
body of the bee alone, or rather, that the bees can
speedily convert into wax what they bring from the
flowers, and therewith build their combs and seal up
both their young and their honey."*

Farina, or Pollen. — Farina, or Pollen, is the ferti-
lizing dust of flowers and forms a very important ingre-
dient in the nourishment of the young bees. Before
the discovery of the true origin of wax, it was supposed
to constitute the rude material of that substance, being
taken into the stomach and converted by some pecu-
liar action of that organ, into real wax ; and hence,
among French naturalists, it had obtained the name
* Bonner on Bees, p. 195.

THE HONEY-BEE. 129

of cire brute, or crude wax. It consists of an infinite
number of small globules, which, in exploding in con-
sequence of the application of moisture, shed a subtle
essence over the pistils of the flower, and thus effect
the fecundation of the plant. The bees eagerly set
about collecting this nutritious substance as soon as
the season affords it, and continue to do so throughout
the summer, not only for immediate use, but also for
storing up against the season when it is not to be ob-
tained abroad. They may be observed upon the an-
thers of flowers, gathering this substance with unceas-
ing activity, and forming it into little lenticular-shaped
pellets which they place in the baskets in their third
pair of legs. They often roll their bodies in the
flower- cup, and then brush off the pollen adhering to
them ; and they are sometimes seen tearing in pieces
the capsules containing it, in order to get at their
object* The colour varies according to the hue of
the flower from which it is collected. In spring it is
generally of a bright yellow or orange, as these are
the prevailing colours of the early flowers, such as
crocuses, snow-drops, turnips, furze, &c. The bee,
in each excursion in search of this substance, visits
only one species of flower. This is proved by the fact
that the little balls, with which they are loaded, are
uniformly of one unmixed colour — a wise provision
of nature ; for thereby is the insect instinctively led
to collect, at the same moment, those particles only
of farina, which being homogeneous, will form the

*• Feburier, Traitd des Abeilles.

I

130 FARINA.

closest cohesion ; and is further prevented from con-
tributing to the multiplication of hybrid plants.*

The collection of pollen by the bees is made in
greatest quantity in the earlier part of the day, before
the heat of the sun has dried up the moisture which
renders it more easily packed into the little masses
which adhere to their legs. After they are fully
loaded, they return to their hive, anoV deposit their
burden in cells in which there is neither honey nor
brood. The mode in which the Bee unloads itself,
has been already noticed. Planting her middle and
hind legs firmly on the edges of the cell, she sweeps
with her fore-legs the pellets from their baskets, and
thus drops them into the cell. Another worker in-
stantly inserts her head into this cell, and keeps it
there for a minute or two, evidently kneading the
farina, and probably mixing with it a portion of honey
disgorged from the honey-bag, as it presents a moist
appearance on her leaving it. Farina is probably
mixed with wax in constructing the combs when the
latter substance is scarce, especially in building the
royal cells, the outer surface of which appears to be
nearly altogether farina, and only the inner surface
of wax highly polished. But the principal use of
this substance, after undergoing, perhaps, a peculiar
elaboration, is to nourish the brood. This fact was
proved by an interesting experiment of Huber. He
furnished a hive, with combs containing brood, with
honey and water, but no farina, and confined the
bees so as to prevent them from seeking this last sub-
* Be van on the Honey- Bee.

THE HONEY-BEE. 131

stance abroad. On the third day of their confinement,
a loud noise was heard in the interior of the hive, and
on examining it, all was found in confusion — the
brood was abandoned — the bees ran in disorder over
the combs — thousands rushed towards the entrance,
and gnawed at its grating. The same symptoms of
disorder showed themselves on the two following
days, at which time the bees were allowed to escape,
and the combs examined. The cells were found all
vacant, and the brood had died, doubtless of hunger.
Was the want of farina the cause of this cata-
strophe ? To decide the point, Huber supplie4 the
same hive with fresh brood and abundance of farina,
and confined them as before. Next day, they were
observed busily employed in consolidating the brood
combs that had been given them ; and having dis-
covered the farina, they were seen crowding to the
cells containing it, extracting a supply, hurriedly
mounting the combs, stopping at the cells containing
brood, inserting their heads, and remaining in that
position a considerable time. On the following day
he inspected the combs, and found that all the larvae
had jelly, as in ordinary circumstances ; that they
had grown in size, and that some had been closed up
to undergo their transformation into nymphs. Thus
it is placed beyond all doubt that the young bees are
nourished chiefly by that fine powdery substance which
is found in the anthers of flowers, and is indispensable
to their fecundity. Nature, ever wise and provident
has so disposed matters, that the insects which sub-
sist on farina should be able to avail themselves of it

132 PROPOLIS.

without injury to the fructification of the plants. So
far, indeed, from being an obstacle to this, the bees,
on the contrary, greatly facilitate it, by applying in
their movements the fertilizing farina to the stigma
of the flower.

Propolis. — Propolis is a tenacious substance, gene-
rally of a dull grey colour, gathered by the bees from
the buds of certain trees in early spring ; especially
from the alder, the poplar, the birch, and the willow.
It is of great use to the insect in various ways. The
ancients supposed it to consist of three different sub-
stances, or rather, perhaps, three different modifica-
tions of the same substance, according to the diffe-
rent proportions of wax blended with it, and have
been followed in this opinion by some more recent
inquirers ; yet the generality of intelligent Bee-mas-
ters are satisfied that it is in fact a single substance
when collected by the bees, and that it is afterwards,
when used, mixed by them with common wax in
different proportions, according to the purpose for
which it is employed. Huber, to ascertain the fact
of its origin, stuck some branches of the wild poplar
in pots of earth, in front of his apiary. The bees
immediately discovered them, and set about loading
themselves with the identical substance, which- he
had often detected adhering to their thighs in the
same manner as farina. He observed them " sepa-
rating the folds of the buds with their teeth, drawing
out threads of the viscous substance, and lodging a
pellet of it in one of the baskets of their limbs." He
ascertained farther, that branches newly cut did not

THE HONEY-BEE. 133

seem to attract the insect ; the viscous matter in them
had less consistence, and therefore did not suit its
purpose. The branches he used had heen cut for
some time. This last circumstance seems somewhat
unaccountable. It can be but seldom, generally
speaking, that the bees have it in their power to
gather propolis from cut branches ; whereas, in point
of fact, at the time when they most need that mate-
rial, we see them busied in hundreds on the growing
trees, and bringing it home in large quantities.

The bees employ this substance in the commence-
ment of the structure of their combs, to attach them
more firmly to the foundation than could be effected
by wax alone, which is neither so tenacious, nor
attains to so great a degree of hardness. Indeed, it
possesses the former of these qualities to such a de-
gree, that the bees find some difficulty in detaching
the pellets from the baskets on their legs, and have
been observed availing themselves of the aid of their
companions for that purpose. And hence, aware of
its tenacity, they are observed gathering it only dur-
ing the heat of the day, when it is rendered more
ductile by the warmth. It is employed also in
attaching the edges of the combs to the sides of the
hive, where it forms a projection from the comb, and
serves the purpose of a point d* appui. Every Bee-
master is familiar with the use made of it in fastening
the hives to the floors. It is employed too in stop-
ping all crevices by which the winter's cold might get
access ; and, above all, it is specially employed as an
effective barrier against the intrusion of enemies. The

134 morons.

bees have been observed contracting, by means of
propolis, the entrances of their hives, and erecting
something resembling barricades with it, when they
had reason to apprehend the intrusion of the death's
head hawk-moth, a dangerous enemy to the honey-
bee, though little known in this country. The name
propolis* given to this substance by the ancients,
proves that the use the bees make of this resinous
exudation in fortifying their dwellings, has been long
known. We have one or two amusing instances re-
corded of a further use which their instinct has taught
them to make of this substance.' A shell-snail had
found its way into one of Reaumur's hives, and
fastened itself by its slime to the glass. The bees, un-
able to remove it, fell upon a most ingenious method,
and at a small expense of labour and material, of pre-
venting any annoyance from the intruder. They formed
a border of propolis round the edge of the shell, where
it rested on the glass, and thus fixed it immoveably.
A slug-snail had crawled into a hive of Maraldi's, and
was disposed of in a similar manner, though with
more violence. The bees immediately surrounded
it, and stung it to death. The disposal of the dead
body was the next consideration — it was too bulky
to be moved by their puny efforts, but they covered
it all over with propolis, thus completely preventing
the injurious effects that might have arisen from
putrefaction.

On the Formation of Swarms. — The swarming

* Propolis, compounded of the Greek words pro and polis9
signifying " before the city/' .

THE HONEY-BEE. 135

season is to the amateur in Bee-economy, a most in-
teresting period in the life and operations of these
extraordinary insects, and affords, perhaps, fully as
much gratification as any other part of their proceed-
ings. By tfye mere practical Bee-master, who looks
almost exclusively to the return of profit arising from
their culture, the honey-harvest will, of course, be
regarded as the period of most interest. But by the
Naturalist, the season of swarming, by bringing into
view some of the most striking features of their mar-
vellous instincts, and thus affording additional scope
for his favourite studies, will ever be hailed with the
most intense delight.

We have already observed that the breeding season
commences about the end of January, or early in Feb-
ruary, unless the temperature be unusually severe,
and continues with constantly increasing progress and
activity throughout the summer. The addition thus
made to the population is almost incredible. At the
beginning of the year, a hive which in the preceding
October contained no less than 12,000 or 15,000
inhabitants, will be reduced below as many hund-
reds ; and yet, by the beginning or middle of June>
the numbers, provided the Queen be an ordinarily
fertile one, and the season not unfavourable, will be
augmented to more than the original amount, exclu-
sive of an immense quantity of brood in progress of
incubation. It is not surprising, therefore, that about
mid-summer, or even before it, there seems a want
of room in the hive, and a determination on the part
of the bees to desert their crowded habitation, and

136 PROPOLIS.

to seek for a new one elsewhere. A crowded popti-
lation may not be the sole cause of this periodical
emigration of the bees; but it seems consonant to
the usual course of nature that it should be the prin-
cipal cause, and that others which ma,y be alleged
are but subservient to it. No royal brood is reared,
unless the population fill the hive almost to over-
flowing. This takes place sooner or later, according
to the size of the domicile ; and hence we find that,
generally speaking, small hives swarm sooner than
those of larger dimensions.

The heat in a full hive is excessive — the thermo-
meter often rising above 100 degrees, — and may doubt-
less have its effect in hastening the swarming ; and
we have oftener than once succeeded in bringing off
a swarm, when apparently undetermined, by the arti-
ficial application of heat. But this increased temper-
ature is the consequence of the overgrown population
in relation to the size of their dwelling. The un-
easiness of the Queen is usually stated as one of the
causes of swarming, arising from the sight of so many
royal cells, each containing, as a sure instinct teaches
her, a future rival. However this may hold true in
after-swarms, it seems at least doubtful whether it
be applicable to the first. In respect to after- swarms,
the then Queen, prompted by jealousy, is desirous to
destroy her rivals ; and being prevented by the bees
from doing so, she becomes agitated and restless, and
finally forsakes a hive where she meets with so much
to annoy her. But in the case of & first swarm, the
Queen-mother meets with nothing but respect and

THE HONEY-BEE. 137

attention to her wishes from every memher of the
community. She is their common mother, and is
never opposed hy them, and might destroy all the
emhryo-queens without any opposition. And this,
in fact, does sometimes take place ; for if the wea-
ther at this period set in and continue intemperate
and stormy, no swarming takes place, for the old
Queen destroys the whole of the royal brood. But
it is otherwise in ordinary circumstances ; and while
she is left at perfect liberty to act as she pleases with
regard to the unhatched queens, we are led to be-
lieve that she is induced to emigrate, not on account
of the presence of her embryo rivals, but in obedience
to the wise provision of nature for the increase of
the species. Whatever may be the real cause, the
proceedings of the Queen and the workers at the
approach of summer evidently show that matters are
ripening for some great internal movement. About
the beginning or middle of May, the bees, as if
aware of the necessity, begin to form large cells, in
which the Queen immediately deposits the eggs of
males, and continues to do so for about thirty days.
At the same time, some royal cells are formed ; for
there appears to be a secret relation between the
production of the eggs of males and the construction
of royal cells ; and about the twentieth day of her
laying this species of eggs, the Queen, discovering
the royal cells, deposits an egg in one of them, and,
at intervals of a day between each, in all the other
cells of this description. The bees know to close
them at the moment when the larvae are ready to be

1 38 PROPOLIS.

transformed into nymphs ; and as they in fact close
all the royal cells at different periods, it is evident
that the inclosed larvae are not all of an equal age.

The laying of drone eggs having terminated, the
Queen, previously large and unwieldy, hecomes slen-
der in her figure and more ahle to fly, and begins to
exhibit signs of agitation. She traverses the hive
impatiently, abandoning the slow and stately step
which was her wont, and in the course of her im-
petuous progress over the combs, she communicates
her agitation to the workers, who crowd around her,
mounting on her back, striking her briskly with their
antennas, and evidently sharing in her impatience.
A loud confused noise is heard throughout the hive,
and hardly any of the workers are observed going
abroad to forage ; numbers are whirling about in an
unsettled manner in front of the hive ; and the mo-
ment is come, to a considerable portion of the family,
for bidding adieu to their ancient abode. All at
once the noise in the interior ceases, and the whole
of the bees about the doors re-enter ; while those re-
turning loaded from the fields, instead of hurrying in
as usual, hover on the wing, as if in eager expecta-
tion. In a second or two, some workers present
themselves again at the door, turn round, re-enter,
and return instantaneously in additional numbers,
smartly vibrating their wings, as if sounding the
march ; and at this signal the whole swarm rushes
to the entrance in an overwhelming crowd, stream-
ing forth with astonishing rapidity, and filling the
air in an instant, like a dark cloud overhanging their

1 UNIVERSITY

THE HONEY-BEE. 139

late habitation. There they hover for a moment,
reeling backwards and forwards, while some of the
body search in the vicinity for a tree or bush which
may serve as a rallying-point for the emigrants. To
this they repair by degrees, and provided their Queen
has alighted there, all, or at least the greater part,
crowd around, and form a dense group, sometimes
rounded like a ball, sometimes clustered like a bunch
of grapes, according to the nature of the resting-place
they have fixed on. (Plate VII.) The Queen .is
not always foremost; it is frequently, or rather
generally, not till after the departure of a consider-
able number of workers that she makes her appear-
ance ; and when she does come, it is with a timid
irresolute air, as if she were borne along, almost
against her will, by the torrent that streams out of
the hive, — for she often turns on the threshold, as if
about to re-enter, and in fact frequently does so, but
cannot long resist the opposing crowd.*

The first swarm is invariably led off by the old
Queen. This has been ascertained by actual obser-
vation. The Queen leading off a first swarm in one
year, has been marked by depriving her of one of
her antennae, and has been found at the head of a first
swarm in the year following. This experiment has
been so often repeated, and with results so uniform, as
to put the fact beyond all doubt. Besides, in examin-
ing those hives in which first swarms have been
placed, eggs will be found in the cells on the second

* Feburier.

140 SWARMS.

day, which could not have been the case had the
leader heen a virgin-queen. The reason for the de-
parture of the old Queen with the first swarm is to
be found in the fact, that a plurality of queens can-
not exist in a hive. Were no swarm to depart,
therefore, until a young Queen could put herself at
the head of it, this plurality must exist for a time,
and the danger arise of a combat between the two
sovereigns ; and the death of one, at least, and prob-
ably of the younger and weaker, would be the con-
sequence. By this means swarming would be pre-
vented altogether.

A swarm, especially a first one, never departs but
in fine weather, and at the warmest time of the day
The passing of a cloud over the face of the sun, caus-
ing a sudden diminution of the light, is sufficient
to stop the emigration for a time, although all is in
perfect readiness. The same effect is produced, if,
at the moment of rushing out, there is a sudden
change of weather ; a shower of rain, however slight,
or a gust of wind, will restore quiet instantaneously.
No sooner, however, does the wind lull, and the sun
shine out, though only for a second or two, than all
the symptoms of restlessness and agitation are re-
newed, and the impatient emigrants rush out in
myriads.

If suffered to remain any considerable time on the
spot where they have alighted in swarming, the bees
are apt to rise again, and take a new flight. But
their flight now has a different aspect from what it
had on first leaving the hive. They do not now hover

THE HONEY-BEE. 141

round the apiary, wheeling about in mazy circles,
and in a kind of regular confusion, but dart away in
a condensed body, and with a rapid wing, with a
shrill whizzing sound, and almost always in a straight
line, as if they had some particular selected spot in
view. It is supposed, indeed, and on feasible grounds,
that in every case the bees, previous to swarming,
have fixed on a place of abode ; that they alight in
the first instance on a bush or tree, merely as a
general rendezvous, before proceeding to their final
destination ; and that some days previously they send
out some of their number in the character of scouts
to look out for a suitable habitation. Whether this
be the fact or not, is a question which has given
rise to considerable discussion ; and a host of apia-
rians have taken opposite sides on the subject. The
advocates of the scout system are Warder, Butler,
Bonner, and Knight among the British writers, several
French naturalists, and the author of the letters of
an American farmer. On the other side are Reau-
mur, Buffon, Bonnet, and Huber. Who shall decide
when such authorities differ in opinion ? As far as
our experience goes, it is in favour of the scout
system. At the approach of the swarming season,
we usually place an empty hive or two in the apiary
to be ready for the reception of swarms ; and few years
— perhaps none — have elapsed in which we have not
observed for some days before the swarming com-
mences, a few scores of bees very busy in some one of
these empty hives ;•— a circumstance almost uniformly
followed by a swarm taking possession of it. They are

142 SWARMS.

as might be expected, more apt to do so, if the hive
contains comb or honey, the smell of which will
have its effect in enticing them. But we have had
many instances of their fixing on empty hives quite
new, and which had never been used. At the same
time, we do not mean to say that the bees literally
send or commission some of their number on the
duty of selecting a retreat ; but we think, that, im-
pelled by instinct, numbers do go on this errand ;
that each succeeding day they are joined in their
search by others of the community ; that thus a
great proportion of the population may have visited
the spot selected ; and that, therefore, when the
emigration takes place, a large body of the bees
naturally betakes itself to the place pitched on, and
is followed by the general swarm with the queen.
We would not go so far as to maintain, as some
have done, that in all cases the bees have previously
chosen their intended retreat, and that the shrub or
bush on which they first alight, is only meant to
serve as a rallying point previously to their final
flight. Were this always the case, it is not likely
they would submit so readily to be intercepted by
the bee-master, and remain contentedly, as in ninety-
nine cases out of a hundred they do, in the hive in .
which he has placed them. The truth is, perhaps,
that the writers on bees, like writers on many other
subjects, especially of Natural History, are fond of
classing the acts and proceedings of their favourites
under certain fixed and uniform rules, from which
they are supposed never to deviate. Whereas daily ex-

THE HONEY-BEE. 143

perience may convince us, that bees, like human
beings, are often the slaves of circumstances, and
that their instinct is sometimes at fault.

Second Swarms. — After the departure of the first
swarm with the old Queen at its head, the com-
munity is, for a time, without a reigning Queen.
There is brood in the royal cells, but none come to
maturity ; and it is not till the fifth, sixth, or seventh
day in ordinary cases, that the senior of the young
princesses is hatched, and takes her place as Queen
regnant. Her first step is to hasten to the other royal
cells, and endeavour to destroy her rivals. In these
attempts, with which she is incessantly occupied for
several days, she is strongly opposed by the workers,
to whom, so long as she remains a virgin, she is an
object of indifference ; and the scene takes place
which has been described in page 95. At every
repulse by the workers, she utters the shrill mono-
tonous sound which is called piping, and which is
heard for two or three days previous to the departure
of a second swarm ; while the younger Queens in
confinement respond, sometimes two or three of them
at the same moment, in a voice sounding hoarse from
the recesses of their prison. Irritated by such opposi-
tion, and annoyed at the sight of so many royal cells
in every quarter, the young Queen becomes extremely
agitated, and at last rushes, together with the bees to
whom she has imparted her agitation, through the out-
lets of the hive, and thus forms the second swarm.

Circumstances sometimes occur to prevent the de-
parture of a second swarm. If the young Queen, as

1 44 SWARMS.

soon as hatched, sets out in search of the males, and
is impregnated, no further emigration will take place,
because, heing now about to become a mother, — the
character to which alone the bees render their homage,
— she enters into the full possession of her rights
and is allowed to attack and destroy all the unhatched
royal brood. And, further ; swarming is equally at an
end, when, after the departure of the first colony, the
remaining population is too small to keep up a vigilant
guard over the royal cells. In that case, as if aware of
the impossibility of a second emigration, the bees aban-
don the watch, and the young Queens, leaving their
cells, engage in mutual combat till all are destroyed ex-
cept one, who reigns undisputed sovereign. But in ordi-
nary circumstances, the agitation of the Queen, abun-
dance of brood, a favourable season, and, perhaps,
other causes unknown to us, all lead to farther emi-
gration, and, in populous hives, this may take place
three and even four times. The interval between the
first and second swarm is from eight to twelve days ;
it is of a shorter duration between the second and
third, and still less between the third and fourth ; in
fact, when a fourth does take place, it is always on
the day following the departure of the third.*

It may appear surprising that a hive can swarm so
often without being too much weakened. The first
swarm is frequently so large that the hive seems alto-
gether deserted, yet, in eight or ten days afterwards,
the population is in such abundance as to be able to
send forth another colony. But we must remember
* Feburieij Trait€ des Abeilles.

THE HONEY-BEB. 145

that swarms depart only during the warmest part cf
the day, when a full third of the workers are busily
engaged in the fields ; these, returning home, resume
their labours, and carry on the necessary operations
of the hive. Besides, " the Queen has left an immense
quantity of brood of all ages, which is soon hatched,
and which renders the population as great after
swarming as before. Thus the hive is perfectly
capable of affording a second colony without being
too much impoverished. The third and fourth swarms
weaken it more sensibly, but the inhabitants always
remain in sufficient numbers to preserve the course
of their labours uninterrupted, and the losses are soon
replaced by the great fecundity of the Queen. And,
farther, many of those workers who, in the agitation
of the moment, had followed the crowd, do not even-
tually become members of the new colony. When
the delirium attendant on swarming seizes on the
bees, the whole rush forward, accumulate towards
the entrance of the hive, and are heated in such a
degree that they perspire copiously ; those near the (
bottom, and which support the weight of the rest,
seem perfectly drenched, their wings grow moist, they
are incapable of flight and, even when able to escape,
they advance* 3$ farther than the alighting board cf
the hive, and soon return ; those, too, that have lately
left their cells, remain behind the swarm, still feeble,
for they could not support themselves in flight ; here,
therefore, are also many recruits to people what we
may have thought a deserted habitation/' *
*Huber, p. 165.

146 SWARMS.

When the swarming is over in any particular hive,
the new Queen, on the departure or death of the rest,
and the restoration of the ordinary tranquillity of the
community, goes abroad on the following day, gene-
rally the fifth of her existence, to meet the males,
and is impregnated. Forty-six hours afterwards, she
commences laying the eggs of workers, and continues
to do so for the eleven succeeding months. This
does not, however, hold strictly true in every case ;
for it sometimes happens, if the season he favourable,
that the swarm led off by the old Queen, produces,
in about a month afterwards, a new colony, which is
also headed by the same female. Before leaving the
old hive, she had terminated her^rart laying of drone
eggs, and thus became able to fly from her greater
lightness, and to set out to found a new colony. In this
she recommences the laying the eggs of workers, and
continues to do so for ten or twelve days, after which
she deposits a few drone eggs in cells which the bees,
as if aware that she would require them, have already
prepared for their reception. These male eggs,
though few, are enough to encourage the bees to
construct royal cells ; and if, in these circumstances,
the weather be favourable, a swarm may be formed,
and the same Queen depart at its head. Nor is this
variation in the swarming operations restricted to the
instance of the old Queen ; we have known two or
three instances in which a young Queen, that is. a
Queen of the current year, after leading off, as in
ordinary circumstances, an after-swarm, has again
issued with another swarm from her new habitation.

THE HONEY-BEE.

This fact, which, it must be acknowledged, occurs
very seldom, is at variance with the doctrine of Huber,
that the young Queen lays the eggs of workers only
for eleven months successively. He admits, though
not very explicitly, that a Queen hatched in spring
may lay fifty or sixty drone eggs during the course
of the ensuing summer, but he refers to the swarm
led forth by the old Queen, exclusively, when he
speaks of its producing a new colony in the same
season in the course of a month after its first de-
parture. With respect to the eleven months, it cer-
tainly consists with our own experience, that, as Fe-
burier asserts, the time occupied by the Queen in
laying the eggs of workers before she begins that
of drones, and, of course, those that shall produce
Queens and their accompanying swarms, varies ac-
cording to the temperature, and especially to the
abundance of food. A swarm, for example, that
came off at the end of June, sometimes throws off
a swarm about the middle of the following May, which
is little more than ten months of an interval, and,
on the other hand, it sometimes happens that a hive
which has swarmed at the middle of May, does not
throw another till the end of June in the follow-
ing year, which is above 13 months.

On the Diseases and Enemies of Bees. — Much
exaggeration has prevailed amongst apiarians on the
subject of the diseases of bees, many of which, or
rather most of *vhich, seem, on careful examination,
to have no existence but in the imagination of the
observers. After long experience and attentive ob~

148 DISEASES OF BEES.

serration, we are satisfied that this insect is suhject
only to one malady, namely, dysentery. Vertigo has
been spoken of by many writers, especially on the
continent, as one of their ailments, but, we think,
without sufficient grounds. We have occasionally
seen bees in that state of dizziness which is ascribed
to vertigo, but have invariably found that when seized
and held in the hand for a second or two, and again
let go, they return to their usual occupation without
any marks of disease. Swelling of the antennas is
also mentioned as a bee-malady, — we have never
seen an instance of it, and, from its being unnoticed
even by many of those naturalists who have furnished
long lists of the disorders of bees, it seems to have as
little foundation in reality as vertigo. In fact, dysentery
appears to be the only serious disorder to which these
insects are liable, and various causes have been as-
signed for it, such as their feeding on honey-dew, on
the juices of certain fruits, on plants of a poisonous
nature, on honey alone without a due mixture of
pollen, &c. &c. No evidence from accurate experi-
ment has been adduced in favour of these theories,
and, perhaps, their inapplicability is established by
the fact that a well peopled hive is never assailed by
this disorder, provided its inmates are in the full en-
joyment of their liberty. We are led to conclude,
therefore, that it proceeds simply from long confine-
ment, by which the necessary evacuations are pre-
vented. It is well known that the bees, when in
health, never void their excrement within the hive.
When their owners, therefore, from mistaken care,

Iig.3.

FU].4.

2. tterus ApiaruLS 2.Tdiea

3. (/alien/ 0fthc> larva. 4.ffumbl^ bees Supporting apiece ofcomJ}.

THE HONEY-BEE. 149

remove them into a dwelling-house in order to shelter
them from the winter's cold, or when a long track of
inclement weather confines them within doors, they
are obliged to retain their faeces so long that the con-
sequence is an attack of dysentery. Its existence is
easily detected ; the floor-board and the combs are
covered with stains produced by the excrement, of a
dark brown colour, and which diffuse through the hive
a most offensive smell, and this last circumstance, no
doubt, contributes to augment the evil, for the bees
and brood, inhaling only an unwholesome air, must
be fatally affected.

Enemies of Bees. — The enemies of bees are nume-
rous, though many of them are by no means formi-
dable. Swallows, spiders, ants, frogs, wood-lice, poul-
try, small birds of almost every kind, are all reckoned
amongst their foes, but their ravages are trifling, and
seem to have for their object rather the dead bodies
than the living insects. During the time of the mas-
sacre of the drones, we have often seen blackbirds
stealing from among the bushes near the apiary, in the
autumnal evenings, and carrying off, one by one, the
whole of the carcases of the males that had been
destroyed during the day ; we have never observed
them attacking the living insect. There is a kind of
beetle also, (Clerus Apiarius, PL VIII. fig. 1,) which,
according to Aristotle, inhabits bee-hives, and which,
while yet in the larva state, feeds on the larvae of the
bees ; we have never heard of any instance of such
being met with, or injurious to bees in this country.
More to be dreaded are field-mice, which sometimes

150 ENEMIES OF BEES.

gain access to the interior, and ultimately ruin the
hive. But this takes place only in winter, when the
bees are languid or partially torpid, and when there is
a lack of vigilance on the part of their owner. A still
more formidable enemy is the wax-moth, ( Tinea Mel-
lonella, PI. VIII. fig. 2,) of who se ravages Feburier has
given a long and minute detail. This insect is ex-
tremely alert in discovering any crevice by which it
may penetrate into the hive, and easily effects its pur-
pose if the bees are not numerous, and there is no
centinel on the watch. They lay their eggs in the
sides of the hive, or in the rubbish on the floor, or
even in the combs which are farthest from the entrance.
Every egg contains an insect, which, in due time be-
comes a moth. It appears first under the form of a
worm or larva, and it is in this stage that it commits
its ravages, extending its galleries or covered ways
throughout every quarter of the interior, and devouring,
not honey or wax, neither of which substances seems
to be its proper food, but the exuviae of bee nymphs,
and, very probably, the nymphs themselves. Certain
it is that the population of a hive infested by these
destructive creatures, diminishes with such rapidity as
leads to the conclusion that they prey upon tlie» brood
itself as well as on its exuviae. The bees give ground
step by step, until, being greatly reduced in numbers,
they at last utterly abandon the hive. Another moth
of a kind dangerous to bees is mentioned by Huber,
namely, the Sphynx Atropos, or Death's-head Hawk-
moth, so called from its having on its thorax a mark
somewhat resembling a death's-head (See PL IX.)

