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ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY

New YorRK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HomME ECONOMICS

AT

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS

BEEKEEPING LIBRARY

Cornell University

The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text.

http://www. archive.org/details/cu31924003717596

LB.Gilmore; Sept. 21573,

wwe eweeev™m

THE

BEE-KEEPER’S GUIDE;

OR

MANUAL OF THE APIARY

BY

A. J. COOK,

PRoFESSOR OF ENTOMOLOGY IN THE MICHIGAN STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Author of “Injurious Insects of Michigan,” “ Maple Sugar and the Sugar Bush,” and “ Silo and Silage.”

FOURTEENTH EDITION,

REVISED, ENLARGED, RE-WRITTEN, AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED,

SIXTEENTH THOUSAND.

LANSING, MICHIGAN: 1891, ou ae oom

°

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by ALBERT J. COOK, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

TO THE REVEREND L. L..LANGSTROTH, THE INVENTOR OF THE MOVABLE FRAME HIVE, THE HUBER OF AMERICA, AND ONE OF THE GREATEST MASTERS OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE, AS RELATING TO APICULTURE, IN THE WORLD, “THIS MANUAL IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED BY

THE AUTIIOR.

PREFACE.

In 1876, in response to a desire frequently expressed by my apiarian friends, principally my students, I published an edition of 3,000 copies of the little unpretending “ Manual of the Apiary.” This was little more than the course of lectures which I gave annually at the College. In less than two years this was exhausted, and the second edition, enlarged, revised, and much more fully illustrated, was issued. So great was the sale that in less than a year this was followed by the third and fourth editions, and, in lese than two years, the fifth edition (seventh thousand) wa issued.

In each of the two following years, another edition war demanded. In each of these editions the book has beer enlarged, changes made and illustrations added, that the work might keep pace with our rapidly advancing art.

So great has been the demand for this work, not only at home and in Europe, but even in more Cistant lands, and so great has been the progress of apiculture—so changed the views and methods of our best bee-keepers, that the author feels warranted in thoroughly revising ‘and entirely recasting this eighth edition (tenth thousand). Not only is the work re-written, but much new matter, and many new and costly illustrations are added.

The above I quote directly from the preface of the eighth edition, published in 1883. Since then four editions have appeared, each revised as the progress of the art required.

In electrotyping the eighth edition, through an accident

vi Preface.

very poor work was done, so that the impressions of the last three editions have been far from satisfactory. This has led me to wholly revise the present edition. In doing this I have thought it wise to add largely, especially to the scientific portion, as the intelligence of our bee-keepers demands the fullest information. I have thus added one: hundred and fifty pages and more than thirty illustrations.. All this has involved so much expense that I am forced,, though very reluctantly, to increase the price of the work.

Iam glad to welcome advertisers, as I can thus afford the book at a less price; and as I only admit advertisements. from those whom I know to be reliable, this makes the book more valuable.

As our bee-keepers know, I have permitted wide use of the illustrations prepared expressly for this work, believing heartily in the motto“greatest good to the greatest number;’” so I have drawn widely from others. Of the cuts used the following were prepared expressly for this work: 1, 3, 55 6, 8, 9, 10, 25, 26; 27) 315 35) 425 43) 445 455 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 515 545 551 56, 61, 65; 69, 715 725 73, 74 78, 79; 81, 88, 91,931 96, 114, 118, 125, 126, 140, 141, 143, 145, 146, 147, -148, 149, 150, 151, 153, 154, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 170, 171, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 186, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195» 197, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, and 222. The following were copied for this work, often with some change, from Schiemenz: 11, 21, 37, 40, 415 from Duncan: 2, 8, 16, 18, 24, 28, 30, 53; from Wolff: 155 21, 36, 39; from Leuckart: 23, 33, 34; from Cheshire: 14, 20; from Gegenbower: 13, 14; from Gray: 144, 148; from Riley: 142, 196; from Swammerdam: 12; from Dujardin: 17; from Packard: 19; from Girard: 38; from Neighbor:

Preface. Vil

49; from Bryant: 52; from Munn: 57,58. The follow- ing were kindly loaned by Mr, Root: 7, 56, 59, 60, 64, 68, 75, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, IOI, 102, 109, T10, LIT, 112, 113, 117, 122, 128, 129, 132, 133, 139, 152, 172, 173, 174, 182, 183, 185, 1875 from Mr. Newman: 29, 32, 87, 90, 107, 119, 120, 121, 124, 127, 130, 135, 136, 155, 167, 169; from Mr. Jones: 62, 65, 123,131; from Mr. Heddon: 63, 64, 66, 67, 70, 92, 137, 1385 from Mr. Lewis: 103; from Mr. Bingham: 108, 116; from Mr. Muth: 104, 105, 134; from Mr. Stanley: 106; from Mr. Whitman: 98; and from Mr. L. C. Root, 115,

I wish again to express my thanks and gratitude to our wide-awake American apiarists, without whose aid it would have been impossible to have written this work. I am under special obligation to Messrs. Cowan, Newman and Root, and to my many students who have aided me, both in the apiary and laboratory.

As I stated in the preface to the eighth edition, it is my desire and determination that this work shall continue to be the exponent of the most improved apiculture; and no pains will be spared, that each succeeding edition may embody the latest improvements and discoveries wrought out by the practical man and the scientist, as gleaned from the excellent home and foreign apiarian and scientific periodicals,

A. J. COOK.

State Agricultural College, Mich., Fuly, 1888.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

Who May Keep Bees.. Specialists 1 Amateurs 1 Who Should not Keep Bees. 2 Inducements to Bee Keeping. 2 Recreation. 2 Profits .... 3 Excellence as an Amateur Pursuit. 5 Adaptation to Women... 5 Improves the Mind and ‘tie Absezvation: 7 Yields Delicious Food 8 8 What Successful Bee Keeping Requires. 9 Mental Effort.....cscssee 9 Experience Necessary 9 Learn from Others 10 Aid from Conventions 10 Aid from Bee Journals.. 10 American Bee Journal.. 11 Gleanings in Bee Culture. il Bee-Keepers’ Magazine.. il Canadian Bee Journal 11 Bee-Keepers’ Guide... 12 American Apiculturists 12 Canadian Honey Producer. 12 Bee-Keeper’s Review 12 Books for the Apiarist..... 12 Langstroth on the Honey-Bee.. 12 Quinby’s Mysteries of Bee Keeping... 13 King’s Text Book........0 13 AB C of Bee Culture 13 Bees and Honey... 13 Blessed Bees... 14 Bee-Keepers’ Handy Book.. 14 Success in Bee Culture 14 A Year Among the Bees 14 The Production of Comb Honey. 14

,

x Contents.

PAGE Foreign Publications... a British Bee Journal. Foreign Books Promptitude.... 16 NtHUS ia Sit navers ca tionenisasstiascosantonpemn red: Ww PAR I.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE, CHAPTER I,

The Bee’s Place in the Animal Kingdom Branch of the Honey-Bee...... The Class of the Honey-Bee .. Sub-Class of the Honey-Bee.. Order of the Honey-Bee... Family of the Honey-Bee. The Genus of the Honey-Bee. Species of our Honey-Bees Races of the Honey-Bee...

German or Black Bee..

Ligurian or Italian... The Syrian and Cyprian Bates: Other Races. Bibliography... Valuable Books for the Student of Entomology.

CHAPTER IL.

Anatomyand Physiol gy s<sscsscsseuneiaransurnagacmrsncdnnememsescreravnecees BL Anatomy of Insects... : Organs of the Head.... Appendages of the Thorax.

Internal Anatomy of Insects 63 Secretory Organs of Insects 72 Sex Organs of Insects...... 3 Transformations of Insects.. 76 Whe Hee sssaveccivernines 77 The Larva of'Insects.. 78 The Pupa of Insects...... 79 The Imago Stage........ 81 Incomplete Transformation. 81

Anatomy and Physiology of the Honey-Bee.. Three Kinds of Bees in each Family....... The Queen Bee.. The Drones The Neuters or Workers.. Glandular Organs

CHAPTER III. Swarming, or Natural Methods of Increase....c..ccceccsssesseseseseesccse cosseccsscssenesneee 140

Contents. xi

CHAPTER IV. PAGE

Products of Bees, their Origin and Function... » 145

Honey 145 Wax.. 150 Pollen, or Bee Bread.. 159 Propolis Bibliography ccsaimassweenwnvens aca aagicaSaseueeetanabes, ede scene sdiignbersepee see nsiees 163 PART ii. THE APIARY, ITS CARE AND MANAGEMENT, INTRODUCTION. BARS Gil API Aly moncmemunemannirnmetnmnnaaeovamumsngecmn TET Preparation :

Read a good Manual.. Visit some Apiarist....... Take a College Course. Decide on a plan.. How to Procure first Colonies.. Kind of Bees to Purchase In What Kind of Hives. When to Purchase... How Much to Pay Where to Locate.....

168

CHAPTER V.

Hiivesiand Sections esse csisscvcscvsesssesivestpaseesaveageannsadieacaeeessveavenss: aeessosces ati azeansesae 110 Box Hives Movable Comb Hives. Early Frame Hives. The Langstroth Hive. Character of the Hive.... What Style to Adopt The Heddon Surplus Case.. The Cover Division Board.. Cloth Covers ..... The New Heddon Iive. The Frames A Block for Nlein Frames.. Cover for Frames The Huber Hive... Observatory Hive. Apparatus for Procuring Comb Honey Surplus Comb Honey in Sections. Requisites of Good Sections How to Place Sections in Position.. Sections in Frames.....sccccsceesseeesone Crates or Racks........ sueseasneneaesasean aboadur Sb tauatuc smtionsancesteativects . 209

Xii Contents. ,

PAGE Separators...... Foot Power Saw

CHAPTER VI.

Position and Arrangement of Apiary..ecssesreneccsssenereenecrmerstnseseses 214 Position ae Arrangement of Grounds

Preparation for Each Colony.... CHAPTER VI.

To Transfer Bees..... The Old Method.. Hunting Bee Trees.

CHAPTER VIII. Feeding and Feeders. su ansedeessaamerestess Glee k amet 225

How Much to Feed What to Feed......

How to Feed. White Feeder......

Queen Rearing.......s00 How to Rear Queens. NUClei...ccsssesecceeeeeee cer? Queen Lamp Nursery... Shall we Clip the Queen’s Wing ? Fertile Workers... iesircaaiac ona

Queen Register, or eAgpiacy iepistze, CHAPTER X. :

Increase of Colonies Swarming......... Hiving Swarms... To Prevent Second Sivarinign To Prevent Swarming. Artificial Increase... How to Divide..... Capturing Absconding Swarms...

CHAPTER XI,

Italians and Italianizing... The New Races of Bees.. What Bees Shall we Keep. How to Italianize How to Introduce a Queen. Valentine’s Comb Stand...cusscccccsscsss ssneeesesceeneseneees To get our Italian Q

Contents. Xiii.

To Ship Queens... Viallon Candy. The Good Candy. Preparations to Ship.

To Move Colonies... CHAPTER XII.

Extracting, and the Extractor.. Honey Extractor... Desirable Points in an nt Bxtractor:

Use of Extractor... ee When to use the Extractor. How to Extract... etesanaaee

To Keep ener Hasey. ats CHAPTER XIII.

Working for Comb Honey..eeseeensees Points to Consider..... . To Securg¢ Strong Cotonies.. To Avoid the Swarming Fever Adjustment of Sections..... Getting Bees into Sections.. Removal of Sections..........

CHAPTER XIV.

Handling Bees.......csse+0++ The Best Bee Veil.. To Quiet Bees... Bellows Smoker... The Quinby Smoker. To Smoke Bees. Chloroform.... To Cure Stings. The Sweat Theory. The Bee Tent....0+s0«

Comb Foundation...

How Foundation is Made To Secure the Wax Sheets.. Use of Foundation..... Wired Frames........... Save the Wax......... Methods... ccscsrreereees

CHAPTER XVI.

Marketing: Homey ssssscssssesssssessosssnssssssensssecernceceee sessensecsctsteceesansecensvssscattsancesses 320

xiv Contents.

How to Invigorate the Market.........s1s+ icdticednad ane Preparation for Market. Extracted Honey..... How to Tempt the Consumer Comb Honey... Rules to be Gisenced Marketing Bees..... Selling Queens.. Selling Bees by the Pound.. Vinegar from Honey.... Fairs and the Market... What Should we Have? Effects of Such Exhibits..

CHAPTER XVII

Honey Plants......s00s00- Real Honey Dew. Sweet Sap anid JaiceSicosticasnncanewvenve What are the Valuable Honey Plants? Description with Practical Remarks. March Plants. April Plants... May Plants.. June Plants.. July Plants... ae August and September: Blane. Books on Botany .

Practical Conclusions........+.

CUAPTER XVUI.

Wintering Bees... afidars The Causes of Tisch w ‘intering... 5 The Requisite to Safe incering—Gend Heal, Secure Late Breeding e To Secure and Maintain the Proper Temperature. Box for Packing.. Chaff Iives......

Rules for their Use... Wintering in Bee House. Wintering in Cellar.......... Burying Bees, or Clamps Spring Dwindling...........

+» 396

CHAPTER XIX,

The House Apiary and Bee House. Bee Houses wis issisessesssessseetios even

CIIAPTER XxX, Evils That Confront the Apiarist.......0.. sibeaiwisss

Contents. XV

ROBB ings sisiessbensvons sisks: Avesssonnrgeseveu ssaussievverencenes aabeed Veindenaeen teaver ven Disease... Foul Brood. Remedies. Enemies of Bees..... The Bee Moth... History... Remedies. The Wee Bee Moth. Remedies... Two Destructive Beetles. Robber Flies........ The Stinging Bug The Bee Stabber. BBG G SETA WG Riss nis cgesitnnedunaseosinennsiesv Tachina Fly... Bee-Louse.....

The Cow-Killer The Praying Mantis.. Blister Beetles.. WASPS..seecssereee A Bee Mite Remedies... California Bee Killer. Spiders.......... The King Bird. + The Toads..

Calendar and Axioms Work for Different Months.. January.

August.. September October November... December.

Axioms. Glossary

INTRODUCTION.

WHO MAY KEEP BEES.

SPECIALYSTS.

Any person who is cautious, observing and prompt, will succeed in bee keeping. He must expect to work with full energy through the busy season, and persist though discouragement and misfortune both confront him. I need not mention capital or location, for men of true metal— men whose energy of body and mind bespeak success in advance—will solve these questions long before their expe- rience and knowledge warrant their assuming the charge of large apiaries,

AMATEURS.

Bee-keeping is specially to be recommended as an avo- cation. Bees are of great value in fertilizing fruits, grains and vegetables; they also save thousands of pounds of most wholesome food which would otherwise go to waste; and experience amply proves that they may be kept in city, village and country at a good profit, and so any person, possessed of the proper ability, tact and energy, may adopt bee-keeping, and thus do good, gain pleasure, and receive profit often, as experience has shown, more than is derived from the regular occupation. Mr. C. F. Muth of Cincin- nati has long kept bees very profitably on his store, in the very heart of the city. Hundreds of our most successful bee-keepers live in small towns and villages, and add bee- culture to their work in shop, office, or study, and receive health, pleasure and money as a reward. Ladies all over our country are finding in this pursuit, pleasure, opportu- nity to exercise in the pure air, which means health, and

2 freguisites to Bee-Keeping.

money. Farmers are adding bee-keeping to their farms, to find not infrequently that the bees are their most profit- able property. The time required will of course depend: upon the number of colonies kept; but with wise manage- ment, this time may be given at any time of the day or week, and thus not interfere with the regular business. Thus residents of country, village or city, male or female, who enjoy the society and study of natural objects, and wish to add to their income and pleasure, will find here an ever waiting opportunity.

WHO SHOULD NOT KEEP BEES.

There are occasionally persons to whom the venom of the bee is a serious poison.. If such persons are stung anywhere their eyes swell so they cannot see, the skin blotches, and serious irritation is felt over the entire body. Such persons are often overcome with fever for several days, and, though very rarely, the sting sometimes proves fatal. It goes without saying that such persons should not keep bees. j

It is a well known fact that the sting of the honey bee becomes ‘less and less poisonous the more one is stung. The system becomes inoculated against the poison. My own experience proves this most conclusively. Every Lee- keeper will receive occasional stings, but these become more and more rare, and soon occasion neither fear nor anxiety.

INDUCEMENTS TO BEE-KEEPING. RECREATION.

I name this first, as it was the pleasure in store that led me to the art of keeping bees, though I was terribly afraid of bees at the beginning. There is a rare fascina- tion in the study of nature. Insect life is ever presenting the most pleasurable surprises to those who study it. Bees, from their wonderful instincts, curious structure and habits, and the interesting relations which they sustain to vege- table life, are most fascinating objects of study. The

Inducements to Bee-Keeping. 3

observing and appreciative bee-keeper is ever the witness of exhibitions that incite wonder and admiration. This is why bee-keepers are always enthusiasts. I know of no class of laborers who dwell so fondly on their work and business as do bee-keepers. A thorough study of the marvelous economy of the honey bee must, from its very nature, bring delight and admiration. A farmer once said to me, “‘ Were it not for the generous profits of the busi- ness, I would still keep bees for the real pleasure I receive in the business.” I once asked a hard worked teacher why he kept bees. I felt like saying amen to his answer: “For the restful pleasure which the work gives.” I have often gone to the bees tired and nervous, and after an hour’s labor, felt refreshed, as by sound sleep. I have been deeply gratified many times by the letters thanking me for having turned the writers’ attention towards bee- keeping. I often think that if a person does embark in bee-keeping, commencing in a small way—and no person should begin in any other way—the knowledge gained and consequent pleasure received will prove ample remuner- ation, even should no practical results follow. The man is broadened by the study and better fitted to enjoy life.

Some years since my old friend and college classmate, O. Clute, visited me. Of course, I must show him the bees. He was delighted, took the “ Manual” home with him, purchased some bees at once, and became enraptured with the work, and the result of all this was another first- class bee-keeper and that most fascinating work of fiction, « Blessed Bees.”

PROFITS.

The profits in bee-keeping offer strong inducements towards its adoption as a pursuit. I believe no manual labor occupation offers larger returns, if we consider the capital invested. True, bee-keeping requires hard work, but this is only for a portion of the year, and in winter there is almost no work, especially if the bee- -keeper buys all his hives, sections, etc., which is usually wiser than to make them. The cautious, prompt and skillful bee-keeper

4 Profits of Bec-Keeping.

will be able to secure an annual average of seventy-five pounds per colony, besides doubling the number of his colonies. This will give $10.00 per colony at least, which is almost as much as the colony, with required apparatus, is worth, Of course poor years will confront the bee- keeper. Winter losses will be experienced by the begin- ner. Some will fail entirely. The fickle, careless, indo- lent man will as surely fail in bee-keeping as in any other calling. Yet if one studies the science and art, and com- mences bee-keeping in a small way, as all should, he will be no great loser, even if he find that he is not suited to the business. He knows more and is a broader man for this study and experience. My brother, who is a good farmer, with a fertile and well stocked farm, commenced bee-keeping more to interest his boys-than aught else. He has met very little loss in wintering—for years together none at all. For three successive years his sixty colonies of bees gave him more profits than all the balance of his farm. As he said at the last Michigan State Convention : “I find my bees the pleasantest and most profitable part of my farm.” He added the surprising remark, « Nothing on my farm bears neglect better than my bees.” I might add that neglect is rarely seen on his farm.

Adam Grimm, James Heddon, G. M. Doolittle, E. J. Oatman and many others have made much money in this pursuit. Mr. Hetherinton keeps hundreds of colonies of bees and has received over $10,000 cash receipts in a single year. Mr, Clute, an able clergyman, has often received more money from his bees than from his salary as a preacher. All over our country men are gaining a liveli- hood in this industry, and often earning as much more in other pursuits. The opportunity to make money, even with hardships and privations, is attractive and seldom dis- regarded. What shall we say then of this opportunity, if the labor which it involves, brings in itself healthful recre- ation and constant delight? Dr. C. C. Miller gave up ‘a $2,500 salary to engage in bee-keeping. Though a special- ist, and though his profits last year, owing to the drouth, were nothing, yet he is contented with the business, and has no idea of changing for any other. :

Bee-Keeping for Amateurs.

wn

EXCELLENCE AS AN AMATEUR PURSUIT.

After twenty years of experience, I am persuaded that no business offers more as an avocation. Indeed I think bee-keeping may best serve as a second business. We have already seen that bees are a blessing, and I would have every person, whatever his leading business, keep a few colonies of bees, unless by taste, nature or temperament, he be unfitted for the work. Bee- keeping offers additional funds to the poorly paid; out-door air to clerk and office- hand; healthful exercise to the person of sedentary habits, opportunity for the poor to reap what would otherwise go to waste, and superior recreation to the student, teacher. and professional man, especially to him whose life-work is of that dull, hum-drum, routine order that seems to rob life of all zest.

The labor required in bee-keeping, especially if but few colonies are kept, can, with thought and management, be so arranged as not te infringe upon the time demanded by the regular occupation. Even the farmer, by wise fore- sight, can arrange so that his bees will not interfere greatly with his regular farm work. I have never received more hearty thanks than from persons whom I had influenced to add the care of bees to their other duties.

ADAPTATION TO WOMEN.

Apiculttire may also bring succor to those whom society has not been over-ready to favor—our women. Widowed mothers, dependent girls, the weak and the feeble, all may find a blessing in the easy, pleasant and profitable labors of the apiary. Of course, women who lack vigor and health can care for but very few colonies, and must have sufficient strength to bend over and lift the small-sized frames of comb when loaded with honey, and to carry empty hives. With the proper thought and management, full colonies need never be lifted, nor work done in the hot sunshine. Yet right here let me add, and emphasize the truth, thai only those who will let energetic thought and skillful plan, and above all promptitude and persistence, make up for physical weakness, should enlist as apiarists, Usually a

6 Bee-Keeping for Women.

stronger body and improved health, the result of pure air, sunshine and exercise, will make each successive day’s labor more easy, and will permit a corresponding growth in the size of the apiary for each successive season. One of the most noted apiarists, not only in America but in the world, sought in bee-keeping her health, and found not only health, but reputation and influence. Some of the most successful apiarists in our country are women. Of these, many were led to adopt the pursuit because of waning health, grasping at this as the last and successful weapon with which to vanquish the grim monster.

That able apiarist, and terse writer on apiculture, Mrs. L. Harrison, states that the physicians told her that she could not live; but apiculture did for her what the physi- cians could not do, restored her to health, and gave her such vigor that she has been able to work a large apiary for years. *

Said “ Cyula Linswik”—whose excellent and beauti- fully written articles have so often charmed the readers of the bee journals, and who has had many years of success- ful experience as an apiarist—in a paper read before our Michigan convention in March, 1887: “I would gladly purchase exemption from in-door work, on washing-day, by two days’ labor among the bees, and I sinc two hours’ labor at the ironing-table more fatiguing than two hours of the severest toil the apiary can exact.” I repeat, that apicult- ure offers to many women not only pleasure but profit.

Mrs. L. B. Baker, of Lansing, Michigan, who has kept bees very successfully for four years, read an admirable paper before the same Convention, in which she said: “ But I can say, having tried both, (keeping boarding house and apiculture,) I give bee-keeping the preference, as more profitable, healthful, independent and enjoyable. * * * I find the labors of the apiary more endurable than working over a cook-stove in-doors, and more pleasant and conducive to health, * * * I believe that many of our delicate and invalid ladies would find renewed vigor of body and mind in the labors and recreations of the apiary. * * * By beginning in the early spring, when the weather was cool and the work light, I became gradually accus-

Women as Bee-Keepers. 4

tomed to out-door labor, and by midsummer found myself as well able to endure the heat of the sun as my husband, who has been accustomed to it all his life. Previously, to attend an open air picnic was to return with a headache. * * * My own experience in the apiary has been asource of interest and enjoyment far exceeding my anticipations.” Although Mrs. Baker commenced with but two colonies of bees, her net profits the first season were over $100; the second year but a few cents less than $300; and the third year about $250. “ The proof 6f the pudding is in the eat- ing;” and such words as thése above show that apiculture offers special inducements to our sisters to become cither amateur or professional apiarists. At the present time almost every State has women bee-keepers, whose success has won attention. True it is, that in neatness and deli- cacy of manipulation, the women far surpass the men. The

“nicest honey produced in Michigan, year after year, comes from the apiary of two ladies whom I believe are peers of any bee-keepers in our country.

IMPROVES THE MIND AND THE OBSERVATION.

Successful apiculture demands close and accurate obser- vation, and hard, continuous thought and study, and this, too, in the wondrous realm of nature. In all this, the apiarist receives manifold and substantial advantages. In the cultivation of the habit of observation, a person be- comes constantly more able, useful and susceptible to pleas- ure—results which also follow as surely on the habit of thought and study. It is hardly conceivable that the wide- awake apiarist who is so frequently busy with his wonder- working comrades of the hive, can ever be lonely, or feel time hanging heavily on his hands. The mind is occupied and there is no chance for exzuz, The whole tendency of such thought and study, where nature is the subject, is to refine the tastc, elevate the desires, and ennoble manhood. Once get our youth, with their susceptible natures, engaged in such wholesome study, and we shall have less reason to fear the vicious tendencies of the street, or the luring vices, and damning influences of the saloon. Thus apiculture spreads an intellectual feast that even the old philosophers

8 Affords Mental Discipline.

would have coveted; furnishes the rarest food for the observing faculties, and best of all, by keeping its votaries face to face with the matchless creations of the AW Father, must draw them toward Him “who went about doing good,” and “in whom there was no guile.”

YIELDS DELICIOUS FOOD.

A last inducemeut of apiculture, certainly not unworthy of mention, is the offering it brings to our tables. Health, yea our very lives, demand that we eat sweets. It is a truth that our sugars, and especially our commercial syrups, are so adulterated as to be often poisonous. The apiary in lieu of these, gives us one of the most delicious and wholesome of sweets, which has received merited praise, as food fit for the gods, from the most ancient time to the present day. To ever have within reach the beau- tiful, immaculate comb, or the equally grateful nectar, right from the extractor, is certainly a blessing of no mean order. We may thus supply our families and.friends with a food element, and this with no cloud of fear from vile, poisonous adulterations. We now know that if we eat cane sugar—the common sugar of our tables —it is con- verted by the digestive fluids into a glucose like sugar, whic’ is probably nearly or quite identical with honey suga’. The bees do the same with the nectar, which is dilute cane sugar, of flowers. Thus we may reason that honey is our most wholesome sugar, for here the bees have in part digested our food for us,

ADDS TO THE NATION’S WEALTH.

An excellent authority places the number of colonies of bees in the United States, in 1881, at 3,000,000, and the honey production for that year at more than 20,000,000 pounds. The production for that year was not up to the’ average, and yet the cash value of the year’s honey crop exceeded $30,000,000. We may safely add as much more as the value of the increase of colonies, and we have a grand total of $60,000,000, nearly enough to pay the inter- est on the national debt, were the bonds all refunded. And

widds to the Nation’s Wealth. 9

yet all this is but gathered nectar, which would go to waste were it not for the apiarist and his bees. We thus save to the country that which would otherwise be a total loss. Apiculture, then, in adding so immensely to the product- ive capital of the country, is worthy as an art, to receive the encouragement and fostering care of the State. And the thought that he is performing substantial service to the State, may well add to the pleasure of the apiarist, as he performs his daily round of labor. When we add to this the vastly greater inditect benefit which comes through the agency of bees in fertilizing .flowers, a benefit which can hardly be computed, we then understand the immense value which comes from bees. Truly the bee-keeper may feel proud of the grand part which his bees perform inthe economy of that part of nature which most concerns man and most generously ministers to man’s wants.

WHAT SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING REQUIRES.

MENTAL EFFORT,

No one should commence this business who is not will- ing to read, think and study. To be sure the ignorant and unthinking may stumble on success for a time, but sooner or later failure will set her seal upon their efforts. Those of our apiarists who have studied the hardest, observed the closest, and thought the deepest have even passed the late terrible winter with but slight loss. Those who fail, often fail because of just this lack of mental preparation.

Of course the novice will ask, “ How and what shall I study ?”

EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.

Nothing will take the place of real experience. Com- mence with a few colonies, even one or two is best, and make the bees your companions at every possible oppor- tunity. Note every change, whether of the bees, their development, or work, and then by earnest thought strive to divine the cause.

10 Aids to Success.

LEARN FROM OTHERS.

Great good will also come from visiting and even work- ing for a time with other bee-keepers. Note their meth- ods, hives, sections, etc. Strive by conversation to gain new and valuable ideas, and gratefully adopt whatever is found, by comparison, to be an improvement upon your own past system and practice.

AID FROM CONVENTIONS

Attend conventions whenever distance and means render this possible. Here you will not only be made better by social intercourse with those whose occupation and study make them sympathetic and congenial, but you will find a real conservatory of scientific truths, valuable hints, and improved instruments and methods. And the apt atten- tion—rendered possible by your own experience—which you will give to essays, discussions, and private conversa- tions, will so enrich your mind that you will return to your home encouraged and able to do better work, and to achieve higher success. I have attended nearly all the meetings of the Michigan convention, and never yet when I was not well paid for all trouble and expense by the many, often very valuable, suggestions which I received.

AID FROM BEE JOURNALS.

Every apiarist should take and read at least one of the many excellent bee journals that are issued in our country. It has been suggested that Francis Huber’s blindness was an advantage to him, as he thus had the assistance of two pairs of eyes, his wife’s and servant’s, instead of one. So, too, of the apiarist who reads the bee publications. He has the aid of the eyes, and the brains, of hundreds of intel- ligent and observing bee-keepers. Who is it that squan- ders his money on worse than useless patents and fixtures? He who “ cannot afford” to take a bee journal.

It would be invidious and uncalled for to recommend any one of those valuable papers to the exclusion of the others. Each has its peculiar excellencies, and all who can may well call to his aid two or more of them.

Aids from Bee-Fournals. II

American Bee- Fournal__T his is the oldest American bee paper, and the only weekly journal devoted exclusively to bee-keeping in the United States. It was founded by the late Samuel Wagner, whose breadth of culture, strength of judgment, and practical and historical. knowledge of bee-keeping were remarkable. Even to-day those early volumes of this paper are very valuable parts of any bee- keeper’s library. Mr. Newman, the present editor, is a life-long printer, and ever alive to the best interests of bee- keepers. The contributors to the American Bee Journal are the successful bee-keepers of America, and so this jour- nal has a wide influence. It is edited by Thomas G. New- man, Chicago, Illinois, at $1.00 a year.

Gleanings in Bee Culture.—This semi-monthly jour- nal, which has just completed its 18th volume, has shown great vigor and energy from its very birth. It editor is an active apiarist, who is constantly experimenting; a terse, able writer, and brimful of good nature and enthusiasm. I am free to say that in practical apiculture I am more indebted to Mr. Root than to any other one person, except Rev. L. L. Langstroth. I also think that, with few excep- tions, he has done more for the recent advancement of practical apiculture than any other person in our country. This sprightly journal is edited by A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio, Price $1.00 a year.

Canadian Bee Fournal.— This excellent periodical, though published across the line, is worthy of high praise and patronage, not only for its intrinsic excellence, but also from the fact that D. A. Jones is one of its editors. His ability, enterprise, and long and successful experience are just the qualities to make a successful editor. Perhaps no bee-keeper in the world has sacrificed more in the way of time and money, and received’ less for it than the editor of this journal. This is a bi-monthly journal, and is published by the D. A. Jones Co., Beeton, Ontario, Canada, at 75 cents a year,

Bee-Keepers’ Guide.—This paper has been one of the motive powers in the advancement of apiculture for the last few years. It is edited by an experienced bee-keeper, and is doing its part as one of the auxiliaries to apiarian progress in our country. It is edited by A. G. Hill, Ken- dallville, Indiana, Price 50 cents a year.

12 American Bee- Fournals. :

American Apiculturist.—This has become one of the ablest and most influential of our, several bee periodicals. Edited by an experienced bee-keeper, it at once marches well up tothe front. Its editorials are able, and its articles from the most capable of American apiarists. The style of the paper leaves little to be desired. Its editor is Henry Alley, Wenham, Mass. Price 75 cents a year.

Bee-Keepers’ Review.—Although the Review is one of our youngest bee journals, having just commenced its fourth year, it is already away up to the front, and an indispensible adjunct to every live apiarist. Its success and influence has been quite phenomenal. The ability, energy, and succesful experience of the editor, both as a writer and as a bee-keeper, fit him most admirably for his work, Not only has he won success in all departments of bee-keeping, but he has long been esteemed as one of the most able of our American apicultural writers. W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich., $1.00 a year.

Americax Bee-Keeper.—The short life of many bee papers would make me hesitate to notice one but recently started, except that the ability, enterprise, and long and suc- cessful experience of W. T. Falconer, not only as a bee- keeper but as a dealer in supplies, makes success in this case well nigh certain. It is a 20-page monthly magazine, neatly edited aud well illustrated. It is published by W. T. Falconer Manufacturing Co., Jamestown, New York, at 50 cents a year.

BOOKS FOR THE APIARIST.

Having read very many of the books treating of api- culture, both American and foreign, I can freely recom- mend such a course to others. Each book has peculiar excellencies, and may be read with interest and _ profit.

Langstroth on the Honey Bee.—This treatise will ever remain a classic in bee-literature. I cannot over-estimate the benefits which I have received from the study of its pages. The style of this work is so admirable, the subject matter so replete with interest, and the entire book so entertaining, that it isa desirable addition to any library, and no thoughtful, studious apiarist can well be without it. It is especially happy in detailing the methods of experi- mentation, and in showing with what caution the true

Books for Bee-Keepers. 13

scientist establishes principles or deduces conclusions. The work is wonderfully free from errors, and, had the science and practice of apiculture remained stationary, there would have been little need of another work; we are happy to state, however, that this work is now revised by no less able’ authorities than Dadant & Son, which places it high among our bee books of to-day. Price $2.00.

Quinbys Mysteries of Bee-Keeping.—This is a plain, sensible treatise, written by one of America’s most success- ful bee-keepers. The work has been revised hy L. C. Root, who has fully maintained its excellent character. The admirable style and eminent practicality of this work have lost nothing in the revision, Mr. Root is the son-in- law of the late Mr. Quinby, and was fully advised of the latest views and discoveries of the great bee-keeper. To these he has added the rich results of his own experience, as well as the latest discoveries and methods of the most progressive apiarists. Price $1.50.

King’s Text-b00k.—This work is plain, and, owing to its small size and cheapness, has had, certainly, next to Langstroth’s work, the largest sale of any book of its kind in the country. It has been, therefore, especially in former years, one of the first agencies in developing and further- ing the interests of bee-keepers. It is not so full as my own work, Langstroth’s, Quinby’s, or the “ A B C of Bee Culture,” but is a good compendium of the art of bee- keeping. Price $1.00.

AB C of Bee-Culture.—This work is by the editor of Gleaningsin Bee Culture. Itis arranged in the convenient form of our cyclopedias, is printed in fine style, on beauti- ful paper, and is very fully illustrated. I need hardly say that the style is pleasing and vigorous. The subject matter is fresh, and embodies the most recent discoveries and inventions pertaining to bee-keeping. That it may be kept abreast of apiarian progress, the type is to be kept in position, so that each new discovery may be added as soon as made. Price $1.25.

Lees and Honey.—This work is by the editor of the American Bee Fournal. Itis small, but contains an epi- tome of the science and art of bee-culture. Like all of the

14 American Bee Books.

other works it has its peculiar excellencies, and may well find a place in the library of every progressive apiarist. Price $1.00.

Blessed Bees.—This fascinating romance is full of prac- tical information, and contagious enthusiasm. Price 75 cents.

Thirty Years Among the Bees.—This work is by Henry Alley, Wenham, Massachusetts, the veteran queen breeder of America. It is indispensable to the queen producer and contains much of great value and interest. It also contains much that wili aid the general bee-keeper. Price 50 cents.

Success in Bee Culture All who know of James Hed- don, and what bee-keeper does not, will expect much of this work. Nor will they be disappointed. Few bee books ever written contained so much that is original and practical as this. It is all valuable, and no bee-keeper should be without it. Price 50 cents.

A Year Among the Bees.—This small work explains the work of the apiary for one year. The clear, lucid style and genial spirit is delightful. It is a valuable addi- tion to any bee-keeper’s library. The author, Dr. C. C. Miller, is one of our most able and enterprising bee-keep- ers. Price 75 cents,

The Production of Comb Honey.—This is a full and plain explanation of the successful methods practiced by the author, W, Z, Hutchinson. No one can afford to be without it. Price 25 cents.

FOREIGN PUBLICATIONS.

The British Bee FYournal, as the exponent of British methods and practices, is interesting and valuable to Ameri- can bee-keepers. It shows that in many things, as in the method of organizing and conducting conventions, so as to make them highly conducive to apicultural progress, we have much to learn from our brothers in Britain. The editor is one of the best informed bee-keepers of the world. The best way for Americans to secure this jour- nal is through the editors of our American bee journals,

British Fournals and Books. 15 Editor, Th. W. Cowan, London, Eng. Price $1.50.

FOREIGN BOOKS.

Bevan, revised though but little changed, by Munn, is exceedingly interesting, and shows by its able historical chapters, admirable scientific disquisitions and frequent quotations and references to practical and scientific writers on bees and bee-keeping, both ancient and modern, that the writers were men of extensive reading and great scientific ability. ‘The book is of no practical value to us, but by the student it will be read with great interest. “The Apiary: or Bees, Bee-Hives and Bee-Culture,” by- Alfred Neighbor, London, is a fresh, sprightly little work, and as the third edition has just appeared, is, of. course, up with the times. The book is in nice dress, concise, and very readable, and I am glad to commend it. A less interesting work, though by no means without metit, is the “ Manual of Bee-Keep- ing,” by the late John Hunter, London. ‘This is also recent. The “ Bee-Keeper’s Guide Book,” by Tho. Wm. Cowen, is a small, practical book of much merit, A still smaller work, styled “ Modern Bee-Keeping,” is published under the control of the British Bee-Keepers’ Association. This is recent, cheap, and like Cowan’s guide-book, specially prepared for beginners. Dzierzon’s “ Rational Bee-Keep- ing ” has been translated into English, and, as the work of a master, will be read with interest by American bee- keepers. The latest and by far the most complete and valuable foreign work is “Bees and Bee-Keeping,” by Frank Cheshire. This is a compilation. Many of the pages and illustrations are taken bodily from such writers as Schiemenz, Girard, Wolff, etc., and, we are pained to say, generally without any credit whatever. The author gives, as original, many views which others have previously advanced, and worse, his quotations--unmarked quotations —show that he knew he was claiming what was right- fully another’s. The work is very complete and admir- able, both in style and matter, and the only regret is that the author did not show the same good taste in giving credit that he did in making selections. The price of this

16 Feguisttes to Success.

work (two volumes) is $5.50. In strange contrast to the above is the new work entitled “The Honey Bee,” by Th. W. Cowan. This book is not only beautiful, but full, accurate aud scientific. Mr. Cowan is as careful to give credit as is Mr. Cheshire to withhold it. The author con- fines himself to the anatomy and physiology of the honey bee, so the work is purely scientific. The price of this admirable work is only 75 cents.

As practical guides I do not think the foreign works superior to our own. Indeed, I think the beginner would profit most by studying our American books. The advanced bee-keeper will gain much in discipline and knowledge by a careful reading of the foreign works on bee-keeping. Foreign scientists, especially the Germans, are at the head, but no nation is quicker to discern the practical bearing and utilize the facts and discoveries in science than are Americans. The Germans had ‘hardly shown how centrifugal motion could be used to separate honey from the comb before Americans had given us our beautiful extractors. The same is true of comb founda- tion machines. The Germans pointed out the true nature of “foul brood,” and discovered the germicides for its cure, yet J believe ten times as many Americans as foreign- ers profit by this knowledge.

PROMPTITUDE.

Another absolute requirement of successful bee-keeping is prompt attention to all its varied duties. Neglect is the rock on which many bee-keepers, especially farmers, find too often that they have wrecked their success. I have no doubt that more colonies die from starvation than from all the bee maladies known to the bee-keeper. And why is this? Neglect is the apicide. I feel sure that the loss each season by absconding colonies is almost incalculable, and what must we blame? Neglect. The loss every summer by enforced idleness of queen and workers, just because room is denied them, is very great. Who is the guilty party? Plainly, neglect. If we would be successful, promptitude must be our motto. Each colony of bees

Reguisites to Success. 17

requires but very little care and attention. Our every inter- est demands that this be not denied, nor even granted grudgingly. The very fact that this attention is slight, renders it more liable to be neglected; but this neglect always involves loss—often disaster. True, with thought and management the time for this care can be arranged at pleasure and the amount greatly lessened, but the care must never be neglected.

ENTHUSIASM.

Enthusiasm, or an ardent love of its duties, is a very desirable, if not an absolute, requisite to successful apicult- ure. To be sure, this is a quality whose growth, with even slight opportunity, is almost sure. It only demands perseverance. The beginner, without either experience or knowledge, may meet with discouragements—unquestion- ably will. Swarms will be lost, colonies will fail to winter, and the young apiarist will become nervous, which fact will be noted by the bees with great disfavor, and, if oppor- tunity permits, will meet reproof more sharp than pleasant. Yet, with PERSISTENCE, all these difficulties quickly van- ish. Every contingency will be forseen and provided against, and the myriad of little workers will become as manageable and may be fondled as safely as a pet dog or cat, and the apiarist will minister to their needs with the same fearlessness and self-possession that he does to his gentlest cow or favorite horse. Persistence in the face of all these discouragements which are so sure to con- front inexperience, will surely triumph. In sooth, he who appreciates the beautiful and marvelous, will soon grow to love his companions of the hive, and the labor attendant upon their care and management. Nor will this love abate till it has kindled into enthusiasm.

True, there may be successful apiarists who are impelled by no warmth of feeling, whose superior intelligence, sys- tem, and promptitude, stand in lieu of, and make amends for, absence of enthusiasm, Yet I believe such are rare, and certainly they work at great disadvantage.

2

rear? Pinas.

NATURAL HISTORY

THE HONEYBEE,

Natural History of the Honey-Bee.

CHAPTER I.

Tue Beer’s PLACE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDoM.

It is estimated by Heer and other eminent naturalists, that there are more than 250,000 species of living animals. It will be both interesting and profitable to look in upon this vast host, that we may know the position and relation- ship of the bee to all this mighty concourse of life,

BRANCH OF THE HONEY-BEE.

The great French naturalist, Cuvier, a friend of Napo- leon I.,; grouped all animals which exhibit a ring structure into one branch, appropriately named Articulates,.as this term indicates the jointed or articulated structure which so obviously characterizes most of the members of this group.

The terms joint and articulation, as used here, have a technical meaning. They refer not only to the hinge or place of union of two parts, but also to the parts themselves. Thus, the parts of an insect’s legs, as well as the surfaces of -unions, are styled joints or articulations. All apia- rists who have examined carefully the structure of a bee, will at once pronounce it an Articulate. Not only is its body, even from head to sting, composed of joints, but by close inspection we find the legs, the antenna, and even the mouth-parts, likewise jointed.

In this branch, we also place the Crustacea—which include the rollicking cray-fish, or lobster, so indifferent as to whether he moves forward, backward or sidewise, the shorter crab, the sow-bug, lively and plump, even in its dark, damp home under old boards, and the barnacles, which fasten to. the bottom of ships, so that vessels are often freighted with life without as well as within.

The worms, too, are Articulates, though in some of

22 Branch Arthropoda.

these, as the leech, the joints are very obscure. The bee, then, which gives us food, is related to the dreaded tape- worm, with its hundreds of joints, which, mayhaps, robs us of the same food after we have eaten it; and to the terrible pork-worm, or trichina, which may consume the very muscles we have developed in caring for our pets of the apiary.

In classifying animals, the zoologist has regard not only to the morphology—the gross anatomy—but also to the embryology, or style of development before birth or hatching. On both embryological and morphological grounds, Huxley and other recent authors are more than. warranted in separating the Vermes, or worms, from the Articulates of Cuvier, as a separate branch. The remain- ing classes are now included in the branch Arthropoda. This term, which means jointed feet, is most appropriate, as all of the Insecta and Crustace have jointed feet while: the worms are without such members.

