= aa SSeS eas iv Sasa sini, —evigll ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New YorRK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY I | aa i Mi EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS BEEKEEPING LIBRARY ates os wed K riche & Sw \ in ) SS ‘ nensN & ate Pi . os — wah NS han we a gee &. AY OAK + hk ~. Wag ty) a5 NA. ~ en’ " : . F N ARK aR RW ee ee Vad =n 8 red A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON HUMANITY TO HONEY BEES; or PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES, Upon an Improved and Humane Plan THE LIVES OF BEES MAY BE PRESERVED, AND ABUNDANCE OF HONEY OF A SUPERIOR QUALITY OBTAINED. BY EDWARD TOWNLEY. NEW YORK: PRINTED BY G. B. MAIGNE, 183 WILLIAM STREET. ee! pee f eh 4 4 joni an é st f Nees try ngs Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year ¥ 1843, by ' EDWARD TOWNLEY, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the South- ern District of New York. ADVERTISEMENT. THE primary object of this little compila- tion, is the dissemination of a more system- atic method of conduct pertaining to Honey Bees, than has heretofore been practised. When our industrious citizens are appri- sed of the most approved method of cultiva- ting Bees, and the rational amusement and actual profit to be derived from Honey Bees, we may confidently expect that this branch will no longer loiter in the rear of other im- provements in rural economy. Every possible effort has been used, to render this work, in all respects, competent to the purpose in view, that of imparting, in the clearest manner, every point of know- ledge requisite for the successful manage- av. ADVERTISEMENT. ment of Honey Bees. The compiler indulges the hope that his labors will be crowned with the sanction of experienced and respectable authorities, and the approbation of the public. The destructive ravages of the Bee Moth have, in many places, almost annihilated our Bee establishments, and discouraged all attemps to renewed trials. Not less than one hundred hives have, the past season, been entirely destroyed by that enemy, with- in a few miles, in New Jersey, and in places where a single hive has yielded one hundred pounds of honey. From a particular inves- tigation of this subject, the compiler is now able, with much confidence, to announce, that an effectual preventive of such depreda- tions will be found recorded in this produc- tion, | CONTENTS. Introduction. Cuap. I.—Anatomy of the Honey Bee. «© II. The senses of Bees. “ III. Sight. «IV. Feeling or Touch. oo V;,. DLaste, «VI. Hearing. «VII. Smelling. “VIII. The inmates of a Hive. «IX. Of the Queen Bee. “ X. Of the Worker Bee. s¢ XI. The Drone Bee. «XII. Impregnation of the Queen Bee. “ "XIII. Retarded Impregnation. «XIV. Of the Brood. ‘© XV. On the Formation of Swarms. «XVI. Second Swarms. «XVII. On Artificial Swarms. “XVIII. On the Conversion of the Larva of a Worker into a Queen. ‘« On the construction of the Hive. 1* Vi. CONTENTS. Cuap. XX. Observatory Hive. « XXI. Bee Feeding. «XXII. Bee Food. ; “© XXIII. Method of destroying or preventing the Depredations of the Bee Moth. “XXIV. On Ventilating. «“-XXV. Management of Bees during Winter. “ XXVI. On burying Bees. “« XXVII. Remedy for the Stings of Bees. “ XXVIII. Measure and Weight of Bees. “ XXIX. Conclusion. INTRODUCTION. OF THE HONEY BEE. 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 insensible of the profit arising from its judi- cious culture, has regarded with pleasure and admiration, its ingenious operations and unceasing activity. ‘Wise in their govern- ment,” observes the venerable Kirby, “ dili- gent and active in their employments, devo- ted to their young and to their queen, the Viil. INTRODUCTION. Bees read a lecture to mankind that exem- plifies their oriental name, Deburrah, she that speaketh. 'The study is delightful to the mind that contemplates the mysterious ope- rations of nature, and traces its wonderful phenomena up to nature’sGod. 'The indus- trious Bee has ever been viewed by intelli- gent naturalists as an interesting species of insects, and the fruits of its industry as among the choicest productions of nature.” There is no branch of husbandry, the cul- tivation of which furnishes for our table a more innocent and grateful luxury, than that of the Bee, nor any part of natural history better calculated to raise our contemplation to that Divine Wisdom which creates and sustains them. If you speak of a Bee, your conversation will be a sort of demonstration of His power whose hand formed them, for the wisdom of the workman is commonly perceived in that which is of little size. He who has stretched out the heavens, and dug up the bottom of the sea, is also He who has pierced a passage through the sting of the INTRODUCTION. 1x Bee for the ejection of its poison. So high did the ancients carry their admiration of this tiny portion of animated nature, that one philosopher, it is said, made it the sole ob- ject 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, stating, and pro- bably adopting, a prevalent opinion, speaks of the Bee as having received a direct ema- nation from the Divine Intelligence. After all this study, however, these enthusiastic admirers have thrown but little light on the real nature of this extraordinary insect ; and while they have handed down to us many judicious precepts 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, per- haps, to the want of those facilities for dis- covery, which modern science has afforded, and by which the most hidden mysteries of Bee economy are rendered clear and palpable. In fact, much has been written and pub- x INTRODTCTION. lished on the subject, calculated to startle a sober reader ; and some of those discoveries which have been blazoned in publications, both at home and abroad, will be found, on strict examination, to have no existence but in the warm fancy or blind enthusiasm of the observers. hg incontrovertible facts in the natural history of the Bee, are, in themselves, too remarkable to justify any attempt to draw upon the imagination for additional 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, verifi- ed by rigid experiment. In the following details, embracing the Natural History and Practical Management of the Honey Bee, I have endeavored to avoid this error; stating nothing as fact, but what I know to be so from undoubted testi- mony, or from my own knowledge and ex- INTAODUCTION. xi perience. At the same time, I have not omitted to notice such alledged discoveries or results of experiments, as appear to me to be unsupported by sufficient evidence, or at variance with experiments of my own, made for the express purpose of verification, leav- ing it to the reader to receive or reject them, as his judgment may dictate. I have availed myself of the information dispersed throughout a variety of publica- tions, both ancient and modern, with such additions of my own, as have been acquired by the observation of Bees for a period of many years. I trust that the facts detailed, will, of themselves, lead the mind of the in- telligent reader to such reflections, and thus become the source of a purer gratification than would have been derived from the suggestions of others. a wy) gougbiva RSet ta caste aheee wroro yg to atyoenis eltivr at waal stoi 1gallhor ovorpin J aang adi ach. : - ipa oo: 10 ovisoot of tobge7 adit of ti gui F oo elaotbs se siciferslui adi Yo iewtetiney To Mivitov Gy ivoggnos | ome kigiw sérrobonet . ue of i id hovupoa caad svad 2s SE et mot. acct! To nonewt * delimeb ado Toul? isdlt tent) E at lo buintod) baal i a . 