THE HONEY-BEE. 151

This insect is of gigantic size, and Is endowed with
great strength, and it is conjectured by Huber to
possess a faculty like that wrhich he supposes to reside
in the Queen-bee, of emitting a certain sound which
strikes the bees with terror, and thus enables it to
extend its ravages with impunity. While in the cater-
pillar state, it feeds on the leaves of the potato, and
makes its appearance in its last and perfect state to-
wards the end of summer. It is described as most
injurious to the bees on the continent, and in some
parts of Africa; fortunately it is seldom seen in
this country.* Wasps, particularly those of the
hornet species, are most destructive to bees. We
have often observed one of these marauders enter a
hive with fearless intrepidity, and, watching its motions
through the glazed frame, have been astonished by its
feats of strength and agility. In ascending the combs
it is, of course, instantly attacked by the rightful in-
habitants ; if one only venture to assail it, the unfor-
tunate bee has no chance of victory, and but little of
escaping with life ; if five or six cluster round it, as
is generally the case, and cling close to its body, en-
deavouring to pierce it with their stings, their efforts
are set at nought by the intrepid wasp, which struggles
with unwearied obstinacy, rolls along the floor of the
hive so closely enveloped in a mass of bees, that but
little of its body is visible, and though at last it is
forced by overwhelming numbers to take to flight, it
flies off apparently uninjured from the conflict. These
* A more detailed account of it will be found in that volume
of the Naturalist's Library which treats of British moths and
hawk-moths, p. 133, %

152 ENEMIES OF BEES.

partial attacks of single wasps, however, are of little
moment, farther than that they are, perhaps, explo-
ratory ; it is when they come in a hody that the safety
of a hive is endangered ; in such cases the utmost
care of the hee-master is often unavailing. The wily
insects soon discover the weakness of any particular
hive in point of population, and, acting on this disco-
very, attack it in such numbers, that nothing hut its
removal can save it from speedy and utter destruction.

Bad as wasps are, the Bees themselves are the
worst enemies to their own species. In a hack-
ward spring, or toward the end of autumn, when the
population begins to he scanty, some bees may be
observed lounging about the apiary, as if conscious
that there was no present scope for the exercise of
honest industry, and, like other idlers, seem ripe for
any mischief. A single bee may be seen peering
into the entrances of several hives, as if to ascertain
the strength of the population, or the vigilance of
the guards ; and on finding access from a deficiency
in either of these particulars, proceeds to carry off
its load from the store-cells. After frequently re-
peating these domiciliary visits, it returns at last with
several of its companions, their numbers increasing
at every visit, till the hive becomes a scene of pillage
and slaughter. Their first endeavours are, it is said,
to find out and kill the Queen ; and after this catas-
trophe, the rightful owners seem to lose all interest
in their property, and associating at last with the
robbers, join in the plunder of their own stores.*

* Old Butler, in his " Feminine Monarchic," published at

THE HONEY-BEE. 153

Cold, generally speaking, is prejudicial to bees.
When tempted by a bright sun after a fall of snow,

Oxford in 1634, gives, in his quaint way, an amusing descrip-
tion of a scene of bee-pillage. After particularizing various
enemies to the honey-gathering tribe, he proceeds — " But not
any one of dese, nor all dese togeder, doo half so muc harm to
de Bees, as de Bees. Apis api, ut homo hommi9 Lupus. Dey
mak de greatest spoil bot of bees and of hoonnie. Dis rob-
bing is practised all de yeer. In winter, soom wil bee prowl-
ing abroad ; and soom ar so teevishly disposed, dat all de
soommer long, wen abundanc6 of hoonni is every wer to bee
had, dey wil yet bee filcing, dowg (though) dey die for it But
in Virgo (August) is de most dangerous time of all : den sal
all de stalls in your garden bee tryed of wat mettle dey ar
made. De Robbers ar towgt (thought) to bee poor swarms
and stoks, wic have not sufficiently provided demsel vs for win-
ter. But indeed, sue ar fitter to bee robbed dan to be robbers.
Der is no teef to de rich teef: wo (who) aldowg (although) hee
have enoug, and mor dan enoug ; yet, by hook or by crook,
hee will hav* mor6, dowg de poor starv6 for it. Wen de teeves,
having first made an entri, begin to coom tik, and de true bees
perceiv6 demselvs to bee assaulted by many ; dey suddenly
make an outcri6 ; and issuing out of deir holds by troops, pre-
par6 demselvs to battel. Soom keep de gates ; soom flie about ;
soom run in again, to see wat is doon der6 ; soom begin to
grapple wid de enimi ; and dat wit sue a noise and din, as if
de drum did sound an all-arm. Besides wic base sound, you
sal eftsoons in de heat of de battel, hear a mor6 shril and
sharp not6, as it wer6 of a flut6 ; as saith Virgil,

" Vox

Auditur fractos sonitus imitata tubarum,"

wic, I am out of doubt, is tuned by deir generall commander,
encooraging dem to figt for deir Princ6, deir lives, and deir
goods. Den sal you see de enimies bestur demselves most
venturously ; soom violently, toorrow de tickest, trusting in
at de gates ; oders ecalling de walls, and tearing dem down*
On de oder sid6, de defendants will behav6 demselves as brave-

154 ENEMIES OF BEES.

a few have left their comfortable dwelling, they are
quickly chilled, and in a very short period are past
recovery. But with ordinary precautions, in stop-
ping crevices, and providing a sufficient external co-
vering, a well-peopled and well-provided hive runs
no hazard from even the severest winter. Consist-
ently with that wisdom that shines forth in every
part of creation, insects that feed upon leaves, flowers,
and green succulent plants are generally in a torpid
state during the winter, when they cannot procure
for themselves subsistence abroad. Bees are in this
state, and eat little, while cold weather lasts ; but

ly, not giving any rest to de enimi ; part encountring wit dem
dat ar widout, part wit dem dat hav® broken in, worn6 in a
wile dey draw out by de heels, soom ded, and soom aliv®
Likewise, witout, you may see soom slain outrigt wit de trust
of de speer ; soom so dedly woonded, dat dey ar6 not able to
go tree foot from de place ; and soom more lightly strooken,
presently to los6 de us6 of deir wings, and for a wile to leap up
and down, forward and backward, like madd tings ; so lote ar
dese cooragious warriers to yeeld on eider side until der6 bee
no remedi6. If de true men cannot kil de teev% yet wil dey
hold dem by de legs or by de wings, in hop6 to have help,
dowg (though) dey bee drawn after. Moreover, de young sol-
diers, wic hav6 scare6 been abroad befor6, you sal see de elder
sort go round about dem, smooding (smoothing) and trimming
dem in every place, as if dey did address and hearten dem to
figt. De battel being ended, by repuls of de enimi, dos6
corpses wic de wasps hav6 left — for, like vulturs, de wasps
during de battel prey upon de ded carkases— dey honestly
buri as far from de hives as dey can ber6 dem. And den dey
draw togeder at de citti-gates, and der6 dey buz on6 to anoder,
as if in deir languag6 dey did talk of de figt, and commend
one and oder for deir fortitud6."

THE HONEY-BEE. 155

they are by no means in so complete a state of tor-
pidity as to eat none at all. On a mild day in win-
ter, when the sun shines and the wind is low, we
often observe them eagerly taking advantage of ibis
favourable temperature, and coming abroad in hun-
dreds to enjoy themselves in the open air. If we
open a leaf-hive in the very depth of the cold sea-
son, we shall find them closely clustered together,
but in near contact with the provision-cells ; and
the whole mass moving without separating, and by
this means doubtless contributing to preserve the
general warmth.

It has been made a question among Bee-writers,
whether a mild or a severe winter be most favourable
to the health and well-being of these insects ? Bon-
ner and others are advocates for mild winters; while
White, Bevan, &c., maintain that severe winters are
most salutary. We are of opinion that the question
admits not of a general determination, but that special
regard must be had to the state of the hives — a cir-
cumstance which has been too little taken into ac-
count in the discussion. In a well-found hive, it is
of very little importance to the inhabitants of what
nature the winter may be. If it is severe, they have
enough of internal heat to preserve them from the
severity of the external atmosphere. Huber found
that when the thermometer in the open air stood
several degrees below the freezing point, it rose, when
plunged into a populous hive, to 86 and 88 degrees.
Swammerdam observes that the heat of a hive is such,
even in the middle of winter, that the honey never

156 ENEMIES OF BEES.

crystallizes, unless the hive be very weakly peopled.
Reaumur found brood of all ages in the month of
January; and the same thing was experienced by
Huber, when the thermometer within the hive stood
at 93°. If, on the other hand, the winter be mild,
the bees consume food partially, and frequently go
abroad into the open air ; and by thus voiding their
excrement preserve themselves in health. But the
case is far otherwise with a hive thin in population,
and scantily provisioned. In severe weather, their
numbers are too few to keep up the vital warmth,
and they are in imminent danger of perishing, should
the cold continue for a lengthened period. Should
the winter be mild, they consume their stores ; and
on the arrival of spring, if they still survive, they run
the hazard of perishing of hunger. We are decidedly-
of opinion, therefore, that the temperature of the
winter has much less influence on the prosperity of
the apiary, than is generally imagined ; and that the
bees coming safely through that inclement season,
depends in almost every case on the abundance of
population and of food. There may be one excep-
tion to these general remarks : — In a mild winter, a
hive which is thinly peopled, but well-stored with
food, has a chance of escaping. But even in this
case, we cannot always count on its well-doing, though
its failure may arise from a different cause. Want
of numbers is injurious, not only because it is accom-
panied with the want of the requisite warmth, but
also because it seems greatly to dispirit the bees;
and we have seen many instances of hives deserted

THE HONEY-BEE. 157

in spring while sufficiently provided with honey, but
disheartened by paucity of numbers. Nevertheless,
famine is one of the worst enemies they have to en-
counter ; and many hives that are supposed to die of
cold, do in fact die of hunger.

It will be obvious to the reader, that in our enu-
meration of the enemies of bees, we have referred
exclusively to those which infest the European hive-
bee. The various tribes of honey-gathering insects
found in tropical regions, have to encounter foes of
a still more formidable kind ; and, in treating of
foreign bees, we shall have occasion to point out
enemies, both amongst the feathered race and amongst
quadrupeds, whose ravages far exceed any injuries
sustained by our domesticated bee.

PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT. — The Apiary. — In the
practical management of bees, the formation and due
arrangement of the apiary is of some importance. The
prime requisites are shelter from the extremes of heat,
and cold, and quiet. Facing southwards, the hives
should be carefully screened from the north and
north-east. A group of young trees, or a close-grow-
ing hedge, will answer the purpose well ; or advan-
tage may be taken of a range of buildings, or a garden
wall. In availing ourselves, however, of the shelter
of buildings, care must be taken to keep the hives at
such a distance as to be clear of the rain-drops, and
from the eddying winds caused by such a locality. A
distance of not less than eight or ten feet should in-
tervene between them and the screen ; and of this
space the half-breadth next the hives should be laid

158 APIARIES.

with fine gravel, to absorb the moisture, and keep it
free from weeds, grass, straws, &c. The space of
ground between and in front of the hives, to the ex-
tent of at least three feet, should be covered in the
same manner.

Quiet is essentially necessary to their doing well.
Bees do not thrive in the near neighbourhood of in-
cessant noise. The apiary, therefore, should be at a
distance from smithies, mills, steam-engines, &c., and
also from such manufactories as emit noisome smells*
When circumstances will admit of it, the apiary should
be placed in view from the windows of the family
sitting-room. This will save much of the trouble in-
curred in watching at swarming time, as well as give
greater security from marauders. The hives should
be elevated about fifteen inches from the ground, on
a single post or pedestal, in preference to three or
four, which is the usual number. Vermin are thus
prevented by the projecting edge of the floor-board
from climbing over and reaching the entrance. It
may be laid down as a good rule to have the hives
placed as far from one another as the extent of the
apiary will admit. When standing at intervals of
only two or three feet, the bees are very apt to quarrel
amongst themselves. They sometimes mistake their
own proper domiciles when too much crowded
together, especially when hurrying homewards in the
working season, or hastening to escape a shower, and
the mistake is attended with fatal consequences. In
feeding a weak hive, a close neighbourhood is parti-
cularly dangerous ; the smell of the syrup is quickly

THE HONEY-BEE. 159

diffused over the whole colony, and pillage generally
ensues. In swarming, too, when the newly departed
emigrants are discouraged by a sudden blast or change
of atmosphere, and the Queen hastens to return to
her old abode, her ignorance of the locality, having, if
a young queen, never been abroad before, renders
her very apt to mistake and enter a hive where she
is by no means welcome, and, the swarm following
her, a bloody conflict takes place. All these incon-
veniences point out the propriety of a large interval
between the hives, and this arrangement is especially
called for when, as in very extensive apiaries, the
hives are placed in double rows. We do not approve
of double rows ; they occasion great confusion often
in the swarming season. If the number of hives be
too large for a single row, let there be a second group
formed in another quarter of the grounds. This de-
tached apiary will be found useful in such operations
as require the temporary removal of stock-hives from
their original stations.

Some difference of opinion exists among Bee-mas-
ters as to the precise exposure which the apiary ought
to have. In fact, this must be regulated by the nature
of the climate ; and it is obvious that the hives ought
not to face the direction of the prevailing winds,
or the rainy quarter. But, generally speaking, a
southerly aspect is preferable, inclining, perhaps, a
point or two to the east. This is Feburier's opinion,
and we think him right. If the bees are induced, in
consequence of this easterly inclination, to venture out
in the chill of the morning, they have the advantage

] GO APIARIES.

of the increasing warmth of the day; wnereas, a
western exposure tempts them to continue their ex-
cursion, and linger in the fields till they are caught
by the evening cold.

When the apiary is situated in a garden, there
will be no want of bushes and low-growing shrubs
on which the bees may alight when swarming. But
when it is located on a lawn or smooth level, the
swarm is extremely apt to fly off altogether, or to
take up its station on some high tree in the vicinity,
from which it is difficult to dislodge it. A few
ever-green shrubs growing in front of the hives, and
at a few yards' distance, will prevent this. Or if such
an arrangement be, from particular circumstances, not
expedient, the evil may be so far remedied by sticking
into the ground, near the apiary, some branches of trees,
retaining their foliage, about the period when swarm-
ing may be expected. Water is essential to the opera-
tions of these insects during spring and summer ; a
shallow pebbly stream in the vicinity will; therefore,
be most advantageous, where they can drink with-
out danger of drowning. Its absence should be sup-
plied by artificial means ; and a shallow vessel of
water placed in a secluded and quiet quarter of the
apiary, having a few smooth round stones thrown
into it, of a size to project above the surface, and
afford footing to the drinkers, will answer the end.
The neighbourhood of large sheets of water, how-
ever, or of broad rivers, is injurious; the little foragers,
in crossing during high winds or dashing rains, per-
ish by hundreds in a single day.

THE HONEY-BEE. 161

Covered apiaries, or bee-houses, are common in
Xngiand, and are sometimes, though rarely, met with
in Scotland ; they have their advantages, but are
not without serious drawbacks. They afford shel-
ter from the extremes of heat and cold, and, when
properly constructed, are also a complete protec-
tion, from thieves. But when the number of hives
is great, the expense of such structures is so con-
siderable as to preclude entirely their being brought
into common use. Besides, their confined limits
render it necessary to place the hives quite close to
one another — an arrangement which we have already
noticed as a great evil. And, finally, in operating
experimentally on any particular hive, the whole
colony is apt to take the alarm, and to cause a degree
of confusion most inconvenient to the operator.
There are covered apiaries sometimes to be met with,
the superior construction of which precludes these
evils ; but a much greater number have fallen under
our observation where the cheapness of the erection
has interfered materially with their completeness
and utility. The disadvantages above specified may
all be avoided in open apiaries ; while in these last,
also, all the advantages for which the former are pre-
ferred, are, we are persuaded, perfectly attainable.
A good thick coat of oat or rye-straw, if the hives
be of that material ; or, if of timber, a well-seasoned
and painted surtout of fir-plank, three-fourths of an
inch in thickness, resting on the floor-board, and hav
ing a vacant space of an inch between it and the hfoe,
will be quite sufficient security against the extremes
of heat and cold,

162 APIARIES.

Protection from thieves has heen sought for in va-
rious contrivances, certainly not all of them effectual.
Feburier cites Lombard's method of security, wbich
consists in fastening a chain to one of the four supports
of the floor-hoard, bringing it over the top of the
hive, turning it once round, then taking it down on
the opposite side, and fixing it with a padlock to
another of the supports. Huish has improved upon
this, placing an iron hoop round the body of the hive,
having another fastened to it at right angles, and
brought over the top, and both attached to a chain,
the two ends of which are secured by a padlock to
the post which supports the hive. (See PL XX. fig. 5. J
The security afforded by either of these methods is
about as effectual as that which is afforded by " a
lock upon leather" — to use an expression proverbial
in Scotland ; for a thief would hardly be deterred by
the complicated apparatus of chains and hoops, or
take the trouble of unwinding them, when in a mi-
nute's space, he could either pick the lock, or with
a saw cut through the three -inch post, and carry off
the whole concern. Howatson's mode is better. " The
support of the hive is of malleable iron, having a
single stem below, but parted into three, or rather
four, branches above, on the top of which branches
the board of the hive rests. The lower part of the
stem is fastened with lead into a large shapeless stone,
sunk to a level with the surface of the ground." To
this stem is fastened an apparatus of chains and hoops,
similar to that of Lombard and Huish.

Of course it is highly in favour of the bees when the

THE HONEY-BEE. ] C3

apiary is situated in a country abounding with such
natural productions as the industrious insect can turn
to account. Large heaths, sheltered with woods, are
extremely productive of honey, as the wild thyme and
other flowering plants with which they abound, are
not cut down by the scythe ; and the heath itself re-
mains in bloom till late in the season. The plane-
tree, the whole willow tribe, the furze or whin, the
broom, especially the Spanish kind, furnish a rich
store both of honey and farina. The bees do not
feed indiscriminately on every species of flowers ;
several of the most splendid and odoriferous are
wholly neglected by them, while they select others,
the flowers of which are extremely small, and not
apparently possessed of any very valuable qualities.
Moreover, they give a decided preference to those
spots where a great quantity of their favourite flowers
grow together. On the continent, fields of buck-
wheat afford a copious supply, though the honey ex-
tracted from it is of a coarser kind ; and in our own
country, the white clover (Trifelium repens), will,
in fine weather, be found thronged with them, while
scattered plants that afford more honey are neglected.
When a variety of bee-flowers flourish in the same
field, it is said they will first collect from those which
furnish the best honey ; if, for example, several
specieg of thyme grow together, they prefer the
lemon thyme, which is of a richer fragrance.

The Bee-master will do well to supply his fa-
vourites with such flowers, &c. as are not found
growing spontaneously in his neighbourhood. In

164 APIARIES.

addition to the gooseberry, currant, and raspberry
bushes, and the several orchard trees, the flower-
borders in his garden should be well stocked with
snow-drops, crocuses, wall-flower, and, above all, with
mignonette, which affords honey of the richest flavour,
and which continues flowering till the near approach
of winter. The rich melliferous blossoms of the
Buddlea globosa, too, the bees are very fond of; and
some of the Cacalia tribe afford an ample store.
<f The Cacalia suaveolens" says Darwin, ff produces
so much honey, that on some days it may be smelt
at a great distance from the plant. I remember once
counting on one of these plants, besides bees of vari-
ous kinds without number, above 200 painted butter-
flies, which gave it the beautiful appearance of being
covered with additional flowers."* Besides these, the
plants of Borage, (Borago,) and viper's Bugloss,
(Echium vulgare) yield a very considerable quantity
of the rich liquid. The former is eagerly resorted to
by the Bees ; it is an annual, and blossoms during the
whole season till destroyed by frost. In cold and
showery weather, the Bees feed on it in preference
to every other plant, owing to its flowers being pendu-
lous. The Bugloss appears as a troublesome weed
among corn, and grows on dry soils in great profusion ;
it is a biennial plant. Turnips, particularly the early
garden kind, should be sown and allowed to remain
in their beds during the winter; and they will in
consequence, by their early flowering, afford a seasoi>

* Economy .of Vegetation. Canto I V7.

THE HONEY-BEE. 165

able supply of farina, and also a small portion of
noney early in spring. The whole cabbage-tribe
also may be made to contribute their share; and
mustard -seed, when sown in successive crops, will
continue blossoming for many weeks.

We cannot conclude these observations on the situa-
tion of the Apiary, without reminding the classical
reader of the admirable directions on the same subject
by Virgil. In fact, there is not a precept given by
the Roman Poet on the practical treatment of Bees,
particularly as respects the situation of the Apiary,
which is not found at this day, and after the experience
of so many centuries, to be the result of an accurate
knowledge of the habits of these insects, and highly
conducive to their prosperity. While we smile at
the fable of Aristaeus, and plume ourselves on our
more correct understanding of their natural history,
the most skilful Apiarian among us will do well to
listen to his practical directions.

Principio, sedes apibus, statioque petenda
Q,uo neque sit ventis aditus (nam pabula venti
Ferre domum prohibent) * * * *
Absint et picti squalentia terga lacerti
Pinguibus a stabulis, meropesque, aliseque volucres ;

Xeu propius tectis Taxum sine ;

altae neu crede paludi,

Ant ubi odor coeni gravis ; * * * *
At lic.uidi fontes, et stagna viventia musco
Adsint, et tenuis fugiens per gramina rivus ;
Palmaque vestibulum, aut ingens oleaster inumbret ;
Obviaque hospitiis teneat frondentibus arbos.
In medium, seu stabit iners, seu profluet humor.

166 APIARIES.

Transversas salices, et grandia conjice saxa :
Pontibus ut crebris possint consistere, et alas
Pandere ad sestivum solem ; si forte morantes
Sparserit, aut prseceps Neptuno immerserit Eurus.
Haec circum casiae virides, et olentia late
Serpylla et graviter spirantis copia thymbrae
Floreat : irriguumque bibant violaria fontem.

Georg. Iv.

Hives are found of almost all shapes and sizes, and
of various materials — circumstances influenced some-
times by convenience, but oftener by the taste and
fancy of the owners. In France, particularly, where
the culture of the Bee has been much attended to,
the variety of hives is very great ; but with few ex-
ceptions, they appear to be remarkably deficient in
simplicity. This is an important point to be attended
to, both as regards the accommodation of the bees,
and the convenience of the Bee-master. As far as
respects the mere collection and storing of the honey,
the kind of hive is but of secondary importance. If
the season be propitious, and the country rich in
flowers, the industrious collectors will cheerfully de-
posit the fruit of their labours in any moderate sized
receptacle that appears to afford security and shelter.
It is the interest of the owner, however, to ascertain
what material and construction will answer best for
sustaining an equable temperature during the heats
of summer, and most effectually secure the comfort
of the inmates during the severity of winter. And,
besides these indispensable requisites, there are other
considerations to be attended to in the structure of
hives which, to the Naturalist and Amaxeur, are

Fy.2.

Fuj.3.

Tiff- 4-

Fig. 5.

THE HONEY-BEE. 167

matters of no little moment. It would far exceed
our prescribed limits to attempt a description of the
multitude of hives that the ingenuity of one class of
bee-masters has invented, and another has improved
upon. We shall, therefore, notice those only that
are in general use, and those which, from their great
utility, deserve to be better known.

Straw Hives, of the common bell-shape, with all
their imperfections, will continue in use, because they
are easily made and cost little — because the handling
of them requires little skill — and because, as long as
the suffocating system is persisted in, they answer the
purpose well enough. It would be desirable, how-
ever, that more pains were bestowed on their form.
To concentrate the heat — to retain it, and thus to
accelerate the hatching of the brood, on which so
much depends, no shape in our opinion is so well
adapted as the globular. We would therefore re-
commend straw-hives to be made in the form of a
globe, having the third of its diameter cut away. (See
PI. X. fig. 1.) Perhaps, the cycloidal shape would
answer nearly as well, and would be probably more
easily made. (Fig. 2.) In either of these forms, one
rod of three-fourths of an inch thickness, forced
through the hive at right angles to a line drawn from
the entrance, and about an inch higher up than the
centre, would be sufficient to support the combs, be-
cause the moutli ot the hive being of less diameter
than the centre, the combs, from their wedge-like
chape at the lower extremity, would not be so apt
to sink down by their own weight. We may mention

1G8 HIVES.

as our reason for the above recommendation, that we
have uniformly found that such of our straw-hives as
approached nearest the shape recommended, have
been, ceteri* paribus, the first to swarm, and hav»
swarmed thfc oftenest. We had till lately in our
possession, one of the form fig. 2, which had for three
successive years thrown each year three swarms.

Wildmans Storied Straw Hive. — This is preferred
by many to wooden hives on the same plan, from the
persuasion that straw is a preferable material. It
consists of two or more stories, each seven inches in
height, and ten inches in diameter. In the upper
row of straw, there is a hoop of about half an inch
in breadth, to which are fastened six or seven wooden
spars, each one-fourth of an inch thick, aifd one and
a quarter of an inch broad, and half an inch apart
from each other. To these bars the bees fix their
combs. In order to give greater steadiness to the
combs, and prevent their being broken or deranged
when the hive is moved, a rod is run through the
middle of it, in a direction across the bars, or at right
angles with them. A flat cover of straw, worked of
the same thickness as the hives, and twelve inches in
diameter, is applied to the uppermost story, " made
fast to the hive with a packing-needle and thread,"
and carefully luted. Before it is put on, a piece of
clean paper, of the size of the top of the hive, should
be laid over the bars, the design of which is to pre-
vent the bees from working in the intervening spaces.
(PL X. fig. 3.)

Grecian Hive. — This has long been in use in ll>»i

THE HONEY BEE. 169

Greek Islands, and is sometimes called the Candiote
Hive. It is in the form of a flower-pot, open at the
top, and provided with a flat cover in the same man-
ner as the hive last described. As in this last, also,
a certain number of bars are fastened to the upper-
most roll of straw, each designed for the foundation
of a comb ; and when prepared for use, the cover is
laid above these bars, fixed at the edges by wooden
pins, or sewed with pack-thread, and having the
joining carefully plastered with clay. (See Plate
X., fig. 4.) This hive affords considerable faci-
lities for forcing the bees to work in wax. It is only
necessary to remove one or two of the combs, and
the bees will immediately commence filling up the
vacancies. In this way, a portion of their honied
stores may be abstracted without difficulty, and with-
out having recourse to the barbarous practice of suf-
focation. It affords also the means of making arti-
ficial swarms. It will be observed that in conse-
quence of the diameter of the hive gradually dimin-
ishing towards the bottom, rods inserted through the
body of the hive are rendered unnecessary, the
wedge-like form of the combs serving sufficiently to
support them. " The hives," says Wheeler in his
Journey into Greece, ee are made of willows or osiers,
fashioned like our common dust-baskets, wide at top,
and narrow at the bottom, and plastered with clay or
loam within and without. The tops are covered with
broad flat sticks, wuicn are also plastered over with
<lny ; and, to secure them from the weather, they
cover them with a tuft of straw as we do. Alo^g;

170 HIVES.

each of these sticks, the bees fasten their comhs ; so
that a comb may be taken out whole, and with the
greatest ease imaginable. To increase them in spring-
time, (that is, to make artificial swarms,) they divide
them, first, separating the sticks on which the combs
and bees are fastened from one another with a knife ;
so taking out the first comb and bees together on each
side, they put them into another basket in the same
order as they were taken out, until they have equally
divided them. After this, when they are both again
accommodated with sticks and plaster, they set the
new basket in place of the old one, and the old one
in some new place. And all this they do in the
middle of the day, at such time as the greatest part
of the bees are abroad ; who, at their coming home,
without much difficulty, by this means divide them-
selves equally. In August, they take their honey,
which they do in the day time also, the bees being
thereby, say they, disturbed the least ; beginning at
the outside, and so taking away, until they have left
only such a quantity of combs in the middle as they
judge will be sufficient to maintain the bees in winter ;
sweeping those bees that are on the combs into the
basket again, and covering them anew with sticks
and plaster." Huish has adopted this hive with
some additional apparatus. (See Plate X., fig. 5.)
The cover, instead of being flat, as in the original
hive, has considerable convexity, ii order to facilitate
the flowing of the water, produced DY the condensed
vapour, towards the circumference, instead of its be-
ing; allowed to drop on the oees. To prevent them

THE HONEY BEE. 171

from working in the spaces between the bars, and
thus presenting an obstacle to their easy removal, he
spreads over them a piece of gauze or net- work, sa-
tisfied that the bees will not construct their edifices
on so flimsy a foundation. Over the net-work he
places a flat round board, divided into several sections,
each of which is moveable on hinges, and may be
opened in one or more divisions, as it may be desired
to remove one or more combs. In this circular cover
are several air-holes, closed with tin gratings, to al-
low the heated air ta escape.