The body-rings of these animals form a skeleton, firm, as in the bee and lobster, or more or less soft, as in most larve. The hardness of the crust is due to the deposit: within it of a hard substance called chitine, and the firm- ness of the insect’s body varies simply with the amount of this chitine. This skeleton, unlike that of Vertebrates or back-bone animals, to which man belongs, is outside, and thus serves to protect the inner, softer parts, as well as to give: them attachment, and to give strength and solidity to the animal.

This ring structure, so beautifully marked in our golden-. banded Italians, usually makes it easy to separate, at sight, animals of this branch from the Vertebrates, with their usually bony skeleton; from the less active Molluscan. branch, with their soft, sack-like bodies, familiar to us im the snail, the clam, the oyster, and the- wonderful cuttle-- fish—the devil-fish of Victor Hugo—with its long, clammy arms, strange ink-bag, and often prodigious size; from the branch Echinodermata, with its graceful star-fish and sea- stars, and elegant sea-lillies; from the Celenterata with its. delicate but gaudy jelly-fish, and coral animals, the tiny arciitects of islands and even continents; and from the:

Class of the Honey-Bee. 23

lowest, simplest, Protozoan branch, which includes ani- mals often so minute that we owe our very knowledge of them to the microscope, and so simple that they have been regarded as the bond which unites plants with animals.

THE CLASS OF THE HONEY-BEE.

Our subject belongs to the class Insecta, which is mainly characterized by breathing air usually through a very com- plicated system of air tubes. These tubes (Fig. 1), which are constantly branching, and almost infinite in number,

Fic. 1.

A Trachea, magnified.

are very peculiar in their structure. They are composed of a spiral thread, and thus resemble a hollow cylinder formed by closely winding a fine wire spirally about a rod, so as to cover it, and then withdrawing the latter, leaving the wire unmoved. This spiral elastic thread, like the rings of car- tilage in our own trachea, serves to make the tubes rigid; and like our trachea—wind-pipe—so these trache or air- tubes in insects are lined within and covered without by a thin membrane. Nothing is more surprising and interest- ing than this labyrinth of beautiful tubes, as seen in dis- secting a bee under the microscope. I have frequently detected myself taking long pauses, in making dissections of the honey-bee, as my attention would be fixed in admi- ration of this beautiful breathing apparatus. In the bee these tubes expand in large lung-like sacs (Fig. 2, f), one on each side of the body. Doubtless some of my readers have associated the quick movements and surprising activ- ity of birds and most mammals with their well developed

24 Class Insecta.

lungs, so in such animals as the bees, we see the relation between this intricate system of air tubes—their lungs— and the quick busy life which has been proverbial of them since the earliest time. The class Insecta also includes the spiders, scorpions, with their caudal sting so venomous, and

Tic. 2.

Respiratory Apparatus of Bee, maguified—Ajter Duncan,

a Wead, 6 Thorax, c Abdomen, ¢ Antenna, ¢ Compound Eyes, ¢ Air-sacs, 22" ge” Legs, f’ Trachex. . mites, which generally have, in lieu of the tubes, lung-like sacs, and the myriapods, or thousand-legged worms—those dreadful creatures, whose bite, in case of the tropical centi- peds, or flat species, has a well-earned reputation of being poisonous and deadly.

Sub-Class Insects. 25

SUB-CLASS OF THE HONEY-BEE.

The honey-bee belongs to the. sub-class Hexapoda, or true insects. The first term is appropriate, as all have in the imago, or last stage, six legs. Nor is the second term less applicable, as the word insect comes from the Latin, and means to cut in, and in no other articulates does the ring structure appear so marked upon merely a superficial examination. More than this, the true insects when fully developed have, unlike all other articulates, three well- marked divisions of the body (Fig. 2), namely: the head (Fig. 2, @), which contains the antenne (Fig. 2, d,), the horn-like appendages common to all insects; eyes (Fig. 2, €), and mouth organs; the thorax (Fig. 2, 4), which bears the legs (Fig. 2, g), and wings, when they are present; and lastly, the abdomen (Fig. 2, c), which, though usually without appendages, contains the ovipositor, and, when present, the sting. Insects undergo a more striking meta- morphosis than do most other animals. When first hatched they are worm-like and called larve (Fig. 24, /), which means masked; afterward they are frequetly quiescent, and would hardly be supposed to be animals at all. They are then known as pupa, or, as in case of bees, nymphs (Fig. 24,g). At last there comes forth the mature insect or imago (Fig 2), with compound eyes, antenne and wings. In some insects the transformations are said to be incom- plete, that is, the larva, pupa, and imago differ little except in size, and that the latter possesses wings. We see in our bugs, lice, locusts and grass-hoppers, illustrations of insects with incomplete transformations. In such cases there is a . marked resemblance from the newly hatched larva to the adult,

As will be seen by the above description, the spiders, which have only two divisions to their bodies, only simple eyes, no antenna, eight legs, and no transformations (if we except the partial transformations of the mites), and also the myriapods, which have no marked divisions of the body, and no compound eyes—which are always present in the mature insect—many legs and no transformations, do not belong to this sub-class.

26 Order of the ttloney-bee.

ORDER OF THE HONEY-BEE.

The honey-bee beloxrgs to the order Hymenoptera (from two Greek words meaning membrane and wings), which also includes the wasps, ants, ichneumon-flies, gall-flies, and saw-flies. This group contains insects which possess a tongue by which they may suck (Fig. 35, ¢), and strong jaws (Fig. 42) for biting. Thus the bees can sip the hon- eyed sweets of flowers, and also-gnaw away mutilated comb. They have, besides, four wings, and undergo com- plete transformations.

There are among insects strange resemblances. Insects of one order will show a marked likeness to those of another, This is known as mimicry, and sometimes is wonderfully striking between very distant groups. Dar- win and Wallace have shown this to be a developed pecul- iarity, not always possessed by the ancestors of the animal, and that it comes through the laws of variation and natural selection to serve the purpose of protection. Right here we have a fine illustration of this mimicry, Just the other day I received, through Mr. A. I. Root, an insect which he and the person sending it to him supposed to be a bee, and he desired to know whether it was a mal- formed honey-bee, or some other species. This insect, though looking in a general way much like a bee, had only two wings, had no jaws, and its antenna were close together in front and mere stubs. In fact, it was no bee at all, but belonged to the order Diptera, or two-winged flies, I have received several similar insects, with like inquiries. Among Diptera there are several families, as the Estride, or bot-flies, some of the Asilidz, or robber-flies (Fig. 196), which are often fierce enemies of our bees, the Syrphide ~-a very useful family, as the larve or maggots live on plant lice whose members are often seen sipping sweets from flowers or trying to rob the honey and other bees —the one referred to above belonged ‘to this family— and the Bombyliida, which in color, form, and hairy cov- ering are strikingly like wild and domesticated bees. The maggots of some of these feed on the larve of various of vur wild bees, and of course the mother fly must steal into

Order Hymenoptera. 247

the nests of the latter to lay her eggs. So in these cases there is seeming evidence that the mimicry may serve to protect these fly-tramps as they steal in to pilfer the cov- eted sweets or lay the fatal eggs. Possibly, too, they may have a protective scent, as they have been seen to enter a hive in safety, though a bumble-bee essaying to do the same found the way barricaded with myriad cimeters each with a poisoned tip.

Some authors have placed Coleoptera, or beetles, as the highest of insects, others claim for Lepidoptera, or butter- flies and moths, a first place, while others, and with the best of reasons, claim for Hymenoptera the highest posi- tion. The moth is admired for the glory of its coloring and elegance of its form, and the beetle for the luster and brilliancy of its elytra,or wing-covers; but these insects only revel in nature’s wealth, and live and die without labor or purpose. Hymenoptera, usually less gaudy, gen- erally quite plain and unattractive in color, are yet the most highly endowed among insects. They live with a purpose in view, and are the best models of industry to be found among animals. Our bees practice a division of labor; the ants are still better political economists, as they have a specially endowed class in the community who are the soldiers, and thus are the defenders of each ant-king- dom, Ants also conquer other communities, take their inhabitants captive, and reduce them to abject slavery— requiring them to perform a large portion, and sometimes the whole of the labor of the community. Ants tunnel under streams, and in the tropics some leaf-eating species have been observed to show no mean order of intelligence, as some ascend trees to cut off the leafy twigs, while others remain below and carry these branches through their tun- nels to their underground homes. Indeed the Agricult- ural ant, of Texas, actually clears land and grows a special kind of plant on which it feeds. (See McCook’s Ants.)

The parasitic Hymenoptera are so called because they lay their eggs in other insects, that their offspring may have fresh meat not only at birth, but so long as they need food, as the insect fed upon generally lives till the young

- parasite, which is working to disembowel it, is full-grown;

28 Hymenoptera, Highest of Insects.

thus this steak is ever fresh as life itself. These parasitic insects show wondrous intelligence, or sense development, in discovering their prey. I have caught ichneumon-fiies —a family of these parasites—boring through the bark and a thin layer of solid beech or maple wood, and upon exam- ination I found the prospective victim further on in direct line with the insect auger, which was to intrude the fatal egg. I have also watched ichneumon-flies depositing eggs in leaf-rolling caterpillars, so surrounded with tough hickory leaves that the fly had to pierce several thicknesses to place the egg in its snugly-ensconced victim. Upon putting these leaf-rolling caterpillars in a box, I reared, of course, the ichneumon-fly and not the moth. And is it instinvt or reason that enables these flies to gauge the number of their eggs to the size of the larva which is to receive them, so that there may be no danger of famine and starvation, for true it is that while small caterpillars -will receive but few eggs, large ones may receive several. Even the honey-hee sometimes falls victim to such parasites, as I shall show in speaking of enemies of bees. How strange the habits of the saw-fly, with its wondrous instruments, more perfect than any saws of human workmanship, and the gall-flies, whose poisonous stings, as they fasten their eggs to the oak, rose, or other leaves, cause the abnormal growth of food for the still unhatched young. In the south it is reported that bees often obtain no small amount of nectar from species of oak-galls. The providing and caring for their young, which are at first helpless, is pecu- liar among insects, with slight exception, to the Hymenop- tera, and among all animals is considered a mark of high rank. Such marvels of instinct, if we may not call it intel- ligence, such acumen of sense perception, such wonderful habits, all these, no less than the compact structure, small size and specialized organs of nicest finish, more than war- rant that grand trio of American naturalists, Agassiz, Dana, and Packard, in placing Hymenoptera first in rank among insects. As we shall detail the structure and habits of the highest of the high—the bees—in the following pages, I am sure no one will think to degrade the rank of these wonders of the animal kingdom.

Family of the Honey-Bee. 2g

FAMILY OF THE HONEY-BEE.

The honey-bee belongs to the family Apidz, of Leach, which includes not only the hive bee but all insects which feed their helpless larve on pollen, pollen or honey, or food digested or secreted by the adult bees.

Many authors separate the lower bees, principally because of their shorter tongues, from the others, under the family name, Andrenidz. In this case all the bees are grouped as Mellifera or Anthophila Latr. I shall group all bees in the one family Apidae, and regard the Andrene and their near relatives as a sub-family. The insects of this family all have branched or plumose hairs on some portion of the body, broad heads, elbowed antenne (Fig. 2, d,) which are thirteen jointed in the males and only twelve jointed in the females, The jaws or mandibles (Fig. 42), are strong and usually toothed. The tongue or ligula, called labium by some authors, is very long and slim in the higher genera, but short and flattened in the lower ones. The second jaws or maxille (Fig. 35, # x), are long and prominent, and ensheath the tongue, with which they are folded back when not in use, once or more under the head. All the insects of this family have, on the four anterior legs, a stiff spine on the end of the tibia (Fig. 46) the fourth joint of the leg from the body—called the tibial spur, and all except the genus apis, which includes the honey-bee, in which the posterior legs are without tibial spurs, have two tibial spurs on the posterior legs. Nearly all bees— the parasitic genera are exceptions—have the first joint of the tarsus of the posterior legs much broadened (Fig. 47), and this, together with the broad tibia, is hollowed out (Fig. 47), forming quite a basin or basket—the corhicula —on the outer side, in the species of Apis, Nomada, Tri- gona and Bombus, which basket is deepened by long stiff hairs. These receptacles, or pollen baskets, are found only in such bees as gather much pollen. A few of the Apide —thieves by nature—cuckoo-like, steal unbidden into the nests of others, and here lay their eggs. As their young are fed and fostered by another, such bees gather no pol- len, and so like drone bees need’ no organs for collecting

30 Family Apide.

pollen. These parasites illustrate mimicry, already described, as they look so like the foster-mothers of their own young that unscientific eyes would often fail to distinguish them. Probably the bees thus imposed upon are no sharper, or they would refuse ingress to these merciless vagrants. The larve (Fig. 24, f) of all insects of this family are maggot-like, wrinkled, footless, tapering at both ends, and as already stated, have their food prepared for them. They are helpless, and thus all during their babyhood —the larva state—the time when all insects are most ravenous, and the only time when many insects take food, the time when all growth in size, except such enlargement as is required by egg-development, occurs, these infant bees have to be fed by their mothers or elder sisters. They have a mouth with soft lips, and weak jaws, yet it is doubt- ful if all or much of their food is taken in at this opening. There is some reason to believe that the honey-bees espe- cially, like many maggots—such as the Hessian-fly larva— absorb much of their food through the body walls. From the mouth leads the intestine, which has no anal opening+ So there are no excreta other than gas and vapor, except the small amount which remains in the stomach and intes- tine, which, as is well known are shed with the skin at the time of the last molt. What commendation for their food, nearly all capable of nourishment, and thus assimilated! To this family belongs the genus of stingless bees, Mel- ipona, of Mexico and South America, which store honey not only in the hexagonal brood-cells but in great wax res- ervoirs. They, like the unkept hive-bee, build in hollow logs. They are exceedingly numerous in each colony, and it has thus been thought that there was more than one queen, They are also very prodigal of wax, and thus may possess a prospective commercial importance in these days of artificial comb-foundation, In this genus the basal joint of the tarsus is triangular, and there are two submarginal cells, not three, to the front wings. They are also smaller * than our common bees, and have wings that do not reach the tip of their abdomens. Mr. T. F. Bingham, inventor of the bee-smoker, brought a colony of the stingless bees from Mexico to Michigan. The climate seemed unfavor-

Stingless Bees. 31

able to them, as soon the bees all died. I now have some of the bees and their great black honey and pollen cells in our museum. The corbicule or pollen baskets are spe- cially well marked, and the posterior tibial spur wanting in these small bees.

Another genus of stingless bees, the genus Trigona, have the wings longer than the abdomens, and their jaws toothed. These, unlike the Melipona, are not confined to the New World, but are met with in Africa, India, and Australasia. These build their combs in tall trees, fasten- ing them to the branches much as does the Apis dorsata, soon to be mentioned.

Of course insects of the genus Bombus—our common bumble-bees—belong to this family. Here the tongue is very long, the bee large and the sting curved, with the barbs very short and few. Only the queen survives the winter. In spring she forms her nest under some sod or board, hollowing out a basin in the earth, and after storing a mass of bee-bread she deposits several eggs in the mass, The larve are soon hatched out and develop in large coarse cells, not unlike the queen-cells of our hive-bees. When the bees issue from these cells the latter are strength- ened with wax. Later in the season these coarse wax cells, which contain much pollen, become very numerous, serv- ing both for brood and honey. At first in spring the quecn has all to do, hence the magnificent bumble bees, the queens, seen about the lilacs in early spring. Soon the smaller workers become abundant, and relieve the queen, which then seldom leaves the nest. Later, the drones and the small, because yet unimpregnated and non-laying, queens appear. Thus the bees in a bumble-bee’s nest correspond exactly with those in the hive. The young queens mate in late summer, and are probably-the only ones that survive the winter. The bumble-bee drones are often seen collected about shady places at the mating sca- son in August.

Bees of the genus Xylocopa, much resemble bumble- bees, though they are less hairy, and are our largest bees. They have not the corbicule. These are among our finest examples of boringinsects. With their strong, biden-

32 Genera of Apidae,

tate jaws they cut long tunnels, often two or more feet long, in sound wood. ‘These burrows are partitioned by chips, into cells, and in each cell is left an egg and bee- bread for the larva, soon to hatch. These bees often do no slight damage by boring into cornices, window casings, etc., of houses and outbuildings. At my suggestion many people thus annoyed, have plugged these tunnels with a mixture of lard and kerosene, and have speedily driven the offending bees away. These are the bees which I have discovered piercing the base of long tubular flowers, like the wild bergamot. I have seen honey-bees visiting these slitted flowers, the nectar of which was thus made accessible to them. I have never seen honey-bees biting flowers. I think they never do it.

The mason-bees—well named—construct cells of earth, which by aid of their spittle they cement so that these cells are very hard, There are several genera of these bees, the elegant Osmia, the brilliant Augochlora, the more sober but very numerous Andrena—the little black bees that often steal into the hives for honey—etc. Some burrow in sand, some build in hollowed out weeds, some build mud cells in crevices; even small key-holes not being exempt, as I have too good reason to know. The Yale locks in our museum have thus suffered. Here the lard and kerosene mixture again comes in play.

The tailor, or leaf-cutting bees, of the genus-Megachile, make wonderful cells from variously shaped pieces of leaves. These are always mathematical in form, usually circular and oblong, are cut—the insect making scissors of its jaws —from various leaves, the rose being a favorite. I have found these cells made almost wholly of the petals or flower leaves of the rose. The cells are made by gluing these leaf-sections in concentric layers, letting them over- lap. The oblong sections form the walls of the cylinder, while the circular pieces are crowded into the tubes as we press circular wads into our shot-guns, and are used at the ends, or for partitions where several cells are placed together. When complete, the single cells are in form and size much like a revolver cartridge. When several are placed together, which is usually the case, they are arranged end to end, and

Tailor and Alason Bees. 33

in size and form are quite like a small stick of candy, though not more than one third as long. These cells I have found in the grass, partially buried in the earth, in crevices, and in one case knew of their being built in the folds of a partially-knit sock, which a good house-wife had chanced to leave stationary for some days. These leaf- cutters often have yellow hairs underneath their bodies which aid them in carrying pollen. I have noticed them each summer for some years swarming on the Virginia creeper, often called woodbine, while in blossom, in quest of pollen, though I have rarely seen the hive-bee on these vines. The tailor-bees often cut the foliage of the same vines quite badly. The males of these tailor bees have curiously modified, and broadly fringed anterior legs (Fig. 3). :

Fic. 3.

Anterior Leg of Male Megachile.

I have often reared beautiful bees of the genera Osmia, and Augochlora, which are also called mason-bees as already stated. Their glistening colors of blue and green possess a luster and reflection unsurpassed even by the metals themselves. These rear their young in cells of mud, in mud-cells lining hollow weeds and shrubs, and in burrows which they dig in the hard earth. In early sum- mer, during warm days, these glistening gems of life are frequently seen in walks and drives intent on gathering earth for mortar, or digging holes, and will hardly escape identification by the observing apiarist, as their form is so much like that of our honey-bees. They are smaller, yet their broad head, prominent eyes, and general form, are very like those of the equally quick and active, yet more

3

34 Genera of Wild Bees.

soberly attired, workers of the apiary. The beautiful spe- cies of Ceratina look much like those of Osmia, but they nest in hollows in stems of various plants, which in some cases they themselves form. In south-western Michigan they do no little harm by boring the blackberry canes. They have simple hind legs.

Other bees—--the numerous species of the genus Nomada, and of Apathus, are the black sheep in the family Apidae. These tramps, already referred to, like the English cuckoo and our American cow-blackbird, steal in upon the unwary, and, though all unbidden, lay their eggs; in this way appropriating food and lodgings for their own yet unborn. Thus these insect vagabonds impose upon the unsuspect- ing foster-mothers in these violated homes, and these same foster-mothers show by their tender care of these merciless intruders, that they are miserably fooled, for they carefully guard and feed infant bees, which with age will in turn practice this same nefarious trickery. The Apathus spe- cies are parasites on the Bombus; the Nomada species which are small bees, often beautifully ringed, on the small black Andrene.

The species of Andrenz, Halictus, the red Sphecodes and others of the Andrenide of some authors, have short flat tongues, with equi-jointed labial palpi. These bees have been little studied, and there are very numerous unde- scribed species.

I reluctantly withhold further particulars of this won- derful bee family. When first I visited Messrs. Townley and Davis, of this State, I was struck with the fine collec- tion of wild bees which each had made. Yet, unknow- ingly, they had incorporated many that were not bees. Of course, many apiarists will wish to make such collec- tions and also to study our wild bees. I hope the above will prove efficient aid. I hope, too, that it will stimulate others, especially youth, to the valuable and intensely interesting study of these wonders of nature. I am glad to open to the reader a page from the book of nature so replete with attractions as is the above. Nor do I think I have taken too much space in revealing the strange and marvelous instincts, and wonderfully varied habits, of this

Genus of the Honey-Bee. . 35

highest of insect families, at the head of which startd our own fellow laborers and companions of the apiary.

I shall be very glad to receive specimens of wild bees from every State in our country. To send bees kill with gasoline or chloroform, and mail in a strong box wrapped with cotton, so as to prevent injury.

THE GENUS OF THE HONEY-BEE,

The genus Apis includes all bees that have no tibial spurs on the posterior legs, and at the same time have threc cubital or sub-costal cells (6, 7, 8, Fig. 4)—the second row

Fic. 4.

.

A Anterior or primary wing. 1 Costal cell,

& Posterior or secondary wing. 2 Median cell.

© Hooklets much magnified, 3 Sub-median cell,

a Costal vein. " 4 Anal cell.

6 Sub-costal vein. 5 Marginal cell.

c Median vein. 6, 7,8 and 9 Sub marginal cell. @ Anal vein. 10, 11 and 12 Discoidal cells.

qg Posterior margin, 13 and 14 Apical cells.

s Fold where hooklets catch,

4 Hooklets.

from the costal or anterior edge—on the front or primary wings. The marginal cell (5, Fig. 4), is very long. On the inner side of the posterior basal tarsus, opposite the pollen baskets, in the neuters or workers, are rows of hairs (Fig. 48,) which are used in collecting pollen. In the males, -which do no work except to fertilize the queens, the large compound eyes meet above, crowding the three simple eyes below (Fig. 5), while in the workers (Fig. 6) and

‘

36 Genus Apts.

queens these simple eyes, called ocelli, are above, and the compound eyes wide apart. The compound eyes are in all cases hairy. The drones and queens have weak jaws,

Ny

Fic. 5.

Head of Drone, magnifiied.

Antenna, Compound Eyes, Simple Eyes.

Fic. 6.

Head of Worker, magnified. Antenne, Compound Eyes, Simple Eyes,

with a rudimentary tooth (Fig. 42, a 4), short tongues, and no pollen baskets, though they have the broad tibia and wide basal tarsus (Fig. 44, ¢ s).

Species of Genus Apis. 37

There is some doubt as to the number of species of this genus. It is certain that the Apis Ligustica of Spinola, or italian bee, the Apis fasciata of ‘Latreille, or Egyptian bee, the Cyprian bee and the bees of Syria, of which Mr. Ben- ton states that there are at least two distinct races, are only races of the Apis mellifica, which also includes the German or black bee.

Mr. F. Smith, an able entomologist; considers Apis dor- sata of India and the East Indies, Apis zonata of the same islands, Apis Indica of India and China, and Apis florea of India, Ceylon, China, and Borneo, as distinct species, He thinks, also, that Apis Adonsoni and Apis nigrocincta are distinct, but states that they may be varieties of Apis Indica, Some regard Apis unicolor as a distinct species, but itis probably a variety of Apis mellifica. As Apis mel- lifica has not been found in India, and isa native of Europe, Western Asia, and Africa, it seems quite possible, though not probable, that several of the above may turn out to be only varieties of Apis mellifica. Ifthere are only color and size to distinguish them, and, indeed, one may add habits, then we may suspect, with good reason, the validity of the above arrangement. If there be structural difference, as Mr. Wallace says there is, in the male dorsata, then we may call them different species. The Italian certainly has a longer tongue than the German, yet that is not sufficient to separate them as species. Apis zonata of the East Indies, and Apis unicolor are said to be very black.

I append the following chart, which I think represents pretty accurately the species, races and varieties of the genus Apis.

Where a race is followed by an interrogation point, there is a question if it should not be considered a variety of the last preceding race not thus marked. Some of the races like the Italian, Cyprian, Greek, etc., Vogel considers had their origin in a cross between the yellow.and black races. Vogel’s conclusion was reached from a long series of ex- periments, crossing Italian and German bees and then

‘sreeding from such crosses. It seems likely that through the law of variation each race might have originated inde- . pindently, or possibly all, as varieties of the Egyptian bee.

38 Species of Genus Apis.

SPECIES. RACES. VARIETIES, A. dorsata nigripennis, : di Fab Latr. dipla Tneits, Fa. ] A. dorsata bicolor, Apis florea, Fab. 4 Klug. Apis Gorssin, Fal, | A. dorsata zonata, Smith,

Heath, Austrian. Common black,

(A. mellifica nigra.

Carniolan or Krainer. German Bee, |

A. mellifica fasciata, Egyptian Bee.

Syrian (?)

South Palestine (?)

Cyprian (?)

Apis mellifica. 4 Italian (?)

Greek (?)

Bonnat(?)

Caucasian (?)

China Bee.

A. mellifica unicolor

Latr, Madagascar. A. mellifica Adonsoni, q African Bee.

In the Autumn of 1879, Mr. D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Ontario, Canada, inaugurated the grandest enterprise ever undertaken in the interest of apiculture. This was nothing less than to visit Cyprus, Syria, and the more distant India and the East Indies, for the purpose of securing and intro- ducing into America such species and races of bees as gave promise of superior excellence. Mr. Jones procured the services of Mr. Frank Benton, a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College, a fine linguist and skilled apiarist, to aid in this great undertaking. After visiting the principal apiaries of Europe, these gentlemen located at Larnica, in the island of Cyprus, where they established a large apiary composed of Cyprian and Syrian bees. The Cyprian bees were purchased on the Island, while the Syrians were pro- cured personally by Mr. Jones in Syria. The following June Mr. Jones returned to America with several hundred queens of these two races. Mr. Benton remained at Lar- nica to rear and ship more queens to Europe and Amer- ica. The following winter Mr. Benton visited Ceylon, T’arther India, and Java, as Mr. Jones was determined to

Apis dorsata. 39

ascertain if there were better bees than those we already had, and if so to secure them. Apis dorsata was the spe- cial object of the quest, and as this bee was known as the “great bee of Java,” Mr. Benton visited that Island, in hopes to procure these bees. But to the sore disappoint- ment not only of those’who had the enterprise in charge, but of all progressive apiarists, the bees in question were not to be found on that island. Mr. Benton learned at great cost that this bee is rare in Java, but common in the "jungles of Ceylon, Hindoostan, Farther India, Sumatra, Borneo, and Timor. In Ceylon, Mr. Benton saw many colonies, most of which were in inaccessible places, though he secured, after great labor and hardship, four colonies. These bees usually suspend their great combs, which are often six feet long and four feet wide, to overhanging rocks, or to horizontal branches of trees. In one case, Mr. Ben- ton found them in the crevice of a rock, nearly surrounded by the same. This indicates that they may be kept in hives. The combs hang side by side as do those of our common bees, but are one-half inch apart. Mr. Benton found the tops of the combs, which contain the honey, from three to six inches thick, while those where brood is reared are one and one-half inches thick. The drones and work- ers are all reared in the same cells, which are about the size of the drone brood-cells of our honey-comb. The worker bees, some specimens of which I have received from Mr, Jones, in size and general appearance much resemble our Italian queens. They have blue black wings, black bodies, which are ringed very much as are our Italians, only the yellow largely predominates. Mr. Benton writes me that in form and style of flight they much resemble wasps. . They are the same size as the drones, varying from three- fourths to seven-eighths of an inch in length. They are easily handled by aid of smoke, and are very clumsy in their attempts to sting. Their sting is no larger than that of our common bees, while the pain from their sting, Mr. Benton says, is not so great. The drones are dark brown, marked with yellow. Stangely enough, they only fly, unless disturbed, after sundown. This is unfortunate, as with the same habits we might hope to mate them with

40 Other Species of Apis.

our common bees, and thus procure a valuable cross. This may be a developed peculiarity, to protect them from birds, and so might very likely disappear with domestication. The queens are leather colored, and smaller, as compared with the workers, than are our common queens. The queens are more restless than are the workers while being handled. While procuring these bees, Mr. Benton was prostrated with a fever, and so the bees, during their long voyage to Syria, were neglected. Strange to say, one col- ony survived the long confinement, but perished soon after, reaching Syria. We can not call this journey a failure, as we now have the information that will render a second attempt surely successful. What has been learned will make the enterprising bee-keeper more desirous than ever to secure these bees. Their large size, long tongue and immense capabilities in the way of wax secretion, as well as honey storing, give us great reason to hope for substan- tial benefits from their importation.

Mr. Benton also found A. Indica and A. florea on the Island of Ceylon. I have received some of the bees and comb of the former species. The comb is very delicate, the cells being only one-sixth of aninchin diameter. The workers are less than one-half of an inch long, brown in color, and their entire abdomens are beautifully ringed with brownand yellow.’ The drones are black, and very small. The one I have measures an eighth of an inch less in length than does the worker. The queens are leather col- ored, and very large as compared with the workers. They are as large as are our common queens. These bees are very quick and are domesticated on the Island of Ceylon. The workers of A. florea are also banded, and are more beautiful even than those of A. Indica. From Mr. Benton’s description these must resemble our albinos. The sting of these two species is very small. From the small amount of stores which they gather, the tendency which they have to swarm out, and their inability to stand the cold, these two species promise little of value except from a scientific point of view. One colony of A. florea was brought by Mr. Benton to Cyprus, but it swarmed out and was lost.

It seems strange that the genus Apis should not have

Apis Mellifica—German Bees. 41 been native to the American continent. The “large brown bee” which some of our bee-keepers think native to Amer- ica, is undoubtedly but a variety of the common black, or German bee. Without doubt there were no bees of this genus here till introduced by the Caucasian race. It seems more strange, as we find that all the continents and islands of the Eastern Hemisphere abound with representatives. It is one more illustration of the strange, inextricable puz- zles connected with the geographical distribution of animals.

SPECIES OF OUR HONEY-BEES.

The bees at present domesticated are all of one species: Apis mellifica. The character of this species will appear in the next chapter, as we proceed with their anatomy and physiology. As before stated, this species is native exclu- sively to the Eastern Hemisphere, though it has been intro- duced wherever civilized man has taken up his abode.

RACES OF THE HONEY-BEE., German or Black Bees.

The German or black bee is the race best known, as through all the ages it has been most widely distributed. The name German refers to locality, while the name black is a misnomer, as the bee isa gray-black. The queen, and, in a less degree, the drones, are darker, while the legs and under-surface of the former are brown, or copper colored, and of the latter light-gray. The tongue of the black worker I have found, by repeated dissections and compari- sons made both by myself and by my pupils, is shorter than fhat of the Italian worker, and generally less hairy. The black bees have been known no longer than the Italians, ‘as we find the latter were known both to Aristotle, the fourth century B. C., and to Virgil, the great Roman poet who sung of the variegated golden bee, the first century B. C.; and we can only account for the wider distribution of the German bee by considering the more vigorous push- ing habits of the Germanic races, who not only over-ran and infused life into Southern Europe, but have vitalized all christendom.

42 The Italian Race.

Ligurian or Italian Bee.

The Italian bee is characterized as a race, not only by difference of color, habits, and activity, but also by possess- ing a little longer tongue. These bees were first described as distinct from the German race by Spinola, in 1805, who gave the name Ligurian bee, which name prevails in Europe. The name comes from a province of Northern Italy, north of the Ligurian Gulf, or Gulf of Genoa. This region is shut off from Northern Europe by the Alps, and thus these bees were kept apart from the German bees, and in warmer, more genial Italy, was developed a dis- tinct race, our beautiful Italians. It seems to me quite reasonable to suppose from the appearance of the bees, and also from the migrations of the human race, that the Ital- ian bee is an off-shoot from the Cyprian race.

In 1843 Von Baldenstein procured a colony of these bees, which he had previously observed as peculiar, while stationed as a military captain in Italy. He published his experience in 1848, which' was read by Dzierzon, who became interested, and through him the Italian became generally introduced into Germany. In 1859, six years after Dzierzon’s first importation, the Italian bee was intro- duced into England by Neighbour, the author of the valu- able treatise already referred to. The same year, Messrs. Wagner and Colvin imported the Italians from Dzierzon’s apiary into America; and in 1860, Mr. S. P. Parsons brought the first colonies that were imported direct from Italy.

The Italian worker is quickly distinguished by the bright yellow rings at the base of the abdomen. Perhaps golden would be a better term, as these bands are often bright orange. If the colony be pure, every bee will show three of these golden girdles (Fig. 7, A, B,C). The first two segments or rings of the abdomen, except at their posterior border, and also the base or anterior border of the third, will be of this orange-yellow hue. The rest of the back or dorsal surface will be much as in the German race. Underneath, the abdomen, except for a greater or less dis- tance at the tip, will also be yellow, while the same color

The ftalian Pace. 43

appears more or less strongly marked on the legs. The workers have longer ligule or tongues (Fig. 35, 2) than the German race, ‘and their tongues are also a little more hairy. They are also more active, and less inclined to sting. The queen has the entire base of her abdomen, and sometimes nearly the whole of it, orange-yellow. The variation as to amount of color is quite striking. Some-

Fic. 7.

Abdomen of Llalian Worker,

times very dark queens are imported right from the Lig- urian hills, yet all the workers will wear the badge of purity—the three golden bands.

The drones are quite variable. Sometimes the rings and patches of yellow will be very prominent, then, again, quite indistinct. But the under side of the body is always, so far as I have observed, mainly yellow.

A variety of our Italian bees which is very beautiful and gentle has the rows of white hairs (Fig. 7, J, K, L, M) unusually distinct, and is being sold in the United States under the name of Albinos. They are not a distinct race. In fact, I have often noticed among Italians the so-called Albinos. I have tried these so-called Albinos several times, and have not found them superior, or even equal, I think, to the average Italian.

44 Cyprian and Syrian Bees.

THE SYRIAN AND CYPRIAN RACES.

Through the enterprise of Messrs. D. A. Jones and Frank Benton, we now have these races in our country, and have proved the truth of the assertion of noted Euro- pean apiarists, that the Cyprian is a distinct race of bees.

Mr. Benton, than whom no one is better fitted to express a correct opinion, thinks that the Cyprian bees are the off- spring of the Syrian. This opinion is strengthened by the close resemblance of the three races, and by the fact that migrations of all kinds have gone westward. A similar argument would make it presumable that the Cyprians gave rise to the Italians.

The Cyprian bees resemble the Italians very closely. They may be distinguished by the bright leather-colored lunule which tips their thorax posteriorly, and by the fact that the underside of their bodiesis yellow to the tip. They are more active than are the Italians, and the queens are more prolific.

The good qualities of the Italians seem all to be exag- gerated in the Cyprians, except the trait of amiability. The Cyprian bees are second only to the Egyptian in irri- tability. That they will become less cross with handling is to be expected.

The Syrian bees are from Asiatic Turkey, north of Mount Carmel, and are a very well marked race. The Syrian queens are remarkably uniform. Their abdomens above are, like the little A. Indica, beautifully banded with yellow and black. They are very quick and remarkably prolific. They do not cease laying even when the honey flow ceases. The workers closely resemble those of the Italian race, only that they are more yellow: beneath, and when first from the cells, or newly hatched, they are very dark, owing to the fact that the body rings seem pushed together. From the admirable way in which they defend their hives against robbers, the ease with which they are shaken from the combs, their great activity, their great tendency to remain in the hive on very windy days, the wonderful fecundity of the queen, her persistence in laying during a dearth of nectar secretion, and their great supe-

Races of Bees. 45

riority for queen rearing, I feel sure that these bees are a very great acquisition to American apiculture, and I believe are among the best bees that have, as yet, been domesticated. South of Mount Carmel in Palestine, are found the Holy Land bees. These are more banded with light hairs than any of the other yellow races. Mr. Ben- ton thinks them a distinct race.

I have now tried these Syrian bees for several years, and have found them gentle and easy to handle. My numerous students go among them freely, handling them often with no protection, and even in the autumn we pre- pare them for winter with no trouble. Queenless colonies are likely to have fertile workers. The comb-honey of Syrians is said to have very thin capping, and so is not very salable. I have not observed this peculiarity. I think the honey fully equal in appearance to that of the Italians.

OTHER RACES.

The Egyptian hees are’ very yellow, intensely cross,.and frequently have fertile workers. These are probably the bees which are famous in history, as having been moved up and down the Nile, in rude boats or rafts, as the vary- ing periods of nectar-secreting bloom seemed to demand.

The heath bees of Northern Germany are much like the common German bees, of which they are a strain, except that they are far more inclined toswarm. ~

The Carniolan bees of South-western Austria, also called Krainer bees from the mountainous region of Krain, Aus- tria, are praised as a very hardy variety. They are black with white rings—a sort of albino German bee. They are like the heath variety, but are specially noted for their very gentle dispositions. Some European bee-keepers claim that this strain or variety is much superior to the com- mon German bees. After a trial I am pleased with these bees. I am now crossing them with the Syrian, in hopes to develop a superior race of bees. The Hungarian bees are longer than the typical German race, and are covered with gray hairs. During the poor season of 1875 in Europe, these bees, like the Carniolans, were found superior even to the Italians. The beautiful Dalmatian bees are slim,

46 Bibliography.

wasp-like, and very black. The rings of their abdomens are banded with lightish yellew. Their honey is even more white and beautiful than that of the German race. Some of the best European bee-keepers claim that they are superior to the Italian bees. Akin to the Dalmatian bees are the Herzegovinian variety, which comes from the mountainous region of Bosnia, bordering on the Adriatic Sea. A better marked variety—the Smyrnian bees—from Western Asia, are also much praised by some of the noted Austrian bee-keepers, as are also the Caucasian, from the Caucasus Mountains, which are said to be very active and amiable. The Tunisian bees, from Tunis in the north of Africa, are said to be even darker than the black or German bee, They are described as quite irritable. It is stated that there is a race of bees which are domesti- cated in the south of Africa. From the descriptions I should think them quite like our Albinos in appearance. They are said to be excellent honey producers and to work . even by moonlight. It is quite tikely that some of these varieties might be found to endure our severe winters bet- ter than the pure German type or the Italians. Now that we are to have an experimental station in each State, we inay expect that all these races will be imported, that we may prove them and know which is the best.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

It would be a p'easing duty and not an unprofitable one, to give in this connection a complete history of entomol- ogy so far as it relates to Apis mellifica. But this would take much space, and as there is quite a full history in books that I shall recommend to those who are eager to know more of this interesting department of natural history, I will not go into details.

Aristotle wrote of bees more than three hundred years B.C. About three hundred years later, Virgil, in his fourth Georgic, gave to the world the views then extant on this subject, gathered largely from the writings of Aristotle. The poetry will ever be remarkable for its beauty and elegance—would that as much might be said for the subject matter, which, though full of interest, is

The Work of Swammerdam. 47

full of errors. A little later, Columella, though usually careful and accurate in his observations, still gave voice to the prevailing errors, though much that he wrote was val- uable and more was curious. As Mr. Langstroth once said to me, Columella wrote as one who had handled the things of which he wrote; and not like Virgil, as one who was dealing with second hand wares. Pliny the elder, who wrote in the second century, A. D., helped to continue the erroneous opinions which previous authors had given, and not content with this, he added opinions of his own, which were not only without foundation but were often the perfection of absurdity.

After this, nearly two thousand years passed with no progress in natural history; even for two centuries after the revival of learning, we find nothing worthy of note. Swammerdam, a Dutch entomologist, in the middle of the seventeenth century, wrote a general history of insects; also, “« The Natural History of Bees.” He and his Eng- lish contemporary, Ray, showed their ability as naturalists by founding their systems on the insect transformations. They also revived the study and practice of anatomy, which had slept since its first introduction by Aristotle, as the great stepping-stone in zoological progress. I never open the grand work of Swammerdam, with its admirable illustrations, without feelings of the most profound respect and admiration. ‘Though a very pioneer in anatomy, and one of the founders of Natural Science, and possessed of lenses of very inferior quality, yet he wrote with an accu- racy and illustrated even minute tissues with a correctness and elegance that might well put to the blush many a mod- ern writer.

‘Ray also gave special attention to Hymenoptera, and was much aided by Willoughby and Lister. At this time Harvey, so justly noted for his discovery of the circulation of the blood, announced his celebrated dictum, “ Omnia ex ovo ”—all life from eggs—which was completely estab- lished by the noted Italians, Redi and Malpighi. Toward the middle of the eightcenth century, the great Linnzus —“the brilliant Star of the North ”—published his “ Sys- tema Nature,” and threw a flood of light on the whole

48 Pioneers in Entomology.

subject of natural history. His division of insects was founded upon presence, or absence, and characteristics, of wings. This, like Swammerdam’s basis, was too narrow, yet his conclusions were remarkably correct. Linnzus is noted for his accurate descriptions, and especially for his gift of the binomial method of naming plants and animals, giving in the name, the genus and species, as Apis mellifica. He was also the first to introduce classes and orders, as we now understand them. Many of our best entomologists still accept the orders of insects as given by Linnzus. When we consider the amount and character of the work of the great Swede, we can but place him among the first, if not as the first, of naturalists. Contemporary with Lin- neus (also written Linné) was Geoffroy, who did valuable work in defining new genera. In the last half of the cen- tury appeared the great work of a master in entomology, DeGeer, who based his arrangement of insects on the char- acter of wings and jaws, and thus discovered another of nature’s keys to aid him in unlocking her mysteries. Kirby well says: “He united in himself the highest merit of almost every department of entomology.” As a scientist, an anatomist, a physiologist, and as the observant historian of the habits and economy of insects, he is above all:praise. What a spring of self-improvement, enjoyment and public usefulness, is such an ability to observe as was possessed by the great DeGeer. ;

Contemporary with Linneus and DeGeer, was Réau- mur, of France, whose experiments and researches are of special interest to the apiarists. Perhaps no entomologist has done more to reveal the natural history of bees. Espe- cially to be commended are his method of experimenting, his patience in investigation, the elegance and felicity of his word pictures, and, above all, 22s devotion to truth. We shall have occasion to speak of this conscientious and indefatigable worker in the great field of insect life fre- quently in the following pages. Bonnet, of Geneva, the able correspondent of Réaumur, also did valuable work in which the lover of bees has a special interest. Bonnet is specially noted for his discovery and elucidation of par- thenogenesis—that anomalous mode of reproduction—as it

Early History of Fsntomology. 49

occurs among the Aphides, or plant lice, though he did not discover that our bees, in the production of drones, illus- trate the same doctrine. Though the author of no system, he gave much aid to Réaumur in his systematic labor.

At this same period systematic entomology received great aid from Lyonnet’s valuable work. This author dissected and explained the development of a caterpillar. His de- criptions and illustrations are wonderful, and will proclaim his ability as long as entomology: is studied.

We have next to speak of the great Dane, Fabricius—a student of Linneus—who published his works from 1775 to 1798, and thus was revolutionizing systematic entomol- ogy at the same time that we of America were revolution- izing government. He made the mouth organs the basis of his classification, and thus followed in the path which DeGeer had marked out; though it was scarcely beaten by the latter, while Fabricius left it wide and deep. His classes and orders are no improvement on, in fact, are not nearly as correct as his old master’s. In his description of genera—where he pretended to follow nature—he has ren- dered valuable service. In leading scientists to study parts, before little regarded, and thus to better establish affinities, he did a most valuable work. His work is a standard, and should be thoroughly studied by all entomologists.

Just at the close of the last century appeared the “ great- est Roman of them all,” the great Latreille, of France, whose name we have so frequently used in the classifica- tion of the honey bee. His is called the Elective System, as he used wings, mouth-parts, transformations, in fact, all the organs, the entire structure. He gave us our Family Apide, our Genus Apis, and, as will be remembered, he described several of the species of this genus. In our study of this great man’s work we constantly marvel at his exten- sive researches and remarkable talents. Lamarck, of this time did very admirable work. So, too, did Cuvier, of Napoleon’s time, and the learned Dr. Leach, of England. Since then we have had hosts of workers in this field, and many worthy of not only mention but praise; yet the work has been to rub up and garnish rather than to create. Of late Mr. E. T. Cresson, of Philadelphia, has given a

4

5° E ntomolog ical Books.

synopsis of the Hymenoptera of North America, together with a list of the described species. This is one of the many valuable publications of the American Entomolog- ical Society.