7 dona ob oil boitite Ae iD 6 LOE cea big, aid 28. sa* -* 4 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES, ETC. The careful Insect, midst his works I view, Now from the flowers exhaust the fragrant dew; With golden treasure load his little thighs And steer his distant journey through the skies. Some, against hostile drones, the hive defend, Others, with sweets the waxen cells distend; Each in the toil his destined office bears, And in the little bulk a mighty soul appears. GaY. The bee is small among the fowls, yet doth its fruit pass in sweetness. Eccuesiasticus, xi. 3. CHAPTER I. ON THE ANATOMY OF THE HONEY BEE. THE Honey Bee, Apis Mellificia, is of the order of insects having four membranaceous wings. Its anatomical structure presents, even to the superficial observer, striking evi- 2 14 TREATISE ON THE dences of design in the All-wise Contriver, and of the admirable adaptation of its parts to their several uses. The body of the in- sect is about half an inch long, of a blackish brown color, which deepens with age, and is wholly covered with close set hairs, which assist greatly in collecting the farina of flowers. Tearing open the anthers of the plant on which it has alighted, and rolling its little body in the bottom of the 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 pallet, in a spoon-like receptacle in its thigh, to be afterwards noticed. These hairs de- serve to be particularly remarked, on ac- count of their peculiar formation, being fea- ther-shaped, or rather consisting each of a stem with branches disposed around it, and, therefore, besides their more effectually re- taining the animal heat, peculiarly adapted for their office of sweeping off the farina. The head, which is of a triangular shape MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 15 and much flattened, is furnished with a pair of large eyes, of what is called by naturalists the composite construction, and consisting of a vast assemblage of small hexagonal sur- faces, disposed with exquisite regularity, each constituting in itself a perfect eye; they are thickly studded with hairs, which preserves 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 capaci- ty of vision in an insect whose most impor- tant operations are carried on in deep ob- security. As to the special or peculiar use these ocelli may serve, Reaumur and Blu- menbach were of opinion, that, while the larger compound organs are used for view- ing distant objects, the simple ones are em- ployed on objects close at hand. It is not improbable however, that these last, from their peculiar position, are appropriated to upward vision. "The antenne present us 16 TREATISE ON THE with another remarkable appendage of the head. These are two tubes about the thick- ness 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 there- fore capable of every variety of flexure. Their extremities are tipped with small round knobs, exquisitely sensible, and which, from their resemblance to the stemmata or ocelli, have been supposed by some to serve as or- gans of vision ; by others, as connected with the sense of hearing; and by others, as or- gans of feeling or touch. This last seems the most probable conjecture, as on approach- ing any solid object or obstacle, the Bee cau- tiously brings its antenne in contact with it, as if exploring its nature. The insects use these organs, also, as a means of recog- nizing one another, and an interesting in- stance is stated by Huber, in which they were employed to ascertain the presence of their queen. The mouth of the Bee com- prehends the tongue, the mandibles or upper MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 17 jaws, the maxillze 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 discernable. In most anatomical descriptions of the Bee, the real tongue, now described, has been erroneously confounded with the ligula or central piece of the pro- boscis, afterwards to be described. The up- per jaw of the Bee, like that of all other in- sects, is divided vertically into two, thus forming, in fact, a pair of jaws, under the name of mandibles. They move horizon- tally, are furnished with teeth, and serve to the little laborers as tools, with which they perform a variety of operations, as manipu- lating the wax, constructing the combs and polishing them, seizing their enemies, de- stroying the drones, &c. The lower jaws or maxille, divided vertically as the others, D* 18 TREATISE ON THE form, together with the labium or upper lip the complicated apparatus of the proboscis. This organ, beautiful in its construction, and admirably adapted to its end, serving to the 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 erroneous- ly, though, considering its position and use, not unnaturally regarded as the tongue. It is, strictly speaking, formed by a prolonga- tion of the lower lip. Itis not tubular, as has been supposed, but solid throughout, consisting of a close succession of cartilagi- nous 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. Itisof a flattish form, and about the thickness of a human hair, and, from its cartilaginous structure, capable of being ea- sily moved in all directions, rolling from side to side, and lapping or licking up, by the aid of the hairy fringes, whatever adheres to it. It is, probably, by muscular motion, that the MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 19 fluid which it laps is propelled into the pha- rynx or canal, situated at its root, and through which it is conveyed to the honey bag. The trunk of the Bee, or thorax, ap- proaches in figure to a sphere, and is united to the head by a pedicle or thread-like liga- ment. It contains the muscles of the wings and legs. ‘The former consist of two pair of an equal size, and are attached to each other by slender hooks, easily discernible hr ough a microscope, and thereby their mo- tion, and the flight of the insect, are render- ed 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: of air vessels, pervading every part of the body, and serv- ing the purpose of lungs. The rushing of the air through them against the wings, while in motion, is supposed to be 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 20 TREATISE ON THE are most efficient instruments, serving to the insect uhe same purpose as the arms and hands to man, are the shortest, and the pos- terior pair the longest. In each of these limbs there are several articulations or joints, of which three are larger than the others, serv- ing to connect the thigh, the leg or pallet, and the foot or tarsus, the others are situated chiefly in the tarsus. In the thigh of each of the Hagaler limbs, there is an admirable provision made for en- abling the Bee to carry to its hive an impor- tant part of its stores, and which neither the queen nor the mail possess, they being ex- empted from that labor, viz; a small trian- gular basket or cavity of a spoon-like shape, the exterior of which is smooth and glassy, while its inner surface is lined with strong. close set hairs. This cavity forms a kind of basket, destined to receive the pollen of 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 MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 21 the hive, and by which any openings are stopped that might admit vermin or the cold. 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, forming brushes, some of them round, some flattened, and which serve the purpose of sweeping off the farina. There is yet another remarka- ble peculiarity in this third pair of limbs. The junction of the pallet and tarsus is ef- fected 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, proceed from the lower edge of the pallet, corresponding to bundles of very strong hairs, with which the neighboring portion of the brush is provided. When the two edges of the pincers meet—that is, the under edge of the pallet, and the upper edge of the brush— the hairs of each are incorporated together. The extremities of the six feet terminate each in two hooks, with their points oppo- wD) TREATISE ON THE sed to each other, by means of which the Bee 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, ladders, &c. From the mid- dle of these hooks proceeds a little thin ap- pendix, 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 sub- stances, with its feet upwards. The abdomen is attached to the posterior part of the thorax, by a slender ligament, like that which unites the thorax and the head, and consists of six scaly rings of un- equal breadth. It contains two stomachs, the small intestines, the venom-bag, and the sting. An opening, placed at the root of the proboscis, is the mouth or gullet which tra- verses the trunk, and leads to the anterior stomach. ‘This last named vessel is but a dilation of the gullet, and, in fact, forms the MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 23 honey-bag.. When full, it exhibits the form of a small transparent globe, somewhat less in size than a pea. It is susceptible of con- traction, and so organized as to enable the Bee to disgorge its contents. 