Lombard's Hive. — The only other straw-hive
worthy of notice, known to us, is that of M. Lom-
bard of Paris, the friend and correspondent of Huber,
and author of a work on bees, which that distin-
guished naturalist highly commends. This hive is
in some degree a storied one, and differs from others
of that kind only in having its upper story less than
half the capacity of the lower or body of the hive ;
and that, at the honey-harvest, the contents only of
the former, which its inventor calls the Couvercle or
Cap, are appropriated by the cultivator, while those
of the latter continue from year to year the exclusive
property of the bees themselves. Plate X., tig. f*
copied and reduced from Lombard's Work, gives
a sketch of this hive, where a is the cap, surmount-
ed by a pointed piece of wood, designed for the
firmer fixing of the straw covering ; b is the body of
*he hive, having a thin square piece of deal fixed at
the top as the foundation of the combs, leaving open
spaces at each side for the passage of the beee ; t ^

172 HIVES.

are two small rods which, on the top being brought
close down on the body b, serve., by being fastened
together, to keep the former steadily in its place.
This hive possesses no superiority over the common
storied ones, of which it is a modification ; and the
plan of retaining the same combs in the body of the
hive for a series tf years, must prove decidedly in-
jurious t<; ;*x prosperity of the colony.

Of the straw hives here described, we give a de-
cided preference to that of Wildman, both in respect
to material and construction, maintaining, as it does,
a constant equability of temperature, and enabling
the operator to practise the mode of partial depriva-
tion, which will be after ward*' described. We think,
however, the dimensions ma) be enlarged with ad-
vantage, and would recommend the diameter to be
12 inches instead of 10, and the height of each story
to be 7^ inches instead of 7. This will bring the
hive, when consisting of two stories, to the capacity
of a solid foot. It will be of advantage, also, to have
the upper and lower bands of each story worked
double, the one exterior to the other, as represented
in Plate X., fig. 3. This will contribute greatly *»
the steadiness of the hive, and afford the neans of
connecting the stories firmly together by pack-thread
or wooden pins.

Bee-Boxes. — The respective merits of straw-hives
and bee-boxes have often been made the subject of
discussion. Certainly those of straw have a decided
superiority over those of wood, in respect to their
capability of maintaining an equable temperature,

from the
«.i.:~u 4.v

THE HONEY-BEE.

from the non-conducting quality of the material of
which the former are constructed The latter are
more easily kept clean — th<^ furnibh better means
of defence against vermin — they are a great deal
more durable, and afford a much greater facility for
operating experimentally, ana studying the nature of
their interesting inmates. And what is always of
importance in matters of rural economy, their cost,
at least as regards the simple* kinds, is very little
more than that of the straw hives ; and if we take
their disability into account, it is actually less. But
the nature of the material of which they are made,
rendering them easily affected bv variations of the
external temperature, furnishes an important and
well-founded objection ; for notwithstanding all the
precautions used, no practicable or manageable thick-
ness of material, nor wrappings of straw ropes and
straw covers have been found effectual in remedying
this defect. We are of opinion, therefore, that those
who cultivate bees for the sake of their produce only,
and who have no particular desire to study minutely
their natural history, or to witness their proceedings
in the interior of their dwellings, will do well to ad-
here to hives of straw ; and of these, by far the best
in our estimation, is the &*or*<*i straw hive of Wild-
man, already described.

There is a greater variety of form and structure in
the wooden hives, than in those of straw ; but the
storied kinds, of various dimensions, are most gener-
ally used. Wildman has invented one of this kind,
for a long and somewhat unintelligible description of

1 . 4 HIVES.

which we must refer CAIT readers to his treatise. It
appears to be a very complex structure, and therefore
so far ineligible ; for every bee-master, in operating
with his little irritable and impatient labourers, feels
as very serious obstacles to his success, the machinery
of drawers, dividers, sliders, grooves, &c. This form
of the storied hive, accordingly, has never been brought
into general use. A simpler construction has become
popular. Ten years after Wildman's work was pub-
lished, Mr. Keys published his Treatise, in which he
gives his plan of a storied hive, the chief improvement
of which consisted in the employment of the cross
bars of the Grecian hive, and arranged nearly in the
same manner, instead of the complex and cumbrous
sliding frames of Wildman's. Seven years ago, Mr.
Howatson, in a useful little manual on bees, advocated
a story-hive, in the construction of which he professes
having endeavoured to combine the advantages of
both Wildman's and that of Keys, while he aimed at
greater simplicity, and a diminution of expense. We
think he has succeeded in his views, and his success
would be still more complete were the troublesome,
and, in our opinion, unnecessary apparatus of f ' glass
slips" dispensed with. " The boxes (PI. XI. fig. 1.)
are made of fir-deal,* f of an inch thick ;" a full inch
in thickness, and even a little more, would be an im-
provement,— there would be less chance of the internal
heat escaping, or of the external cold penetrating.

* Poplar, in the opinion of T. A. Knight, Esq., would an-
swer better, from its looser g'ain, and consequent non-con-
ducting quality.

Of .

UNIVERSITY j)

THE HONEY-BEE. 175

' The inside dimensions of each are 12 inches by 9,
and 8 deep ; the whole depth of the skep (hive) is
therefore 16 inches, and its capacity one solid foot.
Each box has 8 wooden spars, 1 inch broad, and f
thick, as a foundation to the combs. The length of
the upper side of each spar is 9J inches, while the
under side is only 9, a half-cheeky as tradesmen say,
of ^ inch being made in the under side at each end.
But the upper side of the spars must be flush with
the upper edge of the boxes ; wherefore a check mu*v
be made to receive the spars in the long sides of the
boxes also. The intervals between the spars in the
upper box are closed with slips of glass, the ends of
which rest on the same check as the spars. In the
ander box all the intervals are left open, not only that
the bees may have a ready passage up and down , but
also that the whole interior air may be of the same
temperature."

In Dr. Sevan's " Honey-Bee" we have the de.
acription of another storied hive (PI. XI. fig. 2,) whick
differs from the last described only in dimensions,
and in the number of bars ; the size of the former
being 12 inches square, and 9 deep, inside measure;
and the bars six in number, and 1J inch broad.
We have reason to know, however, that since the pub-
lication of his excellent Treatise, Dr. B. has found
reason for making some alteration in his hive, and that
he now recommends the dimensions to be 12 inches
between back and front at the top, but gradually
tapering inwards to 10| inches at the bottom, with
the view of supporting more firmly the weight of the

176 HIVES.

combs, which wi. thus have the form of a wedge,
and 11| inches between end and end; the bars to
be 1 £ inch in breadth,, 7 in number, and to measure
from the centre of one to the centre of another 1 1 inch.*
He has also, on the suggestion of Mr. Golding, an
intelligent Kentish apiarian, adopted another im-
provement. To induce the bees to lay the foundation
of their combs on the centre, and in the direction of the
bars, instead of across the interstices, as they often
do, thus preventing their easy removal when desired,
Wildman spread over them a sheet of paper. Huish
uses a covering of gauze, and Hotvatson inserts slips
of glass ; the two former from a belief that the builders
would not erect their structure on so unstable a found-
ation as paper or gauze ; and the latter, from a know-
ledge of their dislike to the smooth and slippery surface
of glass. Dr. B.'s method, recommended by his friend,
is preferable to them all ; it consists in fixing to the
under side of each bar a small piece of comb, and
thus furnishing the bees with a line of direction which
the}7 will implicitly follow. The expedient of a guide-
comb .has been long known and practised, but the
mode of attaching it to the bar adopted by Dr. B. is
simple and ingenious. He pours a little melted wax
on the under surface of the bar, and, while it is warm
and in a liquid state, applies to it longitudinally a piece
of guide-comb, taking care that the centre of the
comb, formed by the bottoms of the cells, shall ex-

* The back and front boards, in consequence of the slope,
measure in thickness one inch at the top, and rather more
than one inch and six- eighths at the bottom.

THE HONEY-BEE. 177

actly correspond with the centre of the har ; when
the wax hardens, which it does in a few seconds, the
comb is firmly fixed. To save trouble, every second
bar only need be furnished with this guide.*

The storied hive appears to us simple and con-
venient ; and it has this very decided advantage,
that the use of it, as will be illustrated when treating
of the honey-harvest, renders perfectly and com-
pletely practicable the preservation of the life of the
bees, and that, too, without any difficulty or nicety of
operation that might scare the timid cultivator from
the humane attempt. The storied hive affords, also,
great facilities for uniting, at the end of the season,
two weakly swarms, or two weakly provided hives.
By means of smoke blown in at the door below of
the two hives to be united, the bees are forced into
the upper boxes, which are then separated and placed
one above the other, thus forming a stock strong both
in population and provisions, and securing, in all pro-
bability, early swarming in the following season.
Terrified by the smoke, the bees readily unite without
bloodshed.

Hubers Hive. — The hive invented by the cele-
brated Huber, and which he has called the book or
leaf-hive, possesses, in our estimation, more valuable
properties, taken as a whole, than any other we are
acquainted with. It has all the advantages of a ctm-

* Since the above was written, Dr. Be van has published a
Second Edition of his excellent work, where, in pages 82 and
98, he gives detailed descriptions of the size and arrangements
of his Bee-Boxes.

173 HIVES.

mon bee-box, as to capacity, cleanliness, and security
against vermin, while, at the same time, it enables me
cultivator to ascertain at all times the state of Ins
colony, nay, of every individual comb, the progress of
the brood, the quantity of provision, the existence and
number of royal cells, and the probable period of
swarming. It affords every facility, too, for making
artificial swarms, and for discovering the exact period
when that operation may be attempted with a reason-
able prospect of success. The greatest drawback is
its expense,* which is such as as to preclude any but
amateurs from having recourse to it. A figure of this
hive, as used by Huber himself, is to be found in his
" Observations on Bees ;" another of the same hive,
as afterwards modified by him, has been given by
M. Lombard, (Plate XL, fig. 3.)

The leaf-hive consists of eight frames, each 18
inches high,t English measure, and ten inches wide,
inside, having the uprights and top cross pieces 1 J
inch broad and one inch thick, so that the eight frames,
when placed close together, constitute a hive, eigh-
teen inches high, twelve inches between end and end.
and ten inches between back and front, all inside
measure. The frames are held together by a flat
sliding bar on each side, secured by wedges and pins.
To the first and eighth of these frames is attached a
frame with glass, and covered with a shutter. The
body of the hive is protected by a sloping roof, and

* One Guinea is the usual price.

•f Fourteen or fifteen inches at most would be a better size
for the uprights.

THE HONEY-BEE. 179

the entrance is made through the thickness of the
floor-board. We dislike the sliding bars, with their
pins and wedges, which are so far inconvenient, that,
in drawing them out, all the frames are liable to open,
and the observer is exposed to some hazard of annoy-
ance from the bees issuing out at every joint; and we
have substituted for them hinges on the one side, and
a hook and eye on each frame on the other ; we can
thus open any particular leaf without meddling with
the rest. In taking honey from this hive, the bee-
master has the whole interior completely under his
eye and at his disposal, and can choose what combs
best suit his purpose, both as to quantity and quality ;
taking care, however, to do so only at such periods
as will leave the bees time to replenish the vacancy
before the termination of the honey season. It is
also well adapted for artificial swarming. By sepa-
rating the hive into two halves^ the honey, brood-
combs, and bees will, generally speaking, be equally
divided ; and by supplying each half with four empty
frames, we shall have two hives, one half empty
equal in number of bees, of brood, and even of stores.
One of the new hives will possess the Queen ; and if
the operation has been performed at the proper time,
that is to say, a week or ten days before the period
of natural swarming, the probability is there will be
royal brood coming forward in the other ; at all events,
there will be plenty of eggs and larvae of the proper
age for forming an artificial Queen.

Single-comb Hive. — The celebrated naturalist, Bon-
net, suggested and recommended to Huber the adop-

180 HIVES.

tion of a hive which should admit of only one comb,
and that indefatigable apiarian soon succeeded in con-
structing one, the sides of which, composed of glass,
were separated by so small an interval, that only a
single comb could be erected between them. In this
he found no difficulty in establishing a swarm; the bees
pursued their labours with the same assiduity and re-
gularity as in other hives, and, every cell being ex-
posed to view, none of their proceedings could be con-
cealed. Huber has not given any directions as to the
dimensions or the mode of constructing this hive, but
they have been supplied by Feburier, though he does
not name the inventor. " It consists of a frame
from 1^ foot to 2 feet in height, and from 1 foot to
1^ foot in breadth. The uprights and cross-bar at
the top, are about 2 inches thick, and 1| inch broad.
This breadth being sufficient to admit of the bees
constructing a com^ forms almost the whole interior
of the hive. To this frame is applied on each side
another frame of the same dimensions, except that
it need not be above ^ inch in thickness. In each
of these outer frames is placed a pane or panes of
glass, in such a manner, that the distance between,
constituting the width of the hive from back to
front, shall be 20 lines, that is 12 for the thickness
of the comb, and 4 on each side for the passage of
the bees. These dimensions must be correctly ob-
served ; at least, the width had better be diminished
than augmented, otherwise the bees will work against
the glass. The frames are attached to one another
by hinges on the one side, and hooks on the other,

THE HONEY-BEE. 181

or by iron wire. An entrance is made by cutting, in
the middle of the lower quarter of the frame, a notch
sloping upwards from the outside. There must be
an entrance both before and behind, the doors of
which are opened and shut at pleasure. This hive
must be covered with a wooden surtout resting on
the floor-board. To save the trouble of lifting it off
every time we observe the bees, an opening is .made
in each side with a shutter fitted to it, of the same
size with the glass ; and as it is necessary that the
bees should be kept from getting between the hive
and the surtout, there must be a covered passage
leading to the outside. This hive presents great
facilities for making experiments, and for observing
the proceedings of the bees, which being prevented
from constructing more than one comb, cannot con-
ceal any part of their operations as in other hives.
They soon become accustomed to the removal of the
surtout, and are not at all disturbed by our observ-
ing them. The Queen may be followed in all her
movements, and even in her laying. It is easy to
lay hold of her at any time, either in the hive or in
the passage. The bees may be fed and retained
prisoners ; they may be forced to make wax from
honey, honey from sugar, &c. In short, all the ex-
periments that have ever been made, may be verified
by means of this hive, the result found, arid new
experiments tried. In spite of its peculiar advan-
tages, however, it has inconveniences which annoy
the Naturalist. It is very difficult to introduce a
swarm into it, how much soever the operator may

182 HIVES.

have been accustomed to manage bees. The insects
cannot cluster together in it, as in other hives, and
concentrate the heat during winter, and, therefore,
are liable to perish ; and the smallest variation of
the atmosphere is injurious to the brood. If, in order
to preserve it, it is put into a warm place, it must be
constantly fed."

This is the kind of hive we have made use of in
our experiments ; and as the figure, given by Febu-
rier, (Plate XII., fig. 3,) is but little adapted to con-
vey a correct idea of it, we shall present our readers
with a sketch of our own hive, exhibiting what we
consider some improvements on the original. Fig.
2, P1 ve XII., is the frame which contains the comb,
tvro feet long and eighteen inches high, inside mea-
sure. The uprights A and B, and the top piece c,
are two inches broad, and one inch thick ; f, f, are
cross sticks, about three-eighths of an inch square, for
supporting the comb ; c is a piece of comb fixed in
the frame for a guide ; g, g, are two iron staples, by
which the frame is secured to the floor-board. Fig.
4, represents one of the outer frames containing two
panes of glass, A and B, each eighteen inches high
and twelve broad, fixed in slender frames which are
hinged to the outer-frame, and shut flush with it,
resting against a vertical bar, c, which is half an inch
square. When the two outer frames are applied
and fastened by means of hooks and eyes, one on
each side, to the inner frame containing the comb,
the distance between the glasses is exactly twenty
lines, or If of an inch. The panes bein^ made to

Iig.5.

Jy.}

Iig.6.

Jig. 3.

THE HONEY-BEE. 183

open is indispensable for experimental operations;
such as seizing the Queen, cutting out brood-comb,
&c. ; D, D, are shutters 1| inch in thickness, which
render unnecessary the surtout described by Febu-
rier, and are much more convenient. Fig. 5, is the
floor-board, which has the entrances — for there are
two, one on each side — in the thickness, sloping up-
wards to the centre of the floor ; A, A, are two iron
rods which keep the hive firm on its board, by pass-
ing through the two staples in the centre frame.
Fig. 6, is the hive mounted on its floor-board, with
its shutters closed ; B, is the roof, sloping on each
side, and fastened by a hook and eye at each corner.
The whole turns on a pivot, c, which is the upper
end of a post driven into the ground. Fig. 7, is the
hive seen in profile. When the observer is satisfied
with inspecting one side of the comb, he may wheel
the hive round and examine the other, without
changing his station, taking care, before turning it,
to open the door nearest to him, and shut the
other immediately after. By this mode of proceed-
ing he may contemplate his favourites at his leisure,
without disturbing them, and without the slightest
danger of being annoyed by them ; for it is true that
they become so much accustomed to the opening of
the shutters that the admission of the light ceases to
disturb them. Feburier speaks of the difficulty of in-
troducing the bees into this hive — the difficulty is very
trifling. Raise the hive three inches from its board,
supporting it below by a lath of wood, placed on edge,
two feet long and three inches deep ; there will thus

134 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

Ibe an opening along the whole front three inches high.
Rest the edge of a hoard, two or three feet square,
on the floor of the hive; on this hoard place the
common hive, into which the hees have heen re-
ceived on swarming ; give a smart stroke on the
top, and the hees will fall down ; remove the com-
mon hive, and they will hurry as if for shelter into
the other, and in a few minutes the whole will he
ensconced in their new habitation. Should they lin-
ger longer than is convenient, a puff or two of smoke
will cause them to ascend with great speed. A guide-
comh must he fixed in this hive, before peopling it.
Since this work was ready for the press, the writer
has seen a Treatise on Bees, by Mr. Nutt, a gentle-
man of Lincolnshire, in which he describes and re-
commends a hive of his own invention. It consists
of three boxes, placed collaterally, each twelve inches
square and nine inches deep. The central one, which
is, somewhat affectedly called " the Pavilion of Na-
ture," constitutes the grand breeding apartment ;
while the other two, to which there is access from
the pavilion by horizontal openings made in the ends
for that purpose, form the chief honey magazines. In
the management of this hive, the pavilion is left un-
touched, and the wings, or collateral boxes only appro-
priated. When the population of the central box, at
the beginning of summer, has increased to such a de-
gree as to raise the internal temperature to 100 de-
grees of Fahrenheit, the slides inserted between the
centre and end boxes are drawn up, and access to the
latter given to the bees ; by which means the temper.

THE HONEY-BEE. 185

ature is lowered, room is given to the fast-augmenting
population, and the necessity of swarming avoided.
And that the Queen may be deterred from depositing
her eggs in these end boxes, and thus deteriorating
the quality of the honey, a degree of coolness, incom-
patible, according to this writer's theory, with the
rearing of brood, is produced by ventilation ; and
this is effected by two openings, one at the top and
the other at the bottom of the boxes, covered with
pieces of perforated tin, and fitted with moveable
shutters. For the convenience of using a ther-
mometer, a perforated tin tube, fixed at the top,
reaches down into the centre of each box. Into
this tube the instrument is inserted from time to
time, in order to ascertain the temperature. The
quantity of honey said to be taken from one set of
these boxes in one season (1826) is enormous — not
less, the author avers, than 296'^ Ibs., while 109 Ibs.
were left to the bees. Nay, it appears from a regis-
ter given in the work, that in the season above men-
tioned, one of the boxes, weighing 52 Ibs., was filled
in four days ! If there is no mistake here, we can
only conclude that the author's residence must in-
deed be in a land flowing with honey.

On the management of Bees in Spring. — About
the first or second week of February, unless when
the season is stormy, the bees will be observed ven-
turing cautiously to the mouth of the hive ; and if
the sun shines out about mid-day, the little eager
foragers will be seen spreading their wings joyfully.

186 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

launching forth into the air, though with a low timid
flight, and roaming from bush to bush in search of
some plant that may yield a modicum of farina — for
the Queen has already begun to lay the eggs of
workers; and although there is always a certain
quantity of this kind of food in the hive, (the pro-
duct of the preceding year's gathering) for the coming
brood, the provident insects are aware that an addi-
tional supply will be required, and rouse themselves
accordingly from the winter's inactivity. The col-
lection of farina, however, is, at this early period,
very scanty. The few bees that are seen, during the
month of February, entering their domiciles with
their yellow loads, derive them almost solely from
the snow-drop, the crocus, and the furze-blossom.
Some other early flowering plants are sometimes to
be met with — such as laurustinus, hellebore, and
spring flowering heath, but these are not common,
and in fact are found only or chiefly in spots where
they have been planted for the special benefit of the
apiary. At this early period, therefore, the owner
cannot help them, however anxious to do so, as far
as farina is concerned. In other respects, however,
equally important, he has it in his power to minister
essentially to their welfare, namely, by supplying
them plentifully with honey or syrup of sugar. In
the article of honey, none of the insect families of a
judicious bee-master will be deficient ; he has, it is
to be presumed, kept none as stock-hives which did
not possess stores sufficient, and more than sufficient,

THE HONEY-BEB. 187

to carry his bees through not only the winter months,
but those of spring also. But even to the well-pro-
visioned, a little additional supply will be welcome,
and prove advantageous, infusing fresh spirits into
the hard-working labourers, encouraging the laying
of the Queen, and consequently contributing greatly
to the rapid increase of the population, and to the pro-
duction of early swarms. We need not fear being
over-liberal ; the bees are excellent economists and
will carefully husband what we entrust to them.

The first care of the cultivator, after the appear-
ance of his bees in spring, is to inspect his hives.
Lifting them gently from the stool, he will sweep
away all the dead bees, eggs of moths, scrapings of
wax, mouldiness, or other offensive matters that have
accumulated during the winter, and clean and dry
the floor-board effectually. The lower part of the
combs, where the population is scanty, is sometimes
found to be mouldy ; it will save the workers much
trouble, and contribute to their health, to cut those
parts away. Let the cover, if of straw, be next taken
off; mice are often found lodging between it and the
hive, and, secure from observation, work their way
down into the interior. The cover should be re-
newed, and carefully fastened close to the hive by
one or two wooden hoops. As the consumption of
food in spring is very great, in consequence of the
prodigious quantity of brood reared — the queen lay-
ing at the rate of 100 to 200 eggs daily — the culti-
vator must see that there is an abundant supply, and
commence feeding, if there appears any thing like a

188 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

deficiency.* No branch of bee-management requires
more attention tban the feeding operation, and very
many hives, we fear, are irretrievably injured by the in-
judicious manner in which supplies of food are admin-
istered. Giving them in a cold state, or in a state of
fermentation, or at improper periods, costs every year
the lives of thousands of bees. No food should be
given in spring till the bees shew by their coming
abroad, that it may be offered them with perfect safety.
A simple mode of feeding is by means of a small
drawer, having a float pierced with holes, inserted in
the thickness of the floor-board, at the back of the
hive. Liquid honey, or syrup of sugar, a little warm,
may be poured into this drawer in the evening, after
the bees have retired in-doors from the labours of
the day. It is taken up immediately, and the smell
is completely gone before the morning.

It is of very material importance in feeding, to
guard against the admission of stranger bees to the
feeding vessel. This may be effected by shutting up
the hive completely after the feeding-drawer, above
described, has been inserted, allowing only the admis-
sion of air. One circumstance, however, may render
this precaution abortive ; some of the liquid may be,
and very often is, accidentally spilt in pushing the
trough inwards, the consequence of which is, that the
smell of the syrup, when the hive is opened, will attract

* The food given to bees in autumn may be either honey
or sugar ; but in spring it should always be honey, as sugar
does not form so good an ingredient of the jelly which nour-
ishes the young brood.

JFy.J.

Tig. 5.

' 1. ffoneu V/w'fU'r. 2 /Y//////A///Y/// Pipe. 3. Feetl/ruj Trvupfi.

THE HONEY-BEE. 189

strangers, and eventually lead to plunder. It is a good
method, therefore, to administer the food, when it is
given at the external en trance, in a covered vessel, hav-
ing its opening at one side placed close to that of the
hive, so that the bees proceed directly to the trough,
without having any communication with the open air,
and, consequently, without affording an opportunity of
admittance to strangers. A trough of this kind is de-
scribed in the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, and, with some
little improvement, by Howatson. We have used it,
and found it to answer pretty well, and shall, there-
fore, for the benefit of others, describe it here. (See
PL XIII. fig. 3.) " It cons'ists of an oblong box, in one
end of which is a reservoir containing honey that is
allowed to flow from the bottom, under a thin float,
buoyed up with cork, and perforated with small holes,
through which the bees, standing on the float, supply
themselves with the honey. There is a hole in the
side of the box, which is to be applied to the entrance
of the hive for admitting the bees above the float, and
another on the opposite side which is opened at
pleasure, to allow them to escape, should the box be
too much crowded. The lid of the box is a glass pane.
On pouring the honey into the reservoir, the float
rises, whence there should not be such a quantity as
to raise it close to the lid or pane above. The box is
about 10 inches long, 4 broad, and 2J deep, and the
reservoir is an inch wide. When used, the hole in
the side is to be placed close to the entrance of the
hive, which must be gently rapped on, if the bees'do
not immediately find the way down. It is entertain-

190

MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

ing to observe bees accustomed to be fed in this man-
ner watching the approach of the feeder. When the
ordinary time draws near, they rush down to the box
tlie moment it is put upon the board, and, after speed-
ily filling themselves, they return to the hive, from
which they very soon return for a second supply. By
throwing a little fine flour on those leaving the box, it
will be seen that they can fill themselves in three
minutes, and are absent not above five. One conve-
nience that attends feeding with such a box, is the
exclusion of stranger bees, as the sole communication
with the interior is from the entrance of the hive/'
This is a very good contrivance, generally speaking,
but there should be no hole for allowing the bees to
escape from the trough or box when over-crowded,
as, if left open for a minute through neglect, it would
give occasion for the very evil intended to be guarded
against, namely, the admission of strangers ; for what
affords the means of exit to the former wijl admit the
entrance of the latter. There is no need of cork to
buoy up the float, which, if made, as it should be, of
thin light fir, will be sufficiently buoyant of itself.
It may be remarked, also, that there is no danger of
filling the box so full as to crush the bees against the
glass cover ; the describer must have forgot that the
entrance-hole intervenes, above which the liquid can-
not rise. The usual mode of supplying the bees by
this trough is to give the food in the afternoon or
evening, when all are within doors, and to remove it
early next morning. This mode of feeding, however,
ought, as already stated, to be had recourse to only in

THE HONEY-BEE. 191

mild weather. If the nights he cold, there will he
found in the trough next day, many dead hees which
had heen tempted to linger there too long.

As the season advances, the spring flowers appear
in greater abundance, the gooseberry and currant
hushes furnish both honey and farina, the seeding
turnips and early sown mustard present a very consi-
derable supply ; the furze, also, is in full bloom, and
the bees become less dependant on artificial feeding.
But, unless the weather be remarkably mild, and the
stocks of more than ordinary richness, the adventitious
supplies ought not to be withdrawn till the beginning
of May. During March and April, the activity and
bustle of the hive are greatly augmented, and the in-
dustrious foragers may be seen in a genial morning
hurrying with their loads into the hive in crowds, and
jostling and driving one another about with most un-
ceremonious haste. In a strong hive, from 50 to 70
bees, as already stated, may be observed entering in a
minute; and, when about to purchase a hive, we
cannot have recourse to a more decisive testimony of
its strength than the numbers that enter loaded with
farina in a given period of time. It is, in fact, during
this season, about the beginning or middle of April,
that such purchases can be made with less risk than
during any other part of the year. The winter is
past, and the more trying season of early spring,
especially the latter half of February and the whole
of March, during which periods more bees die than
at any other. Their consumption of honey is then
so great, from the circumstance of the Queen having

192 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

begun her laying, and the rapidly increasing quantity
of brood, that none but well provisioned hives can
support the expenditure. In April, however, the
industrious insect begins to get something out of doors;
besides the gooseberries and currants, the seeding
turnips and furze, the willows are putting forth their
catkins, and the buds of the plane and horse-chestnut
are swelling, all of which contribute to relieve the
winter magazines and render it quite safe for a buyer
to set about forming his apiary. Let him, therefore,
choose a fine morning, when the bees are busily en-
gaged in carrying in farina, and observe attentively,
and in their turn, all the hives from which he is to
select his purchase, counting the number of each that
enter within a minute's space. He will fix, of course,
on those that exhibit the greatest number.