I will close this brief history with a notice of authors who are very serviceable to such as may desire to glean farther of the pleasures of systematic entomology; only remarking that at the end of the next chapter I shall refer to those who have been particularly serviceable in devel- oping the anatomy and physiology of insects, especially of bees.

VALUABLE BOOKS FOR THE STUDENT OF ENTOMOLOGY.

For mere classification, no work is equal to Westwood on Insects—two volumes. In this the descriptions and illustrations are very full and perfect, making it easy to study the families, and even genera, of all the orders. This work and the following are out of print, but can be got with little trouble at second-hand book-stores. Kirby and Spence—Introduction to Entomology—is a very com- plete work. It treats of the classification, structure, habits, general economy of insects, and gives a history of the sub- ject. It is an invaluable work and a great acquisition to any library. Dr. Packard’s Guide to the Study of Insects is a valuable work, and being American is specially to be recommended. “Injurious Insects” is the title of two valuable books, one by Dr. T. Harris, and the other by Mary Treat. The Reports of Dr. T. Harris, Dr. A. Fitch, and Dr. C. V. Riley, the Illinois Entomological Reports, and the Entomological Reports of the Depart- ments of the Interior, and of Agriculture, will also be found of great value and interest. Cresson’s Synopsis, already referred to, will be indispensable to every student of bees or other Hymenopterous insects,

Anatomy of Insects. 51

CHAPTER JI. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.

In this chapter I shall give first the general anatomy of insects; then the anatomy, and still more wonderful physi- ology, of the honey bee.

ANATOMY OF INSECTS.

In all insects the body is divided into three well-marked portions (Fig. 2.); the head (Figs. 5 and 6), which con- tains the mouth organs, the eyes, both the compound and, when present, the simple, and the antenna; the thorax, which is composed of three rings, and gives support to the one or two pairs of wings, when present, and to the three pairs of legs; and the abdomen, which is composed of a variable number of rings, and gives support to the exter- nal sex organs, and when present, to the sting. Within the thorax there are little more than muscles, as the con- centrated strength of insects, which enables them to fly with such rapidity, dwells in this confined space. Within the abdomen, on the other hand, are the sex organs, by far’ the greater and more important portions of the alimentary canal, and other important organs.

ORGANS OF THE HEAD,

Of these the mouth organs (Fig. 8) are most prom- inent. These consist of an upper lip—labrum, and under lip—labium, and two pairs of jaws which move sidewise; the stronger, horny jaws are called mandibles, and the more membranous, but usually longer, are named maxille. The labrum ( Fig. 8, 2) is well described in the name upper lip. It is attached, usually, by a movable joint to a simi- larly shaped piece above it, called the clypeus (Fig. 8, c), and this latter to the broad epicranium (Fig. 8, 0) which contains the antennz, the compound, and, when present, the simple eyes (Fig. 5).

The labium (Fig. 35) is not described by the name under lip, as its base forms the floor of the mouth and its

52 Mouth Organs of Insects.

tip the tongue. The base is usually broad, and is called the mentum, and from this extends the ligula, which in bees is a sucking -organ or tongue (Fig. 35,@). Some authors call this ligula the labium.

Fie. 8

Head and Mouth-parts of a Drone

magnified,

o Simple eyes.

s Scape of antenna.

JF Flagellum of antennz,

¢ Compound eyes,

J Mandibles.

m Maxille.

Z Ligula.

PD Labial palpi,

Head of Bee much magnified.

o Epicranium. m Jaws.

¢e Compound eyes, m x 2d Jaws.

aa Antenne. 4 & Labial palpi. e Clypeus. é Ligula, Z Labrum.

On either side, near thé junction of the ligula and men- tum, arises a jointed organ, rarely absent, called the labial palpus (Fig. 8, & 2), or, together, the labial palpi. Just within the angle formed by these latter and the ligula arise

Mouth Organs of Insects. 53

the paraglosse (Fig. 35, @), one on either side. These ue often wanting. :

The jaws or mandibles (Fig. 8, 7, m) arise one on either side just below and at the side of the labrum, or upper lip. These work sidewise instead of up and down as in higher animals, are frequently very hard and sharp, and sometimes armed with one or more teeth. A rudimentary tooth (Fig. 12, a, 6) is visible on the jaws of drone and queen bees.

Beneath the jaws or mandibles, and inserted a little far- ther back, are the second jaws, or maxille (Fig. 8, m, x), less dense and firm than the mandibles, but far more com- plex. Each maxilla arises by a small joint, the cardo; next this is a larger joint, the stipes; from this extends on the inside the broad lacinia ( Fig. 35, c) or blade, usually fringed with hairs on its inner edge, towards the mouth; while on the outside of the stipes, is inserted the—from one to seve- ral jointed—maxillary palpus. In the honey-bee the max- illary palpi are very small and consist of two joints, and in some insects are wholly wanting. Sometimes, as in some of the beetles, there is a third piece running from the stipes between the palpus and lacinia called the galea. The max- illz also move sidewise, and probably aid in holding and turning the food while it is crushed by the harder jaws, though in some cases they, too, aid in triturating the food.

‘These mouth-parts are very variable in form in different insects. In butterflies and moths, two-winged flies and bugs, they are transformed into. a tube, which in the last two groups forms a hard, strong beak or piercer, well exem- plified in the mosquito and bed-bug. In all the other insects we find them much as in the bees, with the sepa- rate parts varying greatly in form, to agree with the habits and character of their possessors. No wonder DeGeer and Fabricius detected these varying forms as strongly indicative of the nature of the insect, and no wonder that by their use they were so successful in forming a natural classification.

If, as is more thar probable, the “ Doctrine of Selection ” is well founded, then a change in habit is the precursor of a change in structure. But what organs are so intimately

‘4

54 flow to Study Lnsects.

related to the habits of animals, as the mouth and other organs that have to do with food-taking and food-getting¢

Every bee-keeper will receive great benefit by dissecting these parts and studying their form and relations for him- self. By getting his children interested in the same, he will have conferred upon them one of the rarest of bless- ings. .

To dissect these parts, first remove the head and carc- fully pin it to a cork, passing the pin through, well back between the eyes. Now separate the parts by two needle points, made by inserting « needle for half its length into a wooden pen-holder, leaving the point projecting for three- fourths of an inch. With one of these in each hand com- mence operations. The head may be either side up. Much

Fic. 9.

Tit —_

TTI TTA | "|

ni

Microscope mounted for Dissecting.

|

may be learned in dissecting large insects, even with no glass; but in all cases, and especially in small insects, a good lens will be of great value. The best lens now in the market is the Coddington lens, mounted in German sil- ver, These are imported from England. They can be procured of any optician, and only cost $2.00. These lenses can be mounted in a convenient stand (Fig. 9) which may be made in twenty minutes. I think one of these more valuable than a large compound microscope, which

Physiology of the Antenne. 55

costs many times as much. Were I obliged to part with either, the latter would go..

I require my students to do a great deal of dissecting, which they enjoy very much and find very valuable. 1 would much rather that my boy should become interested in such study than to have him possessor of infinite gold rings, or even a huge gold watch with a tremendous charm. Let such pleasing recreation gain the attention of our boys, and they will ever contribute to our delight and not sadden us with anxiety and fear.

The antenne (Fig. 8, a, a) are the horn-like jointed organs situated between, or below and in front of, the large compound eyes of all insects. They are sometimes short, as in the house-fly, and sometimes very long, as in crickets

Fic. 10.

Antenna of Bee much magnified.

s Scape. # Tracheex. Jf Flagellum. n Nerves.

and green grass-hoppers. They may be straight, curved, or elbowed. In form they are very varied, as thread-like, tapering, toothed, knobbed, fringed, feathered, etc. The antenne of most Hymenopterous insects are elbowed (Fig. 10). The long first joint in this case is the scape, the remaining joints (Fig. 10,7) the flagellum. A large nerve (Fig 10, #7) and atrachea (Fig. 10, ¢) enter the

s

56 Organs of Smell in Insects.

antenna. The function of the antenne is now pretty weli if not wholly understood. That they often serve as most delicate touch-organs no observing apiarist can doubt. Tactile nerve-ending hairs are often found in great num- bers. With the higher insects, like most Hymenopterons, this tactile sense of the antennz is doubtless very import- ant.

It is now fully demonstrated that the sense of smell is located in the antenne. Sulzer in the last century sug- gested that an unknown sense might exist in the antenne. Reaumur, Lyonet, Bonnet, etc., thought this might be the sense of smell. Dumeril, Lehrman, who said that a nerve vessel and muscle entered the antenna, and Cuvier, etc., thought the sense of smell was located in the spiracles or breathing mouths. Huber thought the organ of smell was located in the mouth. Latreille and Newport, of this century, believed the antenna contained the organs of hearing. Strauss-Durkheim located them in the spiracles. While Wolff wrote a beautiful monagraph to prove that the sense of smell was situated in the hypo-pharynx beneath the labrum. Erichson in 1848 discovered pits in the antenne—pori—covered with a membrane (Fig. 11, 2) which he thought organs of smell. The next year Bur- meister found hairs in these pits in beetles, which varied according as the beetle ate plant-food or carrion.

Leydig in 185§ showed that Erichson was correct, that there were pits also on the antennz and pegs (Fig. 11, p) or tooth-like hairs, perforated at the end—olfactory teeth. It remained for Hauser (1880) to complete the demonstra- tion. He experimented with insects by the use of carbolic acid, turpentine, etc. He found that this greatly disturbed the insects when their attenne were intact, and that even after he had withdrawn the offensive substance the insect would continue to rub its antenne as if to remove the dis- turbing odor. A sort of holding its nose. He then cuf off the antenn to find that the insect was now insensible to the irritant. He next put food before the insects, which was quickly found and appropriated; but after the antennx were cut off the food was found with difficulty if at all. Experiment showed that in mating the same was truc.

Structure of Antenne. 57

Insects often find their mates when to us it would seem impossible. Thus I have known hundreds of male moths to enter a room by a small opening in a window, attracted by a female within the room. I have also known them to swarm outside a closed window lured by a female within. Male insects have even been known to reach their mates by entering a room through a stove-pipe. Yet Hauser found that this ability was gone with the loss of the antenna, Kraeplin and others have since proved the cor- rectness of Hauser’s conclusions. So that we now know

Fic. 11.

Microscopic Structure of Antenna, after Schiemenz.

2 Nerves. 4 Yooth hairs, ¢ Cells. P Pits or pori.

that the antennz, in most insects at least, contain the organs of smell. Histologically this apparatus is found to, con- sist of nerves (Fig. 10, 2) which run from the brain to the antenne and at the outer, sensitive end, contain a cell (Fig. 11) with one or more nuclei, These nerves may end in perforated, tooth-like hairs on the antenne (Fig. 11, 2) in pegs which have no chitinous sheath, which push out from the bottom of pits—pori, which exist often in great numbers in the antenne (Fig. 11). While Erichson first discovered the pits (Fig. 11, #) in the antenne, Burmeister discovered the sensitive nerve-ending

58 Insects without Organs of Hearing.

hairs (Fig. 11, 2) at their bottom, and Leydig the perfor- ated pegs, or tooth-like hairs. We may state then that the antennal organ of smell consists of a free or sunken hair-like body which opens by a pore or canal to a many nucleated ganglionic mass. We thus understand how the bee finds the nectar, the fly the meat, and the drone and other male insects their mates. Mr. Cheshire speaks of small pits in the antenne which he regards as organs of hearing. He gives, however, no proof of this, and the pits that he describes are not at all ear-like in their struct- ure. Dr. Packard says that there is no proof that any insects except crickets and locusts have real organs of hearing. He here refers to the ear-like organs situated on the sides of the body of these insects. Dr. C. S. Minot, in reviewing Graber’s work, says that it has not been demonstrated that even these tympanal organs are auditory, and adds that all attempts to demonstrate the existence of an auditory organ in insects has failed. There is no doubt but that this is a correct statement. That insects are conscious of vibrations which with us cause sound, I think no observing person can doubt. It is proved by the love note of the katy-did, the cicada and the cricket. Every apiarist has noticed the effect of various sounds made by the bees upon their comrades of the hive; and how contagious is the sharp note of anger, the low hum of fear, and the pleasant tone of a new swarm as they commence to enter their new home. Now, whether insects take note of these vibrations, as we recognize pitch, or whether they just distinguish the tremor, I think no one knows. There is some reason to believe that their delicate touch organs may enable them to discriminate between vibrations, even more acutely than can we by the use of our ears. A slight jar will quickly awaken a colony of hybrids, while a loud noise will pass unnoticed, If insects can appreciate with great delicacy the different vibratory conditions of the air by an excessive development of the sense of touch, then undoubtedly the antennz may be great aids. Dr. Clemens thought that insects could only detect atmospheric vibra- tions. So, too, thought Linnzus and Bonnet. From our present knowledge, this view seems the most reasonable

Eyes of Insects. 59

one, for nothing answering in the least to ears, structurally, has yet been discovered. :

The eyes are of two kinds, the compound, which are always present in mature insects, ahd the ocelli or simple eyes, which may or may not be present. When present there are usually three, which, if joined by lines, will describe a triangle, in the vertices of whose angles are the ocelli. Rarely there are but two ocelli, and very rarely but one.

The simple eyes (Fig. 5, f/f ) are circular, and possess a cornea, lens, and retina, which receives the nerve of sight. |

From the experiments of Reaumur and Swammerdam, which consisted in covering the eyes with varnish, they

Fic. 12. BGs pe

Facets of Compound Eyes. Section of Compound Eye.

F Facets. . ¢ Cornea, C Cells. ff Hairs. F Rods. O Nerve.

concluded that vision with these simple eyes is very indis- tinct, though by them the insect can distinguish light. Some have thought that these simple eyes were for vision at slight distances. Larve, like spiders and myriapods, have only simple ‘eyes.

The compound eyes (Fig. 8), are simply a cluster of simple eyes, so crowded that they are hexagonal (Fig. 12). The cornea is transparent, modified, chitinous skin. Just within, for each facet is the crystalline lens, back of which extend the rods (Fig. 13), which consist of united chitinous thread. Each rod is surrounded by eight rounded columns (Fig. 14)—retinulea—which are enclosed by pigment mem-

60 Histology of Eyes.

branes. This serves like the black lining of our own eye, and of optical instruments, to limit the rays of light. At the base of the rods is spread the nervous termination of the great optic nerves (Fig. 17), which éxtend from the brain, and which before reaching the eye passes through a gan- glionic enlargement. Whether the true retina exist in the

Fic. 14.

Rods much magnified, Retinu’a Eye,

columns between the rods, or at the base of the columns, is a disputed question. The old idea of Miiller, that the image of each eye is a distinct portion of a large compound whole—a mosaic—is now abandoned. The philosaphy of sight in insects is rather like that of higher animals, except thousands of eyes instead of two are used as one.

Delicate trachee pass into the eyes between the rods. The color of eyes varies very much, owing to pigment. In some of the bees, wasps, and Diptera or two-winged flies, the coloration is exceedingly beautiful. Often the irides- cence, or play of colors, as the angle of vision changes, is wonderfully rich.

The form, size and position of eyes vary much, as seen by noticing the eyes of drones and workers. Sometimes as in bees (Fig. 12), the eyes are hairy, the hairs arising from between the facets. Usually the eyes are naked. The number of facets, or simple eyes which form the compound eye, is often prodigious. There may be 17,00c in a single’ compound eye,

Vision in Insects. 61

The compound eyes are motionless, but from their size and sub-spherical shape, they give quite a range of vision. It is not likely that they are capable of adjustment to accord with different distances, and it has been supposed, from the direct darting flight of bees to their hives, and the awkward work they make in finding a hive when moved only a short distance, that their eyes are best suited’ to long vision.

Sir John Lubbock has proved, by some interesting experiments with strips of colored paper, that bees can distinguish colors. Honey was placed on a blue strip, beside several others of various colors. In the absence of the bees he changed the position of this strip, and upon their return the bees went to the blue strip rather than to the old position. Our practical apiarists have long been aware of this fact, and have conformed their practice to this knowledge, in giving a variety of colors to their hives. Apiarists have frequently noted that bees have a rare fac- uty of marking positions, but, for slight distances their sense of color will correct mistakes which would occur if position alone were their guide. Yet I believe more has been made of this matter of color than truth will war- rant. Lubbock’s experiments prove that ants and wasps also distinguish colors. ‘This is doubtless true of all insects that love sweets and are attracted by flowers. I have noticed a curious blunder made by bees in case of two houses which are just alike, but five rods apart. Honey placed on one porch is scarce found by bees before the cor- responding porch of the other house will be swarming with bees also, though no honey is near it, The bees are simply fooled. This experiment has been tried several times, so there can be no mistake. It shows that sight, not mere position, nor yet odor, is guide, even at long dis- tances. .

Within the head is the large brain (Fig. 17), which will be described as we come to speak of the nervous system. There are also chitinous bars and braces within, which serve greatly to strengthen this portion of the insect.

GS Appendages of the Thorax.

APPENDAGES OF THE THORAX.

The organs of flight are the most noticeable appendages of the thorax. The wings are usually four, though the Diptera have but two, and some insects—as the worker- ants—have none, The front or primary wings (Fig. 4, A) are usually larger than the secondary or hind wings (Fig. 4, 2), and thus the mesothoracic or middle ring of the thorax, to which they are attached, is usually larger than the metathorax or third ring. The wings consist of a broad frame-work of veins (Fig. 4), covered by. a thin, tough membrane. The main ribs or veins are variable in

lic. 15,

Muscles of Thorax, after Wolff,

£ Muscles to raise front wing, D Muscles to lower front wing. A Muscles of hind wing,

number, while towards the extremity of the wing are more or less cross-veins, dividing this portion of the wings into more or less cells. In the higher groups these cells are few, and quite important in classifying. Especially useful in grouping bees into their families and genera, are the cells in the second row, from the front or costal edge of the primary wings, called the sub-costal cells. Thus in the genus Apis there are three such cells (Fig. 4, A, 6, 7, 8), while in the Mclipona there are only two. The ribs or veins consist of a tube within a tube, the inner one form- ing an air tube, the outer one carrying blood. On the costal

Legs of Insects. 63

edge of the secondary wings we often find hooks, to attach them to the front wings (Fig. 4, B, C, 2).

The wings are moved by powerful muscles, compactly located in the thorax (Fig. 15), the strength of which is very great. The rapidity of the vibrations of the wings when flight is rapid, is really beyond computation. Think of a tiny fly outstripping the fleetest horse in the chase, and then marvel at this wondrous mechanism.

The legs (Fig. 2, 2, 2, g) are six in number in all ma- ture insects, two on the lower side of each ring of the thorax. These are long or short, weak or strong, accord- ing to the habit of the insect. Each leg consists of the following joints or parts: The coxa (Fig. 44, c), which moves like a ball and socket joint in the close-fitting coxal cavities of the body-rings. Next to this follow in order the broad trochanter (Fig. 44, 7), the large, broad femur (Fig. 44, /), the long, slim tibia (Fig. 44, 7), frequently bearing strong spines at or near its end, called tibial spurs, and followed by the from one to five-jointed tarsi (Fig. 44, I, 2, 3,4,5). All these parts move freely upon each other, and will vary in form to agree with their use. At the end of the last tarsal joint are two hooked claws (Fig. 45), between which are the pulvilli, which are not air-pumps as usually described, but rather glands, which secrete « sticky substance which enables insects to stick to a smootn wall, even though it be above them. The legs, in fact the whole crust, are more or less dense and hard, owing to the deposit within the structure of chitine.

INTERNAL ANATOMY OF INSECTS.

The muscles of insects are usually whitish. Sometimes I have noticed quite a pinkish hue about the muscles of the thorax. They vary in form and position to accord with their use. The mechanism of contraction is the same as in higher animals. The ultimate fibers of the voluntary muscles, when highly magnified, show the striae or cross- lines, the same as do the voluntary muscles of vertebrates, and are very beautiful as microscopic objects. The sepa- rate muscles are not bound together by a membrane, as in higher amimals. In insects the muscles ave widely distrib-

Muscles and Nerves.

64

uted, though, as we should expect, they are concentrated in the thorax and head. In insects of swiftest flight, like

Fic. 16.

Nervous System of Drone after Duncan,

the bee, the thorax (Fig. 15) is almost entirely composed of muscles; the esophagus, which carries the food to the stomach, being very small. At the base of the jaws (Fig. 39) the muscles are large and firm. The number of mus- cles is astounding. Lyonnet counted over 3,000 in a single

Brain and Nervous System. 65 caterpillar, nearly eight times as many as are found in th: human body. The strength, too, of insects is prodigious. There must be quality in muscles, for muscles as large as those of the elephant and as strong as those of the flea would hardly need the fulcrum which the old philosopher demanded in order to move the world. Fleas have been made to draw miniature cannon, chains and ~vagons many hundred times heavier than themselves.

The nerves of insects are in no wise peculiar, so far as known, except in position. Each nerve consists of a bundle of fibers some of which are sensitive and some motor. As in our bodies, some are knotted, or have gang- lia, and some are not.

The main nervous cord is double, and has several enlargements (Fig. 16) or ganglia. It runs along the under or ventral side of the body, (Fig. 16), separates

Fic. 17.

Brain of Insect, after Lujardie a a@ Antenne, 000 Ocelli,

near the head, and after passing around the esophagus, enlarges to form the largest of the ganglia, which serves as a brain (Fig.17). From the brain many fibers extend on each side to the compound eyes. The minute nerves extend everywhere, and in squeezing out the viscera of an insect, are easily visible. ?

In the larva the nerve cord is much as in the adult insect, except the ganglia are more numerous. Girard says, that at first in the larva of the bee there are seventeen ganglia. The supra-zesophageal or brain, three sub-esophageal, three thoracic—one for each ring —and ten abdominal. Soon the three sub-zsophageal merge into one, as do also

5

66 Nervous System of Insects.

the last three abdominal, when there are in all thirteen (Fig. 18). In the pupa, the last two of the thorax, and the first two abdominal, unite into the twin-like post-thoracic (Fig. 16), which supplies the meso, and meta-thoracic legs, and both pairs of wings with nerves. The fourth and fifth ganglia also unite, so that the adult worker-bee has nine

Fic. 18.

Nervous System of Workev Larva, aftey Duncan,

ganglia in all, The brain, like our own, is inclosed in membranes, is composed of white and gray matter, and is undoubtedly the seat of intelligence. Hence, as we should suppose, the brain of the worker is much larger than that either of the drone or queen. The ganglia along the cord are the seat of reflex acts the same as is the gray matter of our own spinal cord. Indeed, the beheaded bee uses its members much more naturally than do the higher animals after they have lost their heads. This may arise from their more simple organism, or from a higher development of the ganglia in question, The organs of circulation in insects are quite insignifi- cant.. The heart (Fig. 19, 2) is a long tube situated along the back, to which it is held by large muscles (Fig. 19, 7),

Organs of Circulation, 67

and receives the blood at valvular openings (Fig. 19, 0) along its sides which only permit the fluid to pass in, when by contraction it is forced toward the head and emptied into the general cavity. Thus the heart only serves to keep the blood in motion.

There are no vessels to carry the blood to the various organs, nor is this necessary, for the nutritive fluid every- where bathes the digestive canal, and thus easily receives

Fic. 19.

Portion of Heart of an ‘Insect, after Packard,

ff Heart.

m Muscles,

« Openings, ; nutriment, or gives waste by osmosis; everywhere sur- rounds the trachez or air-tubes—the insect’s lungs—and thus receives that most needful of all food, oxygen, and gives the baneful carbonic acid; everywhere touches the various organs, and gives and takes as the vital operations of the animal require. ;

The heart, like animal vessels, generally, consists of at. outer serous membrane, an inner, epithelial coat, and 4 middle muscular layer. Owing to the opaque crust, the pulsations of the heart cannot generally ne seen; but in some transparent larve, like many maggots, some parasites —those of our common cabbage butterfly show this admir- ably—and especially in: aquatic larve, the pulsations are plainly visible and are most interesting objects of study.

The heart, as shown by Lyonnet, is held to the dorsal wall by muscles (Fig. 19, 7). Beneath the heart are mus- cles which, to quote from Girard, forma sort of horizontal diaphragm (Fig. 20, @ ), which as Graber shows contract and thus aid circulation.

68 Breathing System in Insects.

The blood is light colored, and almost destitute of discs or corpuscles, which are so numerous in the blood of higher ani- mals, and which give our blood its red color. The function of these discs is to carry oxygen, and as oxygen is carried everywhere through the body by the ubiquitous air-tubes of insects, we see the discs are not needed. Except for these semi-fluid discs, which are real organs, and nourished as are other organs, the blood of higher animals is entirely fluid, in all normal conditions, and contains not the organs them- selves or any part of them, but only the elements, which

Fic. 20.

Cross Section of Bee, after Cheshire,

h Heart. Tr. Trachex, St, Stomach. a Ganglion, d@ Diaphragm,

are absorbed by the tissue and converted into the organs, or, to be scientific, are assimilated. As the blood of insects is nearly destitute of discs, having only white corpuscles, which are also found in the digested food, and like the same in higher animals, are amceboid, it is wholly fluid, and is almost wholly made up of nutritious matter. “Schonfeld has shown that the blood, chyle and larval food are much the same.

The respiratory or breathing system of insects has already been referred to. Along the sides of the body are the spiracles or breathing mouths, which vary in number, The full grown larva has twenty, while the imago has seven on each side, two on the thorax, one behind each wing and five on the abdomen. The drone has one more on

Respiratory System. 69

each side of the abdomen. These are armed with a com- plex valvular arrangement which excludes dust or other noxious particles. From these extends the labyrinth of air-tubes (Fig. 2,/,,), which carries vitalizing oxygen into every part of the insect organism. As shown long ago by Leydig and Weismann, these air-tubes are but an invagination of the derm of the insect. What is more curious, these trachee are molted or shed with the skin of the larve. In the more active insects—as in bees—the main trachee, one on each side of the abdomen, are expanded into large air-sacs (Fig. 2, f). Insects often show a respiratory motion, which in bees is often very marked. Newport has shown that in bees the rapidity of the respira- tion, which varies from twenty to.sixty per minute, gauges the heat in the hive, and thus we see why bees in times of severe cold, which they essay to keep at bay by forced respiration, consume much food, exhale much’foul air and moisture, and are liable to disease. Newport found that in cases of severe cold there would be quite a rise of mer- cury in a thermometer which he suspended in the hive amidst the cluster.

In the larval state, many insects breathe by fringe-like gills. The larval mosquito has gills in form of hairy tufts, while in the larval dragon-fly the gills are inside the rec- tum or last part of the intestine. The insect, by a muscu- lar effort, draws the water slowly in at the anus, where it bathes these singularly placed branchia, and then makes it serve a further turn by forcibly expelling it, when the insect is sent darting ahead. Thus this curious apparatus not only furnishes oxygen, but also aids in locomotion. In the pupz of insects there is little or no motion, yet import- ant organic changes are taking place—the worm-like, igno- ble, creeping, often repulsive larva, is soon to appear as the airy, beautiful, active, almost ethereal imago. So oxygen, the most essential—the size gua non—of all animal food is still needed. The bees are too wise to seal the brood-cell , with impervious wax, but rather add the porous capping, made of wax from old comb and pollen. The pupe no less than the larve of some two-winged flies which live in water, have long tubes which reach far out for the vivify-

70 Digestive System in Insects. ing air, and are thus called rat-tailed. Even the pupa of the mosquito, awaiting in its liquid home the glad time when it shall unfold its tiny wings and pipe its war-note, has a similar arrangement to secure the gaseous pabulum, The digestive apparatus of insects is _very interesting, and, as in our own class of animals, varies very much in length and complexity, as the hosts of insects vary in their habits. As in mammals and birds, the length, with some striking exceptions, varies with the food. Carnivorous or flesh-eating insects have a short alimentary canal, while in those that feed on vegetable food it is much longer.

Fic. 21.

Cross Section of Ileum, after

Schiemenz, Alimentary Canal, modified, from Wolf. o Esophagus. s m Stomach-mouth. 4 s Honey-stomach, s True stomach, ¢ Urinary tubes, # Small intestine or ileum, r g Rectal glands, y Large intestine or rectum.

The mouth I have already described. Following this is the throat or pharynx, then the esophagus or gullet (Fig. 21, 0), which may expand, as in the bee, to form a honey stomach (Fig. 21, 4 s), may have an attached crop like the chicken, or may run as a uniform tube, as in the human body, to the true stomach (Fig.21,5). Following this is the intestine—separated by some authors into an ileum (Fig. 21,7) anda rectum, which ends in the vent or anus. Connected with the mouth are salivary glands (Fig. 38), which are structurally like those in higher animals, and in those larve that form cocoons are the source of silk. In the glands this is a viscid fluid, but as

Glands or Organs of Secretion, 71

it leaves the duct it changes instantly into the gossamer thread. Bees and wasps use this saliva in forming their structures. With it and mud some wasps make mortar; with it and wood, others form their paper cells; with it and wax, the bee fashions the ribbons that are to form the beautiful comb. As will be seen later, these glands are very complex in bees and the function of the secretion very varied in both composition and function.

Lining the entire alimentary canal are mucous glands which secrete a viscid fluid that keeps the tube soft and promotes the passage of food.

The true stomach (Fig. 21, 5, 4), is very muscular; and often a gizzard, as in the crickets, where its interior is lined with teeth. The interior of the stomach is glandular, for secreting the gastric juice which is to liquify the food, that it may be absorbed, or pass through the walls of the canal into the blood. Attached to the lower portion of the stom- ach are numerous urinary tubes (Fig. 21), though Cuvier, and even Kirby, called these bile tubes. Siebold thinks some of the mucous glands secrete bile, and others act as a pan- creas.

The intestine when short, as in larve and most carnivora, is straight and but little, if any, longer than the abdo- men, while in most plant-eaters it is long and thus zig- zag in its course. It is a very interesting fact that the alimentary canal in the larva, may be wholly shed at the time of molting. Strange as it may seem, the fecal pel- lets of some insects are beautiful in form, and of others pleasanttothe taste. These fecal masses under trees or bushes often reveal the presence of caterpillars. I find my children use them to excellent purpose in finding rare specimens. In some caterpillars they are barrel-shaped, artistically fluted, of brilliant hue, and if fossilized, would be greatly admired, as have been the coprolites—fossil feces of higher animals—if set as gems in jewelry. As it is, they would form no mean parlor ornament. In other insects, as the Aphides or plant-lice, the excrement, as-well as the fluid that escapes from the general surface of the body, the anus, or in some species from special tubes called the nectaries, is very sweet, and in absence of floral nectar will often

72 Reproductive Organs in Insects.

be appropriated by bees and conveyed to the hives. In those insects that suck their food, as bees, butterflies, moths, two-winged flies and bugs, the feces are liquid, while in case of solid food the excrement is nearly solid.

SECRETORY ORGANS OF INSECTS.

I have already spoken of the salivary glands, which Kirby describes as distinct from the true silk-secreting tubes, though Newport thinks them one and thesame. In many insects these seem absent. I have also spoken of the mucous glands, the urinary tubules, etc. Besides these, there are other secretions which serve for purposes of defense. In the queen and workers of bees, and in ants and wasps, the poison intruded with the sting is an example. This is se- creted by glands at the posterior of the abdomen, stored in sacs (Fig. 23, A, ¢ ), and extruded through the sting as occa- sion requires. I know of no insects that poison while they bite, except it be mosquitos, gnats, etc., and in these cases no special secreting organ has been discovered. Perhaps the beak itself secretes an irritating substance. A few exceedingly beautiful caterpillars are covered with branch- ing spines, which sting about like a nettle. We have three such species. They are green, and of rare attraction so that to capture them is worth. the slight inconvenience arising from their irritating punctures. Some insects, like bugs, secrete a disgusting fluid or gas which affords pro- tection, as by its stench it renders these filthy bugs so offen- sive that even a hungry bird or half-famished insect passes them by on the other side. Some insects secrete a gas which is stored in a sac at the posterior end of the body, and shot forth with an explosion in case danger threatens; thus by noise and smoke it startles its enemy, which beats aretreat. I have heard the little bombardier beetle at such times, even at considerable distances. The frightful reports about the terrible horn of the tomato-worm larva are mere nonsense; a more harmless animal does not exist. My little boy of four years, and girl of only two, used to bring them to me last summer, and regard them as admiringly’

as would their father upon receiving them from the delighted children,

Male Organs of Insects. 93

If we except bees and wasps, there are no true insects that need be feared; nor need we except them, for with fair usage even they are seldom provoked to use their cruel weapon.

SEX ORGANS OF INSECTS.

The male organs consist of the testes (Fig. 22, 2) which are double. These are made up of tubules or vesicles, of which there may be from one, as in the drone bee, to

Fic. 22.

Male Organs of Drone, much magnified,

a Testes. e Common Duct. 6 6 Vasa deferentia, ( ¢ Ejaculatory duct. ¢ c Seminal sacs. & Penis, d@ Glandular sacs. i Yellow saccules. several, as in some beetles, on each side the abdominal cav- ity. In these vesicles grow the sperm cells, or spermatozoa

(Fig. 31), which, when liberated, pass through a long

74 Female Organs of Insects.

convoluted tube, the vas deferens (Fig. 22, 4, 4), into the seminal sac (Fig. 22, c, ¢) where, in connection with mucus, they are stored. In most insects there are giandu- lar sacs (Fig. 22, d@) joined to these seminal receptacles, which in the male bee are very large. The sperm cells mingled with these viscid secretions, as they appear in the

Fic. 23.

Female Organs, magnified, from Leuchart,

O Ovaries. P g Poison glands, D D Oviducts, SE Sting glands, ‘S 6 Spermatheca, Sting.

P 6 Poison sac,

seminal receptacle ready for use, form the seminal fluid. Extending from these seminal receptacles is the ejacula- tory duct (Fig. 22, e, 4, g), which in copulation carries the

female Organs of Insects. 45

male fluid to the penis (Fig. 22, 2), through which it passes to the oviduct of the female. Beside this latter organ are the sheath, the claspers, when present, and, in the male bee, those large yellow glandular sacs (Fig. 22, 2), which are often seen to dart forth as the drone is held in the warm hand.

The female organs, (Fig. 23) consist of the ovaries (Fig. 23, 0 0), which are situated one on either side of the abdominal cavity. From these extend the two oviducts (Fig. 23, D) which unite into the common oviduct (Fig. 23, D) through which the eggs pass in Jeposition. In the higher Hymenoptera there is beside this oviduct, and con- nected with it, a sac (Fig. 13, s 6) called the spermatheca, which receives the male fluid in copulation, and which, by extruding its contents, must ever after do the work of impregnation.

This sac was discovered and its use suggested by Mal- pighi as early as 1686, but its function was not fully dem- onstrated till 1792, when the great anatomist, John Hunter, showed that in copulation this was filled. The ovaries are multitubular organs. In some insects, as fertile workers, there are but very few tubes—two or three; while in the queen bee there are more than one hundred. In these tubes the ova or eggs grow, as do the sperm cells in the vesicles of the testes. The number of eggs is variable. Some insects, as the mud-wasps, produce very few, while the queen white-ant extrudes -millions. The end of the oviduct, called the ovipositor, is wonderful in its variation. Sometimes it consists of concentric rings, like a spy-glass, which may be pushed out or drawn in; sometimes of a long tube armed with augers or saws of wonderful finish, to prepare for eggs; or again of a tube which may also serve as a sting. The females of all Hymenoptera possess a sting, a saw, or an ovipositor, which can be said of no other order.

Most authors state that insects copulate only once, or at least that the female meets the male but once. Many species like the squash-bug mate several times. In some cases, as we shall see in the sequel, the male is killed by

76 Dissections of Insects.

the copulatory act. I think this curious fatality is limited to few species. ;

To study viscera, which of course requires very careful dissection, we need more apparatus than has been yet described. Here a good lens is indispensable. A small dissecting knife, adelicate pair of forceps, and some smali sharp-pointed dissecting scissors—those of the renowned Swammerdam were so fine at the point that it required a lens to sharpen them—which may also serve to clip the wings of queens, are requisite to satisfactory work. Speci- mens put in alcohol will be improved, as the oil will be dissolved out and the muscles hardened. Placing them in hot water will do nearly as well, in which case oil of tur- pentine will dissolve off the fat. This may be applied with a camel’s-hair brush. By dissecting under water the loose portions will float off, and render effective work more easy. Swammerdam, who had that most valuable requisite to a naturalist, unlimited patience, not only dis- sected out the parts, but with small glass tubes, fine as a hair, he injected the various vessels, as the alimentary canal and air-tubes. My reader, why may not you look in upon these wondrous beauties and marvels of God’s own handi- work—nature’s grand exposition? Father, why would. not a set of dissecting instruments be a most suitable gift to your son? You might thus sow the seed which would germinate into a Swammerdam, and that on your own hearth-stone. Messrs. Editors, why do not you, among your apiarian supplies, keep boxes of these instruments, and thus aid to light the torch of genius and hasten apiarian research?

TRANSFORMATIONS OF INSECTS.

What in all the realm of nature is so worthy to awaken delight and admiration as the astonishing changes which insects undergo? Just think of the sluggish, repulsive caterpillar, dragging its heavy form over clod or bush, or mining in dirt and filth, changed, by the wand of nature’s great magician, first into the motionless chrysalis, decked with green and gold, and beautiful as the gem that glitters on the finger of beauty, then bursting forth as the graceful,

First Stage of Insects. "7

gorgeous butterfly; which, by its brilliant tints and elegant . poise, outrivals even the birds among the life-jewels of nature, and is made fit to revel in all her decorative wealth. The little fly, too, with wings dyed in rainbow-hues, flit- ting like a fairy from leaf to flower, was but yesterday the repulsive maggot, reveling in the veriest filth of decaying nature. The grub to-day drags its slimy shape through the slums of earth, on which it fattens; to-morrow it will glitter as the brilliant setting in the bracelet and ear-drops of the gay and thoughtless belle.

There are four separate stages in the development of insects: The egg, the larva, the pupa, and the imago.

THE EGG.

This is not unlike the same in higher animals. It has its yolk and its surrounding white or albumen, like the eggs of all mammals, and farther, the delicate shell, which is fami- liar in the eggs of birds and reptiles. Eggs of insects are often beautiful in form and color, and not infrequently ribbed and fluted (Fig. 26), as by a master hand. The form of eggs is very various—spherical, oval, cylindrical, oblong, straight, and curved (Fig. 24,@, 4). Through the egg is an opening (Fig. 26,2 m), the micropile, through which passes the sperm cells. ‘All insects seem to be guided by a wonderful knowledge, or instinct, or intelligence, in the placing of eggs on or near the peculiar food of the larva, even though in many cases such food is no part of the aliment of the imago. ‘The fly has the refined habits of the epicure, from whose cup it daintily sips, yet its eggs are placed in the horse-droppings of stable and pasture.

Inside the egg wonderful changes soon commence, and their consummation is a tiny larva. Somewhat similar changes can be easily and most profitably studied by break- ing and examining a hen’s egg each successive day of incu- bation. As with the eggs of our own species and of all higher animals, the egg of insects, or the yolk, the essential part—the white is only food, so to speak—soon segments or divides into a great many cells which soon unite into a membrane, the blastoderm, which is the initial animal; this blastoderm soon forms a single arch or sac, and not a

78 Second Stage of Insects.

double arch, one above the other, as in our own verte- brate branch. This sac, looking like a miniature bag of grain, grows by absorption, becomes articulated, and by budding out is soon provided with the various members. As in higher animals, these changes are consequent upon heat, and usually, not always, upon the incorporation within the eggs of the sperm cells from the male, which enter the egg at an opening called the micropile. The time it takes the embryo inside the egg to develop is gauged by heat, and will, therefore, vary with the season and temperature, though in different species it varies from days to months, The number of eggs which an insect may produce is sub- ject to wide variation. There may be a score; there may be thousands.

THE LARVA OF INSECTS.

From the egg comes the larva, also called grub, maggot, caterpillar, and very erroneously worm. These are worm- shaped (Fig. 24), usually have strong jaws, simple eyes, and the body plainly marked into ring divisions. In some insects there are fourteen of these rings or segments, or ten beside the head and three rings of the thorax. In bees and nearly all other insects (Fig. 24, f) there is one less abdomi- nal ring. Often, as in case of some grubs, larval bees, and maggots, there are nolegs. In most grubs there are six legs, two to each of the three rings succeeding the head. Besides these, caterpillars have usually ten prop-legs farther back on the body, though a few—the loopers or measuring caterpil- lars—have only four or six, while the larva of the saw-flies have from twelve to sixteen of the false or prop-legs. The alimentary canal of larval ‘insects is usually short, direct, and quite simple, while the sex-organs are slichtly if at all developed. The larve of insects are voracious eaters— indeed, their only work seems to be to eat and grow fat. This rapid growth is well shown in the larva of the bee which increases during its brief period from egg to full grown larva—less than five days—from 1200 to 1500 times its weight. As the entire growth occurs at this stage, their gormandizing habits are the more excusable. I have often been astonished at the amount of food that the insects in

Lhird Stage of Insects. 79

my breeding cases would consume. The skin or crust of insects is unyielding, hence growth requires that it shall be cast. This shedding of the skin is called molting. © Most insects molt from four'to six times. That bees molt was even known to Swammerdam. Vogel speaks of the thick- ening of the cells because of these cast skins. Dr. Pack- ard observed many years since, that in the thin skinned larva, such as those of bees, wasps, and gall-flies, the molts are not apparent; as these larve increase in size, they outgrow the old skin which comes off in shreds. The length of time which insects remain as larve is very vari- able. The maggot revels in decaying meat but two or three days; the larval bee eats its rich pabulum for nearly a week; the apple-tree borer gnaws away for three years; while the seventeen-year cicada remains a larva for more than sixteen years, groping in darkness and feeding on roots, only to come forth for a few days of hilarity, sun- shine, and courtship. Surely, here is patience exceeding even that of Swammerdam. , The name larva, meaning masked, was given to this stage by Linnzus, as the mature form of the insect is hidden, and cannot be even divined by the unlearned. ,

THE PUPA OF INSECTS.

In this stage the insect is in profound repose, as if rest- ing after its meal, the better to enjoy its active, sportive days—the joyous honey moon—soon tocomee At this time the insect may look like a’seed, as in the coarctate pupa of diptera, so familiar in the “ flax-seed ” state of the Hessian- fly, or in the pupa of the cheese-maggot, or the meat-fly. The form of the adult insect is very obscurely shown in butterfly pup, called, because of their golden spots, chrys- alids, and in the pupe of moths. Other pup, as in the case of bees (Fig. 24, g) and beetles, look not unlike the mature insect with its antennae, legs, and wings closely bound to the body by a thin membrane, hence the name pupa which Linné gave—referring to this condition—as the insect looks as if wrapped in swaddling clothes, the old cruel way of torturing the infant, as if it needed holding together. Aristotle called pup “ nymphs”—a name still

80 Pupa Stage of Insects.

in use. Inside the pupa skin great changes are in progress, for either by modifying the larval organs or developing parts entirely new by use of the. accumulated material stored by the larva during its prolonged banquet, the won-

Fic. 24.

Development of the Bee, after Duncan,

ab Eggs. g Pupa. edef Weta & Caps. * 7 Queen cell,

derful transformation from the sluggish, worm-like larva, to the active, bird-like imago is accomplished. Sometimes the pupa is surrounded by a silken cocoon, either thick, as. the cocoon of some moths, or thin and incomplete as the cocoon of bees. These cocoons are spun by the larve as their last toil before assuming the restful pupa state. The length of time in the pupa-stage varies from a few days to as many months. Sometimes insects which are two-brooded remain as pupz but a few days in summer, while in winter’ they are months passing the quiescent period. Our cabbage- butterfly illustrates this peculiarity. Others, like the Hes- sian-fly and codling moth, remain through the long, cold months as larva. How wonderful is this! The first brood

The Last Stage of Insects, 81

of larve change to pupz at once, the last brood, though the weather be just as hot, wait over inside the cocoon till the warm days of coming spring.

THE IMAGO STAGE.