'The second stomach, which is separated from the first, of which it appears to be merely a continua- tion, only by a very short tube, is cylindri- cal, 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 its nutriment. It receives also the, honey from which wax is elabora- ted. 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 com- munication between the stomach and these receptacles or wax-pockets has yet been dis- covered,,but Huber conjectures that the se- creting vessels are contained in the mem- brane which lines these receptacles, and which is covered with reticulations of hex- agonal meshes, analagous to the inner coat 24, TREATISE ON THE of the second stomach of ruminating quad- rupeds. The scales of wax are deposited in these two areas, and assume the same shape, ' viz., anirregular 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. The sting, with its appendages, lies close to the last stomach, and, like the proboscis, may seem to the naked eye, a simple instru- ment, while it is in fact, no less complex in its structure than the former apparatus. In- stead of being a simple sharp-pointed wea- pon, likea fine needle, it is composed of two branches or darts, applied to each other lon- gitudinally, and lodged in one sheath. One of these darts is somewhat longer than the other; they penetrate alternately, taking MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 25 hold of the flesh, till the whole sting is com- pletely buried. The sheath is formed by two horny scales, along the grooves of which, when the sting is extruded, flows the poison, from a bag or reservoir 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 ejected; 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 in- testines, death is the inevitable consequence. Though detached from the animal, this for- midable weapon still retains, by means of the strong muscles by which it is impelled, the power of forcing itself still deeper. On the subject of the sting, Paley ingeniously remarks: “The action of the sting affords 26 TREATISE ON THE an example of the union of chemistry and mechanism ; of chemistry, in respect to the venom which in so small a quantity can pro- duce such powerful effects; of mechanism, as the sting is not a simple, but a compound instrument. The machinery would have been comparatively useless, had it not been for the chemical process, by which, in the insect’s body, honey is converted into poison, and on the other hand, the poison would — have been ineffectual without an instrument to wound, and a syringe to inject the fluid.” Having noticed these particulars in the _ anatomical structure of the working Bee, as the general representative 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 naturalist, the mother Bee, and with great propriety, as it seems now ascertained 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 workers, it being con- . MANAGEMEET OF HONEY BEES. Q7 siderably larger, and of a’ deeper black in the upper parts, while the under surface and the limbs are of a rich tawny color. Her pro- bosis is more slender, her legs are longer than those of the worker, but without the hairy brushes at the joints, and as she is ex- empted from the drudgery of collecting fa- rina or propolis, the posterior pair are with- out the spoon-like cavity found in those of her laboring offspring. When about to’ be- come a mother, her body is considerably swollen and elongated, and her wings in con- sequence appear disproportionally short.— The abdomen of the queen contains the ova- rium consisting of two branches, each of which contains a large assemblage of ves- sels filled with eggs, andterminating in what is called the aviduct. This duct, when ap- proaching the anus, dilates itself intoa larger receptacle, into which the eggs are dis- charged, and which is considered by natural- ists, as the sperm reservoir, or depository of fecundating matter, from thence they are ex- truded by the insect, and deposited in the 98 TREATISE ON THE cell prepared for their reception. ‘The sting possessed by the queen is bent, while that of the workers is straight; it is seldom, how- ever brought into action, perhaps only ina conflict with a rival queen. The male is considerably more bulky than the working Bee. The eyes are more pro- minent, the antenne have thirteen articula- tions instead of twelve, the probosis is short- er, the hind legs have not the basket for con- taining 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 ap- pellation of Drone. CHAPTER II. THE SENSES OF BEES. Mucu uncertainty has prevailed on the subject of the senses possessed by this insect, MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 29 not so much, perhaps, in regard to their ex- istence, as to the locality of the organs. Most naturalists admit their possession of five senses, analogous to those of man, though the celebrated Huber seems to have some doubt as to the existence of the faculty of hearing in Bees, at least without some im- portant modifications. Greater diversity of opinion, however, prevails as to the situation of those organs by which the impression of sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell are pro- diced on their sensations, and many curious experiments, by different naturalists, have been made with a view to ascertain the truth, but which have not always led to the same results. In researchés so minute, it is, per- haps, vain to look for perfect accuracy in our conclusions, and we must be satisfied with any thing like a reasonable approximation to the truth. 3* 30 TREATISE ON THE CHAPTER III. SIGHT. In my remarks on the anatomical struc- ture of the head of the Bee, I observed that, besides the large reticulated eyes, placed, as in other animals, on the sides of the head, this insect possesses three stemmata or coro- netted eyes, arraged triangularly on its cen- tre, between the antenne. That these little specks are, in reality, organs of vision, has been made apparent, from accurate experi- ments, in which, when the reticulated eyes were blindfolded, the insect was evidently not deprived of sight, though the direction of its flight being vertical, seemed to prove that the stemmata were adapted only or chief- ly 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 MANAGEMENT CF HONEY BEES. 31 insect, in the honey season, are carried on during the night as well as the day, the co- -ronet eyes may, as Reaumer conjectures, serve to it the purpose of a microscope. As to the general power of vision in the Bee, its organs appear better adapted to distant ob- jects, than to such as are close at hand. When returning loaded from the fields, it flles with unerring certainty, and distin- guishes at once its own domicil, 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 en- trances, especially if its habitation has been shifted, ever so little, from its former station; nay, if, without moving the hive, the en- trance has been turned around 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, I may 32 TREATISE ON THE suppose, of removing to such a distance from the desired object as is suited to the proper- ties or focus of its visual organ. Iam led to conclude, therefore, from