The cultivator will sometimes at this season dis-
cover, to his mortification, that one or more of his
hives has been totally deserted by the inhabitants. If
there is no want of honey in the combs, and no appear-
ance of mice or other vermin having obtained access
to it, the probable cause of this desertion is the death
of the queen during the winter, from age or from
accident. In such circumstances, the whole popu-
lation will gradually leave their habitation ; and while
many wander about in the cold, and ultimately perish,
others may be seen dispersing themselves among the
other hives in the apiary. The owner should in this
case shut up the hive, carry it into a dry place, and
reserve it for a late swarm, to which it will be a
valuable acquisition. It is worthy of remark how

THE HONEY-BEE. *93

seldom the prosperity of the apiary is affected by the
death of a queen ; yet, supposing the duration of her
life to extend to four years, — and we iave no certainty
of its being of longer continuance, — in every collection
of four stock hives, there must be, on an average, one
death each year. And yet how seldom are we aware
of this event, or suffer any diminution of our stocks
in consequence ! We can account for this only by
concluding that the death of the queen from age,
takes place much less frequently in winter than in
summer, at which season eggs may have been already
laid in royal cells ; or, at all events, there being then
common eggs and brood of all ages in the hive, the
bees have it in their power to rear a successor from
the larva of a worker. And the males being at the
same time in great numbers, impregnation of the
young queen soon takes place, eggs are laid forty-six
hours afterwards, and the business of the community
goes on without further interruption.

Bees are confessedly a very irritable race, and in
our frequent inspection of the hives at this season, as
well as in our operations with them throughout the
year, we are sometimes made to feel their fury, and
to smart under the venom of their stings. Almost
all bee-masters are of opinion that the anger of the
bees is greatly excited and aggravated by the odour
of their own poison.* Feburier thinks that this
venom is more or less active according to the temper-

* The venom of bees is extremely active ; Reaumur con-
jectures that the weight of a grain would kill a pigeon in a few
seconds.

194 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

ature of the atmosphere, and the temperament of the
hody which is stung ; and he tells us farther, that
the bees are more peaceably disposed in temperate
climates, than in those where the heat is extreme.*
For this he gives the authority of the Abbe della
Rocca, who asserts that these insects are not so irrit-
able in the comparatively moderate climate of France,
as they are in the Grecian Islands where he had re-
sided ; and in proof of this he gives one or two an-
ecdotes which are worthy of being recorded. A
small privateer with 40 or 50 men, having on board
some hives made of earthen-ware full of bees, was
pursued by a Turkish galley manned by 500 seamen
and soldiers. As soon as the latter came alongside,
the crew of the privateer mounted the rigging with
their hives, and hurled them down upon the deck of
the galley. The Turks, astonished at this novel
mode of warfare, and unable to defend themselves
from the stings of the enraged bees, became so terri-
fied, that they thought of nothing but how to escape
their fury ; while the crew of the small vessel, de-
fended by masks and gloves, flew upon their enemies
sword in hand, and captured the vessel almost with-
out resistance. The Abbe's next anecdote is nearly
as extraordinary. When Amurath, the Turkish
emperor, during the siege of Alba Graeca, had bat-
tered down part of the wall, and was about to take
the town by assault, he found the breach defended

* This is an error, if we may believe the accounts which
travellers within the tropics "have given of the bees in those
regions.

THE HOXEY-BEE. 195

by bees, many hives of which the inhabitants had
stationed on the ruins. The Janissaries., although the
bravest soldiers in the Ottoman empire, durst not en-
counter this formidable line of defence, and refused
to advance. " Our bees/' says M. Feburier, in re-
marking on these anecdotes, "are not so terrible.
Still, if we place ourselves within a few feet of a hive
to examine them, and do not carefully avoid all hasty
movements, we shall very soon perceive one or two
bees wheeling rapidly round us, with a shrill and pierc-
ing sound, very different from their ordinary humming.
In this case it will be prudent to take ourselves off,
or plunge the head into a bush, because the number
of the assailants will increase rapidly, and the attack
commence without a moment's delay. If, notwith-
standing the shelter of the bush, they continue their
enraged buzzing around us, it will be most prudent
to get quietly and quickly out of the way."

The following anecdote from Lesser, quoted by
Kirkbyand Spence, will shew that even in the temper-
ate climate of Europe, the irritability of this insect may
be made a formidable means of defence. " During the
confusion occasioned by a time of war in 1525, a mob
of peasants assembling in Hohnstein in Thuringia,
attempted to pillage the house of the minister of
Elende, who having in vain employed all his eloquence
to dissuade them from their design, ordered his do-
mestics to fetch his bee-hives, and throw them in the
middle of this furious mob. The effect was what
might be expected ; they were immediately put to
flight, and happy to escape unstung."

196 MANAGEMENT IN SPRING.

Almost every writer on the subject of bees has
given a cure for their sting,, and a recipe for a bee-
dress. As remedies against the venom, olive-oil,
vitriol, laudanum, vinegar, and even simple water,
have each their advocates ; and old Butler prescribes
the rubbing the wound with simple saliva. We have
found no remedy so efficacious as the juice of a plant
we have seldom to go far in search of, the common
dock, bruised, and rubbed instantly on the wound,
after the sting has been withdrawn. The rubbing
should be continued for ten or fifteen minutes ; it will
allay the pain, and very generally prevents the part
from swelling. With regard to defensive coverings,
we have seen none described which were not greatly
wanting in simplicity and facility of management.
Many of them, also, are very uncomfortable to the
wearers, particularly the cloth hoods which reach
down over the shoulders, and by confining and con-
centrating the heat of the body and breath about the
head and face, give more annoyance than a few stings
would do. We have tried most of these dresses, and
have laid them aside ; and now we use only a thin
gauze or crape veil, sewed quite round the edge of
the hat -rim, the projection of which keeps the veil
at due distance from the face. To prevent the bees
from getting within it, the sides of the veil are sewed
together behind, and the under part of it stuffed
within the neck of the vest. This, with a pair of stout
leather or woollen gloves, forms our whole defensive
armour ; it is put off and on in a few seconds, and
proves perfectly sufficient for the purpose intended.

THE HONEY-BEE. 197

On the Management of Bees in the Swarming
Sea-son. — The approach of this interesting season is
indicated to the Bee-master hy the appearance of the
drones or males, which shew themselves ahout the
end of May or the beginning of June, sooner or later,
according to the general nature of the climate, and
the particular state of the colony to which they he-
long. In the meantime, the population has increased
rapidly, and the heat of the hive is greatly augmented.
Excited hy these causes, the queen hurries over the
combs from one quarter of the hive to another, commu-
nicates her agitation to her subjects, and, accompanied
by a multitude of them, rushes out of the hive. (See
p. 138.) The bee-owner is forewarned of this re-
volution by several not insignificant signs. In many
cases, for several preceding days, the bees have been
hanging in clusters from the mouth of the hive, as if
unable to find room within, and desirous of seeking a
new domicile ; on the morning of the day on which
the emigration takes place, they may be observed
listless and idle at the entrance, frequently entering
within the door, and returning in small parties of
two, three, or four, seemingly insensible to the fra-
grance exhaled from the rich flower-vegetation, and
testifying none of their usual activity in profiting by
it; while, as the day advances, the males, on the
other hand, are hurrying to and fro with a prodigious
bustle and noise, as if conscious of some revolution
impending in which they would have to bear a pro-
minent part ; and, lastly, the moisture or sweating,
as it is called, which, in the early part of the day,

198 MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

had covered the. alighting-board like a heavy dew, is
rapidly dried up by the great increase of heat.

A swarm on the wing is a most agreeable spectacle
to the Bee-master. It is true his harvest of honey
might be more plentiful, were the population to re-
main undivided, and be accommodated with additional
room, either by means of storifying or collateral
hiving ; still, to the lover of nature, the develop-
ment of the instincts and habits of this interesting
insect, which takes place in the process of swarming,
is a source of genuine pleasure. At the same
time, it must be owned, this pleasure is not always
unmingled with anxiety, for his winged favourites
sometimes mount high in the air and fly off, perhaps
to a habitation previously chosen, and to which they
are guided by their scouts. To prevent this evil, the
owner and his assistant must hasten to throw up
amongst them handfuls of small gravel or earth,
which has generally the effect of bringing them down.
If it fail, and they seem determined to travel, the
owner must prepare himself to follow ; for the in-
sects, when thus disposed to wander, condense their
straggling circles, and dart off with great rapidity,
always in a straight line, and generally against the
wind. To put a stop to their flight, the common
practice is to make all sorts of noises, ringing of bells>
beating of pans and other sonorous vessels.* Long

* Butler thinks that these noises were originally intended
to proclaim to the neighbourhood that a swarm had risen, and
that they might know whence it came, and to whom it be-
longed.

THE HONEY-BEE. 199

experience has satisfied us that the use of these noisy
implements is by no means indispensable on such
occasions. Ten swarms out of twelve, if let alone
altogether,, and suffered peaceably to take their own
way, will alight on the first shrub, bush, or low-grow-
ing tree, that stands in nearly a direct line from the
mouth of the hive, whatever may be their intentions
as to any ulterior destination ; and to defeat such in-
tentions, if any such are threatened, let the swarm,
as soon as it has settled on an accessible spot, be
housed immediately, and shaded carefully from the
sun. In half an hour afterwards, let it be removed
to its permanent station in the apiary. If the swarm
settle on the branch of a high tree, let a ladder be
got and fastened to the trunk by ropes, and let the
operator ascend it, carrying up with him a small bag,
distended within by a slender hoop in which he will
inclose the swarm. The operation will be facilitated,
if the branch can be cut and brought down along with
it. Sometimes the swarm, after alighting, returns in
a few minutes to the hive. This happens when the
queen has left, as she sometimes does, the settled
group, and makes her way back to her original abode ;
the swarm will, in these circumstances, gradually
follow her and return also, but will come off again
next day, or perhaps the same day. Sometimes the
bees return to the hive without alighting at all ; and
sometimes, unfortunately, the queen in such a case
commits a mistake and enters a wrong one, while her
followers crowd after her, and alight in myriads about
the mouth and round the pedestal, without, however,

200 MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

entering with their sovereign, as if aware of the danger
of such intrusion. This is rather a perplexing state
of things, and the best remedy we can suggest, is in-
stantly to carry off the hive into which the queen has
strayed, and to substitute in its place the one from
which she had issued. The bees will readily enter;
after which the two hives may be restored to their
former places. If the strayed queen does not reappear
in a very few minutes, we may conclude she has fallen
a victim to her error ; and the owner may console
himself with the knowledge that the swarm will come
off again in a very few days, with another queen.

Two swarms sometimes leave their hives at the same
time, and in such cases almost always go together. If
they are second swarms, it will be better to let them
remain so ; they will, when thus united, form a strong
stock, and will collect much more honey than they
could have done separately. If they are first swarms,
and the season is not far advanced, it will be expe-
dient to separate them ; and for this purpose, let the
whole mass be first received into an empty hive, and
then, spreading a sheet on the floor of an empty apart-
ment from which the light is partially excluded, let
the hive be placed on it ; a smart stroke on the top
will send them down in a mass upon the sheet, and
the bees, in a minute or two, will be observed coir
lectecl into two groups, in the centre of each of which
will be found a queen. Place an empty hive gently
over each group, raising one side, that the bees may
have easy access ; and when housed, remove them to
their proper stations, which shbuld be some consider-

THE HONEY-BEE. 201

able distance apart. The reason for recommending
a partially darkened room is, that should the opera-
tion be performed in the open air, as is sometimes
done, and in sunshine, the swarms will almost certainly
rise again, and very probably may be lost.

Second Swarms. — In ten or twelve days after the
departure of the old Queen with her followers, the
hive is in a state to send forth another band of emi-
grants. The young Queen, thwarted by the workers in
her attempt to destroy her rivals yet in their cradles,*
traverses the combs in every direction in a state of
great agitation, causing by her impetuous courses
disorder and confusion amongst the inhabitants, and
thereby raising the temperature of the hive to such
a height, that the bees, unable to support the aug-
mented heat, hurry along with their irritated Queen
towards the outlet of the hive, and depart. As there
are often from six to ten queens, and sometimes even
more, in the hive, two or three will often be found
in a second swarm, which has frequently the effect
of dividing it, each portion alighting on a separate
bush. The operation of uniting them is simple and
easy. Cut the branch which carries the smallest
portion, and place it in contact with the other ; they
will soon unite. Or receive first the one group into
an empty hive, and placing it immediately under the
other, shake this last down upon them, and the junc-
tion is effected. The bees will quickly rid them-
selves of the supernumerary queen.

Third Swarms. — It is in consequence of this mul-
* See page 95.

202 MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

tiplicity of queens, that sometimes a third, and even
a fourth, emigration takes place from the mother-hive,
— the former on the third day after the second, and
the latter on the day following. To establish these as
separate and independent colonies would be ultimately
a loss to the owner, — the swarm or cast itself would
do little good, and the parent hive would be impover-
ished to such a degree as to render it unfit for a
winter stock. The third and fourth swarms, there-
fore, ought to be restored to their original habitation,
taking care previously to search for and seize the
Queen or Queens, which in these small swarms is not a
difficult operation. If the operator is successful in his
search, the bees will return of themselves. Even a
second swarm is seldom much worth, unless the prime
one has been particularly weak, and would be much
more productive to the owner, by its continuance in
the parent hive. Our fondness for having our apiaries
stocked with a great number of hives is apt to make
us overlook the disadvantage of having — as we are
sure to have by indulging ourselves in this desire —
puny stock-hives which give much trouble, and cost
a great deal more than they are worth ; for in this
country, second swarms that come off later than June,
seldom do any good, unless they are situated in the
immediate neighbourhood of heath, or are transported
thither in August or September. He is a wise bee-
master, then, who takes but one swarm from each
stock ; he may, generally speaking, depend on having
stronger swarms, and a greater quantity of honey than
he would have procured from double the number of

THE HONEY-BEE. 203.

seconds. There is but one way of preventing second
swarms, and that is, by giving them more room, and
destroying all the remaining royal cells, as soon as it
is ascertained that a young Queen has been hatched,
to preside over the community. A first swarm de-
parts only on a fine day, when the sky is clear, and
the sun shines ; a second, or cast, is not so scrupu-
lous. Should the weather become wet immediately
after the emigrants have been housed, they must be
fed.

Virgin Swarms, — When the swarming season has
been early and favourable, a strong first swarm sends
forth sometimes a young colony headed by the old
Queen. For the first few days after she had taken
possession of her new abode, she has laid the eggs of
workers in great numbers. Portions of comb con-
taining large cells are at the same time constructed,
in which she lays the eggs of males. The workers
are thereby encouraged to build royal cells ; and, if
the weather be favourable, at the end of a month
from the time of her leaving her original abode, the
old Queen leads off a new band of emigrants. The
product of this swarm, if suffered to exist separately,
is called virgin honey. What has been said of the
value of second, third, and fourth swarms, is equally
applicable to swarms of this description. Unless in
very particular circumstances, they are not only not
advantageous, but positively injurious to the general
prosperity of the apiary, and should therefore be
prevented.

A timid and inexperienced cultivator of bees may

204? MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

shrink at the description of some of the dangerous op-
erations ventured on with such irritable subjects, and
will be disposed on every occasion of this kind to
ensconce himself in impenetrable defensive armour.
In forming artificial swarms, in depriving the bees
of their hard-earned stores, or interfering in any way
with the brood, he will do well to protect himself by
such means. But in regard to natural swarms, he
need be under no apprehension, and this panoply is
then quite unnecessary. Every person accustomed
to work amongst bees, knows how safely he may
go into the midst of a newly departed swarm, not
one bee of which will molest him, unless he acci-
dentally crush or injure it during his operations.
They are so intent on the great object of their emi-
gration, the acquisition of a new abode, and so sensi-
tively anxious about the safety of their mother and
Queen, that what on ordinary occasions would draw
forth many a vengeful weapon, now passes utterly
unheeded by them ; and the cultivator may, in the
event of their clustering in an inconvenient spot
for being hived, lift them in handfuls like so much
grain, without in the least suffering for his boldness.
The following instances, in proof of this, are very
interesting, and worthy of being repeatedly brought
forward, not only as illustrating a remarkable feature
in the history of the Bee, but as being well calculated
to inspire confidence in those who are required to
work amongst these sensitive creatures at the swarm-
ing season. The first instance is from M. Lombard :
— " A young girl of my acquaintance was greatly

THE HONEY-BEE. 205

afraid of bees, but was completely cured of her fear
by the following incident. A swarm having left a
hive,, I observed the Queefi alight by herself, at a
little distance from the apiary. I immediately called
my little friend, that I might show her this import-
ant personage ; she was anxious to have a nearer
view of her majesty, and therefore, having first caused
her to draw on her gloves, I gave the Queen into her
hand. Scarcely had I done so, when we were sur-
rounded by the whole bees of the swarm. In this
emergency I encouraged the trembling girl to be
steady, and to fear nothing, remaining myself close
by her, and covering her head and shoulders with a
thin handkerchief. I then made her stretch out the
hand that held the Queen, and the bees instantly
alighted on it, and hung from her fingers as from the
branch of a tree. The little girl, experiencing no
injury, was delighted above measure at the novel
sight, and so entirely freed from all fear, that she bade
me uncover her face. The spectators were charmed
at the interesting spectacle. I at length brought a
hive, and shaking the swarm from the child's hand,
it was lodged in safety without inflicting a single
sting."

This instance, though amusing, must yield in in-
terest to the following from Thorley. an old English
bee-master. It has been often told, but, for the
reasons already stated, deserves to be repeated : —
"In the year 1717, one of my swarms settled among
the close-twisted branches of a codling tree, and not
to be got into a hive without help, my maid-servant,

206 MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

being in the garden, offered her assistance to hold
the hive while I dislodged the bees. Having never
been acquainted with bees, she put a linen cloth over
'her head and shoulders to secure her from their
stings. A few of the bees fell into the hive, and
some upon the ground, but the main body upon the
cloth which covered her garments. I took the hive
out of her hands, when she cried out that the bees
were got under the covering, and were crowding up
towards her breast and face, which put her into a
trembling posture. When I perceived the veil was
of no farther service, she gave me leave to remove
it; this done, a most affecting spectacle presented
itself to the view of all the company, filling me with
the deepest distress and concern, as I thought myself
the unhappy instrument of drawing her into so im-
minent hazard of her life. Had she enraged them,
all resistance would have been vain, and nothing less
than her life would have atoned for the offence I
spared not to use all the arguments I could think of,
and used the most affectionate entreaties, begging
her with all the earnestness in my power to stand
her ground, and keep her present posture ; in order
to which I gave her encouragement to hope for a full
discharge from her disagreeable companions. I be-
gan to search among them for the Queen, they hav-
ing now got in a great body upon her breast, about
her neck, and up to her chin. I immediately seized
her, taking her from the crowd, with some of the
commons in company with her, and put them toge-
ther into the hive. Here I watched her for some

THE HONEY-BEE. 207

time, and as I did not observe that she came out, I
conceived an expectation of seeing the whole hody
quickly abandon their settlement; but instead of
tha^ I soon observed them gathering closer together,,
without the least signal for departing. Upon this,, I
immediately reflected that either there must be an-
other sovereign, or that the same was returned, I
directly commenced a second search, and in a short
time, with a most agreeable surprise, found a second,
or the same. She strove, by entering farther into
the crowd, to escape me; but I re-conducted her,
with a great number of the populace, into the hive.
And now the melancholy scene began to change to
one infinitely more agreeable and pleasant. The
bees, missing their Queen, began to dislodge and re-
pair to the hive, crowding into it in multitudes, and
in the greatest hurry imaginable ; and in the space
of two or three minutes, the maid had not a single
bee about her, neither had she so much as one sting
— a small number of which would have quickly stop-
ped her breath."

The following table of the average number, mea-
sure, and weight of Bees, is taken from Key's Trea-
tise—

Ibs. oz. dr.
23,000 Bees, constituting a good swarm,

will weigh . . . . 500

100 Drones weigh . . . . 010

290 Workers . . . . 010

4,640 Ditto, 100

1,830 Ditto — a pint in measure, . 065

3,660 Ditto — a quart, . . 0 12 10

208 ARTIFICIAL SWARMS.

This table is probably not far from the truth ; but
in experiments to ascertain the fact with unquestion-
able correctness, it is very necessarv to take into the
account the state of the bees at the time when the cal-
culation is made. If they are alive, they weigh less
than when dead ; and if weighed immediately after
they have emigrated from the mother-hive, allowance,
to the amount perhaps of a fifth, must be made for the
honey and farina with which they are then loaded.

On Artificial Swarms. — Artificial swarming is not
generally practised in this country, owing probably
to the want of sufficient practical skill, in most of
those who apply themselves to Bee-husbandry. In
many cases, however, it might be had recourse to with
great advantage, and in some it is indispensable if it
is desired to reap the full benefit of the stock. It
saves the watching necessary in the case of natural
swarms ; and if conducted on right principles, renders
the artificial colony quite independent of the casualties
to which natural swarms are liable. Moreover, it
secures the multiplication of swarms in cases, where
if left to the natural process, there would be none.
Should a continued tract of bad weather take place
about the usual period of swarming, the old queen
would have time and opportunity to destroy all the
royal progeny, — for the bees never oppose the queen
mother in such cases, — and thereby entirely frustrate
the hope of multiplication by natural swarms. To
avoid this evil we must have recourse to artificial
swarming. The general period proper for the opera-
tion is about eight or ten days previous to the time

THE HON"EY-BEE. 209

when natural swarms might be looked for. At that
time it is likely royal brood will be found in the
combs, or at all events, abundance of eggs and larvae
of workers, from which to rear an artificial queen, —
and the males are also at this time numerous ; — a
state of things indispensable to the success of artifi-
cial swarming. The mode of operation is various,
and has been described by almost every writer on
the subject of Bees. With common hives the pro-
cess is somewhat difficult, and not always successful.
The following experiments, however, will shew that
it is not impracticable. From the first to the third
week of June, our hives had all thrown their top or
prime swarms. But instead of sending off their
seconds, or casts, ten or twelve days thereafter, as
is generally the case, four of them had not swarmed
nearly three weeks beyond that period. This was
in all likelihood owing to an unfavourable change
of weather, which, by delaying the swarming, had
furnished the reigning queen with an opportunity
of putting to death her intended successors. In this
state of things, from the crowded condition of the
hives, a mass of bees as large as a man's head, hung
from the alighting-board of each, a grievous sight to
the apiarian, as these outliers are quite idle. We
resolved, therefore, to try artificial swarming with one
of these hives, and to regulate our proceedings with
regard to the others according to the issue of this.
Availing ourselves of the discoveries of Schirach and
Huber, we cut out of an other hive a piece of comb of
about 2£ inches square, containing eggs and larvae of

210 ARTIFICIAL SWARMS.

the proper age, and fixed it in a Huber hive which
had died out during the preceding winter, and was
now full of empty comb. We then removed to the
opposite side of the garden, and quite out of sight,
one of the hives which had an outlying, or rather out-
hanging mass attached to its alighting-board, instantly
clapping down in its place on the same board the
already prepared hive, and, with the help of a hot sun,
forcing the others to enter. They made a tremendous
noise, and seemed much disconcerted at finding, in-
stead of the rich combs they had hitherto been familiar
with, nothing but empty cells. This agitation was
kept up all the day by the continued arrival of those
bees which had been abroad when the substitution
took place, and who added greatly to the population.
At noon next day we inspected the new establishment,
and found, to our great satisfaction, that the experi-
ment had completely succeeded. The foundations of
three royal cells had been laid in the small piece of
brood comb we had given them. In due time tire
Queen was hatched, the hive prospered, and at the
end of the season, we took from it nine quarts of
honey. I may observe, that, though it was a Huber's
hive we used on this occasion, it would have succeeded
equally well with a straw one ; the construction of
the hive had no influence on the experiment farther
than that it rendered it easier to fasten the piece of
brood comb, from its being made to open in leaves.*

* We repeated this operation on a common hive this season,
(1834,) sending off the artificial swarm immediately to the
ieath. On bringing it back, three weeks afterwards; we founa

THE HONEY-BEE. 211

From another hive, made of straw,, that hung out
in the same manner, we extracted a swarm by a
method described by some of the older Bee-masters,
and with equal success : We carried the full hive
into a dark place, — turned it up, — fixed it in the frame
of a chair from which the stuffed bottom had been
removed, — placed an empty hive over it, joining them
mouth to mouth, — and partially drove it.* As soon
as we perceived that about half of the bees had
ascended into the empty hive, — knowing that in these
cases the queen is generally amongst the foremost, —
we immediately replaced the old hive on its former
station, and removed the new one containing the
queen, to a little distance. As the former had plenty of
eggs and young brood, they were at no loss to procure
another queen ; while the other having a queen, pro-
ceeded to work in all respects as a natural swarm.

With such a hive as Huber's, or any other square -
shaped hive that opens in two parts vertically, the

satisfactory proofs of the complete success of the operation.
The hive contained a considerable quantity of honey, and,
what was of greater consequence to the naturalist, the piece
of brood comb which had been inserted, of about two inches
square, contained the remains of two royal cells, one of which
was open at the end, while the other had its opening in the
broadside. From these appearances we infer, that, from the
first cell a queen had issued in the natural way, and had suc-
ceeded in destroying her rival in the other, effecting her pur-
pose by tearing open the cell in the quarter which afforded
direct access to the vital parts of her rival's body.

* By driving is to be understood the process of forcing the
bees out of a full hive into an empty one. The mode of
operating is described at length in page 227.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMS.

operation is very simple, more satisfactory, and less
dependant on contingencies. Let a hive be prepared
of precisely the same dimensions as the one to be
operated on, and of the same construction, namely,
opening vertically in two halves. Early in the
morning, or in the evening, when the bees are all at
home, let the hive be gently separated. The bees,
always most irritable when idle, will dart out in no
placid humour, and must therefore be kept from an-
noying the operator, by the use of smoke. Apply to
each full half an empty one, carefully fastening them
together by hooks and eyes previously arranged.
We have thus two hives, each half full of bees, brood,
and honey. One of them will possess the queen, and
the other will have royal brood, or at all events, eggs
and larvae of all ages wherewith to originate a queen.
As soon as they have recovered from the panic caused
by the operation, and have all retired into the inte-
rior, let both doors be closed that there may be no
communication between the two divided communi-
ties. Two or three hours afterwards, listen atten-
tively to each, and it will be readily ascertained from
the quiet state of the one, and the loud disorderly
buzzing of the other, that the queen is present with
the former, and that the other is distressed at the
discovery of their loss. Carry off the one with the
queen, and shut it up in a dark apartment for twenty-
four hours, leaving the other in the original station.
If this last had no royal brood at the time of the
separation, it will, within twenty-four hours, have set
about forming an artificial queen, and the operation

THE HONEY-BEE. 2 13

is finished. The other may now be brought from its
confinement, and placed on another pedestal. Pos-
sessing a queen, there is little danger of any of the
bees leaving it for the other ; and even this may be
effectually prevented by placing that other in con-
finement for twenty-four hours, after which time,
the hive with the old queen will have become ac-
customed to their new station.

We have recommended the employment of smoke
in the above operation. This is so useful an auxi-
liary in every operation with bees, that it is worth
while to ascertain the most effectual and convenient
method of using it. Howatson has given a descrip-
tion of an instrument which seems well enough suited
to the purpose : " We use," says he, " a fumigat-
ing box of tin, of the form of which we cannot give
a better idea, though rather a ludicrous one, than
supposing it an old shoe, with a hole in the toe,
and a spur on the heel; the mouth of this shoe,
moreover, is covered with a hinged lid. The spur
is a tube communicating with the interior, for receiv-
ing the pipe of a pair of common hand-bellows, the
blast of which drives the smoke forward through
the hole in the toe into the skep. The burning
rags, or other materials for producing the smoke, lie
directly under the lid, and a piece of moveable per-
forated tin is put in near the mouth, so as to intercept
the sparks which would otherwise be emitted, and
burn the bees or melt the combs. This fumigating
box is ten inches long and three broad ; it is two
inches deep at the heel, and tapers gradually down

214 DEPRIVATION AND TRANSPORTATION.

to a quarter at the toe. It is to be particularly
attended to in the construction, that there be as few
joinings as possible, and these are to be fastened
with rivets instead of solder.* We have made what
we think an improvement on this instrument, — not
on the principle, but on the shape, and the mode of
using it ; and have given a figure of it in PL XIII.
fig. 2. A is the body of the instrument, having a
bottom at B, perforated with small holes, through
which the smoke of burning rags, or of tinder, or of
dried cow-dung, made damp before being used,
placed inside at A, will be blown out at the point c ;
D is the lid which slips on the body, after the rags
are kindled within, having a tube E treble the dia-
meter of the opening at c. The rim of the lid is
perforated with holes ^ inch in diameter, correspond-
ing to the same number of holes in the body of the
instrument, the use of which is to admit the air by
bringing the holes over each other, and thus to pre-
vent the fire from being extinguished, when the
operator occasionally lays it out of his hand. When
about to resume it, a half-turn of the lid, by break-
ing the correspondence of the holes, will again ex-
clude the air ; F is a ring by which the instrument
is held; if an assistant is at hand, he may insert
the nozzle of a pair of hand-bellows into the mouth
of the tube E, and thus add to its efficiency. The
instrument is made of tin, having all the joinings
rivetted instead of being soldered. It is on a scale
of six or seven times the dimensions of the figure*
* Howatson on Bees, page 62.