This term refers to the last or winged form, and was given by Linnzus because the image of the insect is now real and not masked as when in the larva state. Now the insect has its full-formed legs and wings, its compound eyes, often complex mouth-parts—a few insects, like the bot-flies, have no mouth organs—and the fully developed sex-organs. In fact, the whole purpose of the insect now seems to be to reproduce itself. Many insects do not even eat, only flit in merry marriage mood for a brief space, when the male flees this life to be quickly followed by the female, she only waiting to place her eggs where the prospective infants may find suitable food. Some insects not only place their eggs, but feed and care for their young, as do ants, wasps and bees. Again as in case of some species of ants and bees, abortive females perform all, or most of the labor in caring for the young. The life of the imago also varies much as to duration. Some imagos live but for a day, others make merry for several days, while a few species live for months. Very few imagos survive the whole year. The queen bee may live for five years, and Lubbock has queen ants which are thirteen years old. ;

INCOMPLETE TRANSFORMATION.

Some insects like the bugs, lice, grasshoppers, and locusts are quite alike at all stages of growth, after leaving the egg. The only apparent difference is the smaller size and the absence or incomplete development of the wings in the larva and pupz. The habits and structure from first to last seem to be much the same. Here, as before, the full development of the sex-organs occurs only in the imago.

82 Three Kinds of Bees in Each Colony.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY-BEE.

With a knowledge of the anatomy and some glimpses of the physiology of insects in general, we shall now find it easy to learn the special anatomy and physiology of the highest insects of the order.

THREE KINDS OF BEES IN EACH FAMILY.

As we have already seen, a very remarkable feature in the economy of the honey-bee, described even by Aristotle, which is true of some other bees, and of ants, is the presence in each family of three distinct kinds, which differ in form, color, structure, size, habits and function. Thus we have the queen (Lubbock has shown that there are several queens in an ant colony), a number of drones, and a far greater number of workers. Huber, Bevan, Munn, and Kirby also speak of a fourth kind, blacker than the usual workers. These are accidental, and are, as conclusively shown by Von Berlepsch, ordinary workers, more deeply colored by age, loss of hair, dampness, or some other atmos- pheric condition. American apiarists are too familiar with these black bees, for after our severe winters, they prevail in the colony, and, as remarked by the noted Baron, “They quickly disappear.” Munn also tells of a fifth kind, with a top-knot, which appears at swarming seasons. I am ata great loss to know what he refers to, unless it be the pollen masses of the asclepias, or milk-weed, which sometimes fasten to our bees and become a severe burden.

THE QUEEN BEE.

The queen (Fig. 25) although referred to as the mother bee, was called the king by Virgil, Pliny, and by writers as late as the last century, though in the “Ancient Bee Master’s Farewell,” by John Keys, published in London in 1796, I find an admirable description of the queen bee, with her function correctly stated. Reaumur, as quoted in “Wildman on Bees,” published in London in 1770, says “this third sort has a grave and sedate walk, is armed with a sting, and is mother of all the others.”

Description of Queen Bee. 83

Huber, to whom every apiarist owes so much, and who, though blind, through the aid of his devoted wife and intelligent servant, Francis Burnens, developed so many interesting truths, demonstrated the fact of the queen’s maternity. This author’s work, second edition, published in Edinburgh in 1808, gives a full history of his wonderful observations and experiments, and must ever rank with the work of Langstroth as a classic, worthy of study by all.

The queen, then, is the mother bee; in other words, a fully developed female. Her ovaries (Fig. 23, a,@) are very large, nearly filling her long abdomen. The tubes already described as composing them are very numerous, there being more than one hundred, while the spermatheca (Fig. 23, 5 4) is plainly visible. This is a membranous sac, hardly 1-20 of aninch indiameter. It is fairly cavered with interlacing nerves, which give to it its light, glistening appearance. The spermatheca has a short duct, joined to which is the duct of the double appendicular glands which closely embrace the spermatheca. These are described by Siebold and Leuckart, who suppose that they furnish mucus to render the sperm cells more mobile, so that they will move more freely. Leuckart also describes muscles, which connect with the duct of the spermatheca (Fig. 23), which he thinks act as sphincters or dilators of this duct, to restrain or permit the passage of the spermatozoa. When the duct is opened the ever active sperm cells rush out, aided in their course by the secretion from the appended glands. Cheshire figures what he calls a gland about the duct, which he supposes so thins the sperm that the sperm- atozoa are economized. Such a gland as he describes would need a duct which he does not mention. He also suggests that the duct from the spermatheca to the oviduct is double; that a direct route is open when the male meets the queen, and a circuitous one later for the passage of the sperm cells, when eggs are to be fecundated. I think it far more likely that this is regulated by the very muscular oviduct, which receives very numerous nerves, and so must be exceedingly sensitive. Such anatomists as Siebold and Leuckart would not in their careful search have missed such

$4 Organs of Queen Bee.

a double conduit, had it existed. Cheshire, in his first vol- ume, has given us two original points: this double passage, and the auditory organs of the antennz, neither of which are probably correct. The spermatheca, according to Leuckart, may contain 25,000,000 spermatozoa. We sce, then, why it does not run empty, even though Siebold showed that each of the one and one-half million of eggs that a queen may lay, receives two or three sperm cells. That an egg does receive more than one spermatozoa, was not only demonstrated by Siebold, but is analogous with facts as seen in higher animals. The eggs, which, as Girard states, do not form as early in the ovaries as do the sperm cells in the organs of the drone, are a little more than

Fic. 26.

Queen Bee, magnified,

Bee Egg.

AE. B Large end. m Micropile,

1-16 of an inch long, slightly curved and rather smaller at the end of attachment to the comb. The outer mem- brane (Fig. 26) appears cellular when magnified, and shows the micropile at the larger end (Fig. 26, B. m). The possession of the ovaries and attendant organs, is the chief structural peculiarity which marks the queen, as these are the characteristic marks of females among all animals. But she has other peculiarities worthy of mention: She is

Eggs of Queen, 8

longer than either drones or workers, being more than seven-eighths of an inch in length, and, with her long taper- ing abdomen, is not without real grace and beauty. The queen’s mouth organs are developed to a less degree than

on

Fic. 28.

Labium of Queen,

@ Ligula. d d Paraglosse, 6 Labial palpi.

Part of Leg of Queen, magnified, after Duncan,

# Tibia P Broadened tibia and basal tarsus. 2 s Tarsal joints.

are those of the worker bees. Her jaws (Fig. 42, 4) or mandibles are weaker, with a rudimentary tooth, and her tongue or ligula (Fig. 27, 2), as also the labial palpi ( Fig. 27, 6) and maxilla, are considerably shorter. Of the four pairs of glands (Fig. 38) so elegantly figured, and so well described by Schiemenz, the queen has the first pair very rudimentary, and the others well developed. Her eyes, though like, yet hardly as large as the same in the worker bee (Fig. 6), are smaller than those of the drones, and do not meet above. So the three ocelli are situated above and between the compound eyes. The queen’s wings (Fig.

86 Characteristics of Queen.

25) are relatively shorter than those of either the workers or drones, for instead of attaining to the end of the body, they reach but little beyond the third joint of the abdomen. The queen, though she has the characteristic posterior tibia and basal tarsus (Fig. 28, 2), in respect to breadth, has not the cavity and surrounding hairs which form the pollen bas- kets of the workers. The legs of the queen (Fig. 28), are large and strong, but like her body, they have not the pol- len gathering hairs which are so well marked in the worker. The queen possesses a sting which is longer than that of the worker, and resembles that of the bumble-bee in being curved es 23), and that of bumble-bees and wasps in having few and short barbs—the little projections which point back like the barb of a fish-hook, and which, in case of the workers, prevent the withdrawing of the instrument, when once fairly inserted. While there are seven quite prominent barbs on each shaft of the worker’s sting (Fig. 51), there are only three on those of the queen, and these are very short. As in case of the barbs of the worker’s sting, so here, they are successively shorter as we recede from the point of the weapon. Even Aristotle discovered that a queen will rarely use her sting. I have often tried to get a queen to sting me, but without success. Neighbour gives three cases where queens used their stings, in one of which she was disabled from farther egg-laying. She stings with slight effect. The use of the queen’s sting is to dispatch arival queen. The brain of the queen is relatively small. We should expect this, as the queen’s functions are vegetative. So the worker, possessed of more intricate functions, is much more highly organized.

Schiemenz and Schonfeld are unquestionably correct in the belief that the queen, and the drones as well, are fed by the workers, the same food that the larve are fed. Thus the digestion is performed for both queen and drones.

I have known queens to lay over 3,000 eggs a day. These I find weigh .3900 grams, while the queen only weighs, .2299 grams. Thus the queen may lay daily nearly double her own weight of eggs. This of course, could only be possibie as she was fed highly nutritious food, which was wholly digested for her. Schonfeld finds that

Lg g-laying by the Queen, 87

the queen, like the drones, will soon die if she be shut away from the workers by a double wire cage, even though in the hive and surrounded with honey. The fact that pollen husks—cuticula—are never found in the queen’s stomach gives added proof of the above fact. The contents are grayish. I never saw a queen void her feces. Vogel reports having seen it, and Mr. Cowan reports to me that he has seen a queen pass a yellowish gray liquid. Thus there is no doubt of the view of the German scientists, especially as we find the queen’s alimentary canal comparatively small, though the renal tubules are large and numerous. The queen, like the worker bees, is developed from an impregnated egg, which of course could only come from a queen that had previously mated. These eggs are not placed in a hori- zontal cell, but in one specially prepared for their reception (Fig. 247). The queen cells are usually built on the edge of the comb, or around an opening in it, which is necessi- tated from their size and form, as usually the combs are too close together to permit their location elsewhere. These cells extend either vertically or diagonally downward, are very rough and are composed of wax cut from the old combs, mixed with pollen, (Mr. Cheshire says all kinds of refuse is used in constructing queen cells) and in size and form much resemble a pea-nut. The eggs must be placed in these cells, either by the queen or workers. Huber, who though blind had wondrous eyes, witnessed the act. Ihave frequently seen eggs in these cells, and without exception in the exact position in which the queen always places her eggs in the other cells. John Keys, in the old work already referred to, whose descriptions, though penned so long ago, are wonderfully accurate and indicate great care, candor, and conscientious truthfulness, asserts that the queen is five times as long laying a royal egg as she is the others. From the character of his work, and its early publication, I can but think that he had witnessed this rare sight. Some candid apiarists of our own time and country —E. Gallup among the rest—claim to have witnessed the act. The eggs are so well glued, and are so delicate, that, -with Neighbour, I should doubt the possibility of a removal except that some persons assert that they have positive

88 Harmony Among the Bees.

proof that it is sometimes done. Possibly the young larve may at times be removed from one cell to another. The opponents to the view that the queen lays eggs in the queen cells, base their belief on a supposed discord between the queen and neuters. This antagonism is inferred, and I have but little faith in the inference, or the argument from it. I know that when royal cells are to be torn down, and inchoate queéns destroyed, the workers aid the queen in the destruction. I have also seen queens pass by unguarded queen-cells, and yet respect them. I have also seen sev- eral young queens dwelling amicably together in the same hive. Is it not probable that the bees are generally united in whatever is to be accomplished, and that when queens are to be destroyed all spring to the work, and when they are to live all regard them as sacred? It is true that the actions of bees are controlled and influenced by the sur- rounding conditions or circumstances, but I have yet to see satisfactory proof of the old theory that these conditions impress differently the queen and the workers. The con- ditions which lead to the building of queen-cells and the peopling of the same are: Loss of queen; when a worker larva from one to four days old will be surrounded by a cell; inability of a queen to lay impregnated eggs, her spermatheca having become emptied; great number of worker-bees in the hive, restricted quarters; the queen not having place to deposit eggs, or the workers little or no room to store honey; or lack of ventilation, so that the hive becomes too close. These last three conditions are most likely to occur at times of great honey secretion.

A queen may be developed from an egg, or, as first shown by Schirach, from a worker larva less than three days old. (Mr. Doolittle has known queens to be reared from worker larve taken at four-and-a-half days from hatching.) In the latter case, the cells adjacent to the one containing the selected larva are removed, and the larva surrounded by a royal cell. The development of the queen larva is much like that of the worker, soon to be detailed, except that it is more rapid, and the queen larva is fed richer and more plenteous food, called royal jelly. This is an excel- lent name for this substance, as Dr. A. de Planta has shown

Influence of Royal Felly. 89

i. B. J. 1887, p. 185), that this royal jelly is different rom the food both of the worker and drone larva. It is doubtless chyle or digested pollen, as first suggested by Dufour, and so ably proved by Schonfeld. Dr. Planta’s researches show that the royal jelly is richer in fatty ele- ments than either that of the drones or workers; but not as rich in proteids, or in sugar, as the food given to worker larve. It contains more albuminous material, and much more fatty matter than the food of the drone larve. Quite likely evaporation may change the nature of this royal jelly. This peculiar food, as also its use and abun- dance in the cell, was first described by Schirach, a Saxon clergyman, who wrote a work on beesin 1771. According to Hunter, this royal pabulum is richer in nitrogen than that of the common larva. Possibly this author compared it with that taken from drone brood. It is thick, like rich cream; slightly yellow, and so abundant that the queen larva not only floats in it during all its period of growth, but quite a large amount remains after her queenship vacates the cell. We sometimes find this royal jelly in incomplete queen-cells, without larve.

What a mysterious circumstance is this: These royal scions simply receive a more abundant and sumptuous diet, and occupy a more ample habitation—for I have more than once confirmed the statement of Mr. Quinby, that the direction of the cell is immaterial—and yet what a mar- velous transformation. Not only are the ovaries developed and filled with eggs, but the mouth-organs, the wings, the legs, the sting, aye, even the size, form, and habits, are all wondrously changed. The food stimulates extra develop- ment of the ovaries, and through the law of compensation, other parts are less developed. That the development of parts should be accelerated, and the size increased, is not so surprising—as in breeding other insects J have frequently found that kind and amount of food would hasten or retard growth, and might even cause a dwarfed imago—but that food should so essentially modify the structure, is certainly arare and unique circumstance, hardly to be found except here and in related animals. Bevan has suggested that fer- tile workers, while larve, have received some of this royal

90 Cause of Fertile Workers.

jelly, from their position near a developing queen. As the workers vary the chyle for the several larve as Dr. Planta has shown, may they not sometimes make a mistake and feed queen chyle to workers. Surely in caring for so many young, this would be very pardonable. Langstroth. supposes that they receive some royal jelly, purposely given. by the workers, and I have previously thought this reason- able and probably true. But these pests of the apiarist, and. especially of the breeder, almost always, so far as I have observed, make their appearance in colonies long queenless, and I have noticed a case similar to that given by Quinby, where these occurred in a nucleus where no queen had been developed. May it not be true that a desire for eggs stimulates in some worker, which was perhaps over-fed as larva, the growth of the ovaries, growth of eggs in the ovarian tubes, and consequent ability to deposit? The com- mon high-holder, Colaptes auratus—a bird belonging to the wood-pecker family, usually lays five eggs, and only five; but let cruel hands rob her of these promises of future loved ones, and, wondrous to relate, she continues to lay more than a score. One thus treated, here on the College campus, actually laid more than thirty eggs. So we see that animal desires may influence and move organs that are generally independent of the will. It may be that in queenless colonies the workers commence to feed some worker or workers, the rich nitrogenous food, and thus their ovaries are stimulated to activity.

The larval queen is longer, and more rapid of develop- ment than the other larvae. When developed from the egg—as in case of normal swarming—the larva feeds for five days, when the cell is capped by the workers. The infant queen then spins her cocoon, which occupies about one day. The fibrous part of the cocoon, which is also true of- both drone and worker larva, is confined to the outer end, as is easily seen by microscopic examination. Yet athin var- nish continues this over the whole interior of the cell, This latter becomes very thick in worker cells, as many bees are reared in each cell, while in the queen cell it is thin, as but one bee is reared in each cell. A similar varnish coats the cocoons of all silk moths. This may be the con-

Development of Qneen Bee. g!

tents of the alimentary canal simply, very likely a special secretion is added. These cocoons are shown nicely when we melt old comb in the solar wax extractor. The queen now spends nearly three days in absolute repose. Such rest is common to all cocoon-spinning larve. The spin- ning, which is done by a rapid motion to-and-fro of the head, always carrying the delicate thread, much like the moving shuttle of the weaver, seems to bring exhaustion and need of repose. She now assumes the nymph, or pupa state (Fig. 24,2). At the end of the sixteenth day she comes forth a queen. While a queen usually comes forth in sixteen days, there may be delay. Cold will delay hatching of the egg, and retard development. Sometimes’ queens are kept for a time in the cell, after they are really ready to come forth. Thus there may be rarely a delay of even two days, Huber states that when a queen emerges the bees are thrown into a joyous excitement, so that he noticed a rise in temperature in the hive from 92° F. to 104° F. Ihave never tested this matter accurately, but I have failed to notice any marked demonstration on the natal day of her ladyship the queen, or extra respect paid her as a virgin. When queens are started from worker larve, they will issue as imagos in ten or twelve days from the date of their new prospects. Mr. Doolittle writes me that he has known them to issue in eight and one-half days. My own observations sustain the assertion of Mr. P. L. Viallon that the minimum time is nine and one-half days.

As the queen’s development is probably due to superior quality and increased quantity of food, it would stand to reason that queens started from eggs are preferable; the more so as, under normal circumstances, I believe they are , almost always thus started.. The best experience sustains this position. As the proper food and temperature can best be secured in a full colony—and here again the natural economy of the hive adds to our argument—we should infer that the best queens would be reared in strong colo- nies, or at least kept in such colonies till the cells were capped. Experience also confirms this view. As the quan- tity and quality of food and the general activity of the bees are directly connected with the full nourishment of the

92 Mating of the Queen.

queen-iarva, and as these are only at the maximum in times of active gathering—the time when queen-rearing is nat- turally started by the bees—we should also conclude that queens reared at such seasons are superior. My experience —and I have carefully observed in this connection—most emphatically sustains this view.

Five or six days after issuing from the cell—Neighbour says the third day—if the day be pleasant the queen goes forth on her “marriage flight;” otherwise she will improve the first pleasant day thereafter for this purpose. Rev. Mr. Mahin has noticed that the young queens fly out sev- eral times simply to exercise, and then he thinks they often go from two to five miles to mate; while Mr. Ally thinks the mating is performed within one half mile of the hive. I have known queens to be out on their mating tour for thirty-five minutes, in which case it would seem certain that they must have gone more than one-half mile. Some- times queens will meet the drones, as shown by the white thread, and yet not be impregnated. he spermatozoa ' did not reach the spermatheca. In such cases, a second and perhaps a third mating is required. Huber was the first to prove that impregnation always takes place on the wing. Bonnet also proved that the same is true of ants, though in this case millions of queens and drones often swarm out at once. I have myself witnessed several of these wholesale matrimonial excursions among ants. I have also frequently taken bumble-bees that were copula- ting while on the wing. JI have also:seen both ants and bumble-bees fall while united, probably borne down by the expiring males. That butterflies, moths, dragon-flies, , etc. mate on the wing is a matter of common observation. It has generally been thought impossible for queens in confinement to be impregnated. Prof. Leuckart believes that successful mating demands that the large air-sacs (Fig. 2,7) of the drones shall be filled, which he thinks is only possible during flight. The demeanor of the drones suggests that the excitement of flight, like the warmth of the hand, is necessary to induce the sexual impulse.

Many others, with myself, have followed Huber in clip- ping the virgin queen’s wing, only to produce a sterile, or

impregnation of Queen. 93

drone-laying queen. One queen, however, the past season, whose wing was clipped just as she came from the cell, and the entrance to whose hive was guarded by perforated zinc so the queen could not get out, was impregnated, and proved an excellent queen. Yet from a great number of experiments, I doubt if mating in confinement can ever be made practicable, even if desirable. And if Leuckart ‘is correct in the above suggestion, which is very probable, it is not desirable. Some bee-keepers claim to have mated queens by hand. I have tried this thoroughly, as also mat- ing in boxes, queen-houses, etc., etc., and from entire lack of success, I believe such mating is impossible, at least with most bee-keepers.

If the queen fails to. find an admirer the first day, she will go forth again and again till she succeeds. Huber states that after twenty-one days the case is hopeless. Bevan states that if impregnated from the fifteenth to the twenty- first she will be largely a drone-laying queen. That such absolute dates can be fixed in either of the above cases is very questionable. Yet all experienced breeders know that queens kept through the winter as virgins are sure to remain so. It is quite likely that the long inactivity of the reproductive apparatus, especially of the oviduct and sper- matheca, wholly or in part paralyzes it, so that queens that are late in mating cannot impregnate the eggs as they desire, This would accord with what we know of other muscular organs. Berlepsch believed that a queen that commenced laying as a virgin could never lay impregnated eggs, even though she afterwards mated. Langstroth thought that he had observed to the contrary.

If the queen be observed after a successful “ wedding tour,” she will be seen, as first pointed out by Huber, to bear the marks of success in the pendant drone appendages, which are still held in the vulva of the queen.

It is not at all likely that a queen, after she has meta drone, ever leaves the hive again except when she leaves with a swarm. It has been stated that an old queen may be impregnated. I feel very certain that this is an error.

If the queen lays eggs before meeting the drone, or if for any reason she fail to mate, her eggs will only produce

94 Dazierzon’s Theory.

male bees. This strange anomaly—development of the eggs without impregnation—was discovered and proved by Dzierzon, in 1845. Dr. Dzierzon, who, as a student of prac- tical and scientific apiculture, ranks very high, is a Roman Catholic priest of Carlsmarkt, Germany. This doctrine— called parthenogenesis, which means produced from a virgin —is still doubted by some quite able bee keepers, though the proofs are irrefragable: 1st, Unmated queens will lay eggs that will develop, but drones always result. 2d, Old queens often become drone-layers, but examination shows that the spermatheca is void of seminal fluid. Such an examination was first made by Prof. Siebold, the great German anato- mist, in 1843, and later by Leuckart and Leidy. I have myself made several such examinations. ,The spermatheca can easily be seen by the unaided vision, and by crushing it on a glass slide, by compressing with a thin glass cover, the difference between the contained fluid in the virgin and in the impregnated queen is very patent, even with a low power. In the latter it is more viscid and yellow, and the vesicle more distended. By use of a high power, the active spermatozoa or sperm cells become visible. 3d, Eggs in drone-cells are found by the microscopist to be void of the sperm-cells, which are always found in all other fresh-laid eggs. This most convincing and interesting observation was first made by Von Siebold, at the suggestion of Ber- lepsch. It is quite difficult to show this. Leuckart tried before Von Siebold, at Berlepsch’s apiary, but failed. | I have also tried to discover these sperm-cells in worker-eggs, but as yet have been unsucessful. Siebold has noted the same facts in eggs of wasps. 4th, Dr. Donhoff, of Ger- many, in 1855, took an egg from a drone-cell, and by arti- ficial impregnation produced a worker-bee. Such an operation, to be successful, must be performed as soon as the egg is laid. :

Parthenogenesis, in the production of males, has also been found by Siebold to be true of other bees and wasps, and of some of the lower moths in the production of both males and females. Adler has shown that this agamic reproduction prevails among the Chalcidide, a family of parasitic Hymenoptera, and it has long been known to char-

Agamic Reproduction in Other Insects, 95

acterize the cynips or gall-flies; while the great Bonnet first discovered what may be noticed on any summer day all about us, even on the house plants at our very windows that parthenogenesis is best illustrated by the aphides, or plant-lice. In the fall males and females appear which mate, when the females lay eggs which in the spring pro- duce only females; these again produce only females, and thus on for several generations, sometimes fifteen or twenty, till with the cold of autumn come again the males and females. Any person can easily demonstrate this fact for himself. The summer plant-lice are hatched within the mother louse, or are ovoviviporous. It is easy to capture a young louse just as it is born, and isolate it on a plant, when soon we shall find it giving birth to young lice, though it has never even seen any louse, male or female, since birth. Bonnet observed seven successive generations of productive virgins. Duval noted nine generations in seven months, while Kyber observed production exclusively by partheno- genesis in a heated room for four years. So, we see that this strange and almost incredible method of increase is not rare in the great insect world.

In two or three days after she is impegnated, the queen, under normal circumstances, commences to lay, usually worker-eggs, and if the condition of the hive impels to no further swarming that season, no drones will be required and so only worker-eggs will be laid. In many localities and in certain favorable years in all localities, however, further swarming will occur.

It is frequently noticed that the young queen at first lays quite a number of drone-eggs. Queen-breeders often observe this in their nuclei. This continues for only a few days. ‘This does not seem strange. The act of freeing the sperm-cells from the spermatheca is muscular and vol- untary, and that these. muscles should not always act promptly at first, is not strange, nor is it unprecedented. Mr. Wagner suggested that the size of the cell determined’ the sex, as in the small cells the pressure on the abdomen forced the fluid from the spermatheca. Mr. Quinby also favored this view. I greatly question this theory. All observing apiarists have known eggs to be laid in worker-

96 Egg-laying by Queen.

cells, ere the cell was hardly commenced, when there could be no pressure. 1n case of queen-cells, too, if the queen does lay the eggs—as I believe—these would be unimpreg- nated, as the cell is very large. I know the queen some- times passes from drone to worker-cells very abruptly while laying, as I have witnessed such a procedure—the same that so greatly rejoiced the late Baron of Berlepsch, after weary hours of watching —but that she can thus con- trol at the instant this process of adding or withholding the sperm-cells certainly seems not so strange as that the sper- matheca, hardly bigger than a pin-head, could supply these cells for months, yes, and for years. Who that has seen the bot-fly dart against the horse’s legs, and as surely leave the tiny yellow egg, can doubt but that insects possess very sensitive oviducts, and can extrude the minute eggs just at ‘pleasure. That a queen may force single eggs, at will, past the mouth of the spermatheca, and at the same time add or withhold the sperm-cells, is, I think, without ques- tion, true. What gives added force to this view is the fact that other bees, wasps and ants exercise the same volition, and can have no aid from cell-pressure, as all the eggs are laid in receptacles of the same size. As already remarked, the males and workers of Apis dorsata are developed in the same sized cells, while the males of A. Indica are smal- ler than the workers. The Baron of Berlepsch, worthy to be a friend of Dzierzon, has fully decided the matter... He has shown that old drone cells are as small as new worker- cells, and yet each harbors its own brood. Very.small queens, too, make no mistakes. With no drone-cells, the queen will sometimes lay drone-eggs in worker-cells, in which drones will then be reared, and she will, if she must, though with great reluctance, lay worker-eggs in drone-cells.

Before laying an egg, the queen takes a look into the cell, probably to see if all is right... If the cell contains any ° honey, pollen, or an egg, she usually passes it by, though when crowded, a queen will sometimes, especially if young, insert two or three eggs in a cell, and sometimes, when in such cases she drops them, the bees show their dislike of waste, and appreciation of good living, by making a break-

Character of Queen. 97

fast of them. If the queen find the cell to her liking, she turns about, inserts her abdomen, and in an instant the tiny egg-is glued in position (Fig. 24, 6) to the bottom of the cell.

The queen, when considered in relation to the other bees of the colony, possesses a surprising longevity. It is not uncommon for her to attain the age of three years in the full possession of her powers, while queens have been known to do good work for five years. Lubbock has queen ants in his nests that are thirteen years old, and still they are vigorous layers. Queens, often at the expiration of one, two, three or four years, depending on their vigor and ex- cellence, either cease to be fertile, or else become impotent to lay impregnated eggs—the spermatheca having become emptied of its sperm-cells. In such cases the workers usually supersede the queen, that is, they rear a new queen before all the worker-eggs are gone, and then destroy the old one.

It sometimes happens, though rarely, that a fine-looking queen, with the full-formed ovaries and large spermatheca well-filled with male fluid, will deposit freely, but none of ° the eggs will hatch. Readers of bee-papers know that I have frequently received such for dissection. The first I ever got was aremarkably fine looking Italian, received from the late Dr. Hamlin, of Tennesse. All such queens that I have examined seem perfect, even though scrutinized with a high power objective. We can only say that the egg is at fault, as frequently transpires with higher animals, even to the highest. These females are barren; through some fault with the ovaries, the eggs grown therein are sterile. To detect just what is the trouble with the egg is a very difficult problem, if it is capable of solution at all. I have tried to determine the ultimate cause, but without success. Cases have also been observed where mated and impregnated queens fail to lay impregnated eggs. Here the delicate organism of the spermatheca and its duct is at fault. Queens that have been chilled, as shown by Siebold, Leuckart and our own Langstroth, are often made drone- layers—that is, they only lay unimpregnated eggs. Ihave also had one queen that produced many hermaphroditic

98 Function of the Queen.

bees. These hermaphrodites are not really hermaphrodites ; as so far as I have examined, they have only ovaries or testes, but externally they have drone organs in part, as for instance the appendages of the head and thorax; and worker organs in part, as the abdomen, will be like that of a drone. Indeed I now have a very strange hermaphrodite, where one side is worker, the other drone. It is very probable that these peculiarities arise from a diseased condition of the queen, or else from diseased spermatozoa. I have known one queen, many of whose bees were thus abnor- mal.

The function of the queen is simply to lay eggs, and thus keep the colony populous, and this she does with an energy that is fairly startling. A good queen in her best estate will lay two or three thousand eggs a day. I have seen a queen in my observing hive lay for some time at the rate of four eggs per minute, and have proved by actual computation of brood cells that a queen may lay over three thousand eggs inaday. Langstroth and Berlepsch both saw queens lay at the rate of six eggs a minute. The lat- ter had a queen that laid three thousand and twenty-one eggs in twenty-four hours, by actual count, and in twenty days she laid fifty-seven thousand. This queen continued prolific for five years, and must have laid, says the Baron, at a low estimate, more than 1,300,000 eggs. Dzierzon says queens may lay 1,000,000 eggs, and I think these authors have not exaggerated. As already stated, a queen may lay nearly double her weight of eggsdaily. Yet, with even these figures as an advertisement, the queen bee can- not boast of superlative fecundity, as the-queen white-ant —an insect closely related to the bees in habits, though not in structure, as the white-ants are lace-wings and belong to the order Neuroptera, which includes our day-flies, dragon- flies, etc.—is known to lay over 80,000 eggs daily. Yet this poor helpless thing, whose abdomen is the size of a man’s thumb and composed almost wholly of eggs, while the rest of her body is not larger than the same in our com- mon ants has no other amusement; she cannot walk; she cannot even feed herself, or care for her eggs. What won- der then that she should attempt big things in the way of

Fecundity of Queen. 99

egg-laying? She has nothing else to do, or to feel proud of.

Different queens vary as much in fecundity as do differ- ent breeds of fowls. Some queens are so prolific that they fairly demand hives of India rubber to accommodate them, keeping their hives gushing with bees and profitable activ- ity; while others are so inferior that the colonies make a poor, sickly effort to survive at all, and usually succumb early, before those adverse circumstances which are ever waiting to confront all life on the globe. This lack of fecundity may be due to disease, improper development or to special race or strain. The activity of the queen is gov- erned largely by the activity of the workers. The queen will either lay sparingly, or stop altogether, in the interims of storing honey, while, on the other hand she is stimulated to lay to her utmost capacity when all is life and activity in the hive. As the worker-bees feed the laying queen, it is more than probable that with no nectar to gather, the food is withheld, and so the queen is unable to produce the eggs, which demand a great amount of nutritious food ¢ already to be absorbed. Thus the whole matter is doubt- less controlled by the workers. This refusal to lay when nectar is wanting does not hold true, apparently, with the Cyprian and the Syrian bees.

The old poetical notion that the queen is the revered and admired sovereign of the colony, whose pathway is ever lined by obsequious courtiers, whose person is ever the recipient: of loving caresses, and whose will is law in this bee-hive kingdom, controlling all the activities inside the hive and leading the colony whithersoever it may go, is unquestionably mere fiction. In the hive, as in the world, individuals are valued for what they are worth. The queen, as the most important individual, is regarded with solici- tude, and her removal or loss is noted with consternation, as the welfare of the colony is threatened; yet, let the queen become useless, and she is dispatched with the same absence of emotion that characterizes the destruction of the drones when they have become supernumeraries. It is very doubt- ful if emotion and sentimentality are ever moving forces among the lower animals. There are probably certain nat- utal principles that govern in the economy of the hive, and

100 Characteristics of Drone Bees.

anything that conspires against, or tends to intercept, the action of these principles, becomes an enemy to the bees. All are interested, and doubtlsss more united than is gen- erally believed, in a desire to promote the free action of these principles. No doubt the principle of antagonis among the various bees has been overrated. Even the drones, when they are being killed off in the autumn, make a sickly show of defense, as much as to say, the welfare of the col- ony demands that such worthless vagrants should be exter- minated. How relentlessly the bees drag out even the worker-bees that have become loaded with the pollen masses of milk-weed. Such bees are of nomore use, and useless members are not tolerated in the bee community, It is most probable that what tends most for the prosperity of the colony is well understood by all, and without doubt there is harmonious action among all the denizens of the hive to foster that which will advance the general welfare, or to make war on whatever may tend to interfere with it. If the course of any of the bees seems wavering and in- consistent, we may rest assured that circumstances have changed, and that could we perceive the bearing of all the surrounding conditions, all would appear consistent and harmonious.

THE DRONES.

These are the male bees, and are generally found in the hive only from May to November, though they may remain all winter, and are not infrequently absent during the sum- mer, Their presence or absence depends on the present and prospective condition of the colony. If they are needed, or likely to be needed, then they are present. There are in nature several hundred, and often thousands in each col- ony. The number may and should be greatly reduced by the apiarist. The drones (Fig. 29) are shorter than the queen, being less than three-fourths of an inch in length, are more robust and bulky than either the queen or work- ers, and are easily recognized, when flying, by their loud, startling hum. As in other societies, the least useful make the most noise. This loud hum would seem to be caused by the less rapid vibration of their large, heavy wings.

Drone Peculiarities, 101

Landois showed many years since, that the hum of bees and other insects, was due first to vibrations of wings, sec- ondly to vibrations of the abdominal rings and, thirdly, to what he styled true voice in the thoracic spiracles, where there are cavities which he thought were voice cavities, He thought the humming tone of bees and other insects, came from the spiracles. The drone’s flight is more heavy and lumbering than that of the workers, Their ligula (Fig. 8), labial palpi and maxilla—like the same in the queen bee—

Fie, 30.

Fie, 29.

Part of Leg of Drone, magnified,

Drone Bees, magnified,

are short, while their jaws (Fig. 42, @) possess the rudi- mentary tooth, and are much the same in form as those of the queen, but are heavier, though not so strong as those of the workers. Their eyes (Fig. S), are very prominent, meet above, and thus the simple eyes are thrown forward.

£02 Organs of Drone.

The facets or simple eyes which form the compound eyes of the drone (Fig. 8), are, as shown by Lacodaire, more than twice as numerous as those of either queen or worker. The drones also have longer and broader antenne, with far more of the olfactory cavities, though not so many tac- tile hairs as are found in the antenne of the workers. En- tomologists now believe that the better sight and smell, as also the large wings, are very useful to the drone. They make success more probable, as the drone flies forth with hundreds of other drones in quest of a mate. Wecan also see how, through the law of natural selection, all these peculiarities are constantly strengthened. Their posterior legs are convex on the outside ( Fig. 30), so, like the queens, they have no pollen baskets. As we should expect, the

webbed hairs, both on the body and legs, are almost absent in drones; what there are are course, and probably aid in mating. The drones are without the defensive organ, hav- ing no sting, while their special sex-organs ace 22), are very interesting. These have been fully described and illustrated by Leuckart. The testes are situated in the abdomen, in an analogous position to that of the ovaries in the queen. Like these organs in higher animals, there are in each testes hundreds of tubes in which are developed the sperm-cells in bundles. As Leuckart shows, the testes are larger in the pupa than in the imago, for even then the

Organs of Drones. 103

spermatozoa have begun to descend to the versicule semi- nales (Fig. 22, s). Thus in old drones, the testes have shrunken. The spermatozoa are very long, with a marked head (Fig. 31), which as Mr. Cowan remarked to me, look like cat-tail flags, as there is a short, small projection beyond the head. These sperm-cells are so very small, and so long and slender, that it is difficult to isolate or trace them; hence in microscopic preparations they look like one hopeless tangle (Fig. 31). It is incomprehensible how they can be separated and passed, one, two, or more at a time, by the queen as the eggs are to be impregnated. Appended to ‘the versiculz seminales (Fig. 22, c, c) just where they pass to the ejaculatory duct are two large glandular sacs (Fig. 22,@), which add mucus to the seminal fluid. The ejacula- tory duct (Fig. 22, e ), is rather long and very muscular. This passes to a pouch (Fig. 22, f ), where the sperm-cells are massed, preparatory to coition. Leuckart called this mass of spermatozoa the spermatophore. This is what is passed to the spermatheca of the queen during coition. Below this is the organ proper. It has, as may be seen by - pressing a drone, three pairs of appendages, somewhat horn- like, and certain roughness or pleats, (Fig. 22, 2, 7), which serve to make connection more close during coition. These little barb-like teeth, rough projections and horns, as they are grasped and firmly pressed by the vulva or enlarge- ment just at the end of the oviduct of the queen, are held as in a vice; and so we see why they are torn from the drone during coition. As Leuckart has so admirably described, the external organs of the drone are drawn up into the so-called bean or sac (Fig. 22, f), as the finger of a glove often turns in as we draw the glove off the hand. As we press a drone, or hold it in our warm hand as it has just returned from a long flight, when its air sacs are distended; or when it meets the queen, the sexual act is accomplished wholly or in part, and the external organ is everted or turned out as we turn the glove-finger out. In case of coitus, this eversion is very complete, so that the -bean or sac (Fig. 22, f) turns out, and the spermatophore is passed into the oviduct of the queen and by her muscular oviduct pushed into the spermatheca. This seems a won-

104 Male Organs in Bees.

derful operation, almost beyond the possible. Yet the passage of the egg from the ovaries in higher animals is almost as surprising. Leuckart is undoubtedly correct in suggesting that for full and complete impregnation the drone needs tense muscles, full air sacs, and thus the vehe- ment exercise on the wing is very important in the sexual act. If this be true, then impregnation of the queen in con- finement is as undesirable as it seems to be exceptional. Were it not for the fact of the spermatophore in the bean, where the spermatozoa seem compact and interwoven, it would be hard to avoid Leuckart’s conclusion. While it is not absolutely necessary to have these conditions for impregnation, it doubtless is better, and usually necessary, that they exist. At this time the queen’s ovaries are small, and thus her smaller size before impregnation. Hence there is lack of high tension within the abdomen of the queen, which also tends to aid in the sexual act.

The drone has not the wax glands beneath the abdomen. On the ventral plates are scattering compound hairs, which doubtless have importance in the sexual act. The drone, like the queen, is without the lower head or pollen digesting glands, and so is largely fed by the workers with chyle. Schonfeld has proved this by caging drones in full colo- nies. If caged in a single-walled cage, so as to be accessible to the workers, they live; if in a double-walled cage they all soon die, though all have abundant honey. While honey is necessary it is not enough.

It was discovered by Dzierzon in 1845, that the drones hatch from unimpregnated eggs. This strange phenome- non, seemingly so incredible, is, as has been shown in speaking of the queen, easily proved and beyond question. These eggs may come from an unimpregnated queen, a fertile worker-—which will soon be described—or an impregnated queen who may voluntarily prevent impreg- nation. It is asserted by some that the workers can change a worker egg to a drone egg at will. When the workers are able to abstract the sperm cells, which are so small that we can see them only by using a high power micro- scope, then we may expect to see wheat turn to chess. Such -eggs will usually be placed in the larger horizontal

Development of Drones. 105

cells (Fig. 53, @), in manner already described, The drone cells are one-fourth of an inch in diameter, and project beyond the worker-cells, so they are a little more than one-half of an inch long. As stated by Bevan, the drone feeds six and a half days as a larva, before the cell is capped. The capping of the drone-cells is very convex, and pro- jects beyond the plane of the same in worker-cells, so that the drone brood is easily distinguished from worker, and from the darker color—the wax being thicker and less pure—the capping of both drone and worker brood-cells enables us easily to distinguish them from honey-cells. In twenty-four days from the laying of the eggs, the drones come forth from the cells. Of course, variation of tem- perature and other conditions, as variable amount of diet, may slightly retard or advance the development of any brood, in the different stages. The drones—in fact all bees—when they first emerge from the cells, are gray, and are easily distinguished from the mature bee.

Just what the longevity of the male bee is, I am unable to state. It is probable, judging from analogy, that they live till accident, the worker bees, or the performance of their natural function cause their death. The worker bees may kill off the drones at any time, which they do by constantly biting and worrying them; though principally by withholding their chyle food. They may also destroy the drone-brood. It is not véry rare to see workers carry- ing out immature drones even in mid-summer. At the same time they may destroy inchoate queens. Such action is prompted by a sudden check in the yield of honey, and in case of drones is common only at the close of the season. The bees seem very cautious and far-sighted. If the signs of the times presage a famine, they stay all proceedings looking to the increase of colonies. On the other hand, nectar secretion by the flowers, rapid increase of brood, crowded quarters—whatever the age of the queen—are sure to bring many of the male bees, while any circum- stances that indicate a need of drones in the near future, like loss or impotency of the queen, will prevent their ‘destruction even in late autumn.

106 Function of Drones.

The function of the drones is solely to impregnate the queen, though when present they add to the heat of the hive. Yet for this they were far better replaced by worker bees. That their nutrition is actéwe, is suggested by the fact that, upon dissection, we usually find their capacious honey-stomachs filled with honey.

Impregnation of the queen always takes place, as before stated, while on the wing, outside the hive, usually during the heat of a warm, sunshiny day. After mating, as before suggested, the drone organs adhere to the queen, and may be seen hanging to her for some hours. The copulatory act is fatal to the drone. By holding a drone just returned from a long flight in the hand, the ejection of the sex-organs is often produced and is always followed by immediate death. As the queen only meets a single drone, and that only once, it might be asked why nature was so improvident as to decree hundreds of drones to an apiary or colony, whereas a score would suffice as well. Nature takes cog- nizance of the importance of the queen, and as she goes forth amidst the myriad dangers of the outer world, it is safest and best that her stay abroad be not protracted, that the experience be not repeated, and, especially, that her meeting a drone be zot delayed. Hence the super-abun- dance of drones—especially under natural conditions, isola- ted in forest homes, where ravenous birds are ever on the alert for insect game—is most wise and provident. Nature is never “penny wise and pound foolish.” In our apiaries the need is wanting, and the condition, as it exists in nature, is not enforced, Again, close impregnation or in-breeding, which is not conducive to animal vigor is thus prevented, where otherwise it would be necessary and always the practice. The Rev. Mahin thinks that mating is accom- plished at long distances from the hives, and that drones gather in certain places as do male bumble-bees, there to await the coming queen.

The fact that parthenogenesis prevails in the production of drones, has led to the theory that from a pure queen, however mated, must ever come a pure drone. My own experience and observation, which have been very extended and under circumstances most favorable for a correct judge-

Drones Pure if Queen is Pure. 107

ment, have fully and completely confirmed this theory. Yet, if the impure mating of our cows, horses, and fowls, renders the females of mixed blood ever afterward, as is believed and taught by many who would seem most com- petent to judge—though I must say I am somewhat skep- tical in the matter—then we must look closely as to our bees, for certainly, if a mammal, and especially if a fowl, is tainted by impure mating, then we may expect the same of insects. In fowls such influence, if it exist, nfust come simply from the presence in the female generative organs of the sperm-cells, or spermatozoa, and in mammals, too, there is little more than this, for though they are vivi- porous, so that the union and contact of the offspring and mother seem very intimate during the fetal development, yet there is no intermingling of blood, for a membrane ever separates’that of the mother from that of the fetus, and only the nutritious and waste elements pass from one to the other. To claim that the mother is tainted through the circulation, is like claiming that the same result would follow her inhaling the breath of her progeny after birth. If such taint be produced, it probably comes through the power of a cell to change those cells contiguous to it. That cells have such power is proved every day in case of wounds, and the spread of any disease. I can only say, that I believe this whole matter is still involved in doubt, and still needs more careful, scientific and prolonged observation.

THE NEUTERS, OR WORKER BEES.

These, called “the bees” by Aristotle, and even by Wildman and Bevan, are by far the most numerous indi- viduals of the hive—there being from 15,000 to 40,000 in every good colony. It is possible for a colony to be even much more populous than this, (Lubbock says that there are often 50,000 worker-ants ‘in a nest.) These are also the smallest bees of the colony, as they measure but little more than one-half of an inch in length (Fig. 32).