these well known facts, that the eye of the Bee has a lengthen- ed 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. CHAPTER IV. FEELING OR TOUCH. The organs of this sense are supposed, with reason, to reside in the antenne and palpi or feelers, particularly in the former. Huber concludes that the antenne supply the want of sight in the interior of the hive, and that it is solely by their means they are enabled to construct their combs in darkness, pour their honey into the magazines, feed MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. oo the young, judge of their age and necessi- ties, and recognize their queen. Though it does by no means appear clear that the Bees are devoid of sight when em- ployed at their in-door operations, but, on the contrary, there is reason to believe, as already stated, that the stemmata or ocelli serve as orbs of vision, yet this naturalist is probably not wrong in ascribing to the an- tenn an important share in these operations. That the Bees use them as means of com- munication and recognition, seems readily admitted by apiarians. When a hive has lost its queen, the event, as may well be sup- posed, 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, their antenne are reciprocally crossed, and they slightly strike them. The communication made by these means is quickly disseminated, and in a few minutes 34 TREATISE ON THE the whole colony is in a state of agitation and distress. Of the antenne: being employ- ed as instruments of recognition, the same naturalist gives a striking instance, which our limits prohibit from giving in his own words. Suffice it to say, that by means of a wire grating, wide enough only to admit the circulation of air, inserted in the middle of the hive, he separated the queen from half of her subjects and ascertained that neither sight, hearing, nor smell made the near neigh- borhood of their sovereign known to them, for they proceeded to rear a new queen from the larva of a worker, as if the other where irrevocably lost. But when a grating wide enough to allow the transmission of the an- tennee was discovered, 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 MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 35 on the wing, It is curious to observe how artfully the moths knows how to profit to the disadvantage of the Bees, which require much light for seeing objects, and the pre- cautions taken by the latter, in reconnoiter- ing and expelling so dangerous an enemy. Like vigilant sentinels they patrol around ther habitations with their antenne stretched out straight before them, or turning to the right and left; woe to the moth, if it cannot escape their contact; it tries to glide along between the guards, carefully avoiding their flexible organs, as if aware that its safety depended on its caution. CHAPTER YV. TASTE. In Bees, taste appears, on aslight view, to differ most materially from that sensein man, and because, with all their eager fondness for 36 TRRATISE ON THE the rich nectar of flowers, they are frequently detected lapping the impure fluid from cor- rupted marshes, it has been hastily conclud- ed, 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 fetid liquids. Now, with de- ference to this distinguished observer, it may be permitted, perhaps to defend our favorites 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 ar- dor in these operations, that they defy the elements when the honey season is at its height, and, laying aside their usual fears of bad weather, boldly encounter wind and rain to get at their favorite fluid. Huber ac- knowledges, that when the lime-tree and black grain blossom, they brave the rain, de- part before sunrise, and return later dain or- dinary. But ee activity relaxes after the MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 37 ' 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, in this decline of the flower- ing season, recourse to the foul marsh and slimy pool, which they are charged with fre- quenting ? Simply because the purposes for which they did frequent these unwholsome liquids have already been 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, aud which their instinct teaches them are advantageous to their health, after their long wiuter confinement. If we place before the Bees a portion of honey, and a portion of liquid drawn from a corrupt source, their choice will completely vindicate the purity of their taste, and their power of discrimina- tion 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. 38 TREATISE ON THE This would be going inthe face of some well authenticated instances of honey being in- jured, and even rendered dangerous, in con- sequence of the Bees feeding on noxious plants. Towards the close of the year, when flowers become searce, and in those parts of the country where alders abound, and where onions and leeks are cultivated on a large scale, and allowed to rn 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 communicate to the honey avery disagreeable flavor. Fa- ther 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 in- stance is given inthe American Philosophical Transactions, of a party of young men, who, MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 39 induced by the prospect of gain, having re- moved their hives from Pennsylvania to the Jerseys, where there are vast savannahs finely painted with the flowers of the Kalmia angustipolia, could not use or dispose of their honey, on account of its intoxicating quality ; yet the Bees increased prodigiously, an in- crease 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 by the following occurrence, stated in Nicholson’s Journal. A large swarm of Bees having set- tled (observe, that they had merely alighted upon it, to rest, perhaps after a long flight,) on a branch of the poison ash, in the county of Westchester, in the province of NewYork, was put into a hive and removed to the place where it was to remain. . Next morning the Bees were found dead, swelled to double their natural size, and black, except a few, which appeared torpid and feeble, and soon died on exposure to the air. ‘This was at- 40 TREATISE ON THE tributed to their being poisoned, not by their having fed upon, but by the effluvia of the Rhus vernix. CHAPTER VI. HEARING. ConsIDERABLE difference of opinion has prevailed among naturalists, both as to the existence of this Sense in Bees, and the situa~- tion of the organ. Aristotle was doubtful whether Bees possess this sense. Linnzus and Bonnet denied them this 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 antenne. We know that Bees dislike noise, for an apiary situated near mills, smithies, or other noisy work-shops, is seldom prosperous. The different modulations of sound, produ- MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 41 ced by the wings in flying, seem intended as a means of communication addressed to an organ of hearing, as signals of attack, of re-. call, of departure, &c. In consequence of a belief in the reality of this sense in Bees, the practice is common of beating sonorous bo- dies at the moment of swarming, in order to prevent them from communicating 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 effects which, in other insects, unquestion- ably proceed from the sense of hearing, we regard these effects as presumptive evidence of the former possessing the same faculty. Huber set out with intimating a doubt of its existence,—possibly, in deference to his friend Bonnet, to whom his letters are ad- dressed, and who was an unbeleiver 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 42 TREATISE ON THE by Bees, apparently serve asa signal to their companions, and are followed by regular consequences, and that, therefore, they may be additional means of communication to those afforded by the antennze. He mentions particularly a sound emitted by the queen, which produces paralyzing effects on the Bees in certain