THE HONEY BEE. 215

It is almost needless to add, that if the operator be a
smoker of tobacco, a few whiffs from his pipe will
answer the purpose better than either of the modes
above described.

On Deprivation and Transportation. — The swarm-
ing season terminates, generally, about the first week
of July, a few days sooner or later, according to the
climate, and the temperature of the season. After
that period, no emigration ought to be allowed ; or
if it take place in spite of our endeavours to prevent
it, the swarms should be restored to the mother-
hives. The massacre of the Males, which takes
place about the beginning of August, seems to afford
a not unequivocal symptom that the richest part of
the honey-season is nearly over, and that the bees
are aware of the necessity of cutting off all unneces-
sary expenditure of food. Those cultivators, there-
fore, who pursue the system of appropriating a portion
of the honey accumulated during the summer-months
of June and July, — who content themselves with a
share only of the fruits of Bee-industry, and who
make use of hives conveniently constructed for this
purpose, — or who have an opportunity of availing
themselves of the near neighbourhood of heath, —
may now proceed with the process of deprivation.

The use of storied hives, of Huber's, and of others
which divide vertically into halves, renders this pro-
cess very simple. The quantity of honey in hives
of this construction can be at all times accurately
ascertained ; so that it can be seen at once whether
there be any available surplus, and what combs, as

21 6 DEPRIVATION AND TRANSPORTATION.

containing brood, must be carefully preserved. The
upper box in storied hives is then free from brood,
and may easily be removed, not only without present
detriment to the inmates, but almost without their
knowledge. The modus operandi will be pointed
out afterwards. It is not impracticable to accom-
plish deprivation with the common straw-hive ; but
it is attended with so much difficulty, and is so
liable to failure, that it is seldom attempted. The
mode of proceeding, however, as recommended and
practised by Wildman, is to remove the full hive
into a darkened room, and by repeated strokes on the
outside, to force the bees to ascend into an empty
one, placed immediately above the other ; after which
the deprived bees are removed to their usual stand
in the apiary. In the mean time the operator, with
a thin pliable knife, cuts out the full combs, and
scrapes off with a spoon what may have escaped the
knife; he then returns the bees to their old hive.
To the great mass of those who cultivate bees, this
operation appears troublesome and dangerous ; and
where it is attempted, it often fails, from the desire
of appropriating too large a share of the stores, ,and
from the destruction of the brood- combs. In certain
circumstances, however, the operation, when done
judiciously, may, even with straw-hives, be done witfi
safety; and that is when the deprived hives are to
be immediately removed to the vicinity of heath*
Change of pasture is most advantageous to these
insects at this season ; for while the flowers in one
district have entirely faded, those of another may be in

THE HONEY-BEE. 21 7

full bloom. In corn-districts, especially, this change
is indispensable. After the middle of August, wide
tracts of the richest arable lands, unless in the im-
mediate vicinity of heath, present to the bees but a
barren desert ; the wild flowers are almost all gone,
and in those that still remain, the secretion of honey
proceeds very slowly and scantily. And what is of
still more importance, the white or Dutch clover,
which, in a highly-cultivated country, forms the great
dependence of the apiary, has disappeared ; and
hardly any thing remains but the small patches of
mignonette in the gardens, and the coarse rag- weed
or mug-wort in the fields.

From this period, accordingly, the hives, generally
speaking, become every day lighter ; and the Bee-
master, especially after deprivation, must exert his
skill in checking the evil, otherwise his stocks will
be unfit to stand the winter. The only remedy, — at
least the best, — is to transport his hives to a district
where the bees will find those supplies that are
wanting at home.

The practice of removing bees towards the close
of autumn to fresh pastures prevailed in ancient times>
as we learn from Columella and others, — and is con-
tinued at the present day, with great advantage to
the owners. In China, Egypt, the Grecian Islands,
and over almost the whole European continent, we
find the transporting system highly approved of. In
England we know not that its advantages are ap-
preciated as they deserve to be; but in Scotland,

218 DEPRIVATION AND TRANSPORTATION.

the practice is almost universal. One instance is thus
stated by a friend.* " About five miles from Edin-
burgh, at the foot of one of the Pentland hills, stands
Logan-house, supposed the former residence of Sir
W. Worthy, celebrated by Allan Ramsay in his
Gentle Shepherd. This house is now occupied by a
shepherd, who, during July and August, receives
about 100 bee-hives from his neighbours beyond the
hills, that their bees may gather the honey from the
luxuriant blossoms of the mountain heather."

The exact period when transportation is to be had
recourse to, must be regulated by the localities, and
by the temperature of the season. But in general,
•the Bee-master will act safely if he adopt the decay
of the white clover as the signal of removal. At that
period, the heath is coming into bloom, and soon
presents a rich fund of sweets to the eager collectors.
By transporting them thither, a double harvest may
b<3 reaped. In the autumn of 1828, we took nearly the
whole stores from a few hives, before transporting
them to the moors ; and on bringing them back, after
an absence of about three weeks, they had acquired
at an average ten ft>s. of honey each. Double this
quantity in the same period of time, if the weather
is dry and sunny, is by no means uncommon, as the
fruit of transportation. But much depends on the
season ; and the rains so often prevailing in August
and September, frequently disappoint the expectations
of the owner. In 1829, during the autumn of which
* Dr. Bevan.

CHE HONEY-BEE. 21 9

the rains were unceasing, though never very heavy,
we sent four hives to the heath ; but brought them
back again considerably diminished in weight.

Along with the deprived hives — that is, those from
which a portion of their stores have been taken, —
there should be sent to enjoy the benefit of change
of pasture, such swarms of the season as had emi-
grated late, or had been unusually small ; and to
give them a better chance of success, two of this de-
scription should be united before their removal.
Their station on the new pasture-ground should not
be less than three miles distant from the apiary,
otherwise they may find their way back to their
original resting-place, and perish* The flight of the
Bee, according to Huber, extends generally about
half-a-league. If that Naturalist meant a German
league, as he probably did, according to this calcula-
tion, a bee will fly at least two English miles in
quest of food. The proof of the correctness of this
opinion is given in a note by M. Lombard and in an
unpublished letter of Huber, of date April 1810
which is quoted by M. Lombard in his Treatise. "At
the time of the revolution, M. Huber lived at Cour,
near to Lausanne. He had the lake on one side of
his domicile, and vineyards on the other. He soon
perceived the disadvantage of his position (as re-
garded his bees.) When the orchards at Cour had
shed their blossoms, and the few meadows in the
neighbourhood had been mown, he found the stores
of his stock-hives diminishing daily ; the labours of
the bees ceased so entirely, that even in summer they

220 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

would have died of hunger had he not succoured
them. In the meantime, while matters were going
on so badly at Cour, the bees at Renan, Chabliere,
Vaux, Cery, &c. — places at the distance of only half-
a-league, — were living in the greatest abundance,
threw numerous swarms, and filled their hives with
honey and wax." This fact serves as an evidence
that the flight of a bee, in ordinary cases, is less than
two English miles ; though we readily admit that in
some rare, though well authenticated instances, they
have been known to fly double that distance. The
general fact is farther confirmed by the following
sentence in Huber's letter : rf If my bees," he says,
"could have cleared the interval which separated
them from the places where they would have found
provisions, they would assuredly have done so, rather
than die of hunger. They succeeded no better at
Vevai, although it is not more than half-a-league
from that place to Hauteville, Chardonne, £c., where
they throve remarkably well."

General Honey-Harvest. — About the beginning
or middle of September, the transported hives are
brought back to their usual station ; and in a few days,
according to circumstances, the general honey-har-
vest commences. The bees have relaxed greatly in
their labours, — the fields no longer tempt them to go
a-foraging, — and already the little economists are
forced to break in on their winter stores. The hives,
therefore, designed to be reserved as winter stocks,
must be inspected and weighed. Every one which
weighs not fifteen or sixteen Ibs., exclusive of empty

THE HONEY-BEE. 221

hive or skep, bees, brood, &c., ought without hesita-
tion to be rejected. A less quantity by two or three Ibs.
may bring them through the winter, but this will de-
pend much on the nature of the season ; whereas,
with the quantity above stated, there is no doubt at
all of their preservation as far as food is concerned,
whatever may be the temperature. During frost,
the bees consume very little indeed ; and if the cold
increase in severity, still less, if any. But as we
cannot anticipate what the temperature of the ensuing
winter may turn out, our wisdom is to take care
before hand that there be no deficiency in their stores ;
it cannot be supplied when the cold has actually set
in. A common straw-hive weighs when empty from
five to six Ibs. — an ordinary swarm about four
tbs., — the wax of a full hive of the current year
nearly two ibs., — of the preceding year, at least three
Ibs., — and the farina in the cells not less than one ft>.,
making in all about fifteen Ibs. A stock, therefore, to
be secure, ought to be double that weight in the gross,
that is, should contain not less than fifteen ibs. honey.
Having selected the stocks, the Cultivator who
does not practise the mode of partial deprivation,
alluded to in last chapter, will now reap his general
harvest. There are three modes of taking the honey,
each of which has its advocates ; namely Partial De-
privation, applicable to storied and leaf hives ; Suffo-
cation,— and Driving, that is forcing the bees to quit
their magazines, and uniting the expelled inhabitants
to the stock-hives. Partial Deprivation consists in
appropriating early in the season a portion of the

222 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

stores. In preparing prospectively for thus sharing
in the products of the liive, the Cultivator who pur-
sues the storifying system, immediately after the
swarming season is over, adds another story or hox
to the two of which his hivo consists, placing it
undermost, or as it is called by some Bee-Masters,
Nadir-ing. The brood-comhs contained in the up-
permost story, will, as the young bees are hatched,
be quickly filled with honey, and may be removed
about the beginning of August. The top cover is
then replaced on the next story in position, which
was originally the lower, and is now the upper. In
ordinary seasons, the bees will have ample time to
' lay in sufficient food for winter and spring use, after
the abstraction of this portion of their stores. As the
combs of the upper box are frequently found ad-
hering by their lower extremities to the bars of the
next, it will be necessary, before removal, to separate
them by means of a very thin long-bladed knife or a
fine wire, (a piano-forte string will answer well,)
drawn through the hive at the point of junction. The
operator will next expel the bees from this box or
story, by lifting the top-cover, and blowing in a little
smoke, which will cause the inhabitants to retreat
quickly to the lower regions. The box may then be
taken away, without the operator running the risk of
the slightest annoyance. The same effect may be pro-
duced by driving.* The honey found in this removed
box, will not be all honey of the current season, and
consequently is not so delicately fine. It is also
• See in page 227 directions for the operation of driving.

THE HONEY-BEE. 223

sometimes found mixed with, or rather deposited
above, a layer of farina. Should it be wished, therefore,
to obtain a supply free from these imperfections, the
empty story which is added, may be placed above,
instead of below the original stock, and the honey will
thus be of a superior kind. This mode of operating is
called super-ing, in contra-distinction to nadir-Mg.*
This practice of partial deprivation has never yet
become general, because it is liable to frequent failure,
even in improved hives, and because the full benefit
is not derived from it at the very commencement of
the system. The liability to failure, the first of the
objections stated, is owing in most instances, not to
the mode, but to the period of the operation. Ac-
cording to the too common practice of those who are
friendly to deprivation, a portion of honey is abstract-
ed from the hives about the beginning or middle of
September ; and the owner compliments himself on
his moderation in being content with a part instead
of the whole, and on his humanity in saving the lives
of his industrious favourites ; while in nine instances
out of ten, he finds, on the arrival of March, that his
moderation and humanity have been altogether un-
availing; and that he has saved them from a violent
death by suffocation, only to expose them to the
more tardy, but not less cruel death, by starvation.
Whereas, if deprivation take place soon after the
swarming season, as already recommended, and is
managed with discretion, the issue will be very diffe-

* Dr. Be van practises Nadir-ing only with young swarme,
and Super-ing with those of preceding years.

224 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

rent, and ultimately more profitable to the owner,
than the almost universally practised mode by suffo-
cation, which is too well known to need description.
The latter system may yield a greater return in pro-
portion to the hives operated upon, — but in the
former, there is a much greater number of hives
available. For example : Suppose two apiaries, each
containing five stock-hives at the end of July, ex-
clusive of as many swarms recently thrown. The
owner of the one, practising the depriving system,
takes from each of his stocks ten Ibs. of honey, making
an amount of fifty Ibs. as his honey-harvest. The
owner of the other, an abettor of suffocation, proceeds
in September to smoke his five old hives, and receives
from each twenty-five Ibs. of honey, making an amount
of 125 ibs. as his honey-harvest, between two and
three times the quantity of the other. In the follow-
ing year, the Depriver has his five old stock -hives,
and the five swarms now become stocks also ; from
the whole ten he now takes 100 ft>s. of honey, while
at the same time his apiary is augmented by the ad-
dition of ten new swarms, making twenty for the fol-
lowing year; while his rival possesses only his
former number of five yielding 1 25 Ibs. In the next
year, that is, two years from the commencement of
the comparative trial, the Depriver has twenty stock -
hives yielding 200 Ibs., — and so on by a geometrical
ratio, — while the other remains at his original 1 25 Ibs.
This calculation is made on the supposition that each
owner takes but one swarm from each stock, and
without making any allowance for losses and failures

THE HOXEY-BEE. 225

which will affect the produce of both, in honey and
bees, but to which both are liable.

We are now to compare the suffocating system
with that by which, even though we defer the honey
harvest to the usual late period of September, we may
obtain the same quantity of produce, and at the same
time save the lives of the bees. " Were we to kill
the hen for her egg," says Wildman indignantly,
Sf the cow for her milk, or the sheep for the fleece it
bears, every one would instantly see how much we
should act contrary to our interest ; and yet this is
practised every year in our inhuman and impolitic
slaughter of the bees." It is mortifying to find writers
of some celebrity in this branch of rural economy,
defending the practice of suffocation, and using such
arguments as the following : " If he who dines every
day on a good dish of animal food, does not find fault
with the farmer who sold his cattle to the butcher,
or who carried them to the market after he had him-
self cut their throats, — why does he exclaim against
the Bee-cultivator who suffocates insects destined by
nature to die in the following year ?"* Independent
of the consideration that the carcase of the bee is
not, like that of the she.ep or ox, of use after its
death, and that advantage may be derived from it
while in life, the cold calculating spirit which could
approve and recommend such uncalled-for barbarity,
seems very inconsistent with the enthusiastic admira-
tion of the insect generally felt by apiarians, and be-
trays more of the selfishness of the honey-merchan^
* Feburier, Traite des Abeilles.

22 3 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

than the generous feelings of the delighted Naturalist.
No doubt, reasoning analogically, we have the same
right to destroy our bees, without being liable to the
charge of inhumanity, as we have to take the life ol
our sheep or oxen. Both were designed for our use,
and if the death of the animals is necessary to give
us the full benefit of what was originally intended
for our service, there is no inhumanity in fulfilling
the designs of nature. At the same time, our
humane feelings must be at a very low ebb indeed,
if we can make use of this right without some
degree of pain and regret, when the object to be
sacrificed to our benefit has been to us a source of
innocent enjoyment ; nay, it may be reasonably ex-
pected, that the interest we feel in that object, will
not only prevent us from destroying it wantonly and
unnecessarily, but will induce us anxiously to inquire
whether the barbarous alternative may not be avoided
in perfect consistency with our real advantage.

Now, it is as clear as day, that the advantage of
the owner is best consulted by saving the lives of his
bees ; because, independent of the satisfaction of
eschewing the odious task of sacrificing what we
have long watched with so much anxiety, and con-
templated with so much admiration, the conservative
system yields as large, if not a largei produce than
the destructive, with this additional advantage, that
the honey is not deteriorated by the unwholesome
fumes of the sulphur* made use of in suffocation ;

* Objections are sometimes made to the free use of honey,
that it is very apt to produce disorders in the stomach and

THE HONEY-BEE. 22?

and, in the next place, we have the industrious col-
lectors themselves ready in another season to renew
their labours and add to our riches, — and requiring
only to be united to some well-provisioned stock-hive
which can afford to maintain them. It is pitiable to
reflect that the small degree of additional trouble re-
quired in uniting them,* should prove so effectual an
obstacle to this conservative practice. Yet the opera-
tion with each hive so treated, need not occupy more
than fifteen or twenty minutes. In the evening when
all are quiet, turn up the hive which is to be operated
upon, fixing it in a chair from which the stuffed bot-
tom has been removed ; place an empty hive above
it, wrap a cloth round the point of junction, to pre-
vent the bees from coming out, and annoying the ope-
rator; then, with a short stick or stone in each hand,
beat round the sides but gently for fear of loosen-
ing the combs. In five minutes, the panic-struck
insects will hastily mount into the empty hive, with

bowels. Some medical men are of opinion that the sulphur,
and not the honey is the cause of the evil.

On submitting this note to Dr. Bevan, he made the follow-
ing remarks upon it : " The fumes of sulphur are converted
into sulphuric acid, (vitriolic acid,) and the quantity which
mingles with the honey is very small. I am fully persuaded,
that so far from its causing the honey to disagree with the
stomach and bowels, its tendency would be to produce a
contrary effect. It is the honey, and the honey only that
disagrees ; to a greater or less extent, of course, according to
the pasturage from which it has been collected. I knew a
gentleman who could not be in the same room with uncovered
honey without having his bowels disordered."

* The French call this operation " marrying hives."

228 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

a loud humming noise expressive of their trepidation.
The hives are then separated, — that containing the
bees is placed on its usual pedestal, — and the other
containing the honey is carried off. The union is
next to be effected. Turn up the stock-hive which
is to receive the addition to its population, — with a
bunch of feathers, or a small watering-pan, such as
is used for watering flower-beds, drench them with
a solution of ale and sugar, or water and sugar, made
a little warm. Do the same to the expelled bees ;
and then placing these last over the stock, mouth to
mouthj a smart rap on the top of the hive will drive
them down among the bees and combs of the under-
most hive. Place this last on its pedestal, and the
operation is completed. The strong flavour of the
solution will prevent them from distinguishing be-
tween friend and stranger ; and their first movement,
after recovering from their panic, will be to lick the
liquid from one another's bodies. This mode of
operating is applicable to all kinds of hives. It will
be an advantage, though attended with a little addi-
tional trouble, to search for, and destroy the queen
ftf the expelled bees, before the union takes place.
Two queens cannot subsist together in one hive.
VVhen two hives are united, therefore, what becomes
of the supernumerary queen ? She is put to death
by the bees generally within twenty- four hours from
the time of the union. But as the bees are the
executioners, it is within the bounds of possibility
that both queens may fall a sacrifice. The followers
of one queen may seize upon her rival,, and destroy

THE HONEY-BEE. 229

her, in ignorance that their own proper sovereign
has been perhaps already put hors de combat by the
subjects of the other ; and,, in such a case, the ruin
of the whole community will be the ultimate con-
sequence, because at this season there are no eggs
nor larvae, nor males, wherewith to repair the disaster.
It is safer, therefore, to search for, and remove the
queen of the swarm that has been dislodged, and is
to be " married," before the union takes place ; she
will with little difficulty be discovered and laid hold
of in a hive without comb.

The hives denuded of the bees, being now carried
into the house, the process of extracting the honey
from the combs must commence immediately, while
it retains its natural warmth. It will then flow freely,
and if there is a fire in the apartment where the ope-
ration is carried on, the work will be greatly facili-
tated. As it is of much importance in preserving
the fine flavour of the honey, that it should be ex-
posed as little as possible to the external air, the
mode of manipulation pointed out by Bonner, and
repeated after him by other writers, cannot be com-
mended. The following is the kind of apparatus we
have made use of for a great many years, and find to
answer well. (PI. XIII. fig. 1.) It consists of a tin
vessel of an oval shape, (having a spigot at the bot-
tom,) 18 inches long, 7 broad, and 5 deep. Resting
upon this, is another vessel of the same shape, and
just so much smaller that its under edge slips within
the other to the extent of an inch, and is prevented
from sinking farther by a raised beading. The bottom

230 GENERAL HONEY HARVEST.

is pierced closely with holes, each the 16th or 20th of
an inch in diameter. Above the bottom, inside, and
at the distance of an inch from it, stands upon four

feet, a stage, A, of the same shape and size.

made of wire cloth, of £ inch mesh. Under the
bottom, is fixed a piece of fine muslin, B, the edges
of which are brought out at the joining of the two
vessels. In using this apparatus, the combs being
sliced horizontally through the cells, are laid with the
cut side undermost upon the wire cloth stage, which
retains all the bulky part of the wax, and prevents it
from clogging the holes below ; the honey drops upon
the bottom, and runs through the small holes which
prevent the lesser particles of wax from getting
through, while the muslin below causes it to flow in
almost perfect purity into the under vessel, from
whence it issues through the spigot into the store-
jars. A cover put on the top vessel, after the sliced
comb has been deposited, completes the exclusion of
the external air, with which the honey never comes
in contact till it runs from the spigot. The wax is
next to be attended to, and there cannot be, perhaps,
a simpler and more effectual direction for its manipu-
lation than that which is given by the Abbe della
Rocca. The wax is put into a woollen bag, firmly
tied at the mouth ; the bag is plunged into a pan of
boiling water ; the pure material oozes through the
cloth, and swims on the surface ; it is carefully
skimmed off, as long as any continues to rise, and
poured into a shallow earthen bowl, which is pre-
viously wetted to prevent the wax from adhering to

THE HONEY-BEE. 231

its sides. It must be allowed to cool very gradually,
otherwise the cake which it forms will crack ; and>
therefore, it should be kept in a warm place.

Management of Bees during Winter. — The honey-
harvest being now over, it will be necessary to pre-
pare the stock-hives for passing the winter in safety.
For this purpose, certain preliminary precautions are
requisite, and none more so than to guard against
pillage. After the process of separating the honey
from the wax, it is usual and economical to carry out
to the apiary, the vessels and implements employed
in the manipulation ; and the bees will readily avail
themselves of whatever honey may adhere to them,
and clean them effectually. Pieces of refuse comb,
also, are presented to them, and in a very short time
the industrious insects rifle them of every particle of
saccharine matter. Having exhausted these sources,
the bees are tempted often by the more than usually
strong odour exhaled from the hives in consequence
of their recent luxurious feasting, to rob their neigh-
bours of their share of the booty; and a scene of
pillage ensues which sometimes ends in the total de-
struction of the besieged hives. If the colony attacked
be pretty strong in population, the evil may be put a
stop to, perhaps, by contracting the entrance. Every
proper door has one or two small holes at the bottom,
which may be opened or shut as occasion requires,
just large enough to admit the passing of a single bee.
This contracted entrance greatly assists a besieged
colony ; but the doors are generally so thin, that the
robbers often effect an entrance by adroitly slipping

232 MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.

past the sentinel on watch. An improvement, and
a very simple one, in the formation of the doors,
will increase the difficulty of eluding the vigilance of
the guard ; make them 1 \ inch thick, the small aper-
tures will then he to the bees, in fact, long narrow
passages, along which they will he unable to make
their way in the face of the opposing sentinel. Doors
of this kind should remain on the hives during the
whole winter. If the precaution above recommended
fails, the hive attacked must be removed for a few
days, till quiet is in some degree restored to the,
apiary; and, in the meantime, to amuse and baffle
the assailants, an empty hive may occupy the station.
No stock-hive ought at this season to require feed-
ing. Still, circumstances may occur, as in the case of
long-continued bad weather during the end of autumn,
which may render some supply beneficial and even
necessary. In such cases, the best mode of admini-
stering it, is to raise the hive which is to be assisted,
on a round or square frame of wood, two or three
inches deep, and place in the vacuum thus produced,
two or three pieces of full comb on edge, and in their
natural position. The bees will soon drain them,
storing the contents in the upper region of their do-
micile, after which the frame and empty comb may
be removed. In default of comb, syrup must be sup-
plied, as directed in page 186.

It is almost needless to say, that feeding during
winter is out of the question, even though the season
should be mild. It is unnecessary, and would prove
injurious, tempting the insects to leave the compara-

THE HONEY-BEE. 233

tively warm atmosphere of the centre of the hive
where they are congregated in dense clusters, and to
expose themselves to the colder temperature below
which chills, and ultimately destroys them. At the
same time, we must not be understood as recom-
mending the shutting them up altogether, so that they
cannot take the advantage of an occasional interval
of sunshine. Leave the narrow apertures free, bbth
in order to admit the fresh air, and to afford the bees
an opportunity of coming abroad when they can do
so in safety. Absolute confinement is extremely pre-
judicial to them. The practice which prevails in
some places of removing the hives into the dwelling-
house, by way of preserving them from the cold, is
by no means to be recommended; and, in fact, is
often followed by fatal effects. The increased tem-
perature of the place to which they have been re-
moved, keeps them in such a state of animation and
excitement, that they continue to eat during the whole
period of their confinement, and not being at liberty to
go abroad and evacuate, their bodies become swollen
and diseased by the retention of their faeces, — for
they are most unwilling to soil the interior of then
dwelling, — and great numbers of them are thus
cut off 5 and when in spring the hive is brought into
the open air, the few inhabitants that remain are too
feeble to bear the sudden change of temperature, and
gradually dwindle away, or are plundered and de-
stroyed by the more vigorous and healthy.

While snow is on the ground, a gleam of sunshine
will cast such a glare of light into the interior of the

234 MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.

hives, that the bees are often induced to venture
abroad, and, soon chilled by the cold, they fall in
hundreds on the snow, and, if not timely succoured,
will ultimately perish. This evil may be prevented
in some degree by turning, as soon as winter has set
fairly in, the hives round on their stands, so that the
entrance may face the north.* If this precaution
has not been taken in time, and the unfortunate
wanderers are already prostrate on the snow, let
them be instantly gathered, placed in a vessel, (a
dinner-dish-cover, for example,) having a piece of

* Mr. Nutt, the Lincolnshire Bee-Master alluded to in
page 1 82, gives, in his work, an account of an experiment
to ascertain the effect of changing the site of hives from
a southern to a northern exposure during winter. He took
six hives weighing as under, and placed three on the north side
of his house, leaving the other three in their usual situation.
In November 1834,

No. 1 weighed 35 Ibs. No. 4 weighed 42 Ibs.

2 — 38 5 — 32

3 — 40 6—37

113 111

The first three, Nos. 1, 2, & 3, weighing 113 Ibs., remained
during winter in their summer situations. Nos, 4, 5, & 6, were
removed to a cold dry place on the north side of his house.
On the 26th of the following March they weighed as follows
No. 1. weighed 15 Ibs. No. 4. weighed 37 Ibs.

2. — 16 5. — 27

3. — 19 6. — 32

50 96

The three first, therefore, lost 63 Ibs., on an average 21 Ibs.
each ; the three last decreased only 15 Ibs., average 5 Ibs each.
The three last swarmed in May, the three first not till July.

THE HONEY-BEE. 235

thin muslin spread over its mouth, and held within a
yard of the fire. When they recover, which they
will do in a few minutes, let them be taken out to the
apiary, and the muslin removed, and they will speedi-
ly regain their respective habitations.

Once or twice during the winter, the hives ought
to be lifted from their stools, and carefully inspect-
ed ; all cobwebs swept off, the floor-board thoroughly
cleaned, and the outer covers or surtouts repaired
and adjusted, so that the rain or snow may not gain
admittance ; the snow, especially, as soon as fallen
should be cleared away.

In the preceding chapter, when treating of taking
the honey, and at the same time preserving the lives
of the bees, we recommended the uniting of the ex-
pelled bees to the stock-hives, and pointed out an
easy method of accomplishing this union. If the
stock-hive be very large, two or even three expelled
swarms may be joined to it. In that case it will be
prudent to see that there is sufficient provision for so
many additional mouths; for nothing seems more
reasonable, or more consonant with experience, than
the conclusion, that if the population be increased,
the means of maintaining it must also be augmented.
And yet a very experienced Bee-master has averred,
and supports his averments by a minute detail of his
experiments on the subject, that it is not necessary
the reinforced hive should have double or treble
stores in order to supply the wants of its now doubled
or trebled population. The fact, — if fact it be, — is
rather astounding; however M. Gelieu, a Swiss

236 MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.

clergyman, author of " Le Conservateur des Abeilles,*
and the discoverer of this supposed fact, shall speak
for himself. We have never put his discovery to the
test of experiment — at least with such minute accu-
racy as to warrant us in drawing conclusions, either
affirmative or otherwise. But from the detail which
M. Gelieu gives, there appears no great difficulty in
settling the point beyond all doubt, whatever there
may be in ascertaining the reasons for it, if well-
founded. " I expected/' says M. Gelieu, " that in
doubling the population, it would be necessary to
double the supply too. The more mouths, said I to
myself, the more need of provisions. I consequent-
ly made a considerable addition to the stores of the
hives whose population I had augmented; but, to
my astonishment, when I weighed them at the re
turn of spring, I found that their consumption had
been no greater than that of the single hives. I
thought I must surely have made some mistake, and
was not convinced of the fact till I had repeated the
same experiment a hundred times, and always with
the same result. I cannot conceive how an army of
30,000 men can subsist on the supplies necessary for
an army of only 10,000, supposing the soldiers of
both to have an equal appetite, and equal means of
satisfying it. It holds true, however, with the bee&;
the fact is undeniable ; the reason is to me unknown.
I leave to minds more penetrating than mine the
task of discovering and explaining how two large
families, when united, can live at as little expense as
either of the two would have done when separated.