The workers—as taught by Schirach, and proved by Mlle. Jurine, of Geneva, Switzerland, who, at the request of Huber, sought for and found, by aid of her microscope,

108 The Worker Bees.

the abortive ovaries (Fig. 33), are undeveloped females. Rarely, and probably very rarely except when a colony is long or often queenless, as is frequently true of our nuclei

Fic. 32

Worker-Bee, much magnified,

these bees are so far developed as to produce eggs, which, of course, would always be drone eggs. Such workers-— known as “fertile”—were first noticed by Riem, while Huber saw one in the act of egg-laying. Paul L. Viallon and others have seen the same thing.often. Several fertile workers, sent me by Mr. Viallon, were examined and the eggs and ovaries (Fig. 34) were plainly visible. Leuckart found, as seen in the-figure, the rudiment of the spermatheca in both the common and the fertile worker. Except in the power to produce eggs, they seem not unlike the other work- ers. Huber supposed that these were reared in cells contigu- ous to royal-cells, and thus received royal food by accident. The fact, as stated by Mr. Quinby, that these occur in col- onies where queen-larve were never reared is fatal to the

Workers are Undeveloped Females. 109

above theory. Langstroth and Berlepsch thought that these bees, while larva, were’ fed, though too sparingly, with the royal aliment, by bees in need of a queen, and’ hence the accelerated development. As already stated, the queen larva is fed different and more abundant food than is the worker, and hence her accelerated and varied devel- opment. Is it not possible that these fertile workers

Fic. 33. Fic. 34.

B

Ovaries of Worker Bee.

Ovaries of Fertile Worker, receive an excess of food as larve? .Again we have seen that fertile workers occur in hopelessly queenless colonies; and that queens are fed by the workers. May it not be that colonies hopelessly queenless take to feeding some special workers the chyle, and thus arise the fertile workers. These are interesting inquiries that await solution. The generative organs are very sensitive, and exceedingly sus- ceptible to impressions, and we may yet have much to learn as to the delicate forces which will move them to growth and activity. Though these fertile workers are a poor substitute for a queen, as they are incapable of pro- ducing any bees but drones, and are surely the harbingers of death and extinction to the colony, yet they seem to satisfy the workers, for often the latter will not brook the presence of a queen when a fertile worker is in the hive, frequently will not suffer the existence in the hive of a queen-cell, even though capped. They seem to be satis- fied, though they have very slight reason to be so. These fertile workers lay indifferently in large or small cells— often place several eggs in a single cell, and show their

110 Structural Peculiarities of Workers.

Fic. 35.

Tongue of a Worker Bee, much magnified,

mx mx Maxille. mp, mp Max. palpi. & & Labial palpt. cc Cardos. o Sub-mentum, # Tongue, St, St Stipes. m Mentum, Funnel, 7, / Laciniz. Pp, p Paraglosse. Tubular rod. s Colorless membrane. B Ligula, with sac ss Colorless membrane. S Sheath, distended, Funnel, A Maxille and labium, C Cross-section of Tubular rod. ligula, ?

(The above figure is drawn to the same scale as Fig. a7.)

Tongue of the Worker Bee. 111

incapacity in various ways. Fertile workers seem to appear more quickly and in greater abundance in colonies of Cyprian and Syrian bees, after they become hopelessly queenless, than in Italian colonies.

The maxille and labium of the worker-bee are much elongated (Fig. 35), The maxille (Fig. 35, A, mx, mx) are deeply grooved, and are hinged to the head by strong chitinous rods (Fig. 35, A. c, c, St, Sz), to which are attached the muscles which move these parts. The gutter- like extremities (Fig. 35, A, /, 7) are stiffencd with chitine,

Fic. 36.

Tongue bent under Head,

A Tongue extended for sucking. m Maxille, R Retractor muscles, the Ligula. opening at upper base of $m Sub-mentum, tongue between paraglosse.

@ Duct from upper head All from Wolff, and thoracic glands.

Base of Labiuu, and, when approximated, form a tube which is continued by a membrane to the mouth-opening of the pharynx, just between the bases of the jaws. This tube forms the larg- est channel through which nectar passes to the pharynx. The labium varies in length from .23 to .27 of an inch in diameter. By the sub-mentum (Fig. 35, A,o) and two chitinous rods (Fig. 35, A, 4, 6), itis hinged to the max- ille. The base or mentum is chitinous beneath and mem-

112 Physiology of Bee’s Tongue.

branous above. From the mentum extends the tongue or ligula (Fig. 35, A, t), the paraglosse (Fig. 35, 4, DD)» sac-like organs which connect with the cavity of the men- tum, and so are distended with blood when the mentum is pressed. They also stand out like leaves or plates, and aid in directing the nectar which is drawn through the ligula, into the mouth. The labial palpi (Fig. 35, A, 2) are four jointed, and in arrangement, form and function resemble the maxilla. The tongue or ligula consists of an annulated sheath (Fig. 35, C, S) which is slitted along its under side to near the end. This is very hairy. Within this is a tubular oe 35, B and C #&) which is also slitted along its under side to near the end, and opens above at its base between the paraglosse (Fig. 36, C). Each margin of this slitted rod is united by a thin pubescent membrane to the corresponding margin of the surrounding sheath (Fig. 35, C,s). Hence any pressure within the annular sheath may throw the central rod out (Fig. 35, B, &). This results when we press on the mentum; as the blood pushes into the sheath and straightens the folded membrane ( Fig. 35, C,s). The bee then can take nectar in three ways, first rapidly when sipping from flowers containing much nectar (Fig. 36) by the large channels formed by approx- imating its maxillz and labial palpi (Fig. 36, A), secondly, slowly from deep tubular flowers, when it sips through the central rod, and, thirdly, it may lap from a smeared surface because of the slitted ligula. By use of colored liquids I have demonstrated that the bee does actually sip in‘all these ee At the end of the ligula there is a funnel (Fig. 35, A, f).

Strange to say the structure and physiology of the tongue: of the honey-bee was more correctly explained by old Swammerdam, than by most modern writers. Both he and Réaumur were quite accurate in their descriptions. Wolff in his elegant monograph from which I have taken several figures, described with beautiful illustrations the mouth organs of the honey-bee, but was in doubt as to their physi- ology. Dr. Hyatt, of New York, did much to explain the anatomy of the bee’s tongue: but so far as I know I was the first to accurately explain the anatomy and physiology

Spinning Gland in Bee Larva. 113

of this organ. Within the mentum (Fig. 36 c, m) are strong muscles for retracting the organ. The force of suction is doubtless analogous to the act of drinking on our own part. The rythmical. motion of the ligula in sipping honey is thus explained. By the muscles of the mouth the cavity is enlarged, producing suction, when by pressure swallowing is accomplished.

When not in use, the tongue with the attendant mouth organs, are bent back under the head (Fig. 36 2B).

GLANDULAR ORGANS.

These important organs, which have been so fully described by Siebold, Wolff, and especially by Schiemenz, are so intimately connected with the mouth organs, are so evidently useful in digestion, and are so well developed in the worker bees, that they deserve full consideration.

Fic. 37.

Spinning Gland of Larva, and cross section of same, after Schiemenz,

C Gland. S Sinus. ZI Duct. D Common Duct,

The spinning gland of the larval bee is a simple tubular gland, and is well illustrated by Schiemenz (Fig. 37). On each side within the head of the worker bee (Fig. 38 a) are large glands, discovered by Meckel in 1846, and fully described by Siebold in 1870, which are very rudimentary in the queen and entirely absent in the drone. They are often called the lower head glands. These are in form of

8

114 Glands of Siebold.

the meibomian glands in our own eyelids; that is, a long duct bears many follicles rich with secreting cells, the whole looking like a compound leaf with small leaflets. The ducts empty on the floor of the mouth. These glands are very marked in nurse bees, but smaller in aged bees.

Schiemenz believes that these glands secrete the food for the larval bees and also for the laying queen. Their large size, their full development only in the nurse bees, and their entire absence in queen and drones, surely seem to give great force to this view. As already stated the queen larva is fed very liberally, and almost exclusively, of this so-called bee milk. Berlepsch says that the little pollen sometimes found in the digestive tube of the queen larva is accidental The worker larva receives less of this secretion, and to it is added, just at the last, some partially digested pollen which

Glands of Aleckel and Ramdohr. 115

is shed when the alimentary canal is molted with the last larval skin. It has been suggested that the difference which Dr. Planta and others find in the composition of the larval food of worker, queen and drone larve is wholly due to this partially digested pollen which is withheld from the inchoate queen.

There are also large compound racemose glands (Fig. 38 4) in the head and also a similar pair (Fig. 38 c) in the thorax which are the modified spinning glands of the larva These four glands unite into a common duct which passes

Fic. 39.

Faw of Worker showing Wolf's gland, after Wolff.

M Muscles. G Gland. F Jaws.

through the mentum and opens just at the base of the tongue on top in the groove between the paraglossa (Fig. 36C). The thoracic glands were discovered by Ramdohr in 1811, while Meckel also discovered the second pair of cephalic glands, these are the upper head glands; Schiemenz is probably correct in thinking that these glands, which are present in all bees, are for digesting the nectar. The cane sugar of nectar is certainly digested or changed into the more osmotic and assimilable glucose-like sugar of honey. Very likely these compound racemose glands supply the digestive ferment which accomplishes this part of digestion. As honey is not always fully digested, the drones and queens, as well as the workers, possess these glands.

116 Function of Glands of Siebold.

Wolff’s glands are large follicular glands (Fig. 39) situ- ated at the base of the mandibles. From their position we might suppose that their secretion was useful in forming wax into comb, but their large size in the queens, would rather argue that they, like the racemose glands, were also digestive in their function. I would suggest that we call the thoracic glands, the glands of Ramdohr; the racemose glands of the head, the glands of Meckel, and the other glands of the head glands of Siebold, in compliment to the excellent work which he has done in their study and elu- cidation. While the glands at the base of the mandibles may well be called from their discoverer, Wolff's glands. In studying the digestive organism we are greatly indebted to Schiemenz and Schonfeld, who have not only explained by use of beautiful illustrations the detailed anatomy of the alimentary canal, but have been equally happy in describ- ing the wonderful physiology of digestion in bees. Schon- feld from a very elaborate series of experiments concludes that the theory of Schiemenz and v. Siebold is not correct. He thinks the lower head glands secrete saliva which moistens the pollen, and aids in digesting it. They empty on the floor of the mouth just where they should pour out the saliva. As the queen and drones never eat pollen, but are fed by the workers they do not need these glands. Schonfeld thinks the larval food is digested pollen or chyle, and he claims to have found this in the true stomach of nurse bees. Partially digested pollen he terms chyme, which just before the worker larve are to be sealed up, is fed to them. The chyle and larval food he finds to contain blood corpuscles, and he thinks them identical with the same in the blood of the bee. Schonfeld fed indigestible materia} like iron particles to starving bees that had brood. The chyle, the larval food, but not the blood of the nurse bees contained this iron. This food of the larve then must be chyle and not a secretion. This experiment seems con- clusive.

Again these same lower head glands are found in some insects that do not feed their larve at all, as species of Eris- talis—wasp colored two winged flies—and of Nepa, a genus of water bugs.

Bsophagus of Worker Bee. 1147

Dr. Planta and others have shown that the chyle fed to qjueen larve is not the same as that fed to drone larva, nor yet like that fed to worker larve. If this is chyle the dif- ference could be explained, as it would arise from variation of food. Ifa secretion, it could not be easily explained. This view is adopted by Mr. Cowan the ablest and most learned British authority on bees.

As in our own development, so in the embryo bee, the alimentary canal arises from the endoderm or inner layer of the initial animal. As the ectoderm or outer layer is around this, the mouth and vent arise by absorption at these points, or from invagination (a turning in) of the outer layer. Infants are not infrequently born with an imper- forate anus. In such cases there is an arrest, the absorp- tion does not take place, and the surgeon’s knife comes to nature’s relief. Strangely enough in the bee—-this is also true of ants and some wasps—this condition persists all through the larval period. Thus bee larva: have no anus or vent, and so void no excreta. But as known both to Swammer- dam and Newport, when the last larval skin is molted the whole canal, with its contents, is molted with the skin. As already stated the spinning glands in the larva become the thoracic, or glands of Ramdohr, in the adult bee.

The esophagus or gullet, the fine thread which is pulled ‘out as we behead a bee, passes from the mouth through the muscular thorax (Figs. 15 and 21) to the honey-stomach (often called sucking stomach), which is situated in the ‘abdomen. Often, as every bee-keeper knows, this honey- stomach (Fig. 21,4, 5) comes along with the esophagus as we pull the bee’s head from the body. The esophagus (Fig. 21, 0) is about .2 of an inch long and .o2 of an inch ‘in diameter. In form and function the cesophagus is not different from the same organ in other animals, It is simply a passage way for the food.

The honey stomach ( Fig. 21, 2 s) or honey sac is a sort of a crop or proventriculus. This sac is oval about .1 of an inch in diameter. While this organ is lined with a cellular layer (Fig. 40, H, S, #), the cells are not large and numerous as in the true stomach (Fig. 40, S, #). The muscular layers of this sac are quite pronounced (Fig. 40, 7) as we

118 The Honey Stomach.

should expect, as the honey has to be regurgitated from it to the honey cells. This is truly a digestive chamber, as. the nectar—cane sugar—is here changed to honey—glucose- like sugar—but this is probably through the ferment

Fic. 40.

Section showing structure of Honey-stomach, Stomach-mouth and Stomach.

Hs Honey-stomach, S m Stomach-mouth, S Stomach. E Epithelial cells. m Muscles, V Stomach valve,

#4 Hairs to hold pollen,

received from the glands of Meckel and Ramdohr, and not from any secretion from the organ itself. The pol- len is also very slightly digested here as Schonfeld has shown, through the action of the saliva from the glands of Siebold, or lower head glands. At the posterior end of this honey-stomach is the stomach-mouth (Fig. 21 and 4o,s m) of Burmeister which is admirably described by Schie” menz. Itis really astomach-mouth. Spherical in form, .o2 of an inch in diameter, and, as Schonfeld well says, reminds one of a flower bud. It (Fig. 21) can be seen by the unaided

Stomach-Mouth of Worker Bees. 11g

eye, and as Schonfeld suggests, is easily studied with a low power microscope. There are four jaw-like plates which guard this stomach-mouth (Fig. 41) and as Schie- menz shows, open to let food pass to the true stomach. This same author tells us how by pressing with a needle

Fic. 41.

Four pieces forming Stomach-Mouth, after Schiemenz,

¢ Cells. Tm Transverse muscles, #7 s Longitudinal muscles,

while viewing the stomach-mouth under a microscope, we can see the jaws open and shut. These plates have fine hairs, pointing down (Fig. 40, 2), which would, if a por- tion of the honey-containing pollen were taken by this very muscular stomach-mouth, retain the pollen grains, while the honey could be passed back into the honey-stomach. Hence Schiemenz very naturally concludes that this is a sort of strainer, constantly separating the pollen and honey as the bee is sipping nectar from flower to flower. As will be seen, this stomach-mouth has not only great longi- tudinal muscles (Fig. 40, #), but also circular muscles as well (Fig. 40, 7’). If Schiemenz is correct, then_ this stomach-mouth is to separate the honey and pollen. Even with this interesting apparatus, much of our honey has not a few pollen grains, as every observing bee-keeper knows. The fact that nectar has much more pollen in it than does honey, makes Schiemenz’s view all the more probable.

There is also a long prolongation (Fig. 40, v) from the stomach-mouth into the true stomach. This is .o4 of an

120 True Stomach and its Function.

inch long and is rich in cells, which are held by a very delicate membrane which extends on still further. Schie- menz believes that this is a valve, and certainly unless drawn by the strong muscles in the walls out of the stomach as Schonfeld believes, it would act as a most efficient valve. If this does act as a perfect valve, then of course the nurse bees can never feed the larve or queen any digested food from the true stomach. This is Schiemenz’s view. Pastor Schonfeld, however, still holds, and seems to have proved, that while this may serve as a valve it is under the control of the bee and may be so drawn up by the very muscular honey-stomach as to permit regurgitation. In this regur- gitation of chyle, the stomach-mouth closely approximates the stomach end of the cesophagus; and so the chyle does not pass into the honey-stomach. This prolongation then is a valve under the control of the bee and is another wonderful structure in this highly organized insect.

The true stomach (Fig. 21,5) is curved upon itself and is .4 of an inch long and .1 of an inch in diameter. It is rugose, and the circular wrinkles or constrictions are quite regular. Itis richly covered within by gastric cells ( Fig. 40, 5,¢) which secrete the gastric juice. —The mucous membrane is folded and hence there are very numerous gastric cells. Undoubtedly the function of the gastric juice is the same as in our own stomachs, it aids to liquify or render osmotic —capable of being absorbed—the albuminous food, in this case the pollen. This view is confirmed by the fact that we almost always find pollen in all stages of digestion in the true stomach of the bee. Emptying into the pyloric or posterior end of the stomach (Fig. 21) are numerous tubules. These are the urinary organs, and remove waste elements from the blood. They are really the bee’s kid- neys. Like our own kidneys they are nothing more than tubules lined with excreting cells. The small intestine is often called ileum (Fig.21,¢ and A). This portion of the digestive tube is lined with very minute, sharp chitinous teeth which Schiemenz believes are used to further masti- cate the pollen grains, that have not yielded to the digestive action of the stomach. This opinion is sustained by the strongly muscular nature of the tube (Fig. 21,4). The

Dufour’s Theory the Correct One. 121

diameter of the ileum is hardly .o2 of aninch. The rectum or last portion of the intestine (Fig. 21, 7) is much larger than the ileum, and carries on its mucous or inner surface six glands (Fig. 21.7, g') which Schiemenz calls rectal glands. It is quite likely that these may be excretory in function. Their position would make this view seem probable at least.

Before leaving the subject it seems well to remark that it would appear that the old view of Dufour, so ably advo- cated by Pastor Schonfeld is, despite the arguments and researches of Schiemenz, the correct one. .The queen, drone and larve do not get their food as a secretion—a sort of a milk—but it is rather the digested pollen or chyle modi- fied, as the bees desire by varying their own food. In addition to this albuminous food the queen and drones also take much honey. Thus they need the glands which fur- nish the ferment that changes cane to reducible sugar, and they have them. If all honey were fully digested, then the drones and queen would not need any glands at all. The fact that the pollen that the larve do get is partially digested is further proof that this is chyme, or partially - digested pollen.

The jaws (Fig. 42, c) are very strong, without the rudi- mentary tooth, while the cutting edge is semi-conical, so that when the jaws are closed they form an imperfect cone. Thus these organs are well formed to cut comb, knead wax, and perform their various functions. As we should expect, the muscles of the jaw are very large and powerful (Fig. 39). The worker’s eyes (Fig. 6) are like those of the queen, while their wings, like those of the drones ( Fig. 29), attain the end of the body. These organs (Fig. 4), as in all insects with rapid flight, are slim and strong, and, by their more or less rapid vibrations, give the variety of tone which characterize their hum. Thus we have the rapid movements and high pitch of anger, and the slow motion and mellow note of content and joy.

Landois proved many years since, that aside from the noise made by the wings, bees have a true voice. Thus he showed that a bumble-bee without wings, or with wings glued fast, would still hum. This voice is produced in the

122 Voice in Insects.

spiracles. Who has not noticed that a bumble-bee impris- oned closely in a flower still hums? I have also heard a carpenter-bee in a tunnel hardly larger than its body, hum loudly. Landois found this hum ceased when the spiracles were closed with wax. He describes quite an intricate

Fic. 42.

@ Jaw of Drone, & Jaw of Queen, ¢ Jaw of Worker,

voice box, with a complex folded membrane, the tension of which is controlled through the action of a muscle and tendon. Thus we see that the bees have a vocal organiza- tion not very unlike our own in the method of its action. The piping of the queen is probably this true voice. Lan- dois also states that bees and other insects also make noise by the movement of the abdominal segments, the one on the other. From the enormous muscles in the thorax (Fig. 15,) we should expect rapid flight in bees. Marked bees have been known to fly one-half mile, unload and return in six minutes, and double that distance in eleven minutes. In thirty minutes they went two and one-half miles unloaded and returned. ‘Thus they fly slower when forag- ing at a distance. These experiments were tried by my students, and the time was in the afternoon, I think they are reliable. Possibly, early in the day the rapidity would be greater. Sometimes swarms go so slowly that one can keep up with them. At other times they fly so rapidly that one needs a good horse to closely follow them. Here the rate depends on the queen.

The legs of worker bees are very strangely modified. As they are exceedingly useful in the bee economy, this is not strange. We find in the progressive development of all animals, that such organs as are most used are most

The Antenna Cleaner, 123

modified, and thus we see why the legs and mouth-organs of the worker bees are so wonderfully developed.

The abundant compound hairs on the first four joints of all the legs are very marked in the worker bees. These are the pollen gathering hairs and from their pranching, fluffy nature are well suited to gather the pollen grains.

On the anterior legs the antenna cleaner (Fig. 43 )is well marked, as it is in all Hymenoptera except the lowest families where it is nearly or quite absent. In the honey- bee—this is found in the queen and drone as well as in the

Fic. 43.

Antenna Cleaner of Worker Bee, C Cavity S Spur.

worker—this is situated at the base of the first tarsus and consists of a nearly semi-cylindrical concavity (Fig. 43 c), armed on the outer side with from seventy-eight to ninety projecting hairs. These teeth-like hairs projecting as a fringe form a very delicate brush. Extending from the tibia is a blade-like organ—really the modified tibial spur (Fig. 43 S)—which when the leg is bent at this joint, comes squarely over the notch in the tarsus. Near the base on the inside a projecting knob is seen which perhaps acts as a strengthener. The part of this blade or spur that opposes the notch when in use consists of adelicate membrane. In other Hymenoptera this spur is greatly varied. Often, as in the ants and mud-wasps, it is also delicately fringed. Sometimes it has a long projecting point and is thickly set with spinous hairs.

124 Use of the Antenna Cleaner.

That this organ is an antenna cleaner is quickly seen by watching a bee—preferably a bumble-bee—come from 2 tubular flower, like that of the malva, or by placing a honey- bee, bumble-bee or wasp on the inside of a window-pane and dusting its antenne with flour or pulverized chalk. The insect at once draws its antenne, one and then the other, through these admirable dusters, till the organs are entirely free from the dust. The bee in turn cleans its antenna

Fic. 44.

Anterior Leg of Worker Bee,

C Coxa. T Trochanter, F Femur. Ti Tibia. & 223465 Tarsal joints in C/ Claws. - order. ;

cleaners by scraping them between the inner brush-like faces of the basal tarsi of its middle legs, which is done each time after they are used to clean an antenna. The paper-making wasps, and I presume all wasps, clean these organs by passing them between their jaws, much as a child cleans his fingers after eating candy, except here lips take the place of jaws. Wecan hardly conceive of a better

Legs of Bees. 125

arrangement for this purpose, a delicate brush and a soft membrane; even better than the house-wife armed with soft brush and a silk kerchief, for this antenna cleaner just fits the organs to be dusted. We have seen the important function of the antennz, as most delicate touch organs, and as organs of smell, two senses of marvelous development in the bee. It is as imperative that the bee keeps its antenne dust-free, as that the microscopist keeps his glasses immacu- late. A delicate brush (Figs. 43 & 44) on the end of the tibia opposite the spur and also the brush of rather spinous hairs on the tarsus (Fig. 44) are of use to brush the hairs, eyes and face, as may be seen by careful observation,

Fic. 46.

End of Worker Bee’s Foot.

P Pulvillus. C Claws. T End of 5th Tarsus.

End of Middle Leg of Worker Bee.

The claws and pulvilli—the delicate gland between the claws—are well marked on all the feet of bees. The claws (Fig. 44 ¢Z) are toothed and are very useful in walking up wooden or other rough surfaces, as they are used just as a squirrel uses its claws in climbing a tree. These claws are also used in holding the bees to some object or together while clustering, What a grip they must have. It is as if we were to grasp a limb or branch and then hold hun- dreds, yes thousands, of other persons as heavy as ourselves

126 Legs of Bees.

who had in turn grasped hold of us. When walking up a vertical wall of glass or other smooth metal, the claws are of no use and so are turned back (Fig. 45) and the pul- villi—glandular organs—are spread out and serve to hold the bee. These secrete a viscid or adhesive substance which so sticks that the bee can even walk up a window pane. This is why bees soon cloud or befoul glass over which they constantly walk. We thus understand why a bee finds it laborious and difficult to walk up a moist or dust- covered glass.

The middle legs of the worker bee are only peculiar in the prominent tibial spur (Fig. 46) and the brushes or pol- len combs on the inside of the first tarsus. It has been said that the spur is useful in prying off the pollen masses from the posterior legs, as the bee enters the hive to deposit the pollen in the cells. This is doubtless an error. The queen and drone have this spur even longer than does the worker; the pollen comes off easy, and needs no crow-bar to loosen it. The coarse, projecting hairs on all the feet are doubt- less the agents that push off the loads of pollen.

We have already seen how the brushes or combs on the inner face of the first tarsus of the middle legs serve to remove the dust from the antenna cleaner. These also serve as combs, like similar but more perfect organs on the posterior legs, to remove the pollen from the pollen hairs, and pack it in the pollen baskets on the hind legs.

But the posterior legs are the most interesting, as it is rare to find organs more varied in their uses, and so as we should expect, these are strangely modified. The branch- ing or pollen gathering hairs (Fig. 48) are very abundant on the coxa trochanter and femur, and not absent, though much fewer (Fig. 47) on the broad triangular tibia. The basal tarsus trie. 47) is quadurate, and it, and the tibia on the outside (Fig. 47), are smooth and concave, espe- cially on the posterior portion, which shallow cavity forms the “pollen basket.” This is deepened by stiff marginal hairs, which stand up like stakes in asled. These spinous hairs not only hold the pollen mass, as do stakes, but often pierce it and so bind the: soft pollen to the leg. Opposite the pollen cavity of the first tarsus, or on the inside (Fig.

Pollen Baskets,

Outside of Tibia and Tarsi of Posterior Leg of Worker Bee,

127

Tosterior Legs of Bees. Fic. 48.

Inside Posterior Leg of Worker Bee.

Posterior Legs of Bees. 129

48), are about eleven rows of stiff hairs. They are of golden color, and very beautiful. These may be called the pollen combs, for it is they that gather, for the most part, the pollen from the pollen gathering hairs of legs and body, and convey it to and pack it in the pollen baskets. As we have seen (Fig. 46) there are less perfect combs—similar in character, position and function-—on the middle legs. The contiguous ends of the tibia and first tarsus, are most curi- ously modified, to form the wax jaws. The back part of this joint (Figs. 47, 48) reminds one of a steel trap with teeth, or of the jaws of an animal. The teeth in this case consisting of spinous hairs. The teeth on the tibia are

Fig. 49. Underside of Abdomen of Worker Bee. i w Wax Scales, 1, 2,3) 45,6 Segments of Abdomen, in order.

strong and prominent. The function of these wax jaws is doubtless to grasp and remove the wax scales from the wax pockets, and carry them to the jaws of the bees. These wax jaws are not found in queens or drones, nor in other than wax-producing bees. They are well developed in Trigona and Melipona, and less, though plainly marked in bombus. Girard gives this explanation in his admirable. work Les Adeiiles; and as he is no plagiarist, as he gives fullest credit to others, he may be the discoverer of these wax jaws.: If he is not, I know not whois. As before stated there are six segments to the abdomen, in the queen and worker bee (Fig. 49), and seven in the male. Each of these abdom- inal rings consists of a dorsal piece or plate-—tergite and pleu- rite united—which bears the spiracle, and which overlaps the ventral plate or sternite. These plates are strengthened with chitine. These rings are connected with a membrane,

9

130 Wax Plates and Glands.

so that they can push in and out, something as the sections of a spy-glass are worked.

The ventral or sternal abdominal plates of the second, third, fourth and fifth segments of the worker (Fig, 49), are modified to form the “ wax pockets;” though wax plate would be a more appropriate name. These wax plates (Fig. 50) are smooth, and form the anterior portion of each

Fic 50.

wp Wax Plates. ek Compound Hairs.

of these ventral plates. Each is margined with a rim of chitine which gives it strength, and makes “ pocket” a more appropriate name, especially as the preceding segment shuts over these wax plates. The posterior portion—less than half the sternite (Fig. 50)—bears compound hairs, and shuts over the succeeding wax pocket. These wax pockets are absent of course in queen and drones.

Inside the wax plates are the glands that secrete the wax. When the wax leaves these glands it is liquid, and passes by osmosis through the wax-plate and is molded on its outer face.

The worker bees possess at the end of the abdomen an organ of defense, which they are quick to use if occasion demands. Female wasps, the females of the family Mutil- lide, and worker and queen ants, also possess a sting. In all other Hymenoptera, like Chalcid and Ichneumon flies, gall-flies, saw-flies, and horn-tails, etc., while there is no sting, the females have, a long, exserted ovipositor, which in these families replaces the sting, and is useful, not as an organ of defense, but as’ an auger or saw, to prepare for egg-laying, or else, as in case of the gall-flies, to wound and poison the vegetable tissue and thus cause the galls.

Sting of Bees. 131

This organ in the worker bee is straight, and not curved as is the sting of the queen. The poison which is emitted in stinging, and which causes the severe pain, is an acid fluid, which is secreted by a double tubular gland, (Fig. 23,

Fic. 51.

Sting with Lancets drawn one side, pone of Sting, and a Lancet, muck

magnified. C Poison sac. M Tube from sac to reservoir. _ S Reservoir. _ A Awi, B, B Lancets, E, E Valves. U, U Barbs. O, O Openings from hollow in fT Hollow in awl. 4, J Hollows in lancets. lancets, T, T Ridges in awl.

Groove in Jancet.

bg), and stored in a sac (Fig. 51, c, and 23, ,¢,) which is about the size of a flax seed. This sac is connected by a tube (Fig. 51,47) with the reservoir of the sting. The sting is a triple organ consisting of three sharp hollow spears, which are very smooth and of exquisite polish. If we mag-

132 Anatomy of Bee's Sting.

nify the most beautifully wrought steel instrument, it look» rough and unfinished; while the parts of the sting, however. highly magnified, are smooth and perfect. The true rela- tion of the three parts of the sting was accurately described by Mr. J. R. Bledsoe, in the American Bee Fournal, vol. 6, page 29. The action in stinging and the method of extrud- ing the poison, are well described in a beautifully illustrated: article by Mr. J. D. Hyatt, in Vol. 1, No. 1, of Americaiw Quarterly Microscopical Fournal. The larger of the three awls (Fig. 51, A) usually, though incorrectly, styled a sheath, has a large cylindrical reservoir at its base trie 51, 5) which is entirely shut off from the hollow (Fig. 51, 7) in the more slender part of the awl, which latter serves no purpose whatever, except to give strength and lightness. Three pairs of minute barbs (Fig. 51) project like the barbs on a fish-hook, from the end of this awl. The reservoir-connects at its base with the poison sac and below, by a slit, with the opening (Fig. 51, V7) made by the approximation of the three awls. The other two awls (Fig. 51, B, . 5 which we will call lancets, are also hollow (Fig. 51, Z, 7). They are barbed (Fig. 51, U, UV) much like a fish-hook, except that there are eight or ten barbs, instead of one. Five of the barbs are large and strong. These barbs catch hold and cause the extraction of the sting when the organ is used. Near the base of each lancet is a beautiful valvular organ (Fig. 51, 4, 2.) Mr. Hyatt thought these acted like a hydraulic ram, and by suddenly stopping the current forced the poison through the hollow lancets, It seems more probable that the view of Mr. T. G. Bryant (Hardwick’s Science Gossip, 1875(, is the more correct one. He suggests that these are really suction valves, pistons so to speak, which as the piston rods —the lancets—push out, suck the poison from the sacs. ‘Strange that Mr. Cheshire should claim this view as origi- nal. ‘The hollow inside each lancet (Fig. 51,7, Z), unlike that of the awl, is useful. It opens anteriorly in front of the first six barbs (Fig. 51, 0, 0), as shown by Mr. Hyatt, and posteriorly just back of the valves into the central tube (Fig. 51, VV), and through it into the reservoir (Fig. 51, S). The poison then can pass either through the hollow

Anatomy of Bee's Sting. 133

lancets (Fig. 51, 7, 2) or through the central tubes (Fig. 51; V), between the three spears.

The lancets are held to the central ‘piece by projections (Fig. 51. 7, Z') from the latter, which fit into correspond- ing grooves (Fig. 51, Z’) of the lancets. In the figure the lancets are moved one side to show the barbs and valves; normally they are held close together, and thus form the tube (Fig. 51, V).

At the base of the central awl two flexible arms (Fig. 52, 64) run out and up, where they articulate with

Fic. 52.

Sting of Worker Bee, modified from Hyatt and Bryant,

strong levers (Fig. 52, D, Y). The two lancets are sim- ularly curved and closely joined to the flexible arms by the same dove-tailed groove and projection already described. These lancets connect at their ends (Fig. 52, c,c) with heavy triangular levers (Fig. 52, 2, 2), and these in turn with both Cand Dat jands. All of these levers, which also serve as fulcra (Fig. 52, &, C and D), are very broad and so give great space for muscular attachment (Fig. 52, m). These muscles, by action, serve to compress the poison sac, also cause the lever (Fig. 52, 2) to rotate about

134 Physiology of Bee's Sting.

Sas a center, and thus the whole sting is thrown out some- | thing as a knee joint works, and later the lancets are pushed alternately farther into the wound, till stopped by the valves striking against the farther end of the reservoir, in the cen- tral awl (Fig. 51, S). As Hyatt correctly states in his excellent article, the so-called sheath first cuts or pierces, then the lancets deepen the wound. Beside the sting are two feeler-like organs (Fig. 52, 2, 2) which doubtless determine where best to insert the sting. Leuckart dis- covered a second smaller gland (Fig. 23, S g), mentioned also by Girard and Vogel, which also has a sac or reservoir where its secretion is stored. This secretion as first sug- gested by Leuckart, is supposed to act as a lubricant to keep the sting in good condition. The fact that muscles connect . the various parts (Fig. 52), explains how a sting may act, even after the bee is apparently lifeless, or, what is even more wonderful, after it has been extracted from the bee. The barbs hold one lancet as a fulcrum for the other, and so long as the muscles are excitable, so long is a thrust pos- sible. Thus I have known a bee, dead for hours, to sting. A wasp, dead more than a day, with the abdomen cut off, made a painful thrust, and stings extracted for several min- utes could still bring tears by their entering the flesh. In stinging, the awl first pierces, then the lancets follow. As the lancets push in, the valves force the poison already crowded into the reservoir forward, close the central tube, when the poison is driven through the lancets themselves and comes out by the openings near the barbs (Fig. 51, 0, o). The drop of poison which we see on the sting when the bee is slightly irritated, as by jarring the hive on a cold day, is pushed through the central opening by muscular contraction attendant upon the elevation of the abdomen and extrusion of the sting. The young microscopists will find it dificult to see the barbs, especially of the central awl, as it is not easy to turn the parts so that they will show. Patience and persistence, however, will bring success. Owing to the barbs the sting is often sacrificed by use. As the sting is pulled out the body is so lacerated that the bee dies. Sometimes it will live several hours, but the loss of the sting is surely fatal, as my students have often shown

The Eggs of Bees. 135,

by careful experiment. It is hardly necessary to say that there is no truth in the statement that the sting is used to- polish the comb; nor do I think there is any shadow of foundation for the statement that poison from the sting is dropped into the honey-cel!s to preserve the honey. The formic acid of honey doubtless comes from the honey- stomach.

The workers hatch from impregnated eggs, which car only come from a queen that has met a drone, and are: always laid in the small, horizontal cells (Fig. 53, ¢)- These eggs are in no wise different, so far as we can see, from those which are laid in the drone or queen-cells. All are cylindrical and slightly curved (Fig. 24, a, 6) and are fastened by one end to the bottom of the cell, and a little to one side of the center. Girard says that the egg on the: first day stands oblique to the bottom of the cell, is more- inclined the second day, and is horizontal the third day. As in other animals, the eggs from different queens vary’ perceptibly in size. As already shown, these are volun— tarily fertilized by the queen as she extrudes them, prepar- atory to fastening them to the cells. These eggs, though small—one-sixteenth of an inch long, may be easily seen by holding the comb so that the light will shine into the- cells. With experience they are detected almost at once,. but I have often found it quite difficult to make the novice- see them, though very plainly visible to my experienced: eye.

The egg hatches in three days. The larva, (Fig. 24, d, e,f ), incorrectly called grub, maggot—and even caterpillar,. by Hunter—is white, footless, and lies coiled up in the celk till near maturity. It is fed a whitish fluid, the chyle already described, though this seems to be given grudg- ingly, as the larva never seems to have more than it wishes to eat, so it is fed quite frequently by the mature workers. It would seem that the workers fear an excessive develop- ment; which, as we have seen, is most mischievous and ruinous, and work to prevent the same by a mean and meager diet. Not only do the worker larve receive the chyle grudgingly, but just at the last, before the cell is. sealed, they are fed chyme, for undigested pollen is found in.

136 Development of Bees.

the digestive tube of the larva at this time. Itis probable that honey is also given them, and so Dufour was wholly right in urging that digested food was fed to the larvae, for honey is digested nectar. He was also correct in supposing the food of the larva to be a sort of chyle, M. Quinby, Doo- little, and others, say water is also an element of this food. But bees often breed very rapidly when they do not leave the hive at all, and so water, other than that contained in the honey, etc., cannot be added. The time when bees seem to need water, and so repair to the rill and the pond, is during the heat of spring and summer, when they are most busy. May this not be quaffed for the most part to slake their own thirst? If water is carried to the hives it is doubtless given to the nurse bees. They may need water when the weather is hot and brood raising at its very height.

At first the larve lie at the bottom of the cell, in the cream-like ‘bee-milk.” Later they curl up, and when fully grown, are straight (Fig. 24, 7). They now turn head down and cast their skin and digestive canal, then turn with their head towards the mouth of the cell (Fig. 24,/). Before this, however, the cell has been capped.

In eight days from the laying of the egg, the worker cell, like the queen cell, is capped over by the worker bees. This cap is composed of pollen and old wax, so it is darker, more porous, and more easily broken than the caps of the honey-cells; it is also more convex (Fig. 24,4). The larva, now full grown, having lapped up all the food placed before it, spins its silken cocoon, so excessively thin that it requires a great number to appreciably reduce the size of the cell. The silken part of the cocoon extends down from the cap but a short distance, but like moths and many other insects, the larval bee just before it pupates, spreads a thin glue or varnish over the entire inner part of the cell. These cocoons, partly of silk and partly of glue, are well seer when we reduce combs to wax with the solar wax extractor. These always remain in the cells after the bees escape, and give to old comb its dark color and great strength. Yet they are so thin that cells used even for a dozen years, seem to serve as well for brood as when first used. Indeed I have

Development of Workers. 134

good combs which have been in constant use nineteen years, As before stated the larva sheds its skin, and at the last moll the alimentary canal or digestive tube with its contents as well. These, as stated by Vogel, are pushed to the bottom ofthe cell. In three days the insect assumes the pupa state (Fig 24, g). In all insects the spinning of the cocoon seems an exhaustive process, for so far as I have observed, and that is quite at length, this act is succeeded by a varia- ble period of repose. The pupaisalsocalledanymph. By cutting open cells it is easy to determine just the date of forming the cocoon, and of changing to the pupa state. The pupa looks like the mature bee with all its appendages bound close about it, though the color is still whitish.

In twenty-one days the bees emerge from the cells. The old writers were quite mistaken in thinking that the advent of these was an occasion of joy and excitement, among the bees. All apiarists have noticed how utterly unmoved the

ees are, as they push over and crowd by these new-comers in the most heedless and discourteous manner imaginable. Wildman tells of seeing the workers gathering pollen and honey the same day that they came forth from the cells. This idea is quickly disproved if we Italianize black bees. We know that for some days,—usually about two weeks if the colony is in a normal condition, though if all the bees are very young it may be only one week—these young bees do not leave the hive at all, except in case of swarming, when bees even too young to fly will attempt to go with the crowd. However, the young bees do fly out for a sort of “play spell” before they commence regularly to work in the field. They doubtless wish to try their wings. These young bees, like young drones and queens, are much lighter colored when they first leave the cell.

The worker bees never attain a great age. Those reared in autumn may live for eight or nine months, and if in queenless stocks, where little labor is performed, even longer; while those reared in spring will wear out in three months, and when most busy will often die in from thirty to forty-five days. None of these bees survive the year through, so there is a limit to the number which may exist

_inacolony. As a good queen will lay, when in her best

138 Function of the Workers.

estate, three thousand eggs daily, and as the workers live from one to three months, it might seem that forty thousand was too small a figure for the number of workers. With- out doubt a greater number is possible. That it is rare is not surprising, when we remember the numerous accidents and vicissitudes that must ever attend the individuals of these populous communities.

The function of the worker bees is to do all the manual labor of the hives. They secrete the wax, which as already stated forms in small scales (Fig. 49, w) under the over-lapping rings under the abdomen. I have found these wax-scales on both old and young. According to Fritz Miiller, the admirable German observer, so long a traveler in South America, the bees of the genus Meli- pona secrete the wax on the back.

The young bees build the comb, ventilate the hive, feed the larve, queen and drones, and cap the cells. The older bees—for, as readily seen in Italianizing, the young bees do not go forth for the first two weeks—gather the honey, collect the pollen, or bee-bread as it is generally called, bring in the propolis or bee-glue, which is used to close openings and as a cement, supply the hive with water (?), defend the hive from all improper intrusion, destroy drones when their day of grace is past, kill and arrange for replac- ing worthless queens, destroy inchoate queens, drones, or even workers, if circumstances demand it, and lead forth a portion of the bees when the conditions impel them to swarm.

When there are no young bees, the old bees will act as house-keepers and nurses, which they otherwise refuse to do. The young bees, on the other hand, will not go forth to glean, at less than six days of age, even though there be no old bees to do this necessary part of bee-duties. An indirect function of all the bees is to supply animal heat, as the very life of the bees requires that the temperature inside the hive be maintained at a rate considerably above freez- ing. In the chemical processes attendant upon nutrition, much heat is generated, which, as first shown by Newport, may be considerably augmented at the pleasure of the bees, by forced respiration. The bees, by a rapid vibration of

Function of Worker Bees. 139

their wings, have the power to ventilate their hives and reduce the temperature when the weather is hot. Thus they are able to moderate the heat of summer, and temper the cold of winter.

140 Swarming or Natural Increase.

CHAPTER T11.

SWARMING, Ok. NATURAL METHODS OF INCREASE.

The natural method by which an increase of colonies among bees is secured, is of great interest, and though it has been closely observed, and assiduously studied for a long period, and has given rise to theories as often absurd as sound, yet even now, it is a fertile field for investiga- tion, and will repay any who may come with the true spirit of inquiry, for there is much concerning it which is involved in mystery. Why do bees swarm at unseemly times? Why is the swarming spirit so excessive at times and so restrained at other seasons? These and other ques- tions we are too apt to refer to erratic tendencies of the bees, when there is no question but that they follow natur- ally upon certain conditions, perhaps intricate and obscure, which it is the province of the investigator to discover. Who shall be first to unfold the principles which govern these, as all other actions of the bees?

In the spring or early summer, when the hive has become very populous, the queen, as if conscious that a home could be overcrowded, and forseeing such danger, commences to deposit drone eggs in drone cells, which the worker bees, perhaps moved by like consideration, begin to construct, if they are not already in existence. In fact, drone comb is almost sure of construction at such times. No sooner is the drone brood well under way, than the large, awkward queen cells are commenced, often to the number of ten or fifteen, though there may be not more than three or four. The Cyprian and Syrian bees often start from fifty to one hundred queen cells. In these, eggs are placed, and the rich royal jelly added, and soon, often before the cells are even capped—and very rarely before a ‘cell is built—if the bees are crowded, the hives unshaded, and the ventilation insufficient, some bright day, usually about eleven o’clock, after an unusual disquiet both inside

Preparation for Swarming. 14

and outside the hive, a large part of the worker bees— being off duty for the day and having previously loaded their honey sacs—rush forth from the hive as if alarmed by the cry of fire, the queen among the number; though she is by no means among the first, and frequently is quite late in her exit, It is often asserted that bees do no gathering on the day they swarm, previous to leaving the hive. This is not true. Mr. Doolittle thinks they are just as active as on other days. The queen however is off duty for some time before the swarm leaves. She even lays scantily for two or three days prior to this event. This makes the queen lighter, and prepares her for her long wearying flight. In her new home she does no laying for several hours. The assertion that bees always cluster on the out- side preliminary to swarming, is not true. The crowded hive makes this common, though in a well managed apiary it is very infrequent. The bees, once started on their quest for a new home, after many uproarious gyrations about the old one, dart forth to alight upon some bush, limb, or fence, though in one case I knew the first swarm of bees to leave at once for parts unknown, without even waiting to cluster. After thus meditating for the space of from one to three hours, upon a future course, they again take wing and leave for their new home, which they have probably already sought out, and fixed up.