circumstances. Describing the attemps of a reigning queen to destroy her rivals, while yet in their cells, he tells us, ~ that the Bees on guard pulled and bit her, and drove 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 far- ther opened. Whatever might be the cause of her as- suming this attitude, the Bees were affected by it, all hung down their heads, and re- mained motionless. On another occasion, after a queen had put her rival to death, she approached a royal cell, and took this mo- ment to utter the sound, and assume that MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 43 posture which strikes the Bees motionless. This discovery of Huber has been brought forward on his authority, by naturalists, asa conclusive evidence of the existence of the auditory faculty in Bees. And so it would be, if Huber was not mistaken in his supposed discovery. A voice of sovereignity produ- cing 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 a doubt by succeeding experiments. With much con- fidence in the accuracy of this distinguished naturalist’s observations, I entertain some hesitation on the subject of this magical sound. By my observatory jhive, I have seen the queen in all the circumstances, and in all the positions observable within a hive, and have seen her combating with a rival queen, and have observed her very frequent- ly in the particular situation described by Huber, when he first heard the commanding voice, endeavoring to tear open the cell of a rival, and angrily repulsed by the workers, 44, TREATISE ON THE » then standing at a little distance on the sur- face of the comb, with her wings crossed over her back, and in motion, though not fully unfolded, and emitting the clear dis- tinct sound, which is heard in a hive for a day or two before the departure of a second swarm, and certainly I never witnessed any such effect produced on the Bees as Huber speaks of, and which, had it taken place, could not possibly have escaped my observa- tion. On the contrary, the Bees seemed not in the slightest degree affected by her wrath, for she was evidently in a state of great irri- tation, but continued to guard the cell of the captive queen with a dogged-looking obsti- nacy, apparently expecting and prepared for another attempt on it by the enraged sove- reign. Huber may be in the right, and his general accuracy affords a presumption in his favor; nevertheless, it would be very satisfactory to have his accuracy in this par- ticular point, confirmed by some other ob- server. 'T'aking it for granted, that the sense of hearing does exist in Bees, where are we MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 45 to look for the situation of the organ. Na- turalists are not agreed on this point, but the majority vest it in the antenne. Kirby and Spence notice the analogy borne by the an- tenne to the ears of vertebrated 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 appendage 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 antenne, bya peculiar structure, may collect notices from the atmosphere, receive pulses or vibrations, and communicate them to the sensorium, which communication, though not precisely to be called hearing, may answer the same 46 TREATISE ON THE purpose. The same author gives an anec- dote of another inseet, which goes to prove that the antennz are indeed the organs of thissense: “A little moth was reposing on my window ; I made a quiet, not loud, but distinct noise; the nearest antenne imme- diately moved towards me; I repeated the noise at least a dozen times, and it was fol- lowed 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 antennee were not applied to a surface, but directed towards the quarter from which the sound came, as if to listen.” CHAPTER VII. SMELLING. Or all their senses that of smell in Bees is the most acute. Attracted by the fragrance MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 47 of the flowers, we see them winging their eager way toa 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 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 them of his approach. Arriving amongst his hives, though from the chillness of a spring morning, not a Bee is seen stirring out of doors, he has not time to fill the feeding- troughs from the vessel in his hand, before 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 unfavorable weather in sum- mer, it is curious to observe, through the glass, the motionless hemispherical mass at the ceiling of the hive, becoming instantane- » 48 TREATISE ON THE ously elongated, and changed into the form of an inverted living pyramid, having its apex resting on the sides of the hive, while a score or two of stragglers, who have in the confusion been separated or have fallen from the mass above, hasten along, snuffing the ‘ grateful fragrance, ranging themselves in a line on the edge of the trough, and eagerly plunging their probosces into the liquid. It is to their exquisite sense of smell also, in all likelihood, that we must attribute their capability of distinguishing friend from foe, among their own species. Ifa stranger Bee by mistake enter a hive, and this sometimes happens, in consequence of some slight alte- ration in the arrangement of the apiary, his close resemblance to his 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 re- searches we are so much indebted in regard to the senses of Bees, has made some very conclusive experiments on that of smell, all MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 4,9 of which I have repeated with preciscly the same results. Like his, our first experiment was to ascertain the acuteness of the sense. He concealed a vessel with honey behind the shutters of an open window, near the apiary. In my experiment, a small box, containing a portion of honey mingled with water, and covered witha piece of wire-gauze, was placed at a distance of one hundred yards from the apiary, where it was by no means conspicuous. In a quarter of an hour a Bee alighted on the box, and ina 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 visi- tors had gone off with a belly-full, the feeders increased in the space of an hour to hun- dreds. In another instance, a neighbor of mine living on the next block from me, bought a hive of honey for his own consump- tion, and kept it in the back part of his yard covered up, and they would go and cut out a piece as they wished it for their own use, 50 TRRATISE ON THE and in the spring my Bees got access to it, took all the honey and left them the empty comb. ‘To diversify the trial, Huber pro- cured four small boxes, to the apertures of which, large enough to admit a Bee, he fitted - shutters or valves, made of card-paper, which it was necessary should be forced open in order to gain admission. Honey being put into them, they were placed at the distance of two hundred paces from the apiary. In half an hour, Bees were seen arriving, care- fully traversing the boxes ; they soon disco- vered the openings, pressed against the valves, andreached the honey. This isa 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 experiment, could not be much diffused. I repeated successfully similar experiments. Tn fact, after the first trial, I had no doubt of the issue of the second; for if once the sense of smell in the Bees acertained the ex- istence and situation of the honey, I had seen MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 51 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. Hurber’s experiment to ascertain this point, is full of intrest, and we recom- mend a perusal of the account of it as de- tailed in his work. He dipped a pencil in oil of turpentine, a substance very disagree- able to insects, and presented it to the thorax, the stigmata, the abdomen, the antenne, the eyes, and the proboscis, without the Bee be- traying the slightest symptom of uneasy feel- ing. It was otherwise when he held it to the mouth ; it started, left