THE HONEY-BEE. 23?

Does the increase of heat supply, to a certain extent,
the place of food ? Does it- render their aliment
more nutritive ? I have reason to believe, that dur-
ing the winter, and previous to the breeding season,
a small hive consumes as much food as a large one.
Do the inmates of the small hive consume individu-
ally a greater quantity ? and is this greater consump-
tion necessary to keep up the requisite degree of
warmth ? I propose these inquiries to the Naturalist
After this discovery,, as important as it is inexpli-
cable, I varied my experiments in order to insure ab-
solute certainty ; and to obtain the most unequivocal
proofs of the fact, I united three swarms in autumn,
and when I weighed the hive in spring, I found that
it had scarcely consumed a pound weight of provi-
sions more than a single hive. I went farther. I
had a large hive, well-peopled, and amply provision-
ed. Without removing it from its place, I joined to
it the bees of four other hives. This enormous po-
pulation produced so strong a heat, that during the
whole winter, which was severe, there was heard
from them a loud humming, like that which proceeds
from a hive on the evening of a fine day in spring.
The vapour expelled by the continual vibrating of
their wings was condensed, and formed icicles at the
entrance of the hive during the hard frosts. Well
when in spring I weighed this hive, which contained
five families, and from which had exhaled so much
moisture, I found it but three Ibs. lighter than my
ordinary hives. It threw excellent swarms, long
before the others in the apiary, and I was well re-

238

MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.

paid for my trouble." In proof and illustration of
these facts, the author* subjoins the following Table,
giving a view of the diminution in weight of each of
his hives during one winter.

Diminution of weight in each of thirty-six hives,
from 20th September 1813, to 31st March 1814: —

No.

Ibs.

No.

Ibs.

1.

{Diminished \
in weight, )

10

27.

f Single hive )
( diminished, j

10J

2.

lOi

30.

13

3.

12i

32.

9i

4.

12

38.

8

8.

11

A.

N

10.

9

B.

10

11.

8}

C.

124

13.

A doubled hive,

11

D.

104

15.

10^

1.

Wooden hive,

11*

16.

A doubled hive,

10J

4.

Doubled hive,

94

17.

A doubled hive,

14

6.

11

20.

10

7.

8J

21.

14

8.

19

22.

A doubled hive,

8|

9.

10

23.

10J

11.

134

24.

9

13.

15

25.

15

21.

10

26.

12J

23.

Doubled,

111

From this Table it appears that the average ex-
penditure of thirty-six hives in six months, was about
eleven Ibs. each ; and that the smallest expenditure
in any one hive was eight Ibs., and the greatest nine-
teen Ibs. This last difference the author attributes
io pillage, and thinks it probable that the straw-hive,
No. 38, had enriched itself at the expense of its

r ^

((UN IV V

THE HONEY-BEE. 239

neighbours, while the wooden-box, No. 8, had been
•olundered.

The numbers awanting in the Table belonged to
hives from which he had taken the honey, or which
he had fed, and were not, therefore, legitimate sub-
jects of experiment.

HUMBLE-BEES.

WE have now to notice the nature and habits of
another tribe of the social Apidae, familiarly known
by the name of Humble-Bees ; but so large a space
has been already devoted to a more valuable species,
that our descriptions must be comparatively brief.
H amble-Bees, as far as we know, have never been do-
mesticated, or made directly subservient to the inter-
ests of mankind ; although it is not improbable that
means might be found of turning their labours to
account, did not the possession of a more useful
species remove all inducement to make the attempt.
They constitute, however, a very interesting portion
of our insect population for a variety of reasons.
Their economy, although greatly inferior in interest
to that of the hive bee, is still extremely curious ;
their comparatively large size, and gay colours, ren-
der them conspicuous objects in our fields and gar-
dens ; the untiring diligence with which they seek
their food among the blossoms "so busy and so

240 HUMBLE-BEES.

pleased/' can hardly be observed without pleasure ;
while their incessant hum, which often assails our
ears in heathery uplands, where nearly all other
indications of life have ceased, forms one of the
most common of those rural sounds, the entire
effect of which is usually so agreeable. " There
are few associations of our childhood/' it has been
recently remarked, " more deep and lasting than
those connected with the pursuit and capture of
these beautiful creatures, some of which are remark-
able for their size, and the rich contrast which they
exhibit of velvet black and crimson, with bars of
brilliant yellow. This splendid attire, however, saves
them not from being rudely handled ; and we remem-
ber the day when an artificial bink, that is. a little
box made of clay, with a piece of glass at one end,
and a sprinkling of sugar at the other, contained as
many captives in proportion to its size as the black
hole at Calcutta." *

Although so dissimilar in external aspect, a very
close connection in regard to structure can be traced
between the hive-bee and the kinds of which we
now treat. The respective genera are accordingly
placed in juxta-position in systematic arrangements.
For a long period these genera, as well as several
others, were confounded under the common name
of Apis, and it was not till a comparatively recent
date, that the humble-bees were separated, and the
generic term Bombus applied to them. A different
formation of certain parts, entailing a difference in
* Ency. Brit., Art. Entomology

HUMBLE-BEES. 241

tneir modes of life, having been subsequently detected,
the humble-bees of this country are now very properly
divided into two generic groups, Bombus and Apathus.
They may be distinguished from the hive-bee, and
other races bearing affinity to them, by having the
simple eyes arranged in a curve, instead of forming a
triangle ; by having an impression in the shape of a
cross on the forehead ; the labrum transverse, and two
distinct spines at the apex of the posterior tibiae. More
obvious characters are afforded by their large, com-
paratively rounded, hirsute bodies, generally adorned
with bands of light-yellow or red. Upwards of
forty different species are described as inhabitants of
Britain ; but as the three distinct races of females,
males, and workers, belonging to the same species,
often bear little resemblance to one another, and as
the hair or down covering their bodies, often of the
gayest colours, changes with age, like the plumage of
birds, it is by no means unlikely that individuals of
the same family, and differing only in sex or age,
have, in some instances, been described as of a dif-
ferent species. Speaking of the hirsuties, or hairy
covering of this family, and of its liability to change
of colour, Kirby remarks,* " An insect recently
hatched appears in this respect a different species
from the same when it has been long exposed to
wind and weather. Thus, for instance, Apis Mus-
corum, which, when fresh from the pupa, is dis-
tinguished by a thorax covered with hair of a fine
orange colour, and by an abdomen whose coat is a
* Monographia Apum Angliae, i. 207.

242 HUMBLE-BEES.

rich yellow ; when it grows old, especially the male,
exchanges these brilliant colours for a cinereous hue,
which circumstance misled Fahricius to give it as a
distinct species, under the name of A. Senilis. But
not only yellow and red, hut even black and white
hairs are apt to change their colours through age.
All these circumstances make it a matter of some
importance to be able to distinguish a recent insect
from one that has been long disclosed. This may
often be done by inspecting the state of its wings,
for in the latter, especially in males, they are usually
lacerate at the apex ; the body, too, has frequently
a good deal of its hair rubbed off. It will not be
without use to know into what the predominant
colours fade ; yellow will usually first turn pale, and
then cinereous ; red will turn through tawny to yel-
low, and sometimes to cinereous ; white will turn to
pale, and sometimes to tawny ; and black will now
and then turn white. But this is not all the difficulty
with which the describer of the Bombinatriees has
io struggle ; the males in general resemble the fe-
males sufficiently to be known as such ; but there
are several so unlike them as to be easily mistaken
for different species ; and I am by no means certain
that I have not, in more instances than one, described
the sexes under different names. Till all can be
traced to their nidi, this is not easily to be avoided-"
We shall now proceed to give examples of the
two genera Bombus and Apathus.

terrestrisj

' -bee.

243

COMMON HUMBLE BEE.

(BOMBUS TE&RESTRIS.)
PLATE XIV.

Apis terrestris, Linn. Kirby^s Monog. Apum, ii. 350.— Sliaw's

general Zool. vi. 348, PL 98 Donov. Brit. Ins. in. PL 88,

tig. 1. — A. Audax, Harris* Eocpos. of Eny. Ins. xxxviii. fig. 1.
Reaumur, vi. Tab. 3, fig. 1.

IN its present restricted sense the genus Bombus
may be briefly characterised by the following defini-
tion ; body oblong, and very hairy ; head narrower
than the thorax, usually triangular, the antennae
having thirteen joints in the female, fourteen in the
male, geniculated at the second joint; exterior palpi
exarticulate, interior two-jointed ; ligula three-lobed,
the central lobe elongated ; labium transverse sub-
linear ; hinder tibiae provided with a hollow expan-
sion for collecting pollen ; claws bifid at the apex.

The species named above is one of the best known,
and an account of its habits will convey a pretty
accurate notion of the proceedings of the rest, although
they vary somewhat in their modes of life. In the
female, the head and antennae are black, the mouth
with rufescent hairs ; proboscis scarcely longer than
the head ; thorax black, with a bright-yellow band
anteriorly ; basal segment of the abdomen black,
second yellow, third black, the three posterior ones
white ; wings light-brown, the thick nervures dark
coloured, the finer ones ferruginous ; legs black and
hairy, the pollen, brush, and spines ferruginous. The
male has the thoracic and abdominal bands either

244 HUMBLE-BEES.

pale-yellow or luteous ; the posterior tibiae rather
smooth above, the lateral hairs cinereous ; abdomen
approaching to globose. Slight varieties are formed
by the coloured bands being sometimes of a lighter
or a darker hue.

This insect abounds in our fields and gardens, and
is almost equally common throughout all Europe.
It is distinguished above its congeners for strength
and activity. It is one of the earliest insects that
appear in the spring, and one of the latest to
leave us in autumn. It forms its nest, as is well
known, in holes in the ground, sometimes excavated
laboriously by its own efforts, sometimes previously
formed by other animals and taken possession of by
the foundress of the colony. The females of this, as
of all the other species, are largest in size, the males
next, and the workers smallest. Early in spring,
when the willows begin to bloom, the female may be
seen traversing the gardens by sun-rise with her
usual sonorous booming, and busied in collecting
honey and pollen from the catkins. The workers
do not appear till a somewhat later period, and the
males not till autumn, when the thistles are in blos-
som, upon the flowers of which they are found in
great numbers, and in still greater, if possible, upon
seeding leeks and onions, where, on a single flower,
may be seen half a dozen at the same moment. At
this early period of the year, the female is a solitary
being, and her flights are directed in search of a place
suitable for a habitation. The females only, of all
the former year's colonv have survived the winter,

COMMON HUMBLE-BEE. 245

and now dispersing,, each seeks a residence for her-
self, where she may become the foundress of a new
community. Having pitched upon a convenient spot,
the laborious insect proceeds to excavate first the
passage or gallery, then the nest itself, detaching the
soil, as it were, grain by grain ; she seizes the mole-
cule with the first pair of legs, transfers it instantly
to the second, receives it next with the third, and
finally pushes it as far as possible behind her. These
excavations, situated often above a foot under the
surface, are wholly the work of the solitary female.
Sometimes, however, the nest is made close to, or
even upon the surface when partially hollow, and
covered with dry moss ; but this is not the usual mode
pursued by this species, and in such localities the
colony is far less numerous than when at a greater
depth.

Having finished the excavation, and carpeted her
new dwelling with soft leaves, &c. the insect pro-
ceeds to construct brood cells. The wax of which
these are formed is secreted, as in the domestic bee,
in certain receptacles placed on each side of the
middle process of the abdominal scales, and is ex-
tracted by the bee in the form of laminae, moulded
to the shape of the insect's body. Unlike the Queen
of the hive bees, the mother-bee of this family pos-
sesses these wax-secreting organs as well as the
workers, and produces the substance in greater quan-
tity than her progeny.

The interior of the humble-bee nest (PL XV.)
presents a striking contrast to that of the honey-bee

246 HUMBLE-BEES.

hive. While the heauty and regularity of the latter
are such as to excite the admiration of mankind, the
nest of the former offers to the eye of the ohserver
little else than a confused and clumsy mass, consist-
ing, apparently, of mishapen lumps of dirty-coloured
wax. Amidst these apparent irregularities, however,
we discover a number of egg-shaped hodies of a
yellowish colour and of different sizes, some of them
heing 6 lines deep and 4 wide, and others 4 lines
deep and 2^ wide, placed on end, and closely cement-
ed together, the central ones projecting above those
which are situated towards the edge of the mass.
These ovoidal hodies are cocoons of silk, strong and
tenacious in their texture, and coated with wax ;
they contain the young brood. Several clusters
placed near each other form a kind of cake or comb,
the upper surface of which, from the projection of
the central cells, is convex, and the under, of course,
concave. These combs are placed in tiers, one above
another, and supported by pillars of wax at the outer
edges. There are also found in the nest masses of
wax of a roundish and irregular form, about 1^ inch
in diameter and ^ inch deep ; these also are brood
cells but of a peculiar kind, for they contain each six
or seven larvae lying close together, and bedded on a
quantity of farina moistened with honey, evidently
deposited there for their nourishment, and to which
they can have recourse immediately on being hatched.
When this is consumed, the workers, aware, it would
seem, of the fact, make an opening in the top of the
cells, and give from time to time an additional sup-

COMMON HUMBLE-BEE. 24?

ply, taking care each time to renew the sealing ; and
this is continued till their transformation into the
nymph state takes place, when the feeding ceases,
and the cell is finally closed. And, lastly, we find
displayed in different places throughout the nest, and
stowed away, as it were, in odd corners, a number
of small cups or cells filled with honey. A peculi-
arity with regard to these deserves notice, — they are
never sealed like those of the domestic bee, because
they are not designed for winter stores of which
they have no need, but for daily use.

The cells being prepared for the reception of the
brood, the mother proceeds to lay her eggs. These
are not fixed on one end, as is the case with those
of the domestic bee, but are huddled together without
any order, and to the number often, as already stated,
of six or seven. This number is deposited at one
time by the mother, who does not quit the cell till
she has finished her laying. She has good reasons
for so doing ; — even while in the act of laying, at-
tempts are eagerly made by the workers to seize and
devour the eggs, while she as eagerly and courage-
ously protects them. Sometimes she pursues the
marauders to the extremity of the comb, while, in
the meantime, others, watching the opportunity, steal
upon the cell arid carry off the eggs. As soon as she
has made her deposit, therefore, she carefully seals
up the cell, and takes her station on the cover, fre-
quently wheeling her body round, as if to defend her
progeny, and doggedly keeping guard for six or
eight hours. If she can withstand their voracity for

248 HUMBLE-BEES.

that period, success attends her exertions, for it is
only in its first stage that the egg is sought after by the
workers.

In four or five days the eggs are hatched. The lar-
vae, which differ from those of the hive-bee in having
their sides marked by irregular transverse black spots,
feed primarily on the magazines previously deposited
beside them, and are afterwards supplied by the work-
ers, till they begin to spin their cocoons. In this
operation, each larva separates itself from the group
to which it has hitherto been attached, forming a
lodgement for itself under the roof of the same roomy
apartment where it had lived in society. Males and
females are bred in the same cell and fed in the same
manner, and the cocoons of both are seen mingled
together. It may seem difficult to comprehend how,
in a cell of such small dimensions, the larvae can find
room to grow, and separately to spin their cocoons.
The fact is, the cells acquire, in the meantime, a
great addition in point of dimensions. As the inmates
increase in size, the lateral pressure of their bodies
bursts the slender walls of the cell, and the workers
instantly set about repairing the rent, which they do,
not by bringing the edges together, but by placing a
large patch upon it, the full extent of the opening,
and, of course, augmenting by so much the capacity
of the cell. A succession of rents, caused by the
growth of each of the larvae, is followed by a suc-
cession of patches and additions, till, at last the cell
is augmented to four or five times its original size ;
and, as the operators by no means resemble their

COMMON HUMBLE-BEE. 249

fellow workers of the hive in the neatness of their
work, the several patches adhering to the outside of
the cells contribute much to the rough and clumsy
appearance which the interior of the nest exhibits.

In fifteen days the bee arrives at its perfect state ;
its body has become hardened, and is covered with
a greyish down, which, on being exposed to the
light, assumes a diversity of colours. It gnaws
through its prison-walls, assisted by its fellows ; and
in a quarter of an hour from the commencement of
its exertions, it emerges from its cradle, leaves its
nest, and takes its first flight into the fields in search
of honey. Its deserted habitation has now the form
of a truncated cone, and is made a receptacle for
provisions. As her progeny gradually increases in
numbers, the mother-bee relaxes in her labours;
she leaves to them the lining of the walls and roof
of the nest with a thin membrane of wax ; and
though she occasionally lends her aid in the con-
struction of cells, it is only to give the finishing
polish to what the workers have already " rough-
hewn."

The inmates of an humble-bee nest are, as has
been stated, of three classes : females, males, and
workers. The old female, we have said, is alone in
spring. In May, the eggs which she has laid, have
been hatched, and produce workers only ; the females
and males of the community do not appear till later,
— none sooner than June, and the greatest number
in July. The males have the advantage of the hive-
drone in point of usefulness to the community ; for

250 HUMBLE-BEES.

though they do not burthen themselves with the task
of collecting provisions, they hear their part in secret-
ing wax. Like the hive-drones, they have no sting ;
but they are exempted from the severe fate of the
former, in escaping the cruel massacre to which those
are doomed. They are suffered to live, and enjoy
the natural term of their existence, which, however,
extends not beyond the end of Autumn. On the
first approach of cold weather, they exhibit evident
symptoms of decreasing activity. On alighting on
the flowers of any of the late blossoming plants, —
as the sun-flower, thistle, &c. ; the intoxicating
juices concur with the diminished temperature in
rendering them utterly helpless, and incapable of
saving themselves from danger, and their languor
increases till the severity of the cold benumbs them
altogether, and life becomes extinct. The workers
are not all neuters. Many of them bred in spring,
copulate with the males in June, and lay eggs soon
after, but only those of males. These males fecundate
those females which are reared towards the end
of the season, but which do not begin to lay till the
following spring, when they each lay the foundation
of a new colony. At the approach of winter, that
is, the first winter of their existence, they, the females
viz. to the number of 30 or 40 together, make a
lodgement in or near the old nest, where they pass
the torpid season in safety and quiet, till the return
of spring awakes them to life and activity, and
natural instinct prompts them to disperse, and seek
each a dwelling of her own. The old mother, the

COMMON HUMBLE-BEE. 251

males, and the workers, all perish hefore the cold
season arrives.

M. P. Huber, to whom we are indebted for many
of the foregoing facts, relates a very interesting
anecdote of the instinctive resourses of this insect.
While carrying on an experiment respecting the
elaboration of wax, he placed a piece of brood-comb
with a dozen bees under a bell glass, taking away
from them every particle of wax, and furnishing
them with farina only. The comb, from the irregu-
larity of its shape, did not rest steadily on the table;
and when the bees mounted on it, to impart the
necessary warmth to the brood, its rocking motion
seemed to annoy them extremely. They had no
wax wherewith to remedy the evil ; but their in-
stinct, and their intense affection for their young
supplied an ingenious expedient. A few of them
mounted the comb, and letting their bodies down
towards its lower edge, suspended themselves from
it, head downwards^ by the hooks of their hinder
feet ; and with those of the second pair of legs which
are very long, laid hold on the table, and thus steadied
the mass by the mere force of muscular strength.
(PL VIII. fig. 4.) In this posture they remained
till relieved by others, the mother herself lending
her aid; and they continued the painful task for
two or three days. In the mean time, some honey
with which they had at length been supplied, fur-
nished them with the means of producing wax, with
which they immediately set about constructing pillars,
having their bases resting on the table, and support-

252 HUMBLE-BEES.

ing the comb. They were thus relieved from their
toil ; but it was only for a short period ; for the
wax getting soon dry, the pillars gave way ; and the
harassed insects were again subjected to the weary
task of propping up the tottering edifice by their
bodily exertions, when M. Huber took pity on them,
and glued the comb firmly to the table.

LAPIDARY OR RED-TAILED BEE.

(BOMBUS LAPIDARIUS.1

PLATE XVI. Figs. 1, 2.

Apis lapidaria, Linn. — Donov. iii. 97, PI. 108, fig. 1, and xi.

69, PI. 385, fig. 1. — Kirby's Monog. Apum, ii. 364

Orange- tailed Bee, Bingley, iii. 290. — Ap. audens, Harris
Expos. 130, PI. 38, fig. 2; PI. 40, fig. 12; PI. 40, fig.

15 Ap. arbustorum, Fab. — A. strenuus, Harris'' Expos.

xxxviii. fig. 5.

THIS handsome species receives its specific name
from its habit of forming its nest among loose heaps
of stones ; occasionally, however, it burrows in the
earth like the species last described. The female
(fig. 2.) is of considerable size, having nearly the
whole body of a deep velvetty black clothed with
long soft hairs : mouth fringed with red hairs ; thorax
entirely black ; abdomen with the three last segments
red. The wings are shorter than the body, almost
clear and transparent, the apex a little obscured, and
the nervures black; legs deep black, the hairs of
the tarsi reddish. The male (fig. 1.) is of smaller
dimensions, having the thorax lemon-yellow behind,
black on the middle, and pale yellow in front ; the
forehead with a patch of lemon-yellow ; legs with

2 2 fowtge tailed-bee. (£• lapidarut

.3. Moss <)/- (<ifr/f/ • bee. (£. fnujcorum.j

LAPIDARY OB ORANGE-TAILED BEE. 253

rufescent hairs, palest on the thighs; underside of
the body flavescent. Varieties occur nearly one half
smaller than the ordinary length, which often exceeds
ten lines.

This is likewise a common hee, not only in Britain,
but in most other parts of Europe. It frequents
flowers throughout the summer, and is partial to
hilly pastures and imperfectly cultivated places. It
stores up honey with great assiduity — strenue melli-
ficans, is Linnaeus's expression — and it defends it, as
most schoolboys can testify, with no small zeal and
pertinacity. Its colonies are not so populous as those
of B. terrestris, but they are more so than the asso-
ciations of B. inuscorum. Owing to the great diffe-
rence in the markings, the male has been mistaken
by Fabricius and others for a separate species, which
he named B. arbustorum.

MOSS OR CARDER BEE.

(BOM BUS MUSCORUM.)

PLATE XVI. Fig. 3.

Apis muscorum, Linn. — Donov. xi. 70, PL 382, fig. 2

Kirby^s Monog. Ap. ii. 317. — A. senilis, Fab — A. impavidus,
melleus and melinus, Harris* Expos. Pis. 38 and 40 —
The Cording Bee, Bingley, iii. 288.

USUALLY rather a smaller insect than either of the
preceding, although the females sometimes attain the
length of ten lines. The general colour of the whole
body is pale yellow, the hirsuties rather long ; probos-
cis the length of the thorax, (it is represented in the
accompanying fig. with the parts extended and sepa-

254 HUMBLE-BEES.

rated,) the latter clothed with reddish yellow or
golden coloured hairs ; abdomen triangular, the hir-
suties fulvous; wings slightly tinged with brown,
the nervures hlack ; legs likewise black, the thighs
densely bearded with yellow .hairs. The abdomen of
the male is narrower than that of the female, and
has some dark coloured down at the extremity.
Varies in size, and in having the hirsuties of the
thorax dark brown, or so pale, as to approach cine-
reous ; the latter hue sometimes occasioned by age.
Of frequent occurrence in all the temperate regions
of Europe. It is known in Scotland as the Foggie
or Moss-bee. Its nest is quite upon the surface,
and, consisting merely of a little dome of moss, it
falls an easy prey to every kind of marauder. The
following is Reaumur's account, as abridged by Kirby,
of its plan of operations ; but he seems either to
overlook the fact, that at the usual period of forming
the nest, the female is the sole architect and practical
builder, or his description applies to the formation of
the nest at a more advanced period of the season,
after the original one may have been by some means
destroyed, and when the population has multiplied.
After stating that they cover their dwelling with a
thick vault or coping of moss, he continues : " The
mode in which they transport the moss they use Is
singular. When they have discovered a parcel of it
conveniently situated, they place themselves upon it
with their anus towards the spot to which they mean
to convey it. They then take a small portion, and
with their maxillae and forelegs, as it were card and

1. Donovans ffiimble-be&. f£. Donovan&llus.J
2 6rcatffwtible-be& of Valparaiso. fB.grandis.j

J. 0 Westwood d

MOSS OR CARDER BEE. 255

comb it ; when the pieces are sufficiently disen-
tangled, they are placed under the body by the first
pair of legs; the intermediate pair receives them
and delivers them to the last, which pushes them as
far as possible beyond the anus. When by this pro-
cess the insect has formed behind it a small mass of
moss well carded, then either the same or another
who takes her turn in the business, pushes it nearer
to the nest. Thus small heaps of moss are conveyed to
its foot ; and in a similar manner they are elevated
to its summit, or where they may be most wanted.
A file of four or five insects is occupied at the same
time in this employment.*

DONOVAN'S HUMBLE-BEE.

(BOMBUS DONOfANELLUS.)

PLATE XVII. Fig. 1.
Apis Donovanella, Kirby^s Monog. Ap. ii. 357, PI. 18, fig. 6.

THE length of this insect very little exceeds seven
lines ; the prevailing colour black, all the parts very
hirsute ; head and antennae black ; the mouth with
reddish hairs ; thorax black, with a dense patch of
lemon-yellow hairs in front in the female, but ob-
scure in the male ; abdomen between triangular and
globose, the base with a broad light-yellow band,
then a black one, the three last segments red ; legs
black ; wings tinged with dusky-brown.

This species is named in honour of the late Mr.
Donovan, whose extensive works, containing accur-
ate delineations both of British and foreign insects,
as well as of other animals, have tended greatly to
* Reaumur's M^Tfi. torn. vi.

256 HUMBLF BEES.

promote the study of natural history in this country.
It is rather a scarce insect, and approaches near to
B. subinterruptus ; but, as Kirby remarks, the wings
are darker, the abdomen shorter and wider, with the
black band much narrower ; the red hairs of the
anus of a deeper colour, and occupying three *'-%-
ments.

HARRIS' HUMBLE-BEE.

(BOMBUS HARRISELLUS.)

PLATE XVIII. Fig. 1.
ApisHarrisella, Kirby'sMonog. Ap. ii. 373, PI. 18, fig. 8, fig. 7.

THIS species differs from all that we have hitherto
described, in being wholly deep-black, the mouth
alone with a few ferruginous hairs. The wings are
slightly tinged with yellowish-brown, becoming some-
what obscure at the apex, the nervures blackish.

Found occasionally in the south of England ; the
male more frequently than the female.

UOMBUS GRANDIS.
PLATE XVII. Fig. 2.

THIS figure represents the largest species of Bombus
hitherto discovered, drawn by Mr. Westwood from
a specimen in the collection of the Rev. F. W. Hope.
It has not yet been described, and is known only by
a figure in Guerin's Iconographie du Regne Animal,
Insectes, PL 75* fig. 3. The whole upper side is
a uniform fulvous colour; the region of the eyes,
the mouth, and antennae, black ; the whole of tne
underside is likewise black, and the legs of the same
colour ; wings tinged with yellowish-brown ; the

(( TINT1

BOMBUS GEANDIS. 257

nervures black. Length about an incb and a quarter :
expansion of the wings two inches and a quartes.
It is a native of Valparaiso.

APATHUS VESTALIS.
PLATE XVIII. Fig. 2.

A.pis vestalis, Kirby's Monog. Ap. ii. 347, PL 18, fig. 4, — fig. 3,
— Donov. xiii. 65, PI. 464 — Bom bus vestalis, Stephen**
Catal. — Psithyrus vestalis, St. Fargeau, Curtis.

THE peculiarities on which this genus is founded,,
were pointed out, to a certain extent, by Kirby, but
fte did not avail himself of them to separate the
group from the true humble-bees. In fact, there is
such a striking general resemblance between the
Apathi and Bombi, that such a separation appears at
first sight to be doing violence tc natural affinity.
But the principal mark of distinction^ *he want of a
brush (corbicula) for collecting masses of pollen,, is a
most important one, and might have been expected
to influence materially the whole mode of life.
There seems now to be no doubt, that the Apathi
never attempt to build a nest of any kind, or to
make any provision for their young, but deposit their
eggs in the nests of other bees, into which they find
access apparently without being suspected of any im-
proper design. The larvae produced by these surrep-
titious eggs being stronger than the rightful owners,
consume the food provided for them. They undergo
their various changes in the same appropriated home.
This practice is known to prevail among many other
kinds of bees, not, however very closely resembling

258 FALSE HUMBLE-BEES.

humble bees (^ch as the genera Coelioxys, Melecta,
Epeolus, &c.) which are therefore called Cuckoo-bees.
The Apathi may be appropriately designated by the
name of False Humble-bees. A. Campestris, A. Bar-
butellus, A. Vestalis, and A. Rupestris, are among
our indigenous examples ; and there are doubtless
many foreign kinds, of which we have received as yet
no satisfactory account.