Some suppose the bees look up a home before leaving the hive, while others claim that scouts are in search of one while the bees are clustered. The fact that bees take a right-line to their new home, and fly too rapidly to look as they go, would argue that a home is preémpted, at least, before the cluster is dissolved. Tke fact that the cluster remains sometimes for hours—even over night—and at other times for a brief period, would lead us to infer that the bees cluster while waiting for a new home to be found. Yet, why do bees sometimes alight after flying a long distance, as did a first swarm the past season upon our College grounds? Was their journey long, so that they must needs stop to rest, or were they flying at random, not knowing whither they were going? This matter is no longer a matter of question. I now know of several cases

142 Clustering and Selecting New Home.

where bees have been seen to clean out their new home the day previous to swarming. In each case the swarm came and took possession of the new home the day after the house cleaning. The reason of clustering is no doubt to give the queen a rest before her long flight. Her muscles of flight are all “soft” as the horsemen would say. She must find this a severe ordeal even after the rest.

If for any reason the queen should fail to join the bees, and rarely when she is among them, possibly because she finds she is unfit for the journey, they will, after having clustered, (they rarely fail to cluster) return to their old home. The youngest bees will remain in the old hive, to which those bees which are abroad in quest of stores will return, The presence of young bees on the ground imme- diately after a swarm has issued—those with flight too feeble to join the rovers—will often mark the previous home of theemigrants. Mr. Doolittle confines a tea-cupful or less of the bees when he hives the swarm and after the colony is hived he throws the confined bees up in the air, when he says they will at once go to the hive from which the swarm issued.

Soon, in seven days, often later, if Italians, the first queen: will come forth from her cell, and in two or three days she will, or may, lead a new colony forth; but before she does this, the peculiar note, known as the piping of the queen, may be heard. This piping sounds like “peep,” “peep,” is shrill and clear, and can be plainly heard by placing the ear to the hive, nor would it be mistaken. This sound is Landois’s true voice as it is made even in the cell, and also by a queen whose wings are cut off. Cheshire thinks this sound is made by friction of the segments one upon the other as the queen movesthem. The newly hatched queen pipes in seven or eight hours after coming from the cell. She always pipes if a swarm is to issue, and if she pipes a second swarm will go unless weather or man interfercs. The second swarm usually goes in from thirty-five to forty- five hours after the piping is heard. This ‘piping of the liberated queen is followed by a lower, hoarser note, made by a queen still within the cell. This piping is best heard by placing the ear to the hive in the evening or early morn-

Piting of the Queens, | 143

ing. If heard, we may surely expect a swarm the next ‘day but one following, unless the weather be too unpleasant.

Some have supposed that the cry of the liberated queen was that of hate, while that by the queen still imprisoned was either enmity or fear, Never will an after-swarm leave, unless preceded by this peculiar note.

At successive periods of one or two days, though the third swarm usually goes two days after the second, one, two, or even three more colonies may issue from the old home. Mr. Langstroth knew five after-swarms to issue, and others have reported eight and ten. These last ‘swarms, all after the first, will each be heralded by the piping of the queen. They will be less particular as to the time of day when they issue, as they have been known to leave before sun-rise, and even after sun-set. The well- known apiarist, Mr. A. F. Moon, once knew a second swarm to issue by moon-light. They will, as a rule, cluster farther from the hive. The after-swarms are accompanied ‘by the queen, and in case swarming is delayed, may be attended by a plurality of queens. I have counted five queens in asecondswarm. Berlepsch and Langstroth each saw eight queens issue with a swarm, while others report even more. Mr. Doolittle says the guards leave the cells when the queen goes out, and then. other queens which have been fed for days in the cells rush out and go with theswarm. He says he has known twenty to go with third swarms, I have seen several young queens liberated in a colony. How does Mr. Doolittle explainthat? These vir- gin queens fly very rapidly, so the swarm will seem more active and definite in its course than will first swarms. When the swarming is delayed it is likely that the queens are often fed by the workers while yet imprisoned in the cells. The view is generally held that these queens are kept in the cells that the queen which has already come from the cell may not kill them.

The cutting short of swarming preparations before the second, third, or even the first swarm issues, is by no means arare occurrence, This is effected by the bees destroying the queen-cells and sometimes by a general extermination of the drones, and is generally to be explained by a cessa-

144 Abnormal Swarming. tion of the honey yield. It is commonly observed that while a moderate yield of honey is very provocative of swarming, a heavy flow seems frequently to absorb the entire attention of the bees, and so destroy the swarming impulse ‘entirely. Cells thus destroyed are easily recog- nized, as they are torn open from the side and not cut back from the end. .

Swarming out at other times, especially in late winter and spring, is sometimes noticed by apiarists. This is doubtless due to famine, mice, or some other disturbing circumstance which makes the hive intolerable to the bees,

Nature of Honey, 145

CHAPTER IV.

Propucts or Brees; THEIR ORIGIN AND FuNc- TION.

Among all insects, bees stand first in the variety of the useful products which they give us, and, next to the silk- moths, in the importance of these products. They seem the more remarkable and important, in that so few insects yield articles of commercial value. True, the cochineal insect, a species of bark-louse, gives us an important color- ing material; the lac insect, of the same family, gives us the important element of our best glue—shellac; the blis- ter-beetles afford an article prized by the physician, while we are indebted to one of the gall-flies for a valuable ele- ment of ink; but the honey-bee affords not only a delicious article of food, but also another .article of no mean com- mercial rank, namely, wax. We will proceed to examine the various products which come from bees.

HONEY.

Of course the first product of bees, not only to attract attention but also in importance, is honey. And what is honey? It is digested nectar, a sweet neutral substance gathered from the flowers, This nectar contains much water, though the amount is very variable, a mixture of several kinds of sugar and a small amount of nitrogenous matter in the form of pollen. Nectar is peculiar in the large amount of sucrose or cane sugar which it contains. Often there is nearly or quite as much of this as of all the other sugars. We cannot therefore give the composition of honey. It will be as various as the flowers from which it is gathered. Again the thoroughness of the digestion will affect the composition of honey. This digestion is doubtless accomplished through the aid of the saliva—that from the racemose glands of the head and thorax (Fig. 33, 4, c)—-aided possibly by the acid secretion of the stomach.

The composition of honey is of course very varied. Thus analyses give water all the way from 15 to 30 per cent.

10

146 Composition of Floney.

The first would be fully ripe, the last hardly the product we should like to market.

The reducing sugars—so called because they can reduce the sulphate of copper when made strongly alkaline by the addition of caustic potash or soda—include all sugars but sucrose or cane sugar; and consist mainly of dextrose, which turns the ray of polarization to the right, and lev- ulose, which turns the ray to the left. Dextrose and levulose are both products of various fruits, as well as honey. Dextrose and levulose are also called invert sugars; because, when cane sugar is heated with a mineral acid, like hydrochloric acid, it changes from cane sugar, which revolves the polarized ray to the right, to dextrose and levulose; but the latter is most effective, so now the ray turns to the left, hence the terms inversion, or invert sugar. Glucose is a term which refers to both dextrose and levulose, and is exactly synonymous with grape sugar.

The amount of reducing sugars varies largely, as shown by numerous analyses, usually from sixty-five to seventy- five per cent; though a few analyses of what it would seem must have been pure honeys, have shown less than sixty per cent. But in such cases there was an excess of cane sugar. It seems not improbable that in such cases honey was gathered very rapidly and the bees not having far to fly did not fully digest the cane sugar of the nectar. Dr. J. Campbell Brown in a paper before the British Associa- tion, gave as an average of several analyses seventy-three per cent. of invert or reducing sugars; thirty-six and forty- five hundredths per cent. was levulose and thirty-six and fifty-seven hundredths per cent. was dextrose. Almost always pure honey gives a left rotation of from two to twelve degrees. This wide variation is suggestive. Does it not show that very likely the honey from certain flowers, though pure honey, may give a right handed rotation with a large angle because of a large amount of dextrose and little levulose. It occurs to me that these two uncertain factors, incomplete digestion and the possible variation in nectar, make determination by the analyst either by use of the polariscope or chemical reagents a matter of doubt. I speak with more confidence as our National Chemist pro-

Different Kinds of Sugar. 147

nounced several specimens of what I feel sure were pure honey, to be probably adulterated.

While nearly or quite half of the nectar of flowers is cane sugar, there is very little of such sugar in honey. While from one to three per cent. is most common it not infrequently runs to five or six per cent., and occasionally to twelve or sixteen per cent. Quite likely in this last case, imperfect digestion was the cause. The nectar was not long enough in the stomach to be changed. Of course twelve to fifteen per cent. of sucrose would almost surely rotate the plane to the right. There is a very interesting field for study here. What flowers yield nectar so rich in cane sugar that even the honey is rich in the same element? Honey often contains, we are told, as much as four per cent. of dextrine. This of course tends to make it rotate the ray to the right and farther complicates the matter. Again it is easy to see that in case flowers secrete nectar in large quantities the bees would load quickly, and so pro- portionately less saliva would be mixed with it, and diges- tion would be less thorough. ;

We see now why drones and queens need salivary glands to yield the ferment to digest honey. Often the worker bees do not thoroughly digest it.

Albuminoids—evidently from the pollen—vary from five to seventy-five hundredths of one per cent. These vary largely according to the flowers. It is quite likely that in case of bloom like basswood where the honey comes very rapidly—fifteen lbs. per day sometimes for each colony—the stomach-mouth can not remove all the pollen. Here is an opportunity for close observation, If we know we have honey that was gathered very rapidly we should have a test made for albuminous material to see if its quantity increases with the rapidity with which the honey is gathered. While there may be quite an amount of this pollen in honey, usually there will be but little.

Besides the above substances, there is a little mineral matter, fifteen hundredths of one per cent., which I suppose to be mainly malate of lime; a little of the essential oils which possibly give the characteristic flavor of the differ- ent kinds of honey, and more or less coloring matter, more

148 Digestion of Nectar.

in buckwheat honey, less in basswood. There is also a little acid—formic acid—which probably aids to digest the nectar, and possibly with the saliva, may, like the acid gastric juice of our own stomachs, resist putrefaction, or any kind of fermentation. It has been urged that this is added to the honey by the bees dropping poison from the sting. I much doubt this theory. It is more reason- able, however, than the absurd view that the bee uses its sting to polish its cells. If the poison glands can secrete formic acid, why cannot the glands of the stomach? Anal- ogy, no less than common sense, favors this view. Tie acid of honey is often recognizable to the taste, as every lover of honey knows. The acid is also shown by use of blue litmus. The specific gravity varies greatly of course, as we should expect from the great variation in the amount of water. I have found very thick honey to have a specific gravity of 1.40 to 1.50. The fact that-honey is digested nectar.or sucrose shows that in eating honey, our food is partially digested for us, the cane sugar is changed . to a sugar that can be readily absorbed and assimilated.

I have fed bees pure cane sugar, and when stored, the late Prof. R. F. Kedzié found that nearly all of this sugar was transformed in much the same way that the nectar is changed which is taken from the flowers.

It is probable that the large compound racemose glands in the head and thorax of the bees (Fig. 38, 4, c,) secrete an abundant ferment which hastens these transformations which the sugars undergo while in the honey stomach of the bee. Possibly juices from the honey stomach also aid in these changes. Much of the water escapes after the honey is stored.

The method of collecting honey has already been described. The principles of lapping and suction are both involved in the operation,

When the stomach is full, the bee repairs to the hive and regurgitates its precious load, either giving it to the bees or storing it in the cells. This honey remains for some time uncapped that it may ripen, in which process the water is partially evaporated and the honey rendered thicker. If the honey remains uncapped, or is removed from the cells, it will

Granulation of Honey. 149

generally granulate, if the temperature be reduced below yo°. Like many other substances, most honey, if heated and sealed while hot, will not crystallize till it is unsealed. In case of granulation the sucrose and glucose crystallize in the mellose. Some honey, as that from the South and some from California, seems to remain liquid indefinitely. Some kinds of our own honey crystallize much more read- ily than others. I have frequently observed that thick, ripe honey granulates more slowly than thin honey. The only sure (?) test of the purity of honey, if there be any, is that of the polariscope. This, even if decisive, is not practical except in the hands of the scientist. The most practical test is that of granulation, though this is not wholly relia- ble. Granulated honey is almost certainly pure. Occa- sionally genuine honey and of superior excellence refuses, even in a zero atmosphere, to crystallize.

When there are no flowers, or when the flowers vield no sweets, the bees, ever desirous to add to their stores, frequently essay to rob other colonies, and often visit the refuse of cider mills, or suck up the oozing sweets of vari- ous plant or bark-lice, thus adding, may be, unwholesome food to their usually delicious and refined stores. It is a curious fact that the queen never lays her maximum num- ber of eggs except when storing is going on. In fact, in the interims of honey-gathering, egg-laying not infre- quently ceases altogether. The queen seems discreet, gauging the size of her family by the probable means of support. Or it is quite possible that the workers control affairs by withholding the chyle, and thus the queen stops perforce. Syrian bees are much more likely to continue brood rearing when no honey is being collected than are either German or Italian bees,

Again, in times of extraordinary yields of honey the storing is very rapid and the hive becomes so filled that the queen is unable to lay her full quota of eggs; in fact, I have seen the brood very much réduced in this way, which, of course, greatly depletes the colony. This might be called ruinous prosperity.

The natural use of the honey is to furnisn, in part, the

150 Origin of Wax.

mature bees with food, and also to supply, in part at least, the queen, especially when she is not laying.

WAX.

The product of the bees second in importance is Wax. The older scientists thought this was a product formed from pollen. Girard says it was discovered by a peasant of Lusace, hence a German, not a “ French peasant,” as an English plagiarist has it, in 1768. Langstroth shows that Herman C. Hornbostel discovered the true source of wax in 1745. Thorley in 1774, and Wildman in 1778 under- stood the true source of wax. This is a solid, unctious substance, and is, as shown by its chemical composition, a fat-like material, though not, as some authors assert, the fat of bees. As already observed, this is a secretion from the glands just within the wax plates and is formed in scales, the shape of an irregular pentagon (Fig. 49, w), under- neath the abdomen. These scales are light-colored, very thin and fragile, and are secreted by the wax gland as a liquid, which passes through the wax plate by osmosis, and solidifies as thin wax scales on the outside of the plates opposite the glands. Neighbour speaks of the wax oozing through pores from the stomach. This is not the case, but, like the synovial fluid about our own joints, it is formed by the secreting membrane, and does not pass through holes, as water through a sieve. There are, as already stated, four of these wax pockets on each side (Fig. 49), and thus there may’ be eight wax scales on abee at onetime. This wax can be secreted by the bees when fed on pure sugar, as shown by Huber, whose experiment I have verified. I removed all honey and comb from a strong colony, left the bees for twenty-four hours to digest all food which might be in their stomachs, and then fed pure sugar, which was better than honey, as Prof. R. F. Kedzie has shown by analysis that not only filtered honey, but even the nectar which he collected right from the flowers themselves, con- tains: nitrogen. The bees commenced at once to build comb, and continued for several days, so long as I kept them confined. This is as we should suppose; sugar con- tains hydrogen and oxygen in proportion to form water,

Nature of Wan, 151

while the third element, carbon, is in the same or about the same proportion as the oxygen. Now, the fats usually contain little oxygen and a good deal of carbon and hydro- gen. Thus the sugar, by losing some of its oxygen, would contain the requisite elements for fat. It was found true in the days of slavery in the South that the negroes of Louisiana, during the gathering of the cane, would become very fat. They ate much sugar; they gained much fat. Now, wax is a fat-like substance, not that it is the animal fat of bees, as often asserted—in fact it contains much less hydrogen, as will be seen by the following formula from Hess:

Oxygen.. Cibo Hydrogen...

—but it is a ee secretion for a special purpose, and from its composition we should conclude that it might be secreted from a purely saccharine diet, and experiment con- firms the conclusion. Dr. Planta has found that there is a trace of nitrogen in wax scales, a little less than .6 of one per cent., while he finds in newly made comb, nearly .g of one per cent. It has been found that bees require about twenty pounds of honey to secrete one of wax. The experi- ments of Mr. P. L. Viallon show this estimate of Huber to be too great. My own experiments would sustain Huber’s statement. In these experiments the bees are con- fined, and so the conclusions are to be received with caution. We cannot know how much the results are changed by the abnormal condition in which the bees are placed.

For a time nitrogenous food is not necessary to the secre- tion of wax. Probably the small amount of nitrogen in the scales and in the saliva may be furnished by the blood. This of course could not continue long.

It is asserted that to secrete wax, bees need to hang in compact clusters or festoons, in absolute repose. Such quiet would certainly seem conducive to most active secre- tion. The food could not go to form wax, and at the same time supply the waste of tissue which ever follows upon muscular activity. The cow, put to hard toil, could not give so much milk. But I find, upon examination,

152 Secretion of Wax.

that the bees, even the most aged, while gathering in the honey season, yield up the wax-scales the same as those within the hive. During the active storing of the past season, especially when comb-building was in rapid pro- gress, I found that nearly every bee taken from the flowers contained the wax-scales of varying sizes in the wax-pockets. By the activity of the bees, these are not infrequently loosened from their position and fall to the bottom of the hive, This explains why wax is often men- tioned as an element of honey. Its presence, however, in honey is wholly accidental. It is‘probable that wax secre- tion is not forced upon the bees, but only takes place as required. So the bees, unless wax is demanded, may per- form other duties. When we fill the sections and brood- chamber wholly with foundation, it is often difficult to find any bees bearing wax-scales. In such cases I have often looked long, but in vain, to find such scales zz situ to show to my students. Whether this secretion is a matter of the bee’s will, or whether it is excited by the surround- ing conditions without any thought, are questions yet to be settled.

These wax-scales are loosened by the wax-jaws of the posterior legs, as stated by Girard, carried to their anterior claws which in turn bear them to the mouth, where they are mixed with saliva probably from Wolff’s slands (Fig.

“4 fter the proper kneading by the jaws, these wax-scales are fashioned into that wonderful and exquisite structure, the comb. In this transformation to comb, the wax may become colored. Dr. Planta has shown that this is due to a slight admixture of pollen. It is almost sure to do this if the new comb is formed adjacent to old, dark colored comb. In such cases chippings from the old soiled comb are used.

Honey-comb is wonderfully delicate, the base of a new cell being only about 1-8oth of an inch in thickness. The wall is even much thinner, sometimes hardly more than one-half as thick. The cells are so formed as to combine the greatest strength and maximum capacity with the least expense of material. It need hardly be said that

floney-Comb Described. 153

queen cells are much thicker, and contain as before stated much that is not wax. In the arch-like pits in queen cells, we farther see how strength is conserved and mate- rial economized.

Honey-comb has been an object of admiration since the earliest time. Some claim that the form is a matter of neces- sity—-the result of pressure or reciprocal resistance and not of bee-skill. The fact that the hexagonal form is some- times assumed just as the cell is started, when pressure or resistance could not aid, has led me to doubt this view; especially as wasps form their paper nests of soft pulp, and the hexagonal cells extend to the very edge, where no pressure or resistance could affect the form of the cells. Yet Iam not certain that the mutual resistance of the cells as they are fashioned from the soft wax may not aid in determining the form. The bees certainly carve out the triangular pyramid at the base. They would need to be no better geometricians to form the hexagonal cells. The assertion that the cells of honey-comb are absolutely uni- form and perfect is untrue, as a little inspection will con- vince any one. The late Prof. J. Wyman demonstrated that an exact hexagonal cell does not exist. He also showed that the size varies, so that in a distance of ten worker-cells there may be a variation of one cell-in diam- eter, and this in natural, not distorted, cells. Any one who doubts can easily prove, by a little careful examination, that Prof. Wyman was correct. This variation of one- fifth of an inch in ten cells is extreme, but a variation of one-tenth of an inch is common. The sides, as also the angles, are not constant. The rhombic faces forming the bases of the cells also vary. The idea which has come down from the past that mathematics and measurement exactly agreed upon the angles of the rhombs, that the two opposite obtuse angles were each 109° 28’ 16” and the acute 70° 31’ and 44” is without foundation in fact.

The bees change from worker (Fig. 53, c) to drone- cells (Fig. 53, @), which are one-fifth larger, and vice versa not by any system (Fig. 53, 4). but simply by enlarging or contracting. It usually takes about four rows to com- plete the transformation, though the number of deformed

154 Cells Described.

cells varies from two to eight. The perfect drone-cells may be, often are, contiguous to perfect worker-cells, the irregular cells being used to fill out the necessary irregue larities. An English writer criticises Langstroth’s repre- sentation of these irregular cells and adds that the angles can never be less than 100°. This is far from the truth, as I have found many cells where an angle was consider. ably less than this,

* Fie, 5%

Rhombs, Pyramidal Bases, and cross-sections of Cells illustrated,

Floney-Comb, @ Drone-cells, & Deformed cells, a Piao ig The structure of each cell is quite complex, yet full of interest. The base is a triangular pyramid (Fig 53) €) whose three faces are rhombs, and whose apex forme the

escri ption of Comb- Cells. 155

very center of the floor of the cell. From the six free or non-adjacent edges of the three rhombs extend the lateral walls or faces of the cell. The apex of this basal pyramid is a point where the contiguous faces of three cells on the opposite side meet, and form the angles of the bases of three cells on the opposite side of the comb. Thus the base of each cell forms one-third of the base of three opposite cells. One side thus braces the other and adds much to the strength of the comb. Each cell, then, is in the form of a hexagonal prism, terminating in a flattened triangular pyramid.

The bees usually build several combs at once, and carry forward several cells on each side of each comb, constantly adding to the number, by additions to the edge. The bees in constructing comb make the base or so called mid-rib, the ‘“‘fish-bone” in honey where foundation is used, thick at first, and thin this as they add to the cells in lengthening them. Thus we understand why bees take so kindly to foundation. To work this out is not contrary to their instincts, and gives them a lift. Huber first observed the process of comb-building, noticing the bees abstract the wax-scales, carry them to the mouth, add the frothy saliva, and then knead and draw out the yellow ribbons which were fastened to the top of the hive, or added to the comb already commenced.

The diameter of the worker-cells (Fig. 53, c) averages little more than one-fifth of an inch—R éaumur says two and three-fifths lines, or twelfths of an inch—while the drone- cells (Fig 53, a) are a little more than one-fourth of an inch, or, according to Réaumur, three and one-third lines. But this distinguished author was quite wrong when he said: “These are the invariable dimensions of all cells that ever were or ever will be made.” A recent English author, after stating the diameter of cells adds: “The statement many times made that twenty-five and sixteen of these, respectively, cover a square inch, is erroneous, as they are not square.” He says there are 28 13-15 and 18 178-375. After many counts I conclude that he should have used his eyes rather than his mathematics. I find the worker- cells per square inch vary from 25 to 29, and the drone-

156 Description of Comb.

cells from 17 to 19 per square inch, The depth of the worker-cells is a little less than half an inch; the drone- cells are slightly extended so as to be a little more than half an inch deep. This depth, even of brood-cells, varies, so we cannot give exact figures. These cells are often drawn out so as to be an inch long, when used solely as honey receptacles. The number of cells in a pound of comb will vary much of course, as the thickness of the comb is not uniform. This number will vary from thirty to fifty thousand. In capping the honey the bees commence at the outside and finish at the center. The capping of the brood- cells is dark, porous, and convex, while that of the honey- cells is white and concave. This capping of honey-cells is made thicker by black bees than by the other races, and so their comb honey is more beautiful. Another reason for the white color comes from a small air chamber just beneath the capping. The inner surface of the capping is, therefore, usually free from honey. This chamber is usually a little larger in the honey-comb of black bees. The cap- pings are strengthened by tiny braces of wax, which, as we should expect, are most pronounced in drone-comb.

The strength of comb is somewhat marvelous. I have known a frame of comb honey eleven inches square, to weigh eleven pounds, and yet to be unsupported at the bottom, and for not more than one-third of the distance from the top on the sides, and yet it held securely. The danger in cold weather, from breaking, is greater, as then the comb is very brittle.

The character of the cells, as to size, that is, whether they are drone or worker, seems to be determined by the relative abundance of bees and honey. If the bees are ' abundant and honey needed, or if there is no queen to lay eggs, drone-comb (Fig. 53, a) is invariably built, while if there are few bees, and of course little honey needed, then worker-comb (Fig. 53, ¢) is almost as invariably formed. It is also a curious fact that if the queen keeps along with the comb-builders in the brood chamber, then no drone- comb is built; but let her fail to keep cells occupied, and drone-comb is at once formed. It would seem that the workers reasoned thus: We are going to have comb for

floney-Comb Coral. 157

storing, for such we better fashion the large-celled or drone- comb.

All comb when first formed is clear and translucent. The fact that it is often dark and opaque implies that it has been long used as brood comb, and the opacity is due to the innumerable thin glue-like cocoons which line the cells. These may be separated by dissolving the wax; which ‘ may be done by putting it in boiling alcohol, or, better still, by use of the solar wax-extractor. Such comb need. not be discarded, for if composed of worker-cells it is still very valuable for breeding purposes, and should not be

Fie. 54.

Floney-Comb Coral,

destroyed till the cells are too small for longer service, which will not occur till after many years of use. The function, then, of the wax, is to make comb and caps for the honey cells, and, combined with pollen, to form queen-cells (Fig. 53, 2) and caps for the brood-cells.

A very common fossil found in many parts of the East- ern and Northern United States is, from its appearance, often called petrified honey-comb. We have many such specimens in our museum. In some cases the cells are hardly larger than a pin-head; in others a quarter of an

158 Honey-Comb Coral.

inch in diameter, These (Figs. 54, 55) are not fossil honey-comb as many are led to believe, though the resem- blance is‘so striking that no wonder the public generally are deceived. These specimens are fossil coral, which the paleontologist places in the genus Favosites; favosus being a common species in our State. They are very abundant in the lime rock in northern Michigan, and are very prop-

Fic. 55.

a

Honey-Comb Ccral,

erly denominated honey-comb coral. The animals of which these were once the skeletons, so to speak, are not insects at all, though often called so by men of consider- able information.

The species of the genus Favosites first appeared in the Upper Silurian rocks, culminated in the Devonian, and dis- appeared in the early Carboniferous. No insects appeared till the Devonian age, and no Hymenoptera—bees, wasps, etc.—till after the Carboniferous. So the old time Favo- sites reared its limestone columns and helped to build islands

Pollen or Bee- Bread, 159

and continents untold ages—millions upon millions of years —before any flower bloomed, or any bee sipped the pre- cious nectar. In some specimens of this honey-comb coral (Fig. 55) there are to be seen banks of cells, much resem- bling the paper cells of some of our wasps. This might be called wasp-comb coral, except that both styles were wrought by the self-same animals,

POLLEN OR BEE-BREAD.

An ancient Greek author states that in Hymettus the bees tied little pebbles to their legs to hold them down. This fanciful conjecture probably arose from seeing the pollen balls on the bees’ legs.

Even such scientists as Réaumur, Bonnet, Swammerdam, and many apiarists of the last century, thought they saw

Fic. 56.

Pollen Grains,

in these pollen balls the source of wax. But Huber, John Hunter, Duchet, Wildman, and others already referred to noticed the presence and function of the wax-scales already described, and were aware that the pollen served a different purpose.

This substance, like nectar, is not secreted nor manu- factured by the bees, only collected. The pollen grains

160 Composition of Pollen.

form the male element in plants. They are in plants what the spermatozoa or sperm-cells are in animals; and as the sperm cells are much more numerous than the eggs or germ cells, so pollen grains are far more numerous in plants than are the ovules or seeds. In Chinese wistaria, Wistaria Sinensis, there are, says Goodale, about 7,000 pollen grains to each ovule. Pollen grains are really single cells and have two coats; the outer is the extine which may be smooth, variously sculptured, or even thickly set with spines (Fig. 56). These spines etc., often enable us to tell the species of plant from which the pollen came. Usually the extine is perforated, though the inner wall—aintine—Is not. These perforations are also definite in number within the species. These holes give opportunity for the pollen tubes (Fig. 184) to push out after the pollen grain reaches the stigma of the flower. Where there are no perforations of the ‘extine, the wall breaks. In some cases like orchids, pollen grains are held together by an adhesive substance. In our milkweeds we notice a similar grouping of pollen grains (Fig. 162) which often are very disturbing to bees and other insects,

The composition of pollen, says Goodale, is protoplasmic matter, granular food materials, such as starch and oil and dissolved food matters, sugar and dextrine.

Dr. A. de Planta gives the following analysis of pollen of the hazel (B. B. Journal, Vol. 14, p.269). He finds pro- toplasm, oils and starch—the important food elements.

Before drying he found:

Waters Nitrog: Ash

After drying thoroughly he found:

Nitrogenous: Matter iirisiscasccassisedsensecessvsersnineasiacvetanecse’ 31.63 Non-nitrogenous... 64.36 PASH Jotcesncedtien deeetolr) scenes snclasd aasinnsoosieddalsosvaneeavaceavaneesssars 4.01

He found no reducing sugar, but did find 14.70 per.cent. of cane sugar.

As will be seen, pollen like our grains is rich in the albuminoids. Like our grains or even different specimens of the same grain the composition of pollen will doubtless

Function of Pollen. 161

vary to quite an extent. As we note that pollen contains besides an ash, albuminoids, sugar, starch, and oils, we see its excellence as a food; it contains within itself all the important food elements. The bees usually obtain it from the stamens of flowers; but if they gain access to flour when there is no bloom, they will take this in lieu of pollen, in which case the former term used above becomes a mis- nomer, though usually the bee-bread consists almost wholly of pollen. I have also known bees to gather extensively for bee-bread from the common raspberry rust. Very likely the spores of others of these fungi or low vegeta- bles help to supply this nutritious substance.

As already intimated, the pollen is conveyed in the pollen- baskets (Fig. 47) of the posterior legs, to which it is con- veyed by the other legs, as already described, page 127, and compressed into little oval masses. The motions in this conveyance are exceedingly rapid, and are largely per- formed while the bee is on the wing. The bees not infre- quently come to the hives not only with replete pollen baskets, but with their whole under surface thoroughly dusted. Dissection will also show that the same bee may have her sucking stomach distended with honey. Thus the bees make the most of their opportunities. It is a curious fact, noticed even by Aristotle, that the bees, dur- ing any trip, almost always gather only a single kind of pollen, or only gather from one species of bloom. Hence, while different-bees may have different colors of pollen, the pellets of bee-bread on any single bee will be uniform in color throughout. It is possible that the material is more easily collected and compacted when homogeneous. It seems more probable that they prefer the pollen of certain plants, and work on such species so long as they yield the desired food. From this fact we see why bees cause no intercrossing of species of plants; they only intermix the pollen of different plants of the same species.

The pollen is usually deposited in the small or worker cells, and is unloaded by a scraping motion of the posterior legs, the pollen baskets being first lowered into the cells. The bee thus freed, leaves the wheat-like masses to be packed by other bees. The cells, which may or may not

11

162 Bee-Bread and Propolis,

have the same color of pollen throughout, are never filled quite to the top, and not infrequently the same cell may contain both pollen and honey. Such a condition is easily ascertained by holding the comb between the eye and the sun. If there is no pollen it will be wholly translucent; otherwise there will be opaque patches. A little experience will make this determination easy, even if the comb is old. It is often stated that queenless colonies gather no pollen, but this is not true, though they gather less than they other- wise would. It is probable that pollen, at least when honey is added, contains all the essential elements of animal food. It certainly contains the very important principle which is not found in pure nectar or honey—nitrogenous material.

The function of bee-bread is to furnish albuminous food to all the bees, adults no less than larve. As already stated, brood-rearing is impossible without it. And though it is certainly not essential to the nourishment of the adult bees when in repose, it still may be so, and unquestionably is, in time of active labor. This point is clearly proved from the fact that pollen husks are almost always found in the intestines of bees. We may say it feeds the tissues of the imago bees, and is necessary that the workers may form the food for the queen, drones and larve. Schonfeld thinks the bees must have it in winter, and in case no bee-bread is in the combs, he thinks the bees scrape it from the cells and old combs.

PROPOLIS.

This substance, also called bee-glue, is collected as the bees collect pollen, and not made nor secreted. It is the product of various resinous buds, and may be seen to glisten on the opening buds of the hickory and horse-chestnut where it frequently serves the entomologist by capturing small insects. From such sources, from the oozing gum of various trees, from varnished furniture, and from old propolis about unused hives that have previously seen service, do the bees secure their glue. Probably the gathering of bees about coffins to collect their glue from the varnish, led to the custom of rapping on the hives to inform the bees, in case of a death in the family, that they

Function of Propolis. 163

might join as mourners. This custom still prevails, as I understand, in some parts of the South. Propolis has great adhesive force, and though soft and pliable when warm becomes very hard and unyielding when cold.

The use of bee-glue is to cement the combs to their sup- ports, to fill up all rough places inside the hive, to seal up all crevices except the place of exit, which the bees often contract by aid of propolis, and even to cover any foreign substance that cannot be removed. Intruding snails have thus been imprisoned inside the hive. Réaumur found a snail thus encased; Maraldi a slug similarly entombed; while I have myself obserwed a bombus, which had been stripped by the bees of wings, hair, etc., in their vain attempts at removal, also encased in this unique style of a sarcophagus, fashioned- by the bees. Alcohol, ether, and chloroform are all ready solvents of bee-glue, and will quickly remove it from the hands, clothing, etc,

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

For those who wish to pursue these interesting subjects more at length, I would recommend the following authors as specially desirable: Kirby and Spence, Introduction to Entomology; Duncan’s Transformations of Insects; Pack- ard’s Guide to the Study of Insects (American). F. Huber’s New Observations on the Natural History of Bees; Bevan on the Honey-Bee; Langstroth on the Honey-Bee ( Amer- ican); Neighbour on The Apiary; Cheshire’s Bees and Bee-Keeping; and the other books already referred to on page eleven. s

Ihave often been asked to recommend such treatises, and I heartily commend all of the above. The first and fourth are now out of print, but can be had by leaving orders at second-hand book-stores,

faa SE COnpD,

THE APIARY

ITS CARE AND MANAGEMENT,

MotrtTo:—“KrEp ALL CoLonigEs STRONG.”

Introduction to Part II.

STARTING AN APIARY.

In apiculture, as in all other pursuits, it is all-important to make a good beginning. This demands preparation on the part of the apiarist, the procuring of bees, and location of the apiary.

PREPARATION.

Before starting in the business, the prospective bee-keepet should inform himself in the art.

READ A GOOD MANUAL.

To do this, he should procure some good manual, and thoroughly study, especially that portion which treats of the practical part of the business. If accustomed to read, think and study, he should carefully read the whole work, but, otherwise, he will avoid confusion by only studying the methods of practice, leaving the principles and science to strengthen, and be strengthened by, his experience. Unless a student, he had better not take a journal till he begins the actual work, as so much unclassified information, without any experience to correct, arrange and select, will but mystify. For the same reason, he may well be content with reading a single work, till experience, and a thorough study of this one, make him more able to discriminate; and the same reasoning will preclude his taking more than one bee-journal until he has had at least a year’s actual expe- rience.

VISIT SOME APIARIST.

In this work of self-preparation, he will find great aid in visiting the nearest successful and intelligent apiarist. Tt successful, such a one will have a reputation; if intelli-

168 Rules for the Beginner.

gent, he will take the journals, and will show by his con- versation that he knows the methods and views of his brother apiarists, and, above all, he will not think he knows zt all, and that his is the only way to success. If possible he should spend some weeks during the active season with such a bee-keeper, and should learn all he could of such a one, but always let judgment and common sense sit as umpire, that no plans or decisions may be made that judg- ment does not fully sustain.

TAKE A COLLEGE COURSE.

It will be most wise to take a course in some college, if age makes this practicable, where apiculture is thoroughly discussed. Here one will not only get the best training in his chosen business, as he will study, see and handle, and thus will have the very best aids to decide as to methods, system and apparatus, but will also receive that general culture, which will greatly enhance life’s pleasures and use- fulness, and which ever proves the best capital in any vocation. At the Michigan Agricultural College we now have a fully equipped apiary, and the opportunities for spe- cial study in bee-keeping and entomology are peculiarly good.

DECIDE ON A PLAN.

After such a course as suggested above, it will be easy to decide as to location, hives, style of honey to raise, and general system of management. But here, as in all the arts, all our work should be preceded by a well-digested plan of operations. As with the farmer and the gardener, only he who works to a plan can hope for the best success. Of course, such plans will vary as we grow in wisdom and experience. A good maxim to govern all plans is “ go slow.” A good rule, which will insure the above, « Pay as you go.” Make the apiary pay for all improvements in advance, Demand that each year’s credits exceed its debts; and that you may surely accomplish this, keep an accurate account of all your receipts and expenses, This will be a great aid in arranging the plans for each successive year’s ope rations,

Rules for Purchasing. 169

Above all, avoid hobbies, and be slow to adopt sweeping changes. “ Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.”

HOW TO PROCURE FIRST COLONIES,

To procure colonies from which to form an apiary, it is always best to get them near at hand. We thus avoid the shock of transportation, can see the bees before we pur- chase, and in case there is any seeming mistake can easily gain a personal explanation and secure a speedy adjustment of any real wrong.

KIND OF BEES TO PURCHASE.

At the same price always take Italians or Carniolans, as they are certainly best for the beginner. If common black bees can be secured for three, or even for two dollars less per colony, by all means take them, as they can be Italian- ized at a profit for the difference in cost, and, in the opera- tion, the young apiarist will gain valuable experience.

Our motto will demand that we only purchase strong colonies. If, as recommended, the purchaser sees the col- onies before the bargain is closed, it will be easy to know that the colonies are strong. If the bees, as they come rushing out, remind you of Vesuvius at her best, or bring to mind the gush and rush at the nozzle of the fireman’s hose, then buy. In the hives of such colonies, all combs will be covered by the middle of May with bees, and in the honey season, brood will be abundant. It is always wisest to begin in a small way. He will generally suc- ceed best who commences with not more than four or five colonies.

IN WHAT KIND OF HIVES.

As plans are already made, of course it is settled as to the style of hive to be used. If bees can be procured in such hives, they will be worth just as much more than though in any other hive, as it costs to make the hive and transfer the bees. This will be certainly as much as two or three dollars. Vo apiarist will tolerate, unless for ex- periment, two styles of hives in his apiary. Therefore,

170 Hints for Purchasing.

unless you find bees in such hives as you are to use, it will be best to buy them in box hives and transfer (see Chapter VII) to your own hives, as bees in box hives can always be bought at reduced rates. In case the person from whom you purchase will take the hives back at a fair rate, after you have transferred the bees to your own hives, then purchase in any style of movable comb hive, as it is easier to transfer from a movable comb hive than from a box hive. Some bee-keepers have purchased a queen and bees by the pound, and thus secured colonies at very slight expense. A single pound of bees with a queen will develop into a good colony in a single year.

WHEN TO PURCHASE.

It is safe to purchase any time in the summer. In April or May (of course you only purchase strong stocks) if in the latitude of New York or Chicago—it will be earlier further south—you can afford to pay more, as you will secure the increase both of honey and bees. If you desire to purchase in autumn, that you may gain by the expe- rience of wintering, either demand that the one of whom you purchase insure the safe wintering of the bees, or else that he reduce the selling price, at least one-third, from his rates the next April. Otherwise the novice had better wait and purchase in the spring. If you are to transfer at once, it is desirable that you buy in spring, as it is vexa- tious, especially for the novice, to transfer when the hives are crowded with brood and honey.

HOW MUCH TO PAY.

Of course the market, which will ever be governed by supply and demand, must guide you. But to aid you, I will append what at present would be a reasonable schedule of spring prices almost anywhere in the United States: For box hives, crowded with black bees—lItalians would rarely be found in such hives—five dollars per colony is a fair price. For black bees in hives such as you desire to use, eight dollars would be reasonable. For pure Italians in such hives, ten dollars is not too much.

Where to Locate. I

If the person of whom you purchase will take back the movable hives after you transfer the bees, you can afford to pay five dollars for black bees, and seven dollars for pure Italians. If you purchase in the fall, require 33% per cent. discount on these rates,

WHERE TO LOCATE.

If apiculture is an avocation, then your location will be fixed by your principal business or profession. And here I may state that, if we may judge from reports which come from nearly every section of the United States, from Maine to Texas, and from Florida to Oregon, you can hardly go amiss anywhere in our goodly land. es

If you are to engage as a specialist, then you can select first with reference to society and climate, after which it will be well to secure a succession of natural honey-plants (Chapter XVII), by virtue of your locality. If our location is along a river we shall find our honey harvest much pro- longed, as the bloom on the upland will be early, while along the river flats it will be later. Who knows how much the many successful bee-keepers along the Mohawk Valley owe to their excellent location? It will also be well to look for reasonable prospects of a good home mar- ket, as good home markets are, and must ever be, the most desirable. It will be important, also, that your neighbor- hood is not overstocked with bees. It is a well-established fact, that apiarists with few colonies receive relatively larger profits, especially in rather poor seasons, than those with large apiaries. While this may be owing in part to better care, much doubtless depends on the fact that there is not an undue proportion of bees to the number of honey- plants, and consequent secretion of nectar. To have the undisputed monopoly of an area reaching at least two and one-half miles in every direction from your apiary, is un- questionably a great advantage.

If you desire to begin two kinds of business, so that your dangers from possible misfortune may be lessened, then a small farm—especially a fruit farm—in some locality where fruit-raising is successfully practiced, will be very desirable. You thus add others of the luxuries of life to

172 Location of the Apiary.

the products of your business, and at the same time may create additional pasturage for your bees by simply attend- ing to your other business. In this case, your location becomes a more complex matter, and will demand still greater thought and attention. Some of Michigan’s most successful apiarists are also noted as successful pomologists. A dairy farm, especially where winter dairying is carried on, would combine well with bee-keeping. The Alsike clover would please alike the cattle and the bees.

For position and arrangement of apiary see Chapter VI.

Box Hives. 173

CHAPTER V.

HIVes AND SECTIONS.

An early choice among the innumerable hives is of course demanded; and here let me state with emphasis, that none of the standard hives are now covered by pat- ents, so let no one buy rights. Success by the skillful apiarist with almost any hive is possible. Yet, without question, some hives are far superior to others, and for cer- tain uses, and with certain persons, some hives are far preferable to others, though all may be meritorious. As a change in hives, after one is once engaged in apiculture, involves much time, labor and expense, this becomes an important question, and one worthy of earnest considera- tion by the prospective apiarist. I shall give it a first place, and a thorough consideration, in this discussion of practical apiculture.

BOX-HIVES.

I feel free to say that no person who reads, thinks and studies—and success in apiculture can be promised to no other——will ever be content to use the old box-hives. In fact, thought and intelligence, which imply an eagerness to investigate, are essential elements in the apiarist’s char- acter, and to such a one a box-hive would be valued just in proportion to the amount of kindling-wood it contained. I shall entirely ignore box-hives in the following discussions, for I believe no sensible, intelligent apiarists, such as read books, will tolerate them, and that, supposing they would, it would be an expensive mistake which I have no right to encourage, in fact am bound to discourage, not only for the benefit of individuals but also for the art itself.

To be sure of success, the apiarist must be able to inspect the whole interior of the hive at his pleasure, must be able to exchange combs from one hive to another, and to regu- late the movements of the bees—by destroying queen- cells, by giving or withholding drone-comb, by extracting

174 Movable Comb fives.

the honey, by introducing queens, and by many other manipulations to be explained, which are only practicable with a movable comb hive.

MOVABLE COMB HIVES.

There are, at present, two types of the movable comb hive in use among us, each of which is unquestionably valuable, as each has advocates among our most intelligent, successful, and extensive apiarists. Each, too, has been superseded by the other, to the satisfaction of the person making the change. The kind most used consists of a box,

Fig. 57.