the honey by which it had been enticed, and was on the point of taking flight, when the pencil was with- drawn. He next filled the mouth with flour- paste, when the insect seemed to have lost the sense of smell altogether. Honey did not attract it, nor did offensive odors, even the formidable turpentine, annoy it, The organ of smell therefore, appears to reside in the mouth, or in the parts depending on 52 TREATISE ON THE it. To those who may wish to repeat this experiment, I would recommend that they previously deprive the Bee 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, witha pair of sissors; the excision will not vitally ‘injure the isect, and will give confidence to the experimenter. I cannot conclude this disquisition on the sense of smell in Bees, without gratifying my readers by extracting from Dr. Bevan’s work, a remarkable instance of its acuteness and delicacy ; and which had been communica- ted to him, by the son of the gentleman who is the subject of it. It is generally believed that Bees have an antipathy to particular in- dividuals, arising, probably, from some _pe- culiar odor about them, which, though not discernable by, or Galea to man, may be so to this sensitive insect. Mr. wiildiien had for years been a proprietor and admirer of Bees, and would approach them with impu- nity. He would at any time search for the MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 53 queen and taking hold of her gently, place her on his hand. But he was unfortunately ° attacked with a violent fever, and long con- fined by it. On his recovery he attempted to resume his favorite amusement among the Bees, returning to them with all that con- fidence and pleasure which he had felt on former occasions; when, to his great sur- prise and disappointment, he discovered that he was no longer in possession of their fa- vor; and that, instead of being received by them as an old friend, he was treated asa trespasser; nor was he ever able after this period to perform any operation with them, or to approach within their precincts, with- out exciting theiranger. Here then itis 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 Bees. a 5A TREATISE ON THE CHAPTER VIII. THE INMATES OF A HIVE. A HIVE consists of the queen or mother- Bee, the workers or neuters, varying in num- bers from 10,000 to 20,000, or 36,000, and the males or drones, from 5 to 700, and dou- ble that number. CHAPTER IX. OF THE QUEEN BEE. THE queen Bee is easily distinguished from other Bees by the form and size. and her color tends to a deeper yellow. "The slowness, or even gravity of her march, her Stature, and above all, the various homage paid her by the Bees, characterize herin a distinguished manner. She is larger, longer MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 55 at least, and her wings are shorter in pro- portion to her size, than those of other Bees. The wings of drones and of common work- ing Bees cover their bodies, but those of the queen scarcely reach beyond the middle. Her hinder part tapers more than the corres- ponding part of other Bees, something in the shape of a sugar loaf, and is admirably adapt- ed for the purpose of being introduced into the cells to deposit her eggs, which she does without being incommoded by her wings, as she no doubt would be were they long in proportion to the length of her body. Con- sidering then the office she has to perform, the shortness of her wings, and the length and tapering of her body are alike conveni- ences to her, her belly and legs are yellower, and her upper parts darker than those of other Bees. Though furnished with a sting, she very rarely uses it, only at the approach of another queen, and will bear being hand- led without being provoked. A young queen is smaller than a full grown one. When three or for days old she is quick in her motions ; 56 TREATISE ON THE but when impregnated she becomes heavy, The queen is the parent of the hive, and her sole province and occupation consists in lay- ing eggs, from which originate those prodi- gious multitudes that people a hive, and emi- grate from it in the course of one summer. In the‘height of the season her fertility is truly astonishing, as she lays from 100 to 200 eggs per day, and even more when the sea- son is particularly warm and genial, though at a gradually diminishing rate, till the ap- proach of cold weather in October. So early as February, she resumes her la- bors in the same department, and supplies the great blank made in the population by the numerous casualties that take place be- tween the end of summer and commence- ment of spring. Her great laying of the eggs of workers, begins generally 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 de- positing of these last, that the Bees are led MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 57 by their instinct to lay the foundation of royal cells, in which, if the population be abundant, the queen deposits eggs at inter- vals of one or two days between each. In the operation of laying, which I have a thou- sand times witnessed in my Observatory hive, the queen puts her head into a cell, and remains in that position about a second or two, as if to ascertain wether it is ina fit state to receive the deposit. She then with draws her head, curves her body down- wards, inserts her abdomen into the cell, and turns half round on herself. Having kept this position for a few seconds, she with- draws her body, having in the meantime de- posited an egg. She thus keeps on laying eggs, day and night ; and I have shown her to hundreds of people, laying eggs, some- thing which they never before saw. The egg itself, which is attached to the bottom of the cell by a glutinous matter with which it is imbued, is ofa slender oval shape, slightly curved, rather more pointed in the lower end than in the other.’ She passes on from cell 58 TREATISE ON THE to cell, furnishing each with the germ ofa future inhabitant ; and during these proceed- ings she receivs the most marked and atffec- tionate attention from the workers. Wher- ever she stops, she is seen continually sur- rounded bya circle of them, from ten to twelve, who caress her fondly with their an- tenn, and occasionally supply her with food from their probosces. ‘This appearance has given rise to the notion commonly en- tertained, and asserted even by some natu- ralists, that the queen is followed in her pro- gress through the hive by a number of her subjects formed in a circle round her, and these of course have been regarded as the queen’s body guards. 'The truth is, how- ever, that her Bee-majesty has no attendants, 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 approach- ing sovereign, lavish their caresses upon her with much apparent affection, and touch her softly with their antenne ; and these circum- MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 5G Stances, which may be observed every hour in the day, in a properly constructed 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 labors, and she passes on, receiving from every group in her way the homage due to a mother and a queen. There is a fact connected with the instinct of the queen in laying her eggs, which deserves particular notice, and which I 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 ac- cording 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 arrangement which runs through all the operations of the Bees, and is another effect of that remarkable instinct 60 TREATISE ON THE! 