The term Psithyrus was formerly proposed for
this genus, but that having been previously employed
in another branch of Zoology, Mr. Newman has sup-
planted it \>y that used above, which signifies, with-
out affection (privative a and tfadog aifectio.) The
characters may be briefly given as follows : Labium
forming an obtuse angle anteriorly ; posterior tibiae
convex above, neither provided with an apparatus
for carrying pollen, nor with an auricle at the base
of the planta; abdomen oblong, the anal segment
dilated into an angle on both sides.

A. vestalis is rather a large insect, measuring from
seven to nine lines. The female is black and hirsute ;
the head subglobose ; the thorax with a yellow band
anteriorly ; abdomen oblong, inclining to .globose, in-
curved at the extremity, the third segment yellow at
the margin on both sides, the whole of the fourth
and the sides of the fifth whitish, the anal one
smooth, and curved inwards. In the male, (fig. 2,)
the posterior fascia is broad and whitish, the ex-
tremity itself with a patch of black hairs; wings a
little dusky ; the apex and the larger nervures -nearly
black; legs black.

APATHUS VESTAL1*. 25£)

Found occasionally near London, and in other
parts of England, first appearing pretty early in the
spring. It is said to fly for the most part near the
earth.

APATHUS RUPESTRIS.

PLATE XVIII, Fig. 3.

Apis rupestris, Fab. Kirby^s Monog. Ap. ii. 369. — Apis lapi-
daria, Var. Brunn. Prodrom. Insectol. Sieland, PI. 19. — Apis
subterranea, Geoff. Hist. Ins. 2, PI. 416, n. 20.

THE resemblance of this false humhle-hee to B. la-
pidarius is so great, that it is not surprising they have
been frequently confounded. The present species
measures fully an inch in length, so that it must be
regarded as the largest of our indigenous bees. The
body is entirely black, the three last segments of the
abdomen clothed with yellowish-red hairs. The
head and thorax are very hirsute, the abdomen like-
wise very hirsute on the sides, but more sparingly
clothed on the back ; shape of the abdomen ovate-
oblong ; legs black and hairy ; wings ample, longer
than the body, the colour smoke brown, approaching
to black, arid the substance intermediate between
corium and membrane.

Frequent in .the vicinity of London, and also in
many other parts of England, but seemingly not
generally distributed. We have noticed it in Scot-
land, but only on one or two occasions.

VM\ I iiSITY

FOREIGN BEES.

BESIDES the Apis Mellifica, or common domestic
bee of Europe, and the genera Bombus and Apathus,
or humble-bees in their several species, there are
numerous other kinds of the social Apidae to be met
with in different and distant regions of the earth, of
which some notice may be acceptable to our readers.
We must premise, however, that the present state
of our knowledge of this portion of natural history
is very imperfect and unsatisfactory, drawn, as it
must necessarily be, from the accounts of travellers,
to whom it was a subject of very inferior interest,
and whose descriptions of the insects are generally
so indistinct, that it is nearly impossible to determine
to what families they respectively belong. But
before proceeding to give some account of the bees
domesticated in different parts of the world, which
in general are pretty nearly related to the Honey
Bee, it may not be improper to make our readers
acquainted with a few interesting exotic forms which
:laim a closer affinity to the tribe last treated of.
The genus EUGLOSSA, to which we shall first advert,
has many properties in common with the Humble
Bees. As in them the hinder tibiae terminate in two
spines, and the females are provided with a spooii-
shaped expansion for collecting honey. They differ
from Bombas and Apathus in having the labrum

EUGLOSSA SURINAMENSIS. 26*

square, the false proboscis nearly as long as the
body, and the labial pulpi terminating in a point
formed by the two last joints.* All the species are
exotic, and apparently confined to South America.
Several of them are nearly glabrous, (such as E.
dentata, and cor data,} in this respect deviating mate-
rially from the external aspect usually associated
with the peculiar structure which they exhibit.

EUGLOSSA SURINAMENSIS.
PLATE XIX. Fig 1.

Apis Surinamensis, Linn — Abeille a ventre jaune, De Geer^

torn, iii, PI. 28, fig. 9 Centris Surin. Fab. Drury's Exot.

Ins. PI. 43, fig. 4 — Euglossa Surin. Latr. Gen. Crust, et
insect. Zool. Humb. et Bomp. PI. 17, fig. 12.

THIS species has been long known, as the above
synonyms indicate. It is rather a small insect, the
accompanying figure representing it a little enlarged.
The body is black, and clothed with a short very
dense hirsuties ; head and antennae black, the tongue
extending backwards as far as the middle of the
abdomen ; eyes brown ; thorax black ; the wings
tinged with clear brown ; nervures black ; abdomen
with the basal segment black, the remainder ochre-
yellow, appearing as if gilded ; the black colour on
the underside of the abdomen extends to the middle ;
legs black, the tibiae and radical joint of the tarsus
in the hinder pair broad and flat.

Inhabits Surinam, Xalapa in New Spain, and
other parts of South America.

* Cuvier, Regne Anim. v. 357.

262 FOREIGN BEES.

EUGLOSSA ANALIS.
PLATE XIX. Fig. 2.

THE figure referred to represents a small and very
brilliant Euglossa, which we have the pleasure of
figuring and describing for the first time. In length
it is not quite half an inch,, and the wings expand
about three quarters of an inch. The head and
thorax on the upper side are punctured, and of an
intense rich blue ; the clypeus at the sides, labrum
and mandibles white ; underside of the thorax rich
green ; the surface of the abdomen is finely and
closely punctured, the colour purple, the terminal
segments being brilliant golden-green, especially on
the underside; the wings are slightly stained with
brown; the second submarginal cell receives the
first recurrent nerve; the second recurrent nerve
being confluent with the nerve which closes the third
submarginal cell posteriorly ; the legs are rich blue
and shining, the anterior tarsi with long white pile ;
the posterior tibiae are very broad, compressed and
punctured, having an impression on the upper edge
in the middle, from which an impressed line extends
parallel with the edge nearly to the tip ; the basal
joint of the tarsi is broadly triangular and com-
pressed.

This beautiful insect is from the collection of the
Rev. F. W. Hope, and is a native of Brazil. It is
related to the Cnemidium viride of Perty (Dei
animal, artic. Brazilice, PI. 28, fig. 9.)

AGLAE CAERULEA. 263

AGLAE CAERULEA.

PLATE XIX. Fig. 3.

Aglae caerulea, Encydop. Methodique — Griffiths Cuvier, /»•
secta, vol. ii. PI. 107.

THIS group,, peculiar, like the former, to South
America, was separated from Euglossa by M.M.
Lepeletier and Serville. The antennae are long and
filiform, inserted in a frontal cavity, consisting of
twelve joints in the female and thirteen in the male ;
labial palpi four-jointed; ocelli three; scutellum
depressed, the sides prolonged behind into two spini
form projections. The species are probably parasi-
tical, for they are destitute of the apparatus requisite
for collecting pollen. The species represented may
be regarded as the type. It is a large insect com-
pared with the generality of its associates, of a violet
blue colour, very glossy, and covered, though not
very thickly, with black hairs ; antennae black ; sides
of the abdomen, which bear tufts of hair, brownish ;
wings likewise of that colour with a slight golden
reflection ; labrum and scutellum very glossy.
It is a native of Cayenne.

CENTRIS NOBIL1S.

PLATE XX. Fig. 1.

CENTRIS has the antennae filiform in both sexes, of
twelve joints in the female and thirteen in the male ;
the third joint always slender throughout its whole
length but suddenly enlarged at the tip ; mandibles
with four teeth on the inner edge ; maxillary palpi

264» FOREIGN BEES.

very slender, and consisting of four joints, which is
likewise the case with the lahial pair ; spines of the
hinder legs pectinated on the inner side.

To exemplify this genus we have represented a
new and splendid species from the collection of the
Rev. F. W. Hope, which, on account of its large
size and vivid colours, Mr. Westwood has named C.
nobilis. It is of an intense black, clothed with very
short velvet-like plush; the three terminal segments
of the abdomen brick-red, and the wings black, with
an exceedingly brilliant purple gloss ; the length is
about thirteen lines; expanse of the wings nearly
two inches ; the second submarginal cell receives the
first recurrent nerve, and the second recurrent nerve
is confluent with the nerve which closes the third
submarginal cell ; the hind legs are extremely hirsute,
with two long and acute tibial calcaria, both denti-
culated, but one more strongly than the other ; the
upper lip is triangular; the mandibles with four
teeth, the two inferior ones strongest and obtuse ;
the maxillary palpi short, very slender, and four-
jointed.

Locality doubtful; but in all probability South
America.

CENTRIS GROSSA.

PLATE XX. Fig. 2.

Apis Grossa, Drury. — Centris Grossa, Drury^s Exot. Ins.
( Westwootfs ed.) i. PI. 45, fig. 3.

HEAD bluish-black, with a mixture of green; antennae
black ; thorax of a dark golden green inclining to

CENTRIS GROSSA. 2G5

blue, very glossy, notwithstanding a few scattered
black hairs ; abdomen nearly of the same brilliant
hue as the thorax ; the underside with a greater
mixture of blue ; legs black and hairy ; wings brown.
A native of Jamaica ; nearly allied to Centris
versicolor of Fabricius, which also inhabits the west
Indian Islands.

XYLOCOPA VIOLACEA.

PLATE XX. Fig. 3.
Fab. Reaumur, Donov. Indian Insects.

THIS genus contains a very conspicuous group of
insects, somewhat resembling humble-bees, but their
colours are much darker, and never distributed in
bands ; the body much flatter, and the whole contour
different. The wings are usually very dark, and reflect
brilliant tints of violet and copper ; and although the
body is in most cases black, it often presents a fine
play of purple or green. The eyes are large, and some-
times approximating behind, but always rather distant
from each other; head narrower than the thorax, broad
and depressed ; proboscis rather short ; exterior palpi
six-jointed ; interior two-jointed ; antennae strongly
geniculated ; upper wings with three complete cubital
cells, the first intersected by a slender transparent line,
the second triangular, the third largest, and receiving
the two recurrent nervures. Nearly all of them
are extra-European and inhabiting the very warmest
regions. Among the few exceptions to this, is the
species referred to above which occurs in various parts
of Europe, and naturalists accordingly have often

266 FOREIGN BEES.

had opportunities of observing its habits. The best
account is that given by Reaumur,, of which we shaL
therefore introduce an abridgement, premising that
the insect is entirely of a black colour, the wings
deeply tinted with violet, and the male having a
reddish ring at the extremity of the antennse.

" The mother-bee usually makes her appearance
early in the year, as soon as winter is over. She may
then be met with in gardens, visiting such walls as are
covered with trees trained upon trellis work, in a
warm sunny aspect. When once she has begun to
make her appearance, she frequently returns, and
during a long period ; and she may always be known
by her size, and her hum, which much resembles that
of the Bombinatrices. The object of her earlier visits
is to fix upon a piece of wood proper for her purposes.
She usually selects the putrescent uprights of arbours,
espaliers, or the props of vines ; but sometimes she
will attack garden seats, thick doors, and window
shutters ; the piece that she chooses is usually cylind-
rical, and perpendicular to the horizon. Her strong
maxillse are the instruments she employs in boring
it ; beginning on one side for a little way she points
her course obliquely downwards, and then forwards
in a direction parallel with its sides, till she has bored
a tunnel of from twelve to fifteen inches in length,
and seven or eight lines in diameter. A passage is
left where she enters or first begins to bore, and
another at the other end of the pipe. As the indus-
trious animal proceeds in her employment, she clears
away the wood that she detaches, throwing it out upon

XYLOCOPA VIOLACEA. 267

the ground, where it appears like a small heap of saw-
dust. Thus,, we see, she has prepared a long cylinder
in the middle of the wood, sheltered from the weather
and external injuries, and fit for her purposes. But
how is she to divide it into cells ? what materials can
she employ for making the floors and ceilings of her
miniature apartments ? Why, truly, God ' doth instruct
he.' n discretion, and doth teach her !' The saw-dust,
just mentioned, is at hand, and this supplies her with
all that she wants to make this part of her mansion
complete. Beginning at the bottom of the cylinder
she deposits an egg, and then lays in a store of pollen,
mixed with honey, sufficient for the nutriment of the
little animal it is to produce. At the height of seven
or eight lines, which is the depth of each cell, she
next constructs, of particles of the saw-dust glued
together, and also to the sides of the tunnel, what
may he called an annular stage or scaffolding. When
this is sufficiently hardened, its anterior edge affords
a support for a second ring of the same materials, and
thus the ceiling is gradually formed of these concentric
circles, till there remains only a small orifice in its
centre ; and this is also filled up with a circular mass
of agglutinated particles of the saw-dust. This par-
tition exhibits the appearance of as many concentric
circles as the animal has made joinings, and is about
the thickness of a French crown-piece ; it serves for
the ceiling of the lower, and the floor of the upper
apartment. One cell being completed, she proceeds to
another, which she furnishes and finishes in the same
manner; and so on till she has divided her whole tun-
nel into apartments, which are usually about twelve.

2(58 FOREIGN1 BEES.

The larvae and pupae do not differ materially from
those of other bees. When the former assumes the
Dupa it is placed in its cell with the head downwards — -
a very wise precaution, for thus it is prevented., when
it has attained its perfect state, and is eager to emerge
into day, from making its way out upwards, and
disturbing the tenants of the superincumbent cells,
who being of later date each than its neighbour below
stairs, are not yet quite ready to go into public."

XYLOCOPA TEREDO.
PLATE XXI. Fig. 1, Male,_Fig. 2, Female.
Xylocopa Teredo, Linn. Trans. XIV. p. 314.
FOB a knowledge of the habits and sexual distinctions
of this species we are indebted to the assiduous and
indefatigable Lansdowne Guilding, whose account
was published in the fourteenth volume of the Lin-
nsean Society's Transactions. It does not differ much
in its economy from the species last described. It
takes up its abode in dead trunks of trees, piercing
into the interior in a horizontal direction, and then
forming longitudinal excavations. Its little nests are
very numerous, and placed without any order. Be-
ginning at the bottom, the female fills each little cell
with pollen, mixed with honey, and deposits an egg
in it. The larva which proceeds from this egg is
apodal, naked, and whitish, much attenuated towards
the head, which is very small, and of an ochreous
yellow colour ; the mandibles rust-red, the spiracles
likewise red. The pupa is ochre-yellow, the thorax
anteriorly armed with two spines.

The dissimilarity of the sexes is so great, as to

2. Xylocopa Teresfa, m/de. 2.f&male.
3 Ccmigcr.

XYLOCOPA TEREDO. 269

lead us to apprehend that several of the kinds of
Xylocopae, now regarded as distinct species, may ulti-
mately prove identical, when we obtain as correct
information regarding them as we possess in the pre-
sent instance. The male (fig. 1,) is entirely tawny-

ellow on the upper side, and blackish beneath;
wings rather pale yellow, antennae yellow on the
under side, legs likewise tawny, the hairs of the
two anterior pair paler yellow. The female (fig. 2,)
is deep black, the wings broad and of a brassy hue,
with purple reflections. The difference between the
sexes is not confined to colour, but extends likewise
to form. The male is comparatively slender, the
thorax oblong, and the head small ; the female has a
very large head, and an orbicular thorax, the whole
body appearing short and massive. These differences
appear more conspicuous in Mr. Westwood's drawings,
from which the accompanying engraving is taken,
than in Mr. Guilding's figures ; but Mr. Westwood's
are carefully drawn from Guilding's own series of
specimens, which are now in the possession of the
Rev. F. W. Hope, so that no doubt can possibly at-
tach to the identity of the insects. It may be said
that the evidence from which they are inferred to be
the sexes of one species is not absolutely conclusive,
for no one has ever witnessed their union ; but Mr.
Guilding constantly found both of them in company,
frequenting the same holes, the dark individuals being
invariably females, and the other males, which affords
so strong a presumption in favour of the opinion

he formed, that little doubt on the subject can

270 FOREIGN BEES.

be reasonably entertained. This dissimilarity of
the sexes is important to be noticed, on account
of the difficulty of determining such exotic species of
Xylocopae as are closely related to each other. The
propriety of giving Xylocopa Moris Fab. as a synonym
of the female of the insect in question, or Apis Bra-
silianorum as that of the male, as Mr. Guilding has
done, is extremely questionable. Mr. Westwood,
whose opinion is of so much value on a point of this
kind, has scarcely a doubt that the Xylocopa Chrys-
optera of Latreille (Humboldt's South Amer. Zool.
PL XXXVIII. fig. 1,) is the female of X. Brasilian-
orum.

XYLOCOPA CORNIGER.
PLATE XXI. Fig. 3.

THIS figure represents a very large, nondescript, and
unique species of Xylocopa, from the coller^on of the
Rev. F. W. Hope. Mr. Westwood, to whoir* we are
indebted for a beautiful drawing of it, proposes to
name it X. Corniger, on account of two short strong
horns upon the back part of the head, a character
which does not occur in any other known species of
the genus.

It is entirely black and shining, the upper surface
of the thorax and abdomen being entirely destitute of
hairs. The front of the head is broad, and bears two
oblique elevated shining ridges above the mouth, and
between the posterior part of the eyes are two short
thick horns. The abdomen is long and depressed,
with fascicles of black hairs on the sides and extre-
mity ngs are black and very glossy, with a

Cxi

XYLOCOPA CORNIGER. 2?1

rich violet blue tint at the base, which alters slightly
to greenish near the middle, and this is shaded off to
coppery brown at the tips.

The locality is unfortunately unknown ; it is pro-
bably Africa.

XYLOCOPA \(PLATYNOPODA, WEST.)

TENUISCAPA.
PLATE XXIII. Fig. 2.

THIS figure represents a species very closely related
to X. latipes, and the existence of another with
greatly dilated tarsi renders it expedient to propose
a distinct section or subgenus for their reception,
which Mr. Westwood has accordingly done under
the above name. In addition to the peculiarity just
noted, the males have the eyes approximating at the
hinder part of the head. The near resemblance of
this insect to X. latipes will at once appear from
comparison. (For this purpose X. latipes is figured
on the same plate, fig. 1.) The distinctive marks
may be embodied in the following short specific
character :— X. tenuiscapa, W. ; black, somewhat
shining ; the first joint of the antennae not dilated at
the apex, which is scarcely thicker than the base ;
eyes not widely apart behind ; the second, third, and
fourth joints of the anterior tarsi with a rather short
brush on their inner edge ; wings very glossy, violet
at the base, and tinged with copper at the tip ;
length 1 j1^ inch, expansion of the wings 2^ inches.

As this handsome species is now figured for the
first time, it will be necessary* for the satisfaction of

272 FOREIGN BEES.

entomologists, to describe it more in detail. In its
general form it is broad and depressed, the colour
sbining black, the abdomen being duller than the
thorax, the latter clothed in front with short black
hairs, and the sides and extremity of the abdomen
are fringed with longer hairs of the same colour. The
eyes are of a dull white, and approaching each other
at the hinder part of the head, but separated by a
considerably wider space than those of X. latipes.
Antennae black, the basal joint not dilated as in the
species just named ; legs black, clothed with long
hair, the anterior tarsi of a dirty white colour, the
basal joint very thin, flat, and broad, (but not so di-
lated as in X. latipes,) and furnished, especially on
the outer edge, with a thick brush of brown hairs,
the terminal joints flat and brown, with a similar
brush on the outer margin, the brush on the inner
margin of these joints being much shorter and thicker
than in X. latipes. The wings are nearly opaque at
the base, but become gradually more transparent at
the tips ; the former portion with an intense violet
gloss, which is gradually shaded off to a coppery
green.* (In X. latipes the wings have a green gloss
at the base, which is shaded off into a purple
bronze.) The clypeus is black, with the exception
of a very minute pale spot on each side, close to
the base of the mandibles.

This species is from India, and the individual figured

* Mr. Westwood is of opinion that the colour of the gloss
of the wing affords a very good, although hitherto neglected,
specific character in this difficult genus.

.'lf>l,\ //////. V///W .

XYLOCOPA TENUISCAPA. 273

Is preserved in the collection of the Rev. F. W. Hope.
X. latipes is likewise an eastern insect. "According
to Mr. Smeathman, these bees are very injurious to
wooden houses, the posts of which they bore and
perforate in various directions, so as to weaken them
very much ; the holes they make are half an inch
in diameter. Drury hazards the conjecture, that the
curiously dilated anterior tarsi, and the long hairs
with which they are furnished, appear to be useful to
the creature for containing the substance of which
these insects compose their nests. This, however,
is but mere conjecture, since it is the males only that
possess this curious construction, and this sex takes
no share in the construction or provisioning of the
nest in any species of bees with whose economy we
are hitherto acquainted."*

Having given these details respecting foreign
species, most of them bearing some affinity to the
Bombinatrices, we now return to the kinds more
closely related to the Hive-Bee, which alone have
been subjected to an assured domestication. In
Europe we have two distinct species of domestic
honey-bees. Besides the one commonly cultivated
viz., the Apis mellifica, which has extended itself
over the greater part of the European Continent, is
met with even in Barbary, and has now been natu-
ralized in the extensive wastes and prairies of North
America, — the Apis Ligustica of Spinola^ A. Ligu-
rienne of Latreille, (See PL XXIV.,) is cultivated
with success in Italy, and is probably the same
* Drury 'a Illust., West wood's ed., vol. ii. p. 98.

274- FOREIGN BEES.

species that is found in the Grecian Archipelago.
In its physical characters it nearly resembles our
own hive-bee; the difference consists in the two
first rings of the abdomen, (except at their posterior
edge) and the base of the third, being of a pale red-
dish colour, instead of a deep brown.

The continent of Africa, in all its widely extended
regions, seems well stocked with bees, particularly
towards the sea-coast. In lower Egypt their cultiva-
tion forms the employment of many of the poorer
classes during a great part of the year. During the
inundation of the Nile, the cultivators, unable to find
pasturage for their bee- stocks in the lower province*
transport them in boats to upper Egypt, resting
occasionally by the way, to allow the industrious in-
sects an opportunity to forage — and thus they reap
a double harvest. The insect itself, supposed to be
the A. Fasciata of Latreille, bears a considerable re-
semblance to that cultivated in Greece. On the
western coast, where it is intersected by the Senegal,
separated as this region is from the more northerly
parts of Africa by mountains and deserts which form
an insuperable barrier to the passage of the inferior
classes of animals, we find what we are assured is
another species of bees, viz., A. Adansonii. It has,
however, a very near resemblance to A. Ligustica ;
its difference being in the two first rings of the ab-
domen, and the anterior half of the third, which are
of a pale chestnut colour. In the neighbourhood of
the Gambia, a species of small black bees is found in
the woods — in all likelihood the same with those

FOREIGN BEES. 275

last mentioned ; and the town of Vintain, situated
on the southern side of the river, is much resorted to
by Europeans on account of the great quantities of
bees- wax brought thither for sale. It is collected in
the woods by the Feloops, a wild and unsociable race
of people. The honey they chiefly use themselves
in making a strong intoxicating liquor, much the
same as the mead which is produced from honey in
Britain,* It is said by some writers that the bees
along the west coast of Africa are destitute of stings.
It was not so found by Park, to whom we are in-
debted for the above information ; and that those
farther in the interior, about the 1 1 th deg. of west
long, are well provided with this formidable weapon,
appears from the following incident, mentioned by
the same traveller as having taken place near Doo-
froo: — "We had no sooner unloaded the asses,
than some of the people, being in search of honey,
unfortunately disturbed a large swarm of bees. They
came out in immense numbers, and attacked men
and beasts at the same time. Luckily most of the
asses were loose, and galloped up the valley ; but the
horses and people were very much stung, and obliged
to scamper off in all directions. In fact, for half an
hour, the bees seemed completely to have put an end
to our journey. In the evening, when they became
less troublesome, and we could venture to collect our
cattle, we found many of them much stung and
swelled about the head. Three asses were missing ;
one died in the evening, and one next morning. Our
* Parks Travels in Africa, vol. i. p. 6.

2?6 FOREIGN BEES.

guide lost his horse, and many of the people were
much stung about the hands and face." On the
eastern side of the same continent, the bees appear
to resemble those of the western coast in their colour
and diminutive size, but differ from them in the mode
of constructing their nests, which are formed under
the surface of the ground, while those of the others
are lodged in the hollows of trees. To the south-
ward, and in the Hottentot countries, the insects are
found in great numbers ; but, as appears from the
reports of some late travellers, never build their nests
in the trunks of trees ; and though they are some-
times found nestling under the surface of the ground,
make their dwellings chiefly in the clefts of the
rocks ; and one large rock in the Cape Colony has
so long served as a favourite residence to these in-
sects, as to obtain from the Dutch settlers the name
of " Honing Kliss/' i. e. Honey-rock. The following
anecdotes relating to this species are from Burchell's
Travels in Africa, (Vol. I. 377, and II. 81) :— -" My
bedding having been left out in the air all day, we
found in the evening the mattress taken possession
of by a swarm of bees which had taken shelter under
it for the night ; and as a favour to these industrious
creatures, we left them undisturbed. They remained
there till the next day at no0n, when they departed
in quest of some convenient chink in the rocks for
their hive. Their manner of swarming appeared to
us to diifer in nothing from that of the common
English bee. The same species, or others of the
genus Apis, abounds in every part of this continent

FOREIGN BEES. 2?7

which has come under my observation,, and is every-
where eagerly robbed of its honey. None of these
nations have the least idea of bringing them under
domestic management, but are content to take the
honey wherever it is found ; and this being done
often at an improper season, they make a useless
destruction of the larvae or young bees still in the
cells." — f( One of the Hottentots observed a number
of bees entering a hole in the ground, which had
formerly belonged to some animal of the weasel kind.
As he made signs for us to come to him, we turned
that way, fearing he had met with some accident ;
and when the people began to unearth the bees, I
did not expect that we should escape without being
severely stung. But they knew so well how to
manage an affair of this kind, that they robbed the
poor insects with the greatest ease and safety.
Before they commenced digging, a fire was made
near the hole, and constantly supplied with damp
fuel to produce a cloud of smoke. In this the work-
man was completely enveloped ; so that the bees re-
turning from the fields were prevented from ap-
proaching, and those which flew out of the nest were
driven by it to a distance. Yet the rest of our party,
to avoid their resentment, found it prudent either to
ride off, or stand also in the smoke. About three
pounds of honey were obtained, which, excepting a
small share which I reserved till tea-time, they in-
stantly devoured in the comb; and some of the
Hottentots professed to be equally fond of the larvae.
The honey appeared unusually liquid, and nearly as

278 POEEIGN BEES.

thin as water, yet it seemed as sweet, and of as
delicate a taste as the hest honey of England."

" Whilst I was engaged in the chace one day on
foot with a Namaqua attendant, he picked up a
small stone, looked at it earnestly, then over the
plain, and threw it down again. I asked what it
was ; he said there was the ma'rk of a bee on it ;
taking it up, I also saw on it a small pointed drop
of wax,* which had fallen from a bee in its flight.
The Namaqua noticed the direction the point of the
drop indicated, and, walking on, he picked up an-
other stone, also with a drop of wax on it, and so
on at considerable intervals, till, getting behind a
crag, he looked up, and bees were seen flying across
the sky, and in and out of a cleft in the face of the
rock. Here of course was the honey he was in pur-
suit of. A dry bush is selected, fire is made, the
cliffis ascended, and the nest is robbed in the smoke."t

African travellers give us an amusing account of
one of the modes by which the natives in the interior
are enabled to discover the spot where the bees have
deposited their treasures. They are guided by a
small bird (Cuculus Indicus, See Plate XXV.) of a
brownish-grey colour, well named the Honey -Guide.
This little creature is very fond of honey and bee-
brood ; but unable by its own exertions to secure
the means of gratifying its taste, it directs the negroes,
by a peculiar cry or whistle, to the tree where the
bees have taken up their residence, advancing before

* More probably excrement.

•f Alexander's Expedition into the Interior of Africa.

HONEY GUIDK

FOREIGN BEES. 27&

them by longer or shorter flights, according to the
greater or lesser distance of the object of pursuit.
If its followers lag behind., it returns with manifest
impatience, and by its redoubled cries appears to
chide their delay. As it approaches the tree, its
flights become more limited, its whistle is repeated
at shorter intervals, and at last, having brought its
associates to the desired spot, it hovers over it for a
moment, as if to mark it out distinctly, and then
quietly takes up a station at a little distance, wait-
ing the result, and expecting its share of the booty,
which it never fails to obtain.

In the island of Madagascar, and the Mauritius,
is to be found the Apis Unicolor of Latreille, of a
bright shining black, without spots or coloured bands.
Its honey, as appears from a specimen brought home
by the master of a French vessel, is highly aromatic,
and is, while in the cells, or when recently abstracted,
of a green colour, but becomes afterwards of a red-
dish yellow. In these islands, the bee is domesti-
cated ; and a French Naturalist, M. de Lanux, has
published a memoir on the form of the Madagascar
hives — a circumstance which naturally leads to the
supposition, that the inhabitants pay considerable at-
tention to the cultivation of this insect.*

Knox, in his history of Ceylon, enumerates three
kinds of bees found in that island ; the first of which
bears a close resemblance to the European insect,
though, it would seem, by no means so irritable, and
which, like those near the Cape of Good Hope, builds
* Latreille, Obs. de Zool. au voyage de Humboldt.