_ The Munn Hive,

in which hang the frames which hold the combs. The adjacent frames are so far separated that the combs, which just fill them, shall be the proper distance apart. In the other kind, the ends of the frames are wider than the~ comb, and when in position are close together, and of themselves form two sides of a box. When in use these

Original Frame FUives, 175

frames are surrounded by a second box, without a bottom, which, with them, rests on a bottom board. Each of these kinds is represented by various forms, sizes, etc., where the details are varied to suit the apiarist’s notion. Yet, I believe that all hives in present use, worthy of recommen-

Fig. 58.

Munn's Improved Hive

dation, fall within one or the other of the above named

types. EARLY FRAME HIVES.

In 1843, Mr. Augustus Munn, of England, invented a movable, comb hive (Fig. 57), which I need hardly say was not the Langstroth hive nor a practical one. In 1851 this hive (Fig. 58) was improved (?). Well does Neigh- bour say in his valuable hand-book, “This invention was of no avail to apiarists.”

M. DeBeauvoys, of France, in 1847, and Schmidt, of Germany, in 1851, invented movable comb hives. The frames were tight-fitting, and, of course, not practical.

176 First Frame Hives.

Dzierzon adopted the bar hive in 1838. In this hive each comb had to be cut loose as it was removed. It is strange that Mr. Cheshire speaks of Dzierzon’s hive in connection with the Langstroth. It was a different type of hive entirely.

THE LANGSTROTH HIVE.

In 1851 our own Langstroth, without any knowledge of what foreign apiarian inventors had done, save what he could find in Huber, and edition 1838 of Bevan, invented the hive (Fig. 59) now in common use among the advanced apiarists of America. It is this hive, the greatést apiarian invention ever made, that has placed American apiculture in advance of that of all other countries. What practical bee-keeper of America could agree with H. Hamet, edition 1861, p. 166, who, in speaking of the DeBeauvoys' hive, says that the improved hives were without value except to the amateur, and inferior for practical purposes? Our apiarists not native to our shores, like the late Adam Grimm, Mr. C. F. Muth and Mr. Charles Dadant, always conceded that Mr. Langstroth was the inventor of this hive, and always proclaimed its usefulness. Well did the late Mr. S. Wagner, the honest, fearless, scholarly, and truth- loving editor of the early volumes of the American See Fournal, himself of German origin, say: “When Mr. Langstroth took up this subject, he well knew what Huber had done, and saw wherein he had failed—tfailing, possibly, only because he aimed at nothing more than constructing an observatory hive suitable for his purposes. Mr. Lang- stroth’s object was other and Azgher. He aimed at making frames movable, interchangeable, and practically service- able in bee culture.” And how true what follows: “Modody before Mr. Langstroth ever succeeded in devising a mode of making and using a movable frame that was of any practical value in bee culture.” No man in the world, besides Mr. Langstroth, was so conversant with this whole subject as was Mr. Wagner. His extensive library and thorough knowledge made him a competent judge.

Mr. Langstroth, though he knew of no previous inven- tion of frames contained in a case, when he made his inven-

The Langst oth Hive Described. 177

tion, in 1851, does not profess to have been the first to have invented them. Every page of his book shows his trans- parent honesty, and his desire to give all due credit to other writers and inventors. He does claim, and very justly, to have invented the first practical frame hive, the one described in his patent, applied for in January, 1851, and in all three editions of his book. :

For this great invention, as well as his able researches in apiculture, as given in his invaluable book, “ The Honey- Bee,” he has conferred a benefit upon our art which cannot be over-estimated, and for which we, as apiarists, cannot be too grateful. It was his book—one of my old teachers, for which I have no word of chiding—that led me to some of the most delightful investigations of my life. It was his invention—the Langstroth hive—that enabled me to make those investigations. For one, I shall always revere the name of Langstroth, as a great leader in scientific api- culture, both in America and throughout the world. His

)

ll

f Two-Story Langstroth Hive,

name must ever stand beside those of ‘Dzierzon and the elder Huber. Surely this hive, which left the hands of the great master in so perfect a form that even the details remain unchanged by many,'I think most, of our first bee-keepers, should ever bear his name. Thus though many use square frames like the Gallup, or deep frames, yet all are Lang- stroth hives.

42

178 Simplicity Langstroth Hive.

CHARACTER OF THE HIVE.

The main feature of the hive should be simplicity, thereby excluding‘drawers and traps of all kinds. The hive should be made of good pine or white wood lumber, thoroughly seasoned, planed on both sides, and painted white on the outside. Figure 59 represents a two-story Langstroth hive. As will be seen this has a portico, and a bottom board firmly nailed to the hive. Although Mr. Langstroth desired both these features, and many now are like minded,

Fic. 60.

=55 ————

|

CMT

=

One-Story Langstroth Hive,

many others omit both features. This hive holds eight frames, which are as many as such bee-keepers as Messrs. Heddon, Taylor and Hutchinson desire. Figure 60 repre- sents the Simplicity one-story Langstroth hive as made by A. I. Root. This contains 1o frames which unfortu- nately were slightly modified so that they are 175% instead of 173% inches long. ‘Chus this is not the Langstroth frame, but the Simplicity Langstroth. This style, one-story, is designed for securing comb honey, while the two-story (Fig. 59) is intended for use in obtaining extracted honey. Figure 61 represents a two-story Simplicity Langstroth hive with Gallup frame, which is 111 inches square. This hive I have used more than any other, and it has much to recommend it. The Simplicity feature invented by A. I. Root I think, consists of a bevel union of hive with bot- tom board (not so in figure), hive with section crate or upper story, and s ctioa ce or upper story with cover.

Root’s Simplicity Hive. 179

Any Langstroth hive, with whatever frame, with these bevel connections is a Simplicity hive. This hive can be used to secure either comb or extracted honey. The bot- tom board, d, and the alighting board, e, are separate,from each other and from the hive; the opening is made by cut- ting a V shaped space in the bottom board, while the cover, a, may or may not be hinged tothe upper story. Mr. Root

Fic 61.

Two-Story Langstroth Hive—Gallup Frame,

a Cover hinged to hive, & Upper story, ¢ Brood chamber. d Bottom board. e Alighting board ? Wide section frames.

7 Brood frames. h,h Frames outside hive.

180 Finiss Chag Hive.

uses the cover as a bottom board, and forms an entrance by pushing the hive a little to one side. Many prefer to have the cover with a gable so made as to shut over the hive and rest on the shoulders formed by nailing cleats. about the hive near the top. These are heavy and costly. I much prefer a flat cover, and if necessary to keep out water, we can follow Mr. Doolittle’s plan and sheet with tin or zinc, though I think this unnecessary.

Fic. 62.

i

esi

te

I HAGA

IE

Hi AAMT Hi Pee gL ‘ " St

(MULAN ELL LL

— a Fones’s Chaff Hive, Frame, Frame for Sections, Division Board and Perforated Zine Division Board,

Figure 62 represents the Jones Chaff hive. This takes a deep frame, and has double walls for chaff packing.. These Chaff hives are expensive, hard to handle and awk- ward to manage. After years of experience I discard the Chaff hives as no better in summer than the single walled hives, and not so safe in winter as a good cellar. I have: disposed of all of mine except three which I -keep for examples.

Many, however, prefer such hives and in some sections and with some bee-keepers they may be desirable,

WHAT STYLE TO ADOPT,

For the past four years I have used the Heddon-Lanes- troth, and like it so much that I recommend it ‘hee aT

Heddon-Langstroth five. 181

others that I have tried. It is not only the simplest hive I have ever seen, but possesses many substantial advan- tages that are not possessed by any other hive so far as I know. lt can be used with any size frame desired. I have it in use both with Langstroth and Gallup L. frames. I will describe the hive for Langstroth frame, dut would advise any one to get a good hive as a pattern, if they are to adopt them, as much depends on perfect exactness.

Fic. 63.

Heddon-Langstroth Hive, . F Bottom board, A Brood chamber.

C Honey board. D Crate with sections, £ Cover,

The bottom board and alighting board (Figure 61)’ may be separate if preferred or not nailed to the hive. Mr. Heddon nails the bottom board fast, and lets it project at one end as seen in the figure (Fig. 63). A hive stand is made by taking two boards (Fig. 63 F ) six inches wide and nearly as long as the bottom board. Connect these at one end by a board 4% inches wide and as long as the hive is wide, nailed firmly at the bottom, and into the ends, and at the other end by a like board nailed at the bottom. We see (Fig. 63) this end piece at the front of the hive nailel at the bottom so it rests-on the ground. At the

182 Upper Story for Extracting.

opposite end a like piece is nailed in the same way so that all is even on the bottom. Figure 67 explains this better. The bottom of the hive (Fig. 63 A) is 13x19% inches. outside measure, the sides made of six-eighths inch, bottom and cover of five-eighths, and ends of seven-eighths inch. lumber. The height of this plain box is just Io inches; that is, it is made of boards ten inches wide, The side boards are 197% inches long, so that they nail to the ends of the end-boards. When used with the Gallup. frame the ends of the hive project and are nailed into the ends of the side-boards. The end-boards are rabbeted on top. This rabbet is cut three-eighths of an inch deeper than the thickness of the top bar of the frame. With the Gallup frame we rabbet the side-boards. If the top bar is. three-eighths of an inch thick this rabbet should be six- eighths precisely. This is very important, as we must have a three-eighths space exactly between the top bar and the top of the hive. In making the hive ten and one- eighth (10%) inches high we give a space of half-inch between the bottom of the frame and bottom of hive. I like this wide space and there is no objection to it. Near the top of the hive, we nail narrow cleats entirely around it; these strengthen the hive, and are convenient supports by which to lift the hive. Hand grooves (Fig. 66) can. also be cut in end and side-boards, for convenience in handling, if desired.

The entrance is cut in the end of the hive (Fig. 63), and the size is easily regulated by use of the Langstroth tri- angular blocks (Fig. 63, B B). Thus we may gauge the size to our liking- The opening in the bottom board (Fig. 61) is preferred by many. This is enlarged or restricted by simply pushing the hive forward or back, and of course can only be used with loose bottom boards. The fact that most bee-keepers nail the bottom board firmly and cut the opening from the hive, argues that this on the whole is the better style. For shipping and moving bees the nailed bottom boards are very desirable; for quick cleaning of the hives when spring opens, the movable bottoms are prefer- able. On the whole I prefer a movable bottom board.

There should never be but this one opening. Auger

The Heddon Honey Board. 183

holes above, and openings opposite the entrance, are worse than useless.

Except in very damp locations the hive should not rest more than five or six inches from the ground. Tired and heavily laden bees, especially on windy days, may fail to gain the hive, if it is high up, as they return from the field.

For extracted honey, we use a second story, precisely like the body of the hive, except it is a half-inch less in depth; that is the sides are 91 instead of 10 inches wide. If we wish we can follow Dadant, and use two of these upper stories, and tier up, in which case we would not need to extract till the close of the harvest, when the honey would be ripened in the hive.

Upon the body of the hive rests the slatted honey board (Fig. 64). It is seen in place (Figs. 63 and 66). This is also 13 by 19% inches. The outer rim of this valuable invention and the slats are in one plane on the under sur- face, and the slats are three-eighths of an inch apart, leaving passages that width for the bees to pass through. On the upper surface the rim projects three-eighths of an inch above the slats, so that if a board be laid on the honey board its lower surface will be three-eighths of an inch above the slats.) When the honey board is placed on the hive the spaces between the slats must rest exactly over the center of the top bars of the brood frames below. In using hives with the Gallup or American frames the slats of course will run crosswise of the honey board, and as before must break joints with the top bars of the frames. The use of this prevents the bees from building brace combs above the brood frames, and keeps the sections very neat. No one after using this will do without it, Iam sure. By tacking a piece of perforated zinc (Fig. 65) on the under’ side of this honey hoard it also becomes a queen excluder. It is cheaper and so better to simply place a narrow strip of the perforated zinc between the slats of the honey board (Fig. 64). By grooving the edges of the slats it is easy to insert the zinc strips when making the honey board. “The honey board may be wholly of zinc with a wooden rim. The objection to this is the fact that the zinc is likely to sag and bind. Mr. Heddon suggests that a V shaped

184 The Heddon Sur plus- Case.

piece of tin be soldered across the middle to strengthen the zinc and prevent sagging. The tin should be so placed as not to touch the frames below, but come between them. Mr. Heddon also suggests that the wooden rim be replaced by a narrow margin of the zinc itself, bent at right angles to the plane of the metal.

THE HEDDON SURPLUS-CASE,

As this admirable case is so a part of this hive I will describe it right here, though it properly belongs to the sub- ject of crate for surplus honey. This case is just as long and ‘broad as the hive, and three-eighths of an inch deeper than the’height of the section to be used. (See Fig. 63, D. )

Fic. 64.

Queen-Excluding Honey Board,

Thus on the hive described it will be 13 by 19% inches and if we use common 1-pound sections which are 4 inches square, it will be 45% inches deep. Partitions ate fastened in by use of screws or nails just far enough apart to receive the sections; thus in the 1-pound sections, 41/ inches apart. These partitions are as wide as the crate or case js deep. Narrow strips of tin are nailed to the bottom of these partitions and to the bottom of the ends of the case projecting enough to sustain the sections when they are

Fleddon-Langstroth Hive. 185

placed'in the case. It will be seen that when in place the sections reach to within three-eighths of an inch of the top of the case. This must be just three-eighths of an inch. It keeps the sections all clean, but will not if not yusT this bee space.

THE COVER.

The cover of the hive (Fig. 63, 2) isa plain board, a little wider and longer than the hive. The ends of this are fit- ted into a grooved cross-piece about twice as thick as the board, and firmly nailed. These cross-pieces prevent the top from warping and splitting. If preferred the cover need be no longer or wider than the hive. In this case cross-pieces should be firmly nailed on the upper side to prevent warping or splitting. It will be seen that we have here no telescoping, and no beveling. Simply one board rests upon another. At first Iwas much prejudiced against this simple arrangement. After giving it a thorough trial I wish nothing else. The only criticism I have for this hive after several years’ experience is that if the board cover is used in spring, the protection is insufficient. We break the propolis or glue in examining the bees, and then as the bees can not glue all close at this early season, the brood is apt to chill and the bees to suffer, especially if the sides of the hives have shrunken or the cover warped. By use of a quilt or warm woolen cloth just the size of the hive, placed above and a crate filled with dry sawdust above this, all is made snug and comfortable, and even this objection disappears. To adopt this style of hive is not expensive. Wecan use the same frames as before, and can make all new hives of this simple, plain pattern, and in time we will have only these hives.

To shade the hive nothing is so good as a shade board made considerably wider than the hive and nailed to two cleats five inches wide. Thus when resting on the hive this shade board will be five inches above the top of the hive. ‘This has never blown off of my hives. Should it do so abrick could be easily fastened to the under side, out of sight, and thus make it entirely safe against winds.

Thus I have described the Heddon-Langstroth hive

186 Division Board.

minutely, as with W. Z. Hutchinson, W. L. Taylor, and many others of our most able and intelligent apiarists, I find t upon trial as excellent as it is simple. Surely when we can harness excellence and simplicity together we have a most desirable team. The simple union of parts by mere plain contact of the edges, or the cover simply lying on the hive, while it is just as acceptable to the bees, makes the hive far more simple of construction and easy of manipulation. The honey board and bee-spaces keep all so neat, that as one bee-keeper well says, their extra expense is very soon saved in the saving of time which their use insures. Any who may think of trying this hive better do as I did, try two or three at first, and see if in their judgment the “game is worth the candle.” All hives should be well painted with white paint. This color makes the heat less trying to the combs and bees. While it may not be profitable to paint, yet when neatness and

Fic. 65. STATA

Plain Division Board. Perforated Zinc Division Board,

durability are both considered, surely painting pays well. For paint I would use white lead, zinc and oil—about one- third as much zinc as lead. Mr. Doolittle, whose opinion justly ranks very high among American bee-keepers, thinks that white paint makes shade unnecessary,

DIVISION BOARD.

A close-fitting divisiori board (Fig. 65) is very import- ant, and no Langstroth hive is complete without it. Mr.

Cloth Covers and Metal Supports. fy Heddon in his excellent book follows the English and calls this.a dummy. It is especially useful in autumn, winter and spring in contracting the hive, and thus econ- omizing heat, and at the harvest seasons in contracting the brood chamber, so as to secure the honey ‘in the sections where it is desired. It is made the same form as the frames, but is a little larger so that it is close-fitting in the hive. It is easily made by nailing a top-bar of the usual frame on top of a board that will just fit in the hive, and reach to the top of the rabbet. If desired the board maybe beveled at the edges. When the division board is inserted in the hive it separates the brood chamber into two parts by a ., close partition. Many bee-keepers make them like a close- fitting frame and cover with cloth, which is stuffed with chaff. Others groove the edges and insert a strip of cloth or rubber. The chaff board is for greater warmth, the rubber to make the board fit closely, and yet give enough to make it easy to withdraw the division board when it swells from dampness. Mr. Jones prefers that the division board’ should not reach quite to the bottom of the hive (Fig. 62). This enables the bees to pass under, and as heat rises there is very little objection to this bee space under the division board.

We use the division board, to contract the chamber in winter fo vary it so as to keep all combs covered with bees in spring, to contract the brood chamber when we wish to secure a full force of bees in the sections, to convert our hives into nucleus hives, and in case we secure comb honey in two-story hives, which, however, we do not practice now, to contract the upper chamber when the season first opens.

CLOTH COVERS.

After the honey season is over, and the weather becomes cold, about the 20th of September, it is well to remove the honey board, and to cover above the bees with a piece of heavy factory cloth, which thus forms the immediate cover for the bees in winter. The section crate full of dry, fine sawdust has now this cloth for its bottom, while the cover of the hive rests on the section crate.

188 The New Heddon Hive.

It will be noted that I have made no mention in the above of metal rabbets or more correctly metal supports, I have tried these for years, and have usually recommended them, but for the past two years [ have omitted them, and think I shall have no further use for them in my hives. If we wish them we have only to cut the rabbet a little deeper and tack inside the hive, just below the rabbet, a narrow strip of heavy tin, which shall project a little above the wooden rabbet, just enough to raise the top of the frame to within three-eighths of an inch of the top of the hive. The advantages of these are that they make a very narrow rest or support for the frames and so the latter are more easily loosened, and in careless hands are less apt to kill bees when put into the hives. It is always easy, however, by means of a chisel to loosen frames, and if we are often manipulating our bees, as when extracting in summer, the frames are easily loosened without the metal supports. Some apiarists make hives without rabbets, making the frames to rest on the top of the hive. _I have tried such hives thoroughly, and wish no more of them. Ofcourse with such hives the valuable honey board and bee spaces are impossible.

THE NEW HEDDON HIVE.

. Mr. Heddon has patented and offered to the public a new hive which combines in principle the Langstroth and the Huber. I have tried this hive only for a short time and sO, guided by the rule I have always adopted, I do not recom- mend it. Yet the experienced bee-keeper can often judge correctly of what he has never tried, and I will add that I fully believe this hive and the method Mr. Heddon gives of manipulation in his valuable book, are well worth our attention. Mr. Heddon is so able that he rarely recom- mends what is not valuable. Several others have tried this hive and speak in the highest terms of its value. Among these are no less authorities than R. L. Taylor and W. Z. Hutchinson. At the beginning of this chapter I caution all against patent hives. This is necessary as so many frauds have been committed under this guise; but if Mr. Heddon

The New Heddon Hive. 189

has given us something as valuable as it is unique and orig- inal, he well deserves a patent, which should be thoroughly respected as should all worthy inventive effort. From my brief experience I fear the hive is too complicated for the average bee-keeper, though I am not sure of this.

Fic. 66.

The New Heddon Hive.

"_A Stand. M Slatted honey board, B C Two sections. Hf Thumb screw. D E Section crates. F Cover.

190. The Shuck Invertible Hive.

I shall-only describe the hive in brief, advising all who wish to investigate this new comer, to procure Mr. Hed- don’s new work, “Success in -Bee-Culture,” as this will be an excellent investment aside from the matter of the hive.

This hive (Fig. 66). has close-fitting frames fastened in a case by use of wooden thumb screws. The end bars of the frames are wide like the Huber hives, and rest on tin supports. The top and bottom bars of the hives are only as wide as the natural comb. The frames are only five and three-eighths (534) inches deep, and this with the wide

Fie. 67.

Heddon Bottom Board,

spaces between them makes it possible to do much without removing the frames. There is a three-eighths inch space above the frames, and a honey board as in the Heddon- Langstroth hive. Thus one or two shallow hives can be used, and to con- tract the brood chamber at any time we have only to remove one of them. Figure 66 shows the hive which with two brood chambers gives about the capacity of a ten-framed Langstroth hive. As all frames are securely held by the screws, any brood chamber can be reversed, or any two can change places at the pleasure of the bee- keeper. As the combs will all be firmly attached on all sides to the frames, there is no space for hiding and the

queen can generally be found without removing the frames.

Sizes of Frames. 191

The bottom board (Fig, 67) has a raised rim. Thus the frames are one-half inch from the bottom. Of course the bottom board is loose. Mr. Heddon recommends single story wide frames with separators for the sections, These are also secured by the screws, and so any frame or the whole case can be reversed at will.

Of course the old Heddon case without separators could be used, but could not be reversed. The points of excel- lence claimed for this hive, and I know from my expe- rience that they are real, are easy contraction of brood

Fic. 68. Quinsy. ax AMERICAN. ES baal 1835 12h LANGSTROTH. xs Gavrue ye ~ 1s 11% i 11x ADAIR, xe = CLOSED END QuINBY. [=o 18% 1936

chamber, quick inversion of the brood chamber or section case, ease and quickness of manipulation, arid the inter- changeableness of the brood chambers forming the hive, and the power we have by quick and easy contraction of the brood chamber to get all light-colored honey in the sections if we so desire. Mr. J. M. Shuck has also pat- ented a hive for which he claims the same advantages gained in the new Heddon hive. As with the Heddon hive, so with the Shuck; I have not worked with it

192 ’ Frames Described.

enough to recommend it. I fear the hives are too complex for the general bee-keeper. I advise all to go slow in adopting them, as we know the old, tried ones are excel- lent. I fear that in the hands of the general bee-keepers these new hives will not prove satisfactory.

THE FRAMES.

The form and size of frames, though not quite as various as the persons who use them, are still very different (Fig. 68). Some prefer large frames. I first tried the Quinby frame, and afterward the Langstroth (Fig. 68). The advantage claimed for large frames is that there are less to handle, and time is saved; yet may not smaHer frames be handled so much more dexterously, especially if they are to be handléd through all the long day, as to compensate, in part at least, for the number? The advantage of the shallow frame is, as claimed, that the bees will go into boxes more readily; yet they are not considered by some bee-keepers as safe for out-door wintering. This is the style recommended and used by Mr. Langstroth, which fact may account for its. popularity in the United States. Another frame in common use, is one about one foot square. I have long used one 1144 inches square, and still think that this frame has much to commend it. It is light, easily handled, convenient for nucleus hives, and perhaps the best form for forming a compact winter cluster; and yet upon mature reflection I have decided to ‘use in future for the most part the Langstroth frame and advise all others to do so.

It is very desirable to have bees in hives such as others will wish in case we sell bees, as every bee-keeper is almost sure to do more or less each year. The Langstroth hive is used much more generally than’ any other, and that it is excellent is shown in the fact that most, of our successful bee-keepers, from Canada to the Gulf, use it, and I am free to say that taking the whole country through it is doubtful if a better style or form exists than the regular Langstroth. The chief objection urged against

~~ its use, that it is not the best form to secure safe wintering,

Frames Described. 193

lacks force in view of the fact that many who have been most successful use this frame. Indeed, with thorough protection this frame is as good as any, and most bee- keepers are learning that in our northern states protection is absolutely essential to success.

That we shall ever have a uniform frame used by all apiarists, though exceedingly desirable, is too much to be hoped. I do not think there is sufficient advantage in any form to warrant us in holding to it, if by yielding we could secure this uniformity. Nor do I think the form and size so material as to make it generally desirable for the apiarist to change all his hives, to secure a different style of frame.

To make a Langstroth frame I would use a top-bar (Fig. 69). The figure illustrates a Gallup frame which is square and will serve to make this explanation clearer; eighteen and seven-eighths (187% ) inches long, seven-

Fic. 69.

| LA

Gallup Frame,

@Top-bar. ~ ¢ Comb guide, 6, 6 Side-bars,or uprights, d@ Bottom-bar,

eighths (74) of an inch wide, and one-fourth (14) of an inch thick. The end-bars (Fig. 47, 4, 6) should be eight and five-eighths (854) inches long and as wide and thick as the top-bar. The top-bar is fastened to the end-bars as shown in the figure by nailing through it into the ends of the end-bars, so as to leave the top-bar projecting three- fourths (34) of an inch. The bottom-bar is seventeen and three-eighths (173) inches long, and as wide and thick as the other parts—though it may be only one-half as thick if preferred. It is also nailed to the ends of the end-bars, so that it is as iong as the frame.

ise

194 Reversible or Invertible Frames.

For the past two years I have used the reversible frame, which I find so valuable that I shall use it largely in future. With this frame there is no danger of the top-bar sagging, which is sure to enlarge the bee space above and create mischief, and by inverting we secure the firm attachment of the comb to the frame along all its edges, and can force

Fic. 70.

Reversible Frame, Upper one hung in the Hive, Lower one partly Reversed,

our bees into the sections at the very dawn of the honey harvest. I have sent reluctant bees into the sections repeat- edly, simply by inverting the combs. This may not always succeed with the unskillful—some bee-keepers report fail- ure—and it requires some time and attention. With mesuch frames are a success; “they have come tostay.” Figure 7o shows the character of the reversible frame as made by Mr. Heddon and which I have found to work the best of any that I have used. As will be seen the reversible part is a rectangle, pivoted in the center to the bottom of the short end-bars. These short end-bars at the top come within one-fourth (1 ) inch of the side of the hive, and thin a little as they run down, so that the lower end is three-eighths (34) of an inch from the side of the hive. The bottom of the frame, indeed all below the short end-bar, is three-

Wired I'rames., 195

fourths (34) of an inch from the side of the hive. This makes it easy to put in the frames without crushing the bees. It might be supposed that the bees would build combs between the lower end of the frame and the hive, but I have never yet seen a case of the kind, and I have used such frames now quite extensively for several years, These frames reverse very easily, and I do not know a single person who has thoroughly tried them, who does not value them highly. Here again let me suggest that in making changes,a few be tried first, and not all till we know we wish them.

As the use of comb foundation secures straight combs, with no drone cells, it is very desirable. When this is fastened by merely pressing or sticking it to the top-bar, it is apt to sag and warp, hence it is becoming quite the custom to wire the frames. (Fig. 70.) This insures per- fect safety if we wish to ship our bees, and secures against sagging or bulging of the foundation. If the foundation is put on with the Given press as the foundation is made, No. 36 wire is used; if pressed on by hand No. 30 wire is better. The timber for. frame should be thoroughly seasoned, and of the best pine or whitewood. Care should be taken that the frame be made so as to hang vertically, when suspended on the rabbets of the hive. To secure this very important point—true frames that will always hang true—they should always be made around a guide.

A BLOCK FOR MAKING FRAMES.

This may be made as follows: Take a rectangular board (Fig. 71) eleven and one-eighth by thirteen and a quarter inches.. On both ends of one face of this, nail. hard-wood pieces (Fig. 71, e, e) one inch square and ten and three- fourths inches long, so that one end (Fig. 71, ¢, g’) shall lack three-eighths inch of reaching the edge of the board. On the other face of the board, nail a strip (Fig. 71, c) four inches wide and eleven and three-eighths inches long, at right angles to it, and in such position that the ends shall just reach to the edges of the board. Midway between the one inch square pieces, screw on another hard-wood strip (Fig. 71, @) one inch square and four inches long, parallel

196 Guide for Making Frames.

with and three-fourths of an inch from the edge. To the bottom of this, screw a semi-oval piece of hoop-steel ( Fig. 71, 6,4), which shall bend around and press against the square strips. The ends of this should not reach quite to the bottom of the board. Near the ends of this spring fasten, by rivets, a leather strap an inch wide (Fig. 71, a), which shall be straight when thus riveted. These dimen- sions are for frames eleven and one-fourth inches square,

Fic. 71.

Block for making Gallup Frames,

outside measure, and must be varied for other sizes. In- stead of the iron and strap, some use two pieces of wood with a central pivot. The upper ends of these levers are united by a strong elastic cord, so that the lower ends are constantly pressed against the side pieces of the block. Recently we have used in such blocks, both for frame and section-making, a single hard-wood strip, a little shorter than the distance between the strips e and e. This is piv- oted at the center to the center of the block. This is a very simple way to hold the side pieces firmly against the strips e,e. We have only to turn this lever.

To use this block, we crowd the end-bars of our frames between the steel springs (Fig. 71, 4, 4), and the square strips (Fig. 71, e, ¢); then lay on our top-bar and nail,

Guide for Frame Making, 197

after which we invert the block and nail the bottom-bar, as we did the top-bar. Now press down on the strap (Fig. 71,a@), which will loosen the frame, whenit may be removed all complete and true. Such a gauge not only insures per- fect frames, but demands that every piece shall be cut with great accuracy, and some such arrangement should always be used in making the frames.

The above description and Figure 71 are for Gallup frames. For Langstroth frames the hard- vood strips would be eight and five-eighths (85 ) inches long, and the distance between them would be sixteen and seven-eighths (167% ) inches, that is if frames are made of pieces one-fourth of an inch thick. To make reversible frames we use two such guides. Wire nails are very excellent for making frames, and just the thing for the pivots in reversible frames.

When the frames are in the hive there should be at least a one-fourth or three-eighths inch space between the end of the frame and side of the hive. As before stated the space below the frame may be one-half inch. A much wider space on the sides than that given above is likely to be filled with comb, and so prove vexatious. The wide space below gives no such trouble and in winter it is desir- able, as also in case the hive shrinks. It is very undesira- bie to have the frames reach to the bottom of the hive.

The distance between the frames may be one-half of an inch, though a slight variation either way does no harm. Some men, of very precise habits, prefer nails or wire staples in the side and bottom of the frames. Mr. Cheshire calls these his, though Mr. Langstroth used them over twenty years ago, which if I am correctly imformed, was before Mr. Cheshire kept bees at all. These are to insure equal spacing of the frames. Mr. Jones prolongs the sides and bottom of the frame (Fig. 62) for the same purpose. These projections extend just a quarter of an inch, so as to maintain this unvarying distance. Some bee-keepers use frames with wide, close fitting end-bars, or with top-bars wide and close fitting at the ends. I have tried all these styles anddo not like them. It is easy for any bee-keeper to try them. ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” °

198 The Huber Hive.

COVER FOR FRAMES.

As before stated a board covers the hive all through the - honey season. This rests upon the upper story of the hive or upon the upper section case. From September to. June, in the cold northern climate a piece of thick factory should rest on the frames as before stated. This is just the size of the hive and when properly adjusted no bee can pass above it. By cutting on three sides of an inch square, we form a flap in this cloth which may be turned back to permit the bees to enter the feeder, when feeding is desired. In fall, winter and spring, a section case left on the hive and filled with fine sawdust or chaff is a most desirable substitute for a heavy, awkward Chaff hive. Dr. Miller covers the year through with a cloth cover.

THE HUBER HIVE.

The other type of hives originated when Huber hinged several of his leaf or unicomb hives together so that the frames would open like the leaves of a book. In August, 1779, Huber wrote to Bonnet as follows: “I took several small fir boxes, a foot square and fifteen lines wide, and ‘joined them together by hinges, so that they could be opened and shut like the leaves of a book. When using a hive of this description, we took care to fix a comb in each frame, and then introduced all the bees.” (Edinburgh edition of Huber, p. 4.) Although Morlot and others attempted to improve this hive, it never gained favor with practical apiarists.

In 1866, Mr. T. F. Bingham, then of New York, improved upon the Huber hive, securing a patent on his triangular frame hive: This, so far as I can judge, was the Huber hive made practical. Mr. Bingham now uses a modification of this hive (Fig. 73).

In 1868, Mr. M. S. Snow, then of New York, now of Minnesota, procured a patent on his hive, which was essentially the same as the hives now known as the Quinby and Bingham hives.

Soon after, the late Mr. Quinby brought forth his hive, which is essentially the same as the above, only differing

The Quinby Hive. 199

in details. No patent was obtained by Mr. Quinby, whose great heart and boundless generosity endeared him to all acquaintances. Those who knew him best, never tire of praising the unselfish acts and life of this noble man. If we except Mr. Langstroth, no other man has probably done so much to promote the interest and growth of improved apiculture in the United States. His hive, his book, his views of wintering, his introduction of the bel- lows-smoker—a gift to apiarists—all speak his praise as a man and an apiarist.

The facts that the Bingham hive, as now made, is a great favorite with those that have used it, that Mr. Quinby preferred this style or type of hive, that the Quinby form is used by the Hetherington brothers, Capt. J. E., the

Fic. 72.

Frame, Bottom-board and Frame-Snpport, of Quinby Hive,

prince of American apiarists, with his thousands of colo- nies, and O. J., whose neatness, precision, and mechanical skill are enough to awaken envy, are surely sufficient to excite cufiosity and bespeak a description.

The Quinby hive (Fig. 72), as used, by the Hethering- ton brothers, consists of a series of rectangular frames (Fig. 42) twelve by seventeen inches, outside measure. The end bars of these frames are one and one-half inches wide and half an inchthick, The top and bottom one inch wide and half an inch thick. The outer halves of the end bar project one-fourth of an inch beyond the top and bottom-

200 Quinby Hive Described.

bars, This projection is lined on the inside with sheet iron, which is inserted in a groove which runs one inch into each end of the end-pieces and is tacked by the same nails that fas- ten the end-bars to the top and bottom-bars. This iron at the end of the bar bends in at right-angles (Fig. 72, a), and extends one-fourth of an inch parallel with the top and bottom-bars. Thus, when these frames stand side by side, the ends are close, while half-inch openings extend between the top and bottom-bars of adjacent frames. The bottom- bars, too, are one-fourth of an inch from the bottom-board. Tacked to the bottom-board, in line with the position of the back end-bars of the frames, is an inch strip of sheet iron (Fig. 72, 4, 4) sixteen inches in length. One-third of this strip, from the front edge back, is bent over so it lies not quite in contact with the second third, while the pos- terior third receives the tacks which hold it to the bottom- board. Now, when in use, this iron flange receives the hooks on the corners of the frames, so that the frames are held firmly, and can only be moved back and sidewise. In looking at the bees we can separate the combs at once, at any place. The chamber can be enlarged or diminished simply by adding or withdrawing frames. As the hooks are on all four corners of the frames, the frames can be either end back, or either side up. This arrangement, which permits the inversion of the frames, is greatly praised by those who have tried it. It was claimed by the Hether- ingtons years ago that by turning these frames bottom up the comb would be fastened above arid below, and the bees, in their haste to carry the honey from the bottom of the frames, would rush at once into the sections. Boards with iron hooks close the side of the brood cavity, while a cloth covers the frames.

The entrance (Fig. 72, €) is cut in the bottom-board as already explained, except that the lateral edges are kept parallel. A strip of sheet-iron (Fig. 72, d@) is tacked across this, on which rest the ends of the front end-bars of the frames which stand above, and underneath which pass the bees as they come to and go from the hive. A box, without bottom and with movable top, covers all, leaving a space from four to six inches above and on all sides

The Bingham Hive. 201

between it and the frames. This gives chance to pack with chaff in winter, and for side and top storing in sections in summer.

The Bingham hive (Fig. 73) is not only remarkably simple, but is as remarkable for its shallow depth, the frames being only five inches high. These have no bottom-bar. The end-bars are one and a half inches wide, and the top-bar square. The nails that hold the end-bars pass into the end of the top-bar, which is usually placed diagonally, so that an edge, not a face, is below; though some are made with a face below (Fig. 73, 7), to be used when comb is transferred. The frames are held together by two wires, one at each end. Each wire (Fig. 73, a) is a little longer than twice the width of the hive when the maximum number of frames are used. The ends of each

Frames and Bottom-Board of the Bingham Hive,

wire are united and placed about nails (Fig. 73, 4, 4) in the ends of the boards (Fig. 73, ¢, c) which form the sides of the brood-chamber. A small stick (Fig. 73, 2) spreads these wires, and brings the frames close together. A box without bottom and with movable cover, is placed about the frames. This is large and high enough to permit of chaff packing in winter and spring. The bottom-board may be made like the one already described. Mr. Bing- ham does not bevel the bottom-board, but places lath under three sides of the brood-chamber, the lath being nailed to the bottom-board. He uses the Langstroth blocks to contract the entrance (Fig. 73, 2).

The advantages of this hive are simplicity, great space above for surplus frames or boxes, capability of being

202 Huber Style not Popular.

placed one hive above another to any height desired, while the frames may be reversed, end for end, or bottom for top, or the whole brood-chamber turned up-side down. Thus, by doubling, we may have a depth of ten inches for winter. It will be seen at once that this hive possesses all the advantages claimed for the new Heddon and Shuck hives, except the frames are not held so securely. Yet it is far more simple, which is greatly in its favor.

The objections which I have found in the use of such hives are the fact that so few use them, and danger of killing bees in rapid handling. They can be manipulated with rapidity if we care not how many bees we crush. It

Fic. 74.

Observatory Hive,

hurts me to kill a bee, and so I find the Langstroth style more quickly manipulated. Mr. Snow, too, who was the first to make the above style of hive, has discarded it in favor of the Langstroth. His objection to the above, is the fact that the various combs are not sure to be so built as to be interchangeable. Yet that such apiarists as those above named prefer these Huber hives, after long use of the other style, is certainly not without significance,

Apparatus for Comb-ffoney. 203

OBSERVATORY HIVE.

To study bees while they are at work, requires a hive so constructed that we can look in upon all the bees of the hive at pleasure. For this purpose, I have used a small Langstroth hive (Fig. 74), containing one frame. Glass is used each side of the frame and this is shaded by doors, hung on hinges. We are able to look at the bees or make all dark inside at pleasure. To prevent the hive from becoming too crowded, we must every twenty-three or twenty-four days shake the bees from the frame and replace the latter with another frame, which shall contain no brood. From such a hive in my study window, I have received much pleasure and information.

APPARATUS FOR PROCURING COMB-HONEY,

Although I feel sure that extracted honey will grow more and more in favor, yet it will never supersede the beautiful comb, which, from its exquisite flavor and attract- ive appearance has always been, and always will be, admired and desired. So, no hive is complete without its arrange- ment of section frames and crates, all constructed with the view of securing this delectable comb-honey in the form that will be most tempting to the eye and palate.

SURPLUS COMB-HONEY IN SECTIONS.

Honey in several-pound boxes is no longer marketable, and is now almost wholly replaced by comb honey in sec- tions. In fact there is no apparatus for securing comb-honey that promises so well as these sections. That they are just the thing to enable us to tickle the market is shown by their rapid growth in popular favor. Some years ago I predicted, at one of our State conventions, that they would soon replace boxes and was laughed at. Nearly all who then laughed, now use these sections. They are cheap, and with their use we can get more honey, and in a form that will make it irresistible.

204. Sections Described.

REQUISITES OF GOOD SECTIONS.

The wood should be white, the size small—two-pound sections are as large as the market will tolerate. One- pound sections are usually more salable, and in some mar- kets even one-half pound sections are best of all. Of late Mr. W. Harmer, of Manistee, Mich,, is making and using successfully a two-ounce section. This is very neat and cheap. It is made of a shaving and is glued. Such sec-

Fic. 75.

Dove-Tailed Section,

tions would be the thing to sell at fairs. The size of the sections has nothing to do with the amount of honey secured, and so the market and extra cost should guide the apiarist in this matter.

As early as 1877 I used veneer sections, which were essentially the same as the one-piece sections now so pop- ular. After this I used nailed sections. At present only the very neatest sections can catch the market, and so we must buy our sections of those who can make them by machinery neater and cheaper than we possibly can.

Dr. C. C. Miller, Mr. J. Heddon, and many others prefer sections made as are children’s toy blocks, the sides fastened by a sort of mortise and tenon arrangement (Fig. 75). These are preferred as they do not havé the shoulder of the one piece section. They are objected to from the longer time required to put the pieces together and their lack of rigidity when together, so that they are likely to get out of shape.

The Wheeler section—invented and patented by Mr. Geo. T. Wheeler, Mexico, New York, in 1870—is

Size and Form of Sections. 205

remarkable for being the first to be used with tin separa- tors. Instead of making the bottoms narrower for a pas- sage, Mr. Wheeler made an opening in the bottom. Another style of section, termed the one-piece section (Fig. 76), is, as its name implies, made of a single piece of wood, with three cross cuts so that it can be easily bent into a square. The fourth angle unites by notches and projections, as before described (Fig. 75). These one- piece sections are now, I think, the favorites among bee- keepers. I prefer these to the dove-tailed. They are quickly and safely bent, if dampened slightly before bend-

Fic. 76.

[—T Fj

One Pound Section,

Fic. 74.

-_i—1__Im

Prize Section,

ing, and are firm when in shape for use. If, as argued by Messrs. Dadant, Foster and Tinker, the sections open on all sides are superior, then we must perforce use these one- piece sections.

Heretofore there have been two prevailing sizes of sec- tions in use in the United States: The prize section (Fig. 447), which is five and one-fourth by six and one-fourth inches, and the one-pound section (Fig. 76), which is four and one-fourth inches square. The latter is coming rap- idly to the front, as honey in it sells more readily than if in a larger section. Even half-pound sections have taken the lead in the Boston and Chicago markets. It is quite possible that these small sections will rule generally in the markets of the future. They would often sell more readily, and are far better to ship, as the combs will seldom if ever break from the sections. If in arranging our sections, we desire to have them oblong, we better make them so that

206 Wide Frames for Sections.

they will be longest up and down. Mr. D. A. Jones finds that if so made, they are filled and capped much sooner. In the depth of the section, which fixes the thickness of the comb, a change from the common style seems to be desirable. Heretofore they have been generally made two inches deep. With such sections we must use separators to secure perfect combs. Dr. Miller uses separators, and prefers a depth of one and five-sevenths or two inches. By reducing the depth to from one and three-eighths to one and three-fourths inches, the expense of separators is found by some to be unnecessary. In feeding back to have sections completed, or where each section is removed as soon as capped, separators are indispensable. While I have never succeeded satisfactorily without separators—as the sections of comb would not be regular enough to ship well, yet I prefer the depth of my sections to be one and five- sevenths inches—or seven to the foot. I believe that the best section for to-day is one four and one-quarter inches square and one and seven-eighths inches in depth. We secure nicer comb for the table, with the thinner combs, and more bees are able to work on a crate or frame of sections, so that the foundation is more speedily drawn out. Of course any decided change in the form and size of our sections involves no small expense, as it requires that the crates or frames for holding the sections should also be changed. Often, however, by a little planning we can vary the form so as to reduce the size, without necessitating this expense.

HOW TO PLACE SECTIONS IN POSITION.

There are two methods, each of which is excellent and has, as it well may, earnest advocates—one by use of frames, the other by crates,

SECTIONS IN FRAMES.

Frames for holding sections ee 78) are made the same size as the frames in the brood chamber. The depth of the frame, however, is the same as the depth of the sections. The bottom-bar is three-eighths of an inch narrower than

Sections in Wide Frames. 207

the remainder of the frame, so that when two frames are side by side, there is three-eighths of an inch space between the bottom-bars, though the top and side pieces are close together. In case sections are used that are open on all sides then the ends of these section frames must also be narrow. I should fear such an arrangement would be ‘ objectionable from the amount of propolis that would be used by the bees to make all secure. The sections are of such a size (Fig. 79) that four or six or nine, etc., will just fill one of the large frames. Nailed to one side of each large frame are two tin, or thin wooden strips (Fig.

Fic. 78.

Gallup Section Front.

79, #, 4) in case separators are to be used, as long as the frame, and as wide into one inch as are the sections. These are tacked half an inch from the top and the bottom of the large frames, and so are opposite the sections, thus per- mitting the bees to pass readily from one tier of sections to another, as do the narrower top and bottom bars of the sections, from those below to those above. Captain Heth- erington tells me that Mr. Quinby used these many years ago. Itis more trouble to make these frames if we have the tins set in so as just to come flush with the edge of the end-bars of the frames, but then the frames would hang.