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 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 either 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. The mutual aversion of queens is a stri- king feature in the natural history_of this in- sect; and though not perhaps strictly in place, one extraordinary effect of it may be mentioned here. ‘Their mutual enmity may be truly saia to be an inborn 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 hur- ries away in search of those of her rivals, and, as will be afterwards described, exerts herself with the most impetuous eagerness to MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 61 destroy them. I have witnessed this inter- esting exhibition of Bee warfare, as descri- bed by Huber: I have seen two queens that happened to emerge from their celis at the same time, and saw them come in contact with each other, when a pitched battle took place, which generally ends in the death of one of the combatants. CHAPTER X. OF THE WORKER BEE. The workers to the number of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, and even 40,000, constitute the great mass of the population, and on them devolve the whole labors of the estab- lishment. Theirs is the oflice of searching 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-shaped 6 62 TREATISE ON THE cavity in their hind legs, they bring home the pollen or farinaceous dust of flowers, kneaded by the help of the morning dew in- to tiny balls, which form an important in- gredient 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 cold. .Exploringa glass hive in a soft spring morning, and fol- lowing with your eye a Bee loaded with fa- rina, the observer will perceive the little ac- tive forager on her arrival in the interior, hurrying over the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell in which to deposit her burden; and having found one, fasten- ing herself by the two fore feet on its supe- _ nior border, then bending her body a little forward, that her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edge of the cell. In this po- sition she is next seen thrusting back her second pair of feet, one on each side, and sweeping with them from top to bottom MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 63 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 themin the cell. To the workers, also, are committed the various of- fices 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 ven- tilation, of replacing a lost queen, and of de- stroying the, drones at the decline of the honey season. Receiving from nature these weighty charges, they labor assiduously to fulfil them ; and, while each member of the com- munity acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works less for private than for the general good. ‘These labors appear unceas- ing; yet do the weary laborers sometimes snatch an interval of repose. During the busy season I have seen hundreds of the workers retiring into the cells, and exhibit- ing all the marks of profound sleep. This 64 TREATISE ON THE fact is very easily observable, especially in those cells which are constructed, as some- times happens, against the glass, and where that substance forms one side of the cell. There they are, the fatigued laborers, stretch- ed at full length, with their heads at the bot- tom, and every limb apparently in a relaxed state, while the little body is seen heaving gently from the process of respiration. Hu- ber 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. It does not appear, however, that naturalists were acquainted with the different functions, if the difference really does exist, of the two classes. 'The office of the first class, accord- ing to Huber, is not only to collect honey, which both kinds do, but also to elaborate the wax and construct the combs. The par- ticular function of the other, is to take care of the young. They may be distinguished m entering the hive by carefully examining their shape, the wax workers having their bellies somewhat cylindrical, while those of MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 65 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 incapa- ble of fulfilling all the functions of the other. Huber has also directed our attention toa class ef workers, which he calls black Bees. In every thing they bear a perfect resem- blance to their fellow-workers, except in co- lor, which in them is a deep black. He describes them as persecuted by the other workers, and finally expelled the hives or destroyed. I have noticed them, though rarely, per- haps not more than ten or twelve in a season. The other Bees did not molest them, as far as I observed, nor indeed seem in any way sensible of their presence. It is not impro- bable that they are merely aged Bees, and that their deeper color arises from the hair or down with which the young are so thick- ly clothed, being worn off their bodies. In describing the functions of the working Bee, it would be improper A pass over unnoticed * 66 TREATISE ON THE the fact, that it sometimes exercises the func- tions of a mother. T'o account for this ap- parent 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 con- firmed by the very circumstance I am 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 na- turalists the effect of expanding the ovarium, and qualifying her to become a mother. It is evident, therefore, that, if the larva of a common Bee, were fed with the royal jel- ly, the imperfection in her bodily organs would, as far at least as depended on the nature of the food, be removed, and she would become capable of laying eggs. Now this does occasionally take place; some of the royal food is dropped, probably by acci- dent, into some of the cells adjoining that of the queen, and the Bees therein reared ac MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 67 quire the power of laying eggs. This fact was discovered by the naturalist Riem, and has been confirmed by Huber. There is, however, a very material and hitherto unac- counted for difference between these fertile workers and perfect queens, the former lay the eggs of males only. I would certainly have expected, a priori, that a difference be- tween thein should exist, because the work- ers have fed on the royal jelly only for a short time, and because their birth-place is so much smaller. But I cannot easily con- ceive 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 my re- searches on the subject, I cannot yet unra- vel. ‘These fertile workers are never found in any hives but such as have lost their na- tural queen. ‘The natural term of the work- er’s existence does not extend, I think, be- yond from twelve to eighteen months. But many never reach that period. Showers of rain, violent blasts of wind, sudden changes 68 MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. ef atmosphere, destroy them in hundreds. In the clear cold mornings and evenings of | autumn, their eagerness for foraging entices them abroad early and late; when, alighting on the ground, many are chilled and quickly perish ; and should they escape the blight- ing atmosphere of 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, in- dependent of the numbers which fall a prey to enemies, a swarm which, in July amount- ed to fifteen or twenty thousand, will, by the following February or March, have dwin- dled 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 ascer- tained ; yet they have been known to live three or four years, MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 69 CHAPTER XT. THE DRONE BEE. ‘Tue drones are larger than the others ; their heads are round, eyes full, and their tongues short, they are also much darker and differ in the form of the belly ; they have no sting and they make a greater noise in flying than the common Bees. The sole office of the male, or at least the primary one, is to pair with the queen. He is the fa- ther of the hive. Indolent and luxurious, he takes no part in the internal operations of the domicil, and never leaves it with a view of sharing in the labors of the field. When he does venture abroad, it is only in the fi- nest 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. The life of the drone is extreme- ly short; the favored lover perishes soon after his union with the female, and thus an- 10 TREATISE ON THE ticipates, 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 