280 FOREIGN BEES.

in hollow trees, and also in holes in the ground which
have been made by some burrowing animals. The
natives, to obtain the honey, have merely to blow into
those holes, upon which the bees instantly decamp
without resistance, and the plunderers, without making
use of any defensive covering, pull out the combs
with their hands, and deposit them in vessels brought
for that purpose. It is probable from this account of
the facility with which this species is deprived of its
stores, and the fearlessness of the plunderers, that, like
others to be afterwards mentioned, it has no sting.
A second species found here is of a larger size and
brighter colour than our domestic bee. These build

o

their nests on the branches of trees, and generally at
a great height. At a certain period of the year the
inhabitants of the towns go out in a body to despoil
them, and return laden with the booty. The third
species is a remarkably small bee, not larger than a
common fly, and of a blackish hue. Their honey is
not generally much regarded ; but the children some-
times amuse themselves by cutting a hole in the trunk
of the tree where it is deposited, and carrying it off.
Nay, Knox tells us that the inhabitants not only
devour the honey, but have a strong taste — akin to
that of the Hottentots who feed on the larvae — for the
bees themselves ; and that when they discover a
swarm on an inaccessible branch of a tree, they
stupify them with the smoke of torches, causing them
to drop on the ground, when they gather them and
carry them home, " boiling and eating them, and
esteeming them excellent food."

FOREIGN BEES. 281

The Apis Indica of Fabricius, found in Pondicherry
and Bengal, is of a smaller size than our domestic
bee, if we may judge from the dimensions of the
cells,, which are only about three-fifths of the size of
the European. This is probably the small species
found in Ceylon. Latreille gives a figure and descrip-
tion of a piece of comb supposed to belong to this
species ; and taking into account the smallness of the
cells, and the consequently greater number in a comb
of the same area with one from our hives, he con-
cludes the population of the Indian hive to consist
of not less than 80,000 insects. Besides the Apis
Indica. the naturalist just mentioned notices two
other species met with in that region, one of which
is one-third longer and stronger than the European
race. This may be the same species with the second
class described by Knox, as inhabiting Ceylon. The
honey cells are much more capacious, arid the produce
considerably more abundant than from the last men-
tioned Indian species.

Honey-bees abound also in the whole of the
Eastern Archipelago ; but we have no certain account
of their distinctive characters. We only know that
they generally build on the boughs of trees, and that
they are never domesticated or collected into hives.
In fact, no attention is paid to them, farther than
what is requisite to obtain their wax. This, we are
told,* is an article of considerable importance in all
the eastern islands, from whence it is exported in large
oblong cakes to China, Bengal, and other parts of
* Marsden's Sumatra, p. 175.

282 FOREIGN BEES.

the continent. Their honey is much inferior to that
of Europe, as might be expected from the nature of
the vegetation. The honey of the Apis Peronii,
however, found in the island of Timor, may he con-
sidered an exception to this. For our knowledge of
it we are indebted to M. Peron, the intrepid French
navigator, who describes it as having a yellowish tinge,
more liquid than ours, and of an exquisite flavour.
It is called by the natives Bee-sugar. The dis-
tinctive characters of the insect itself consist in
the two first rings of the abdomen (with the excep-
tion of their posterior edges,) the base of the third,
and the greater part of the breast, being of a reddish
yellow, and the superior wings of a brownish hue.
It appears from recent accounts, that in the distant
regions of New South Wales and Van Dieman's
Land, besides the indigenous insect, the Bee of
Europe has obtained a firm footing, and already rivals
the prolific race of South Carolina. The following
account is from a periodical of extensive circulation
and great utility.*

" The native bee is without a sting, and is not
much larger than a common house-fly. It produces
abundance of honey and wax, but has not yet been
subjected to cultivation ; and from its small size, and
its building on very high trees, probably never will
be so. The European Bee has been oftener than
once introduced into Sydney, but without success ;
the swarms having always left the hives for the
woods. A hive was carried to Van Dieman's Land,
* London's Gardener's Magazine, for Dec. 1835.

FOREIGN BEES. 283

in the autumn of the year 1830, by Dr. T. B. Wil-
son, at the suggestion of his friend Mr. R. Gunter of
Earl's Court, brought from London in a wire case.
It arrived in safety, and the bees swarmed several
times the first year ; and in the True Colonist (a
Hobart-Town newspaper) of February 14th 1835,
it is stated that a hive descended from Dr. Wilson's,
belonging to a gentleman in the neighbourhood of
Hobart-Town, had already swarmed eighteen times!*'
Major Mitchell states, in his recently published
account of his expedition into the interior of Australia,
that he sometimes met with bees in great plenty, and
some of them were not a little curious in their habits.
Although his rifle was in frequent use, he one day
found that a quantity of wax and honey had been
deposited in the barrel, and also in the hollow part
of the ramrod ! He had previously noticed a bee
occasionally entering the barrel, and it now appeared
that wax and honey had been lodged immediately
above the charge to the depth of about two inches.
The bee which he most frequently observed about
his tent, and which was probably the species that
selected this perilous depository, was as large as the
English bee, and had a sting. " We were now," he
says, in another part of his interesting work, " in a
' land flowing with milk and honey ;' for the natives
with their new tomahawks extracted it in abundance
from the hollow branches of the trees, and it seemed
that, in the season, they could find it almost every-
where. To such inexpert clowns, as they probably

284 FOREIGN BEES.

thought us, the honey and the bees were inaccessible,
and indeed invisible, save only when the natives cut
it out and brought it to us in little sheets of bark,
thus displaying a degree of ingenuity and skill in
supplying their wants, which we, with all our science,
could not hope to attain. They would catch one of
the bees and attach to it, with some rosin or gum,
the light down of the swan or owl ; thus laden, the
bee would make for the branch of some lofty tree,
and so betray its home of sweets to its keen-eyed
pursuers, whose bee-chase presented indeed a laugh-
able scene."*

In the Western Hemisphere we find the honey-
bee in as great variety and abundance as in the
Eastern World. In the United States of America,
and stretching as far to the westward, as 95 deg. W.
long, the domestic bee of Europe has been naturalized,
and appears to prosper amazingly, in the new coun-
tries continually opening to civilization in that region.
Little more than thirty years ago, according to War-
den, it was not found to the westward of the Missis-
sippi ; but is now spreading over the extensive
prairies on the western banks of the Missouri. In
these regions, bee-hunting, or bee-liming, as it is there
called, is a very general occupation; and various
modes are described by travellers of obtaining the
fruit of the insects' labour. Knowing that in the
breeding season, the bees resort much to springs of
water in the woods, the hunter places on a fiat stone
* Vol. i. p. 171.

AMERICAN TYRANT FM CATCH KK

FOREIGN BEES. 285

a small quantity of honey-comb, and draws round it
a circle of white paint. The bee, on approaching the
honey, is necessitated generally to cross the circular
line, and, of course, its body becomes bedaubed with
the colouring matter, and the direction of its route
when flying is thereby easily ascertained. The stra-
tagem is repeated at some distance to the right or
left of the first station, and the direction of the flight
again marked. As the bee always flies in a direct
line to her nest, it will be found where the two lines
of flight intersect each other. Another mode con-
sists in placing at the favourite resorts of the bees, a
piece of reed or tube of some kind, having one of its
ends closed up : Into this they are enticed by the
smell of a little honey, previously deposited within.
The hunter, when a sufficient number has entered,
seizes the reed, and claps his thumb on the open end.
He then allows one of the captives to escape, and fol-
lows the direction in which it flies ; when it is out of
sight, he releases another, and another in succession,
continuing the pursuit till, by the aid of these guides,
he reaches the prize.

The bee in North America has to encounter,
amongst the feathered tribe, an enemy still more
formidable than the honey-hunter. This is the King-
bird, or Tyrant Flycatcher, (Muscicapa Tyrannus,
PL XXVI.) found in both the southern and northern
states of the Union, and which, according to Mr.
Hector St. John, is so fell an enemy to the honey-
gathering tribes, that upon dissecting one which he
had shot, he took from its crop as many as 171

286 FOREIGN BEES.

apparently dead bees.* " During the breeding
season/' says Wilson in his American Ornithology,
" his extreme affection for his mate, and for his
nest and young, makes him suspicious of every bird
that happens to pass near his residence, so that he
attacks without discrimination every intruder. But
he has a worse habit than this, and much more
obnoxious to the husbandman, and often more fatal
to himself. He loves not the honey, but the bees ;
and, it must be confessed, is frequently on the look-
out for these industrious little insects. He plants
himself on a post of the fence, or on a small tree in
the garden, not far from the hives ; and from thence
sallies on them as they pass and repass, making
great havoc among their numbers." The ravages of
this little tyrant are not confined to the bee species ;
he is to be seen often " in pasture fields, taking his
stand on the top of rank weeds near the cattle, and
making occasional sweeps after passing insects, par-
ticularly the large black gad-fly. His eye moves
restlessly around him, traces the flight of an insect
for a moment or two, then that of a second, and even
a third, until he perceives one to his liking, when
with a shrill sweep he pursues, seizes it, and returns
to the same spot to look out for more. This habit
is so conspicuous, when he is watching the bee-hives,
that several intelligent farmers of my acquaintance

* Mr. St. John laid these dead bees on a blanket in the
Bun, and, mirabile dictu ! out of the 171, no fewer than 54 re-
turned to life, licked themselves clean, and joyfully went back
to their hives.

FOREIGN BEES. 28?

are of opinion, that he picks out only the drones,
and never injures the working-hees. Be that as it
may, he certainly gives a preference to one bee, and
one species of insect over another."

Advancing southwards, we fall in with the bees
of Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, &c. If Latreille he
correct — and we are disposed to think he is — these
are still of the European species ; for he tells us, that
they extend from the northern States as far south as
the Antilles. In the rich provinces ahove named,
bees are reported to increase with such rapidity, that
nothing but the most satisfactory proofs can entitle
the report to credit. A striking instance of this
rapid increase is given in Feburier's Treatise on
Bees. M. Bozc, the French Consul in Carolina,
walking one morning in the woods adjoining his
house, found a swarm of bees which the negroes had
just deprived of its honey and wax. He succeeded
in getting it to enter his hat, brought it home, and
put it into a hive. By the end of autumn, it had
yielded eleven swarms, and these had, one with an-
other, produced as many more ; so that at the end
of the year he had twenty-two ! besides losing several
for want of hives to lodge them.

In the island of Cuba, their multiplication is said
to be still more extraordinary; so much so, that
though they have not existed there above seventy
years, thousands of swarms perish yearly from not
finding suitable places to settle in. They were intro-
duced into this island in 1763, by some emigrants
from Florida ; and such was the rapidity with which

288 FOREIGN 4S.

they multiplied in the hollo /s of the old trees, that
there was soon sufficient wax for the annual con-
sumption. In 1 777, fourteen years from their intro-
duction, 715,000 Ibs. weight of wax were exported
from the Havannah, of a quality equal to the wax of
Venice. Including the contraband, Cuba exported
in 1 803, 42,670 arohas of wax, equal to more than
1900 tons. The price was then from twenty to
twenty-one piastres per aroha ; but the average price
in time of peace is only fifteen piastres, or £3, 2s. 6d.
sterling. A small part of this wax is produced by
the wild bees of the genus Trigones, which occupy
the trunks of the Cedrela odorafa; but the prin-
cipal part is the produce of the common honey-bee,*
originally imported from the old world to America
— extended to the Southern States, and finally trans-
ferred to Cuba by the settlers from Florida. t

In Jamaica, bees are cultivated to some extent,

* Edinburgh Encyclop. article CUBA.

•f- M. Feburier states, in a note, that M. Michaux, a French
botanist, had been informed by the natives of Florida, that
bees formerly abounded in that province ; but that in one year
they had almost all emigrated to Cuba, which is distant twenty-
five leagues. Upon this, M. Feburier remarks : — " As that
island is covered with orange and lemon trees, the fragrance of
the blossoms must have been wafted to Florida, and have at-
tracted the bees ; a strong evidence of the acuteness of their
sense of smell." We should say, that their strength of wing
must have equalled their sense of smell. But the truth is, M.
Michaux had been misinformed ; for it is a well known fact,
that, as we have already stated, when the British obtained
possession of Florida, at the peace in 1763, many of the settlers
removed to Cuba, and carried their bees along with them.

FOK 3N EEES. 289

occasionally by the plairws, but more generally by
the negroes and people of colour. The honey is dark-
coloured, and of a flavour hardly so agreeable as our
own. The hives they use are small square boxes of
one story. In size and colour the Jamaica bee so
strongly resembles the European, as to suggest the
probability that it is the same. The only circum-
stance known to us that raises any doubt of this
identity is, that though it possesses a sting, it seldom
uses it, and is apparently of a much less irritable
temper than ours. As a proof of this greater gentle-
ness, the apiary is, in many cases, situated directly in
front of the dwelling-house ; and an instance has
come to our knowledge of one consisting of not
fewer than fifty hives, belonging to a gentleman
in the neighbourhood of Savannah-la-Mar, ranged
close by the door, and under the front windows. Were
the exotic insect as testy as ours, visiters would require
some nerve to face coolly so formidable an outpost.
The same gentleman has orr his estate a row of log-
wood trees, the blossoms of which are much resorted
to by the bees. Whether there is any species of the
insect in this island without stings, we have not been
able to ascertain precisely ; it seems probable, how-
ever, there is not. A resident medical gentleman, to
whom the query was put, had never heard of such ;
and an intelligent negro, who kept a large stock of
hives, when asked whether the Jamaica bees had
stings, seemed surprised at the question, and an-
swered : " Hey ! hab tings ? dem ting too trong ! dem
hab big big ting." _ lie same negro observed that he

29f> FOREIGN BEES.

had often seen "the leetle chaps collaring the big
chaps;" evidently alluding to the, massacre of the
drones hy the working-bees.*

The bees of Guadaloupe are decidedly of a diffe-
rent character from the European, and are probably
of the genus Melipona. This constitutes, according
to the system of Illiger and Latreille, a genus dis-
tinct from the genus Apis properly so called. In
this last, the first articulation of the hinder tarsi is
square-shaped) while in those of the other it is tri-
angular. From some minute variation of anatomical
structure, a portion of the genus Melipona has been
formed into a distinct one. under the denomination
of Trigones. Latreille specifies the mandibles as a
distinctive character, arid classes under the genus
Trigones those whose mandibles are toothed, and
under that of Melipona, such as have these organs
smooth. Their habits also differ ; the former build-
ing their nest in the open air, suspended from the
branches of trees; the latter constructing their

* Since writing the above, the author has received a swarm
of Bees from Jamaica, which unfortunately died on the
passage. Upon the most minute examination, no difference
could be perceived between these strangers and our own
home-bred insects, either in the class of Workers or Males;
the Queen could not be found. It must be observed, how-
ever, that besides this, which we consider identical with the
domestic bee of Northern Europe, there is another spe-cies
cultivated in Jamaica of a small black kind, of the habits of
which we are not aware. In one of the combs of the above
imported hive, was found the larva represented in PI. Vl
with t-lre moth into which it was metan. orphosed.

FOREIGN BEES. 291

habitations in the cavities of the trunks. The hees of
Guadaioupe, however, are sometimes found making
their dwellings in clefts of the rocks, as well as in
the hollows of trees. Their honey is deposited in
clusters of cells, or rather cups, which are of the size
and shape of pigeon-eggs; and the wax of which
they are formed, is of a deep violet colour, and of so
soft a consistence, as materially to diminish its utility.
The insect itself is distinguished by its diminutive
size, its jet-black colour, and its want of a sting.

The bees of Guiana are generally small, and of a
deep black colour like those of Guadaloupe, but
armed with a powerful sting. Labat,* however,
speaks of a species which have no sting, or one so
feeble, that it cannot pierce the skin ; and states,
that the natives handle them without dread, and
without any other inconvenience than a slight tickling.
There is a species noticed by Stedman, which builds
its nest in the roofs of houses, and is said to attack
strangers with the greatest fury, while it does not at
all molest the regular occupiers of the habitation
where it has established its residence. Another
species takes up its abode in the trunks of decayed
trees ; and if the hollow space is too large for their
purpose, they contract it by raising above a kind of
waxen dome. Their honey is of the colour of amber,
and of an agreeable flavour, but becomes quickly
acid. The wax is like that of Guadaloupe, of a
dark violet colour, never hardens, and cannot be

* Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, vol. iii. 253.

292 FOREIGN BEES.

blanched. The species named Trigonis Amalthei,
(PL XXVII. fig. 1.) is also found here. It con-
structs its nest of a form somewhat resembling a
Bagpipe,, eight or ten inches in diameter, and eighteen
or twenty inches in length, towards the top of a tree
of moderate height. (PI. XXVII.) Within are found
large cells filled with a fine reddish-coloured honey.
The nest which, on a superficial view, might be
mistaken for a mass of coarse earth applied when
moist against the tree, cannot be procured until the
tree is cut down, when the natives, after using the
honey, and making a kind of mead, convert the wax
into matches.

In Brazil, there are many species of bees described
by travellers, — doubtless including in the number
those last noticed as inhabiting Guiana. One or two,
however, may be mentioned, which differ in some
degree from those alluded to. The first is a species
surpassing all the others in size, without a sting, and
building in the hollows of trees. Another is de-
scribed as of a yellowish hue, and of a small size,
and having their nests suspended from the branches,
sometimes half an ell in length. Koster* notices a
species inhabiting the trunks of trees, of a black
colour, and smaller than the European ; their sting
not formidable. The natives of Pernambuco pre-
serve them in a part of the trunk of the tree in
which they had been originally found. Their honey
is very liquid, and is used as medicine rather than as
food; for the small quantities obtained render the
* Travels in Brazil, by Henry Koster, in 1810.

1. T?*ujto?ff( an

2.. /Y//

QMelif,

FOREIGN BEES. 293

demand for it by medical men fully equal to the
supply. Another species have their nests in the
ground, enveloped like a sugar-loaf in a wrapper
formed of a kind of matted fog. This is perhaps
the insect met with hy Humboldt, while exploring
the Silla mountain in the province of Caraccas. It
is described as a little smaller than the honey-bee of
Europe, and as making its nest in the ground. It
seldom flies, moves slowly, and is not apt to use its
sting. Amongst the flowers in these regions to
which the bees resort, is one which grows on the
Tapurriba tree, and which communicates to the
honey a peculiar bitterness.

In Paraguay, several species of bees are enume-
rated by Don Felix d'Azara, the largest of which he
describes as more than double the size of the bee of
Old Spain ; and the smallest as less than a fourth of
the size. Few of them, it is said, have stings ; but
we are disposed to think, with Latreille, that on this
part of the organization of exotic bees generally, our
information is of doubtful accuracy ; and suspect that
many of the species which are said to be without
stings, do in fact possess the organ, though often a
feeble one, but are not readily provoked to use it.
The honey of the large bee described by Azara is not
considered good ; that of another species produces
intoxication ; and that of a third causes violent pains
and convulsions which continue for thirty hours,
without, however, leaving behind any farther bad
consequences. The country people readily detect this
unwholesome kind of honey, although the taste is as

294* FOREIGN BEES.

agreeable as that of the others, and the colour the
same. Like the generality of the Melipona tribe,
some species deposit their honey not in combs, but
in small waxen vessels or cups, resembling, from the
description, those constructed by the humble bees of
Europe, and about half an inch in diameter. The
native Indians use it much as food, and after subjec-
ting it to the process of fermentation, procure from it
an intoxicating drink. The wax is of a deeper yellow,
and of a softer consistence than ours. It is never
whitened, but used in its rude state for lighting the
country churches. It is found in such abundance in
the woods that the inhabitants of St. Jago del Estero
collect yearly in their neighbourhood not less than
14,000 Ibs. weight.

It may be noticed here that the inhabitants of
Paraguay find a species of wax on the branches
of the Guabirami. This is a shrub two or three
feet high, which produces one of the finest fruits
in the country. The wax forms the nests of some
small insects, constructed on the branches of the
plant; and these tiny dwelling-places are in shape
and size like so many pearls, glued together in
strings or clusters. The substance itself is much
superior to the wax of any of the bees above de-
scribed as inhabiting the province, both in solidity
and whiteness.

One other species is mentioned by Azara as
Vound in Paraguay — and is probably identical with
&ne found in Brazil — which suspends its nest from
jiie branches of trees. It is about two feet in dia-

FOREIGN BEES. 295

meter., and formed of a strong hard clay, having its
crust or shell of about four inches in thickness. On
. breaking up one of these nests — an operation which
required the aid of a hatchet — it was found com-
posed of combs of wax filled with fine honey. The
bee is blackish in colour, not so taper in its shape
as the European insect, but nearly of the same size ;
less irritable, but possessed of a sting.

The most remarkable entomological fact stated by
this writer, is the existence in Brazil and Paraguay
of a honey gathering Wasp ! When the statement
appeared, it was supposed by Latreille and others,
that, not being much versed in entomology, Azara
had mistaken for an individual of the wasp family
what was in reality one of the Melipona or Trigonis
genus, common in South America. More recently,
however, the researches of M. de St. Hilaire have
confirmed the accuracy of the Spaniard ; and it seems
now an established fact that the insect provincially
named Lecheguana, belonging to the genus Vespa
(Polistes of Latreille), produces honey of a very ex-
cellent kind, which it stores up in cells for use during
the season of the repose of vegetable life, and which
differs from that produced by the bees only in being
wholly and completely soluble in alcohol, leaving no
residue ; whereas bee -honey, when subjected to the
same chemical process, deposits a ciystallized saccha-
rine matter. A figure of the nest constructed by this
insect is given in PI. XXVIII. It is formed of the
same materials, and is of similar architecture with
that of the European Wasp, viz. of woody fibres re-

293 FOREIGN BEES.

duced to a pulp or paste before being used, and is
of a conical shape. The insect produces no wax.

We shall conclude this imperfect notice of Foreign
Bees with some account of those of Mexico^ con-
cerning which more is known than of any others
out of Europe. Great attention is paid to them by
the Mexicans,, not so much on account of their
honey, although remarkably rich and delicate, as for
the sake of the wax, of which great quantities are
consumed in the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic
worship. In the peninsula of Yucatan, there are
colonies of them domesticated, consisting of five or
six hundred hives. Many interesting particulars of
their natural history have been furnished by Her-
nandez in his account of New Spain ; and subse-
quently by our countrymen Captains Beechey and
Hall, particularly by the first named officer, who
has gone into a minuteness of detail, which would
have done credit to one who had made the subject
of bees his exclusive study. Hernandez describes
several kinds of the insect in Mexico : — one resem-
bling the European, and which produces a honey like
our own. It is domesticated by the Indians, who
lodge the swarms, he says, in the hollows of trees.
A second species is noticed by the same Author, as
smaller than ours — so much smaller as to resemble
" winged ants," — and as without stings. They
build their nests, which are composed of several
layers, probably resembling those of wasps, in the
rocks, and also suspend them on trees, particularly
the oak. Their honey is dark coloured and high

FOREIGN BEES. 297

flavoured. The cells are of smaller dimensions than
those of the domestic bee ; and it is probable, though
not so stated, contain only brood ; the honey being
found in small cups or sacklets. The larvse, it ap-
pears, are esteemed a delicacy; for the historian
tells us, that ({ when roasted and seasoned with salt,"
they have the taste and flavour of sweet almonds.
This species collect their honey stores, and live much
in the same way with the honey-bees of Europe.
Other small stingless bees are mentioned, which
establish themselves under ground, in nests of a
globular shape, but of very coarse workmanship ;
their honey, too, is inferior, and is never used but in
default of better. We have given a figure of a Mexi-
can Bee-Nest, constructed by insects of the genus
Trigones, copied from Latreille, (PL XXVII.)

It is probably of the species first mentioned by
Hernandez, that Captains Beechey and Hall have
given us the details. In domesticating their bees,
the Mexicans lodge them in hives formed of short
logs of wood, from 2 to 3 feet long, hollowed out
about 5 inches in diameter, having the ends filled
with clay, or wooden doors removeable at pleasure ;
and a hole for entrance bored on one side, about
halfway between the ends. They are suspended m
a horizontal position from the branches of trees, or
from the cottage eaves.* The hive which Captain
Hall examined was made of earthen ware, orna-
mented with raised figures and circular rings, and
was hung in the virandah of a dwelling house. The

* A hive of this kind was sent to the celebrated Huber.

298 FOREIGN BEES.

interior of a hive presents, like that of the humble-
bee in our own country, a confused and irregular
appearance. The combs, which have but one series
of cells, are placed, some in a vertical position, and
others horizontal — the latter, superior to the other
in regularity of form, and of distance from one
another. They are grouped together in an oval
mass, and occupy nearly half of the internal space,
while the other half is stored with the honey cups.
The cells which are destined solely for the rearing
of the brood are, like ours, hexangular, though the
angles are not so sharply defined, nor is the mouth
of the cell strengthened by an additional ring of
wax. The diameter is the same with that of ours,
but the depth less by one-fifth. It is singular that
the young bees are found in the cells with their hindei
parts directed towards the mouth ; in being hatched,
they will of course, make their exit through the
bottom, not having the impediment to encounter
there which would obstruct the issue of the Eu-
ropean bee. The honey, as has been stated, is
deposited in small globular bags, hung round the
sides of the hive, or placed at the bottom ; some of
these receptacles are more than 1 ^ inch in diameter ;
and in many instances are so connected together that,
as in the case of cells of common honey combs, one
side serves for two cups, thus combining economy
and strength. And these magazines of honey being
altogether apart from the brood-combs, and noways
connected with them, great facility is afforded in
depriving the bees of their stores. The honey is

FOREIGN BEES. 299

thin in consistence, but of a very agreeable flavour,
and gives out a ricb aromatic perfume. The wax
is coarse, and of a brownish yellow ; propolis does
not appear to be used.

The Mexican Bee is smaller by one-fifth than the
European, and exhibits that difference in the anatomi-
cal structure of the posterior tarsi, already noticed,
(page 290) and also in the cubital cells of the upper
wings, which has been thought a sufficient reason for
regarding the Mexican species — and indeed the South
American species generally — as distinct from that of
Europe, and to which has been given the denomina-
tion Melipona or Trigona. Many of these species
are, as wre have seen, described as having no stings,
or at least so feeble a weapon as to produce no sen-
sible injury, and from this circumstance they are
known in the Spanish Colonies by the name of
Angelitos, or little angels. The population of a
hive is generally under a 1000. Like their congeners
in Europe, they have enemies to guard against; and
the Black Ants occasionally put their vigilance and
prowess to the proof, sometimes successfully, but
more frequently coming off with the worst. One of
the community, accordingly, is constantly stationed
as a sentinel at the mouth of the hive — keeping her
post unrelieved for a whole day ; and as the entrance
is wide enough only for the admission of one bee
at a time, the sentinel has to withdraw into a small
cavity formed within the threshold, as often as a
bee enters or leaves the hive. Captain Hall remarks

SCO FOKEI6N BEES.

that " the office is no sinecure/' Fortunately for
the insect on duty, the population is small ; were it
equal to that of a European hive, the task would
be harder by twenty- fold. Like the domestic bee,
they are fond of keeping their premises clear of all
extraneous and offensive matter. A little paint was
dropped at the entrance of a hive; the sentinel
carefully examined it, seemed to dislike it, and re-
treated into the hive. In a few seconds it returned
with a troop of companions, each loaded with a por-
tion of wax, — probably a scale in a half liquid state ;
— this they deposited on the soiled spot, repeating
the operation till it was entirely covered, and the
nuisance abated. (The interior of the hive of this
bee is represented on PI. XXII.)

We omitted to notice in their proper places, while
enumerating the enemies of Exotic Bees, the Ratel
and the European Bee-Eater, represented in Plates
XXIX and XXX. The Ratel (Viv err a mellivora,
(M. rattellus of Fred. Cuv.) is an almost inseparable
companion of the Honey-Guide, (Indicator major)
in its exploratory excursions. It is an animal found
near the Cape of Good Hope, and assisted by the
above-named bird, this creature discovers and suc-
cessfully attacks the bees in their subterraneous re-
treats; and after having appropriated the honied
stores as its own peculiar prize, leaves to its assistant
the combs filled with brood, which is said to be the
part of the plunder most valued by the bird. Both
of the plunderers are protected from the stings of

.v- .^^

DIVERSITY))

EUROPEAN BEE-EATER

FOREIGN BEES. SOI

the irritated insects by a peculiarly tough skin.*
The European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) is an
elegant bird, and clothed in brilliant colours, but with
a stridulous and somewhat disagreeable cry. It
feeds on insects, especially bees, wasps, hornets,
&c., and also on the smaller tribes of gnats and flies.
It inhabits the warmer parts of Europe, South Africa,
and is seldom met with in the northern regions of
the globe; while it abounds in Southern Russia, par-
ticularly about the rivers Don and Wolga, whose
banks are sometimes perforated to a great extent b.v
their excavations.t

* Kirby's Bridgewater Treatise.

•j- Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, Article Ornithology.

FINIS.

J. OGDE2J AWD CO., rBINTEJLS, IJ2, bT. JGUS BTKliET, B.C.

I.

CEO
3E