superabundant idle population, begin to ma- nifest deadly intentions towards them ; and the unfortunate victims, as if to derive con- solation from one another’s society, or per- haps driven together by their iraseible supe- riors, may be seen about that period cluster- ing closely together in some corner of the combs, where they remain without motion, and without once venturing to approach the provision cells. _ Thus weakened by hunger and captivity, and disqualified for resistance by the want of a sting, they fall an easy prey to their mer- ciless assailants ; and a scene of earnage takes place which it is diffieult to deseribe. The unhappy wretches are seen driven to the bottom of the hive, and pursued with such fury, that, in spite of their strength, which is greatly superior to that of their persecu- tors, and which enables them to drag two or MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 71 three of their assailants along the board, and even to fly off with them, they are unable to avoid the mortal thrust of their formidable stings, and expire 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 eround, 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 theshrubs and flowers to enjoy amoment’s respite from their terrors; or buzzing 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 un- happy beings themselves, they tear from the cells such of the doomed race as are yet in the state of larve, and sucking from their bodies, with instinctive economy, the fluids 712 TRRATISE ON THE they contain, cast the lifeless remains out of the hive: There are cases, howeveryin which this destruction of males does not take place. “Tn hives that have lost their queen,” says Huber, “the males are spared, and, while a savage massacre rages in other hives, they here find anasylum. They are tolerated and fed, and many are seen even in the mid- dle of January. The cause of this may per- haps be looked for in the additional heat which they would generate in winter ; or, perhaps, they may be preserved for the pur- pose of pairing with a new queen. CHAPTER XII. IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN BER. In looking into a hive in spring or sum- mer, the queen will be seen laying eggs in the cells; in the smaller cells, those of work- ers, and in the larger, those of males or drones. MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 73 These eggs, if examined on the fourth day from their being deposited, will be found hatched, anda small worm produced, which is floating in a whitish liquid, ascertained to be food introduced for the novrishment 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 how is the egg fecun- dated or rendered fertile? Has the queen had personal union with the male? No one can speak positively tosuch a fact; by what other means, then, is this effect produced ? The impregnation of the Queen Bee is a branch of natural history which has given rise to more discussion, than almost any other fact connected with the nature of the insect. And indeed the difficulty, we might almost say impossibility, of obtaining any thing like occular evidence on the subject, will readily account for the diversity of opin- ion that has hitherto prevailed. And we ould hope that this difficulty alone, ard not ve 74 TREATISE ON THE any preconceived theory or unreasonable prejudice, is the cause of that determined pettinacity with which the discoveries and conclusions of Huber, on this subject, are still in some instances rejected. That justly celebrated naturalist instituted a set of ex- periments on the subject of the queen’s im- pregnation, the result of which leads to the conclusion that it takes place in the air. Though I was once inclined to differ in opinion with Huber on the subject, from what I have seen in my observatory hive, this summer, (1841), I am ‘led to conelude the accuracy of that remark. I had a queen, which left the hive about the third day of her age, as I supposed, for impregnation, but she never returned to the hive again, and so left it without a queen. I had to supply them with a queen from another hive. I condemn no man who differs from me on this nice subject, as I have no direct proof. My great object is not to dispute with the naturalist, the philosopher, or with the apiarian, how the Queen Bee becomes impregnated: be- . MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. vie) cause, be that as it may, it is, no doubt, con- sistent with the law of nature; it is, no doubt, a part of that all prevailing law, and though hitherto undiscevered, I do cherish strong hopes that the observatory-hive I have constructed, will, on some auspicious future day, disclose such facts as will set the matter to rest for ever. CHAPTER XIIL RETARDED IMPREGNATION. Tere is a fact connected with. this part of the natural history of the Mother Bee, which involves great difficulties. 'The fact itself was discovered by Huber, but itscause he was unable to develop, and no succeeding naturalist has been able to free it from the obscurity in which he has left it; I mean the effects of retarded impregnation. These effects are such as I could hardly credit, were 76. TREATISE ON THE not the fact confirmed by numerous exper!- ments. 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 at- tempt to explain its cause. ‘There are mys- teries in the operations of nature, both in reference to the rational and irrational crea- tion, 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 work- ers 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. Huber asserts that before a queen com- mences her great laying of male eggs, she must be eleven months old. But he ac- knowledges that a queen, hatched in spring,, will perhaps lay fifty or sixty eggs of drones in the whole, during the course of the ensu- MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES, 77 ing summer. I know this to be true, from my own experience, and also, as the usual ‘consequence of this appearance of male eggs, that the Bees commence building royal cells, the queen laysin them, and swarming takes place. Now this partial laying of drones’ egos takes place only in the case of very early swarms, and if the weather be unfavorable, it does not happen even in them. CHAPTER XIV. OF THE BROOD. In forty-six hours after impregnation, the Queen Bee, as already noticed, begins to lay the eggs of workers, and continues to do so, without intermission, throughout the season, at the rate of between 100 and 200 a day, unless cold weather intervene, when her operations are suspended, as well as the hatching retarded of the eggs already laid. 78 TREATISE ON THE The fruitfulness of the Mother Bee is in- deed astonishing. [It has been computed that the numbers produced in a hive by one queen, during the laying season, amount to 100,900, and I am 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 amount- ing to 40,000 or 50,000; in many cases the first swarm itself, and in some even the cast 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 exhi- bit a population of 18,000 or 20,000. Add to all this, in some instances, though rare, a first swarm throws off two colonies. Before depositing her eggs, the queen care- fully examines the cell, inserting her head into it and keeping it there for a second or two, and, as already stated, after having laid a few eggs on one side, and with a view probably of economizing heat, supplies the corresponding cells on that side. Her im- MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 79 patience or necessity to commence laying is such, that in a newly established hive, eggs will be found before there are three inches square of comb constructed, and even before the cells have attained the 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 indefati- gable Mother Bee is found busied in deposit- ing eggs. I have said that the queen begins laying eges forty-six hours after impregnation. This does not hold trueinvariably.