208 Sections in Wide Frames.

close together, and would not be so stuck together with propolis. These may be hung in the second story of a two-story hive, and just so many as to fill the same—my hives will take nine—or they can be put below, beside the brood-combs. Mr. Doolittle, in case he hangs these below, inserts a perforated division board, so that the queen will not enter the sections and lay eggs.

The perforated zinc division board (Fig. 65) would serve admirably for this purpose. A honey board (Fig. 64) of the same material keeps sections, either in crates or

Fic. 79.

Gallup Frame with Sections,

frames, that are above the hive, neat, and also keeps the queen from entering them. The workers enter just as freely.

In long hives, the “New Idea”—which, though I would not use, nor advise any one else to use, I have found quite satisfactory, after several years’ trial, especially for extracted honey—I have used these frames of sections, and with good success. The Italians enter them at once, and fill them even more quickly than other bees fill the sections in the upper story. In fact, one great advantage of these sec-

Racks or Crates, 209

tions in the frames is the obvious and ample passage-ways, inviting the bees to enter them. But in our desire to make ample and inviting openings, caution is required that we do not over-do the matter, and invite the queen to injurious intrusion, So we have Charybdis and Scylla, and must, by study, learn to so steer between as to avoid both dangers.

Mr. Jones finds that by using the division board made of perforated zinc (Fig 65), the queen is kept from the sec- tions, and they can be safely placed in one end of the body of the hive, :

Fic. 80,

Langstroth Frame with One-Pound Sections, »

Figure 80 shows a Langstroth frame full of one-pound sections. As already stated, Mr. Heddon recommends the use of one-story wide frames, with separators, and so made as to admit of inversion (Fig. 66). At first I used these deep frames exclusively. The great objection to them is the daubing with propolis, and difficulty of removing the sections from the wide frames. This has led me to replace the wide frames by the more convenient and desirable section crate or case.

CRATES OR RACKS,

These (Fig. 81) are to use in lieu of large frames, to hold sections, and are very convenient, as we can use one tier at first, and as the harvest advances tier up, or “storify” as our British friends would say, until we may use three or even four tiers of sections on a single hive. [ think this far the best arrangement for securing comb honey.

‘Southard and Ranney, of Kalamazoo, have long used a very neat rack, as seen in Fig. 81.

7%

210 The Lt and Armstrong Crates.

It will be seen that the Heddon crate (Fig. 63) already described (p. 181) as a part of the Heddon-Langstroth hive, is only a modification of the Southard crate. Except

Fic. 81.

Crate for Sections. that it does not permit the use of separators, this crate, is in my opinion, as good as any. The case or crate preferred and used by Dr. C. C. Miller (Fig. 82) is one with Lshaped tin supports, on which rest the

Fic. 82,

AL Super.

sections. This is just like the Heddon case, except the parti- tions are omitted. The projecting tin strips are tacked on the bottom of the sides as well as ends. These strips on the sides hold the 1 shaped tins which in turn support the

Separators. 2I1

sections. As the vertical part of the L supports the sepa- rator, it should not be more than one-half inch high. As most of us use—must use—separators, this is probably the best section honey-crate for us, and so the best arrangement .for securing comb-honey. Mr. Armstrong has invented a very nice crate with these 41 shaped tin supports, which can be inverted. Unfortu- nately it is a little more complicated than the others de- scribed above, yet simple as could well be and accomplish what it does. Mr. Heddon has also a crate (Fig. 66) which permits inversion, through the use of wide frames and thumb screws. This is even more complicated than is Mr. Armstrong’s; and it also permits the use of separators. If we discard separators the old Heddon case is excel- lent; if we must use separators then the case with 1 shaped tin supports is perhaps the best arrangement in the market; if we must invert our sections to secure the best result, then I think the Armstrong case the best section crate that I have seen. Mr. Adam Grimm once wrote that boxes above the hive should not be closely covered. As already stated, Mr. Heddon puts no close cover over his sections. Mr. Hasty is pleased with simply a cloth, cheap muslin, about his sections and a board cover to protect from rains, Such ventilation of the sections is scientific as well as practical. All apiarists who desire to work for comb honey that will sell, will certainly use the sections, and adjust them by use of either frames or crates. Each method has its friends, though I think crates are justly taking the lead.

SEPARATORS.

These may be of wood or tin. While the tin were first used, and do work well, the wood seem to be growing in favor and seem likely to wholly replace the tin. The wood are poorer conductors of heat, and also give a foothold for the bees, both of which are desirable qualities,

FOOT POWER SAW.

Every apiarist, who keeps only a few bees, will find, if he makes his own hives, a foot power saw very valuable.

212 Power for Manufacturing.

I have used, with great satisfaction, the admirably combined foot power saw of W. F. & John Barnes. It permits rapid work, insures uniformity, and enables the apiarist to give a finish to his work that would rival that of the cabinet- maker.

Those who procure such a machine should learn to file and set the saw, and should yever run the machine when not in perfect order.

When just beginning the business it will generally be wise to secure a fully equipped hive of some bee-keeper or dealer in supplies. If there is a hive factory near at hand, it may pay to buy all hives ready made; otherwise high

Fic. 83.

| ii TOL | nl | th oe

f i ii

ayy ll

freights make this unprofitable. If a person wishes to manufacture hives by the score, either for himself or others, even the foot power saw will soon become too slow and wearying. In this case some use wind power, which is too uncertain to give full satisfaction; others use horse power. and still others procure a small steam engine,

Horse Power,

Saw Table. 213

Mr. M. H. Hunt, a very thoughtful apiarist, uses a very convenient horse power (Fig. 83). The large wheel is fifteen feet in diameter, the horse is inside the rim, and the band consists of a chain, that it may not slip. To get the horse in position, the wheel is simply lowered.

For the past year I have used a tread power which pleases me much. It is safe, can be used under shelter,

Fie. 84.

Saw Table,

and if one has colts or young horses it serves well to quiet them. In case we use other than foot or hand-power, our saw table must be firm and heavy. The one illustrated here (Fig. 84) is recommended by Mr. A. I. Root,

214 Apiary Grounds.

CHAPTER VI.

Posirion AND ARRANGEMENT OF APIARY.

As it is desirable to have our apiary grounds so fixed as to give the best results, and as this costs some money and more labor, it should be done once for all. As plan and execution in this direction must needs precede even the pur- chase of bees, this subject deserves an early consideration. Hence we will proceed to consider position, arrangement of grounds, and preparation for each individual colony.

POSITION.

Of course, it is of the first importance that the apiary be near at hand. In city or village this is imperative. In the. country, or at suburban homes, we have more choice, but close proximity to the house is of much importance. In a city it may be necessary to follow Friend Muth’s example, and locate on the house-tops, where, despite the inconven- ience, we may achieve success. The lay of the ground is not important, though if a hill, it should not be very steep. It may slope in any direction, but better any way than toward the north. Of course each hive should stand perfectly level.

ARRANGEMENT OF GROUNDS.

Unless sandy, these should be well drained. Ifa grove offers inviting shade, accept it, but trim high to avoid damp. Such a grove could soon be formed of bass-wood and tulip trees, which, as we shall see, are very desirable, as their bloom offers plenteous and most delicious honey. Even Virgil urged shade of palm and olive, also that we screen the bees from winds. Wind-screens are very desirable, espe- cially on the windward side. Such a screen may be formed of a tall board fence, which, if it surrounds the grounds, will also serve to protect against thieves. Yet these are gloomy and forbidding, ant will be eschewed by the apiarist who has an eye to esthetics. Evergreen screens, either of Nor-

Arrangement for Shade. 215

way spruce, Austrian or other pine, or arbor vite, each or all are not only very effective, but are quickly grown, inex- pensive, and add greatly to the beauty of the grounds. Such a fence or hedge is also very desirable if the bees are near a street or highway. It not only shuts the bees away, as it were, but it so directs their flight upward that they will not trouble passers by. .If the apiary is large, a small, neat, inexpensive house, in the center of the apiary grounds is indispensable. This will serve in winter as a shop for making hives, frames, etc., and as a store-house for honey, while in summer it will be used for extracting, transferring, storing, bottling, etc. In building this, it will be well to construct a frost-proof, thoroughly drained, dark and well ventilated cellar. (See Chapters XVIII and XIX.)

PREPARATION FOR EACH COLONY.

Virgil was right in recommending shade for each colony. Bees are forced to cluster outside the hive, if the hives are subjected to the full force of the sun’s rays. By the intense heat, the temperature inside becomes like that of an oven, and the wonder is that they do not desert entirely. I have known hives, thus unprotected, to be covered with bees, idling outside, when by simply shading the hives, all would go merrily to work. The combs, too, and founda- tion especially, are liable, in unshaded hives, to melt andi fall down, which is very damaging to the bees, and very’ vexatious to the apiarist. The remedy for all this is to. always have the hives so situated that they will be entirely- shaded all through the heat of the day. This might be: done, as in the olden time, by constructing a shed or house,, but these are expensive and very inconvenient, and, there- fore, to, be discarded.

If the apiarist has a convenient grove, this may be trimmed high, so as not to be damp, and will fulfill every requirement. So arrange the hives that while they are shaded through all the heat of the day, they will receive the sun’s rays early and late, and thus the bees will work more hours. Such a grove is also very agreeable to the apiarist who often must work all the day in the hottest sunshine. I always face my hives to the east. If na

216 Grape Vine for Shade.

grove is at command, the hives may be placed on the north of a Concord grape-vine ( Fig. 85), or other vigorous variety, as the apiarist may prefer. This should be trained to a trellis, which may be made by setting two posts, either of cedar or oak. Let these extend four or five feet above

Fic. 85.

Nucleus and Simplicity Hive Shaded by Grape-vine, the ground, and be three or four feet apart. Two or three supporting arms of narrow boards can be nailed at right angles to a single post on which to train the vines or

Grape Vine Apiary. 217

Fig. 86.

‘ a El 5 INS? — ee ; b = ; i i see s —— | a ie il = ee ———— Se —

Grape Vine Apiary,

218 Shade Boards.

we may connect them at intervals of eighteen inches with three galvanized wires, the last one being at the top of the posts. Thus we can have shade and grapes, and can see for ourselves that bees do not injure grapes. These should be at least six feet apart. A. 1. Root’s idea of having the vine of each succeeding row divide the spaces of the previous row, in quincunx order (Fig. 86), is very good; though I should prefer the rows in this case to be four instead of three feet apart. I have tried grape-vines and evergreens to shade hives and do not like them. They are too much in the way. Unless I can have a grove trimmed high up I much prefer a simple shade board as already suggested. This is simply a wide board nailed to the edge of two cross boards which are about four inches wide. I make these eighteen inches wide by two feet long. I have some even larger. If one cross board is a little narrower it gives a slant that insures a rapid removal of the water'in arain. I have never known these shade boards to blow off. Should they do so a second board parallel to the shade board could be nailed to the cross boards. A brick placed on this would make all secure. This shade board is inexpensive, always out of the way, and ready for service.

Many apiarists economize by using fruit trees for shade, which from their spreading tops serve well, though often from their low branches they are not pleasant to work under. Mr. Doolittle thinks if hives are painted white shade is unnecessary. Mr. A. I. Root’s idea of having sawdust under and about the hives has much to recommend it. The objection to sawdust is the danger from fire. I have used sawdust, cement, asphalt, etc. I think on the whole a fine grass lawn kept closely and smoothly mown is as convenient as any plan, and it certainly has taste and beauty to recommend it. If closely mown, one will rarely lose a queen. While ashes or sawdust make a queen walking upon them more conspicuous, I much prefer the beautiful grass plat. '

fTeddon Method of Transferring. 219

CHAPTER VII.

To TRANSFER BEES.

As the prospective bee-keeper may have purchased his bees in box-hives, barrels, or hollow logs, and so, of course, will desire to transfer them immediately into movable- frame hives, or, as already suggested, may wish to transfer from one movable-frame to another, I will now proceed to describe the process.

Among the many valuable methods which Mr. Heddon has given to the bee-keeping public not the least valuable is that of transferring. This method should only be used at or after the swarming season, the best time to transfer. After blowing a little smoke into the hive, sufficient to alarm the bees, we set it a little aside, and put in its place our new hive full of wired foundation. We now turn the old hive, whatever it may be, bottom side up, and place a box over it. If the bees are sufficiently smoked, it will make no difference even if the box is not close fitting to the old hive. We then with a stick or hammer rap on the hive for from ten to twenty minutes. The bees will fill with honey and go with the queen into the upper box and cluster. If towards the last we carefully set the box off once or twice, and vigorously shake the hive, and then replace the box, we will hasten the emigration of the bees, and make it more complete. I got this last suggestion from Mr. Baldridge. A few young bees will still remain in the old hive, but these will do no harm.

We next take the box, which contains the queen and nearly all the bees, and shake the bees all out in front of the hive already placed on the old stand. The bees will at once take possession, draw out the foundation in a sur- prisingly short time, and will give us a set of combs which will surpass in beauty those procured in any other way. Should the bees be unable to gather any honey for some days, which at this season is not likely to occur, of course we must feed them.

220 Transferring Bees.

We set the old hive aside for twenty-one days, when the young bees will all come from the cells. Should the weather be cold, it might be well to put this in a warm room, so the brood will not chill. At the time of swarm- ing this will rarely be necessary. We now drum out these bees as before, kill the queen, which has been reared, and unite the bees with the others, or form a separate colony as before, as the number of bees determines. We can now split out the corners of the old hive, split the gum, or sep- arate the staves of the barrel, so as not to break the comb. This should be carefully cut loose, and the honey extracted by use of the wire comb-holder (Fig. 107), and the comb melted into wax for foundation. The only loss in this method is the time which the bees require to draw out the foundation, and this is far more than made up in the superior combs which are secured. I think the time expended in melting up the combs, etc., is more than made up by the time saved in transferring.

THE OLD METHOD.

lf one has no foundation, or desires to give the bees the comb and honey at once, even at the cost of unshapely combs, he then should drum the bees out as before, on a warm day when the bees are busy at work, and put the box containing the bees on the old stand, leaving the edge raised so that the bees which are out may enter, and so all the bees can get air. This method is difficult, except in early spring, and is best done about noon, when the bees are busy on the fruit bloom. It is not safe to transfer ona hot day when bees are idle, as the risks from robbing are too great. If other bees do not trouble, as they usually will not if busily gathering, we can proceed in the open air. If they do, we must go into some room, I have fre. quently transferred the comb in my kitchen, and often ima barn. Now knock the old hive apart, as already described, cut the combs from the sides, and get the combs out of the old hive with just as little breakage as possible. Mr. Baldbridge, if transferring in spring, saws the combs and cross-sticks loose from the sides, turns the hive into the natural position, then strikes against the top of the

n

Securing Combs in Frames. 221

hive with a hammer till the fastenings are broken loose, when he lifts the hive, and the combs are all free and in convenient shape for rapid work.

We now need a barrel, set on end, on which we place a board fifteen to twenty inches square, covered with sev- eral thicknesses of cloth. Some apiarists think the cloth useless, but it serves, I think, to prevent injury to comb, brood or honey. We now place a comb on this cloth, and set a frame on the comb, and cut out a piece of the comb the size of the inside of the frame, taking pains to save all the worker brood. Now crowd the frame over the comb, so that the latter will be in the same posi- tion that it was when in the old hive; that is, so the honey will be above—the position is not very important—then fasten the comb in the frame, by winding about all one or two small wires, or pieces of wrapping twine. To raise

Fic. 87. Fic. 87.

4

5 —fa

Transferring Clasp,

Transferred Comb,

the frame and comb before fastening, raise the board beneath till the frame is vertical. Set this frame in the new hive, and proceed with the others in the same way till we have all the worker comb—that with small cells— fastened in. To secure the pieces, which we shall find abundant at the end, take thin pieces of wood, one-half inch wide and a trifle longer than the frame is deep, place these in pairs either side the comb, extending up and down, and enough to hold the pieces secure till the bees shall fasten them (Fig. 87), and secure the strips by wind- ‘ing with small wire, just below the frame (Fig. 87), or by use of small rubber rings, or else tack them to the frame

222 Transferring Described.

with small tacks. Some bee-keepers use U-shaped pieces of wire or tin to hold the comb in the frame.

Captain Hetherington has invented and practices a very neat method of fastening comb into frames. In construct- ing his frames, he bores small holes through the top, side and bottom-bars of his frames, about two inches apart; these holes are just large enough to permit the passage of the long spines of the hawthorn. Now, in transferring comb, he has but to stick these thorns through into the comb to hold it securely. He can also use all the pieces, and still make a neat and secure frame of comb. He finds this arrangement convenient, too, in strengthening insecure combs. In answer to my inquiry, this gentleman said it paid well to bore such holes in all his frames, which are eleven by sixteen inches, inside measure. 1 discarded such frames because of the liability of the comb to fall out.

Having fastened all the nice worker comb into the frames —of course all other comb will be melted into wax—we place all the frames containing brood together in the center of our new hive, especially if the colony is weak, or the weather cool, and confine the space by use of the division board, adding the other frames as the bees may need them. We now place our new hive on the stand, opening the entrance wide, so that the bees can enter anywhere along the alighting board. We then shake all the bees from the box, and any young bees that may have clustered on any part of the old hive, or on the floor or ground, where we transferred the comb, immediately in front of the hive. They will enter at once and soon be at work, all the busier for having passed “from the old house into the new.” In two or three days remove the wires, or strings and sticks, when we shall find. the combs all fastened and smoothed off, and the bees as busily engaged as though their present home had always been the seat of their labors.

In practicing this method, many proceed at once to trans- fer without drumming out the bees. In this case the bees should be well smoked, should be driven, by use of the smoker, away from the side of the old hive where the combs are being cut loose, and may be brushed direct from the old combs into the new hive. This method will only be

Hunting Bee Trees. 223

preferred by the experienced. The beginner will find it more easy and pleasant to first drum out all the bees before he commences to cut out the combs.

Of course, in transferring from one frame to another, the matter is much simplified. In this case, after thoroughly smoking the bees, we have but to lift the frames and shake or brush the bees into the new hive. Fora brush, achicken or turkey wing, a large wing or tail feather from a turkey, goose or peacock, or a twig of pine or bunch of asparagus twigs serves admirably. Cheap and excellent brushes, (Fig. 110) are now for sale by all supply dealers. Now cut out the comb in the best form to accommodate the new frames, and fasten as already suggested. After the combs are all transferred, shake all remaining bees in front of the new hive, which has already been placed on the stand pre- viously occupied by the old hive.

Sometimes bees from trees in the forest are transferred to hives and the apiary.

HUNTING BEE TREES,

Except for recreation, this is seldom profitable. It is slow and uncertain work. The tree when found is not our own, and though the owner may consent to our cutting it, he may dislike to do so. The bees, when found, are difficult to get alive; it is even more difficult to get the honey in good condition, and when secured, the honey and bees are often almost worthless: :

The principle upon which bees are “lined” is this: That after filling with honey, a bee always takes a direct course —‘a bee line”—to its hive. To hunt the bee-trees we need a bottle of sweetened water, a little honey-comb, unless the bees are gathering freely from forest flowers, and a small bottomless box with a sliding glass cover, and a small shelf attached to the middle of one side on the inside of the box. A shallow tray or piece of honey-comb is to be fastened to this shelf. If the bees are not found on flowers, we can attract them by burning a piece of honey- comb, If on a flower, set the box over them after turning a little of the sweetened water in the comb or tray on the shelf. It is easy to get them to sipping this sweet. Then

124 Hunting Bee Trees.

slide the glass, and when they fly, watch closely and see the direction they take. By following this line, we come to the bee tree, or more likely to some neighbor’s apiary. By geiting two lines, if the bees are from the same tree, the tree will be where the lines meet. We should be care- ful not to be led to neighboring apiaries, and should look very closely when the bees fly, to be sure of the line. Experience makes a person quite skillful. When a tree is found, we must use all possible ingenuity to get the combs whole if we wish to transfer the bees.

Reasons for Feeding. 225

CHAPTER VIII.

FEEDING AND FEEDERS.

As already stated, it is only when the worker-bees are storing that the queen deposits to the full extent of her capability, and that brood-rearing is at its height. In fact, when storing ceases, general indolence characterizes the hive. This is peculiarly true of the German and Italian races of bees. Hence, if we would achieve the best success, we must keep the workers active, even before gathering commences, as also in the interims of honey secretion by the flowers; and to do this we must feed sparingly before the advent of bloom in the spring, and whenever the workers are forced to idleness during any part of the season, by the absence of honey-producing flowers. For a number of years, I have tried experiments in this direction by feed- ing a portion of my colonies early in the season, and in the intervals of honey-gathering, and always with marked results in favor of the practice. Of course it is not well to feed unless we expect a honey harvest the same season. Thus I would not feed after clover or bass-wood bloom unless I expected a fall harvest.

Mr. D. A. Jones has truly said that if feeding in the autumn be deferred too long, till the queen ceases laying, it often takes much time to get her to resume, and not infrequently we fail entirely.

Every apiarist, whether novice or veteran, will receive ample reward by practicing stimulative feeding early in the season; then his hive at the dawn of the white clover era will be redundant with bees, well filled with brood, and in just the trim to receive a bountiful harvest of this most delicious nectar.

Feeding, too, is often necessary to secure sufficient stores for winter—for no apiarist, worthy of the name, will suffer his faithful, willing subjects to starve, when so little care

and expense will prevent it.

15

226 What to Feed.

HOW MUCH TO FEED.

If we only wish to stimulate, the amount fed need not be great. A half pound a day, or even less, will be all that is necessary to encourage the bees to active preparation for the good time coming. For information in regard to supplying stores for winter, see Chapter XVIII.

WHAT TO FEED.

For this purpose I would feed granulated sugar, reduced to the consistency of honey, or else extracted honey kept over from the previous year. The price of the latter will decide which is the more profitable. Dark, inferior honey often serves well for stimulative feeding, and as it is not salable may well be used in this way. To make the syrup, I use one quart of water to two of sugar, and heat till the sugar is dissolved. My friend, R. L. Taylor, first boils the water, then stirs in the sugar till all boils, when he says it will not granulate even with no acid added. A little tartaric acid—an even teaspoonful to fifteen pounds. of syrup—or even a little extracted honey will also pre- vent crystallization. If fed warm in early spring it is all the better.

Many advise feeding the poorer grades of sugar in spring. My own experience makes me question the policy of ever using such feed for bees. The feeding of glucose or grape sugar is even worse policy. It is bad food for the bees, and its use is dangerous to the bee-keeper’s repu- tation, and injurious to our brother bee-keepers. Glucose is so coupled with fraud and adulteration that he who would “avoid the appearance of evil” must let it severely alone. :

In all feeding, unless extracted honey is what we are using, we cannot exercise too great care that such feed is not carried to the surplus boxes. Only let our customers once taste sugar in their comb-honey, and not only is our own reputation gone, but the whole fraternity is injured. In case we wish to have our combs in the sections filled or capped, we must feed extracted honey, which may often be done with greata'vantage. I have often fed extracted

Feeding Described. 224

honey back to the bees, after the honey flow ceased, when it would be quickly stored in the sections. Sometimes, however, I have failed of success.

HOW TO FEED.

The requisites of a good feedér are: Cheapness, a form to admit quick feeding, to permit no loss of heat, and so arranged that we can feed at all seasons without in any way disturbing the bees. The feeder (Fig. 88), which I have used with good satisfaction, is a modified division board, the top-bar of which (Fig. 88, 4) is two inches wide, From the upper central portion, beneath the top-bar, a rectangular piece the size of an oyster-can, is replaced with an oyster-can (Fig. 88, o), after the top of the latter has been removed. A vertical piece of wood (Fig. 88, @) is fitted into the can so as to separate a space about one inch square, on one side, from the balance of the chamber, This piece does not reach quite to the bottom of the can,

Fic. 88.

oil

LLLTLIL EEA

{anil

Division-Board Feeder, Lower part of the face of the can removed, to show float, etc. .

there being a one-eighth inch space beneath, In the top- bar there is an opening (Fig. 88, ¢) just above the smaller space below. In the larger space is a wooden float (Fig. 88, f) full of holes. On one side, opposite the larger chamber of the can, a half-inch piece of the top ( Fig.

228 The Simplicity Feeder.

$8, c) is cut off, so that the bees can pass between the can and top-bar on to the float, where they can sip the feed. The feed is turned into the hole in the top-bar (Fig 88, e), cand without touching a bee, passes down under the verti- cal strip (Fig. 88, d) and raises the float (Fig. 88, 7). The ‘can may be tacked to the board at the ends near the top. ‘Two or three tacks through the can into the vertical piece (Fig. 88, 2) will hold the latter firmly in place; or the top- bar may press on the vertical piece so that it cannot move. Crowding a narrow piece of woolen cloth between the can and board, and nailing a similar strip around the bev- eled edge of the division board, makes all snug. The ‘objection to this feeder is that it cannot be placed just above the cluster of bees. On very cold days in spring the bees can not reach their food in any other position. The feeder is placed at the end of the brood-chamber, and the top-bar covered by the quilt. To feed, we have only to fold the quilt over, when with a tea-pot we pour the feed into the hole in the top-bar. If a honey board is used, there must be a hole in this just above the hole in the division-board feeder. In either case no bees can escape, the heat is confined, and our division-board feeder is but little more expensive than a division board alone.

Some apiarists prefer a quart can with finely perforated cover. This is filled with liquid, the cover put on, and the whole quickly inverted and set above a hole in the cover just above the bees. Owing to the pressure of the air, the liquid will not descend so rapidly that the bees cannot sip it up. The objections to this feeder are, that it is awkward, raises the cushions so as to permit the escape of heat, and must be removed to receive the feed. Mr. A. I. Root recommends the little butter trays sold at the groceries for feeding. These cost only one-third of a cent. “Need no float and work admirably.” I have tried these and think they have only their cheapness to recommend them. They raise the cover, cannot be filled without disturbing the bees, leak, and daub the bees. As feeders last for a life- time I prefer to pay more and get good ones.

The Simplicity feeder (Fig. 89), invented by Mr. A. I. Root, is shown on its side in the illustration, This is used

The Shuck and White Feeders. 229

at the entrance, and so is not good for cold weather. As the feed is exposed it can only be used at night, when the bees are not flying. It is never, I think, desirable to feed outside the hive.

Fic. 89.

Simplicity Bee-Feeder, Fic. go.

Shuck’s Boss Bee-Feeder.

The Shuck feeder (Fig. go) is a modification of the Simplicity, and a great improvement. This is used at the entrance of the hive, or by nailing two together, so that the sides marked D will face each other, we can use it above the bees. Wethen would place the opening 2 above a hole in the cloth cover, or honey board, turn the feed in at C, and the bees would come up at D, pass under the cover, and down into the saw-cuts (Fig. 90, A, A) when they would sip the feed, and then crawl up on the partitions. This feeder works admirably, but it is patented, costs too much, and is improved in the

WHITE FEEDER.

This feeder (Fig. 91) is larger than the Shuck—I make them eight by twelve inches—and is covered all over with

230 The Heddon Feeder.

wire gauze (Fig. 91, ¢), which is raised by the wooden rim, so that the bees can pass readily over the partitions (Fig. 91). The central saw-cuts (Fig. 91) do not reach

Fic. gl.

White Feeder.

the end of the feeder, so there is a platform left (Fig.g91, 4) through which a hole (Fig.91,¢) is made. This rests above a hole in the cloth below, and is the door through which the bees reach the feed. When in position just above the bees, it may be covered by a shingle or piece of pasteboard, to prevent daubing the cloth or cushion, and all by the chaff cushion. To feed, we have only to raise the cushion and the pasteboard, and turn the food through the gauze. No bees can get out, there is no disturbance, no danger from the robbers, and we can feed at any time, and can feed very rapidly if desired. ‘I like this feeder the best of any I have ever tried. I make them out of two-inch plank.

The Heddon feeder (Fig. 92) is much the same in principle as the White, and has all the advantages. It is the size of a section-crate and so holds many pounds. The figure makes it plain. The spaces in this are not saw-cuts, but are formed by thin boards nailed in a box vertically, and a space on one side (Fig. 92) does not connect with the food reservoir but serves as a passage way for the bees from hive to feeder. In the center is a passage (Fig. 92, c) which connects ‘with the food reservoir, but is not accessible to the bees. In this the food is poured when feeding, which makes it unnecessary to have the wire gauze

Feeding, How and When. 231

above or to smear the top when feeding as in case of the White feeder, yet this feeder does not retain the heat in spring. The center of the cover slides back, so the whole cover need not be removed when feeding is done. The vertical partitions except the one next to the space (Fig. 92) where the food is added do not run quite to the board which covers the feeder, and so the bees can pass into all the spaces except where we pour in the food. No parti- tion except the one next to the space where the bees pass to and from the hive runs quite to the bottom, so the food will pass readily from one space to the other, and will always be equally high in all.

Mr. D. A. Jones and many others with tight bottom boards to their hives use no feeder, but turn the feed right into the hive. Dr. C.C. Miller like L. C. Root prefers to feed by filling frames of empty comb with the syrup or

Fic. 92.

Heddon Feeder.

honey. The empty combs are laid flat, in a deep box or tub, under a colander or finely perforated pan. The syrup, as it falls, fills the cells of comb. After the comb is filled on hoth sides, we have only to hang it inthe hive. Ihave found that by use of a fine spray nozzle and force pump we can fill frames very fast.

The best time to feed is just at night-fall. In this case the feed will be carried away before the next day, and the danger to weak colonies from robbing is avoided.

In feeding during the cold days of April. all should be

232 Solid Food,

close above the bees to economize heat. In all feeding, care is requisite that we may not spill the feed about the apiary, as this may, and very generally will, induce robbing.

If, through neglect, the bees are found to be destitute of stores in mid-winter, it is not best to feed liquid food, but solid food, like the Viallon candy or the Good mixture of honey and sugar, which will be described under the head of shipping queens. Cakes of either of these should he placed on the frames above the cluster of bees. Ina cellar or = warm days outside, frames of honey may be given to the bees,

The Rearing of Queens. 233

CHAPTER IX,

QUEEN REARING.

Suppose the queen is laying two thousand eggs a day, and that the full number of bees is forty thousand, or even more—though as the bees are liable to many accidents, and as the queen does not always lay to her full capacity, it is quite probable that this is about an average number—it will be seen that each day that a colony is without a queen there is a loss equal to about one-twentieth of the working force of the colony, and this a compound loss, as the aggregate loss of any day is its special loss augmented by the several losses of the previous days. Now, as queens are liable to die or to become impotent, and as the work of increasing colonies demands the absence of queens, unless the apiarist has extra ones at his command, it is imperative, would we secure the best results, to ever have at hand extra queens. So the young apiarist must early learn

*

HOW TO REAR QUEENS.

As queens may be needed early in the spring, prepara- tions looking to the rearing of queens must commence early. As soon as the bees are able to fly regularly, we must see that they have a supply of bee-bread. If there is not a supply from the past season, and the locality of the bee-keeper does not furnish an early supply, then place unbolted flour, that of rye or oats is best, in shallow troughs near the hives. It may be well to give the whole apiary the benefit,of such feeding before the flowers yield pollen. I have found that here in Central Michigan, bees can usually gather pollen by the first week of April, which I think is as early as they should be allowed to fly, and in fact as early as they will fly with sufficient regularity to make it pay to feed the meal. I much question, after some years of experiment, if it ever pays at this place to give the’ bees a substitute for pollen. If one’s locality demands this early feeding of meal, the bees can be induced to work

234 Care in Queen Rearing.

readily at storing the material by dropping a little honey on it.

The best colony in the apiary—or if there are several colonies of equal merit, one of these—should be stimulated to the utmost, by daily feeding with warm syrup, and by increase of brood taken from other colonies. As this colony becomes strong, a comb containing drone cells should be placed in the center of the brood nest. Very soon drone eggs will be laid. I have often had drones flying early in May. Assoon as the drones commence to appear, remove the queen and all eggs and uncapped brood from some good, strong colony, and replace it with eggs or brood just hatched from the colony containing the queen from which it is desired to breed. By having placed one or two bright, new, empty combs in the midst of the brood nest of this colony four days beforehand, we shall have in these combs just such eggs and newly hatching brood as we desire, with no brood that is too old.

If we have more than one colony whose excellence war- rants their use to breed from, then these eggs should be taken from some other than the one which has produced our drones. This will prevent the close in-breeding which would necessarily occur if both queens and drones were reared in the same colony; and which, though regarded as deleterious in the breeding of all animals, should be prac- ticed in case one single queen is of decided superiority to all others of the apiary. The queen and the brood that have been removed may be used in making a new colony, in amanner soon to be described under “dividing or increas- ing the number of colonies.” This queenless colony will immediately commence forming queen-cells (Fig. 93). Sometimes these are formed to the number of fifteen or twenty, and in case of the Syrian and Cyprian races fifty or sixty, and they are started in a full, vigorous colony; in fact, under the most favorable conditions. Cutting off edges of the comb, or cutting holes in the same where there are eggs or larve just hatched, will almost always insure the starting of queen-cells in such places. It will be noticed that our queens are started from eggs, or from larvee but just hatched, as we have given the bees no other,

flow to Breed First-Class Queens. 235

and so they are fed the royal pabulum from the first. Thus we have met every possible requisite to secure the most superior queens. As we removed all the brood the nurse bees will have plenty of time and be sure to care well for these young queens. By removal of the queen we also secure a large number of cells, while if we waited for the bees to start the cells preparatory to natural swarming, in which case we secure the two desirable conditions named above, we shall probably fail to secure so many cells, and may have to wait longer than we can afford.

Even the apiarist who keeps black bees and desires no others,-or who has only pure Italians, will still find that it pays to practice this selection, for as with the poultry fancier, or the breeder of our larger-domestic animals, the apiarist is ever observing some individuals of marked superiority, and he who carefully selects such queens to breed from, will be the one whose profits will make him rejoice, and whose apiary will be worthy of all commendation. It occurs to me that in this matter of careful selection and improve- ment of our bees by breeding, rests our greatest opportu- nity to advance the art of bee-keeping. As will be patent to all, by the above process we exercise a care in breeding which is not surpassed by the best breeders of horses and cattle, and which no wise apiarist will ever neglect. Nor do I believe that Vogel can be correct in thinking that drones give invariably one set of character and the queens the others. This is contrary to all experience in breeding larger animals.

It is often urged, and I think with truth, that we shall secure better queens if we wait for the queen-cells to be started naturally by the bees, under the swarming impulse; and by early feeding and adding brood from other colonies we can hasten this period; yet, if we feed to stimulate, whenever the bees are not storing, and keep the colony redundant in bees of all ages by adding plenty of capped brood from other colonies, we shall find that our queens are little, if any, inferior, even if their production is hast- ened by removal of a queen from the hive. If these direc- tions are closely followed, there will be little brood for the bees to feed, and the queen-cells will not suffer neglect,

236 Nuclei, What and How Formed.

Mr. Quinby not only advised this course, but he recom- mended starting queen-cells in nuclei; but he emphasized the importance of giving but very little brood, so nearly all the strength of the nurse bees would be expended on the queen-cells.

After we have removed all the queen-cells, in manner soon to be described, we can again supply eggs, or newly- hatched larve—always from those queens which close observation has shown to be the most vigorous and prolific in the apiary—and thus keep the same queenless colony or colonies engaged in starting queen-cells till we have all we desire. Yet we must not fail to keep this colony strong by the addition of capped brood, which we may take from any colony as most convenient. We must be cautious that our cells are started from only such brood as we take from the choicest queen. I have good reason to believe that queen-celis should not be started after the first of Sep- tember, as I have observed that late queens are not only less prolific, but shorter lived. In nature, late queens are rarely produced, and if it is true that they are inferior, it might be explained in the fact that their ovaries remain so long inactive. As queens that are long unmated are utterly worthless, so, too, freshly mated queens long inactive may become enfeebled. However, some of our queen breeders think late queens just as good. Possibly they may be, if reared with the proper cautions,

In eight or ten days the cells are capped, and the apiarist is ready to form his

NUCLEI.

A nucleus is simply a miniature colony of bees—a hive and colony on a small scale—for the purpose uf rearing and keeping queens. We want the queens, but can afford to each nucleus only a few bees. The nucleus hive, if we use frames not more than one foot square, need be nothing more than an ordinary hive, with chamber confined by a division board to the capacity of three frames. If our frames are large, then it may be thought best to construct special nucleus hives. These are small hives, which need not be more than six inches each way, that is, in length,

Forming Nuclei. 237

breadth and thickness, and made to contain from four to six frames of corresponding size. These frames are filled with comb. I have for several years used the first named style of nucleus hive, and have found it advantageous to ‘have a few long hives made, each to contain five chambers; while each chamber is entirely separate from the one next to it, is five inches wide, and is covered by a separate, close- fitting board, and the whole by a common cover. The entrances to the two end chambers are at the ends near the same side of the hive. The middle chamber has its entrance at the middle of the side near which are the end entrances, while the other two chambers open on the opposite side, as far apart as is possible. The outside might be painted different colors to correspond with the divisions, if thought necessary, especially on the side with two openings. Yet I have never taken this precaution, nor have I been troubled much by losing queens. They have almost invariably entered their own apartments when returning from their wedding tour. It seems from experience that the queen is more influenced by position than by color of hive in returning to it from mating. Who that has watched his bees after moving a hive a little one side of its previous position—even if only a few inches—-can doubt but that the same is true of the worker-bees. These hives I use to keep queens in during the summer. Except the apiarist engage in queen-rearing extensively as a business, I doubt the propriety of building such special nucleus hives. The usual hives are good property to have in the apiary, will soon be needed, and may be economically used for all nuclei. In spring I make use of my hives which are pre- pared for prospective summer use, for my nuclei.

Mr. E. M. Hayhurst, one of our best queen breeders, uses the full size Langstroth frame, in full sized hives, for queen-rearing, while Mr. Root uses the same frames in small special hives which hold three frames, These (Fig. 85) he fastens high up on his grape-vine trellises, just back of his other hives, which can be used for seats as he works with the nuclei.

We now goto different hives of the apiary, and take out three frames for each nucleus, at least one of which

238 Starting Nuclet.

has brood, and so on, till there are as many nuclei prepared as we have queen-cells to dispose of. The bees should be left adhering to the frames of comb, only we must be cer- tain that the queen is not among them, as this would take the queen from where she is most needed, and would lead to the sure destruction of one queen-cel]l. To be sure of this, we never take such frames till we have seen the queen, that we may be sure she is left behind. It is well to close the nucleus for at least twenty-four hours, so that enough bees will surely remain to cover the combs, and so prevent the brood from becoming chilled. If any desire the nuclet with smaller frames, these frames must of course be filled with comb, and then we can shake bees immediately into the nuclei, till they shall have sufficient to preserve a proper temperature. Such special articles about the apiary are costly and inconvenient. I believe that I should use hives even with the largest frames for nuclei. L.C. Root, who uses the large Quinby frame uses the same for his nuclei. In this case we should need to give more bees. Twenty- four hours after we have formed this nucleus, we are ready to insert the queen-cell. We may do it sooner, even at once, but always at the risk of having the cell destroyed. To insert the queen-cell—for we are. now to give one to each nucleus, so we can never form more nuclei than we have capped queen-cells—we first cut it out, using a sharp thin-bladed knife, commencing to cut on either side the base of the cell, at least one-half inch distant, for we must not in the least compress the cell, then cutting up and out for two inches, then across opposite the cell. This leaves the cell attached to a wedge-shaped piece of comb (Fig. 93), whose apex is next to the cell. A similar cut in the middle frame of the nucleus, which in case of the regular frames is the one containing brood, will furnish an opening to receive the wedge containing the cell. The comb should also be cut away beneath (Fig. 93), so that the cell cannot be compressed. Mr. Root advises a circu- lar cut (Fig. 93). Of late I have just placed the cell between two frames, and succeed just as well. If two or more fine cells are so close together that separation is impossible, then all may be inserted in a nucleus. By close

Grafting Queen-Cells in the Nuclet. 239

watching afterward we may save all the queens. If we have used bright new comb as advised above, we can see the queen move in the cell if she is ready to come out, by

Fig 93.

Queen-Cell with Hinged Cap,

240 Control of Drones Secured.

holding it between us and the sun, and may uncap such cells, and let the queen run in at the entrance of any queenless hive or nucleus at once. In selecting combs for queen-cells, we should reject any that have drone comb. Bees sometimes start queen-cells over drone larva. Such cells are smoother than the others, and of course are worth- less. After all the nuclei have réceived their cells and bees, they have' only to be set in a shady place and watched ta see that sufficient bees remain. Should too many leave, give them more by removing the cover and shaking a frame loaded with bees over the nucleus; keep the open- ing nearly closed, and cover the bees so as to preserve the heat. The main caution in this zs to be sure not to get any old queen in a nucleus. In two or three days the queens will appear, and in a week longer will have become fecun- dated, and that, too, in case of the first queens, by selected drones, for as yet there are no others in the apiary. I can not over-estimate the advantage of always having extra queens. To secure mating from selected drones, later, we must cut all drone-comb from inferior colonies, so that they shall rea no drones. If drone larye are in uncapped cells, they may be killed by sprinkling the comb with cold water. By giving the jet of water some force, as may be easily done by use of a fountain pump, they may be washed out, or we may throw them out with the extractor, and then use the comb for starters in our sections. It is very important that those who rear queens to sell shall have no near neighbors who keep bees, and shall keep only very superior bees, that undesirable mating may be prevented. If one has neighbors who keep bees, he can see that they keep only the best, or else he can rear his queens before others have drones flying. He can also get his neighbor to use entrance guards. If drones are flying from undesirable colonies, they can be kept from leaving the hive by use of the entrance guards, or may be captured and destroyed by use of Alley’s drone trap (Fig. 94). These are made of the perforated zinc, and while they permit the passage of the workers, they restrain the queen and droMes. By shaking all the bees in front of the hive, we can, by use of these, soon weed out all the drones.

Queen Lamp Nursery Described. 241

With these in front of hive, we can keep the queen from leaving with a swarm. “Occasionally, however, a queen will crowd through. By keeping empty frames and empty cells in the nuclei, the bees may be kept active; yet with so few bees, one cannot expect very much from the nuclei. After cutting all the queen-cells from our old hive, we can again insert eggs, as above suggested, and obtain another lot of cells, or, if we have a sufficient number, we can leave a single queen-cell, and this colony will soon be the happy possessor of a queen, and just as flourishing as if the even tenor of its ways had not been disturbed. If it

Fic. 94.

Drone Trap.

is preferred, the bees of this colony may be used in form- ing the nuclei, in which case there is no danger of getting a queen in any nucleus thus formed or of having the queen-cells destroyed. We can thus start seven or eight nuclei very quickly. Mr. Doolittle forms nuclei by dis- turbing the bees—jarring the hive—till they fill with honey, then shakes them into a hive or box and sets them in a dark room or cellar for twenty-four hours. Then they will always, he says, accept a queen-cell or a virgin queen of any age at once. A full colony may be safely re-queened in the same way.

QUEEN LAMP NURSERY.

This is substantially a tin hive, with two walls enclosing a water-tight space an inch wide, which, when in use, is

16

242 Caging Queen- Cells.

filled with water through a hole at the top. Each nursery may hold from six to eight frames. Some prefer to have special frames for this nursery, each of which contains sev- eral close chambers. The queen cells are cut out and put in these chambers. It is claimed that with no food the queens will not attack each other, and so several cells may be put in each chamber.

By use of a common kerosene lamp placed under this’ nursery, the temperature must be kept from 80° F. to 100° F. By placing the frames with capped queen-cells in this, the queens develop as well as if in a hive or nucleus. If the young queens, just from the cell, are introduced into a

Fic. 95.

queenless colony or nucleus, as first shown by Mr, Lang- stroth, they are usually well received. Unless one is rear- ing a great many queens, this lamp nursery is not desirable, as we still have to use the nucleus to get the young queens fecundated, have to watch carefully to get the young queens as soon as they appear, must guard it carefully as moths are apt to get in, and, finally, unless great pains are taken this method will give us inferior queens. Mr, W. Z. Hutchinson, one of our best queen-breeders, thinks very highly of the lamp nursery.

Some bee-keepers use a cage (Fig. 95) with projecting pins which are pushed into the comb, so that they hold the

Clipping Queen's Wing. 243

cage. <A cell is put into each of these, and then they may be put into any hive. Of course the bees can not destroy the cell, as they can not get at it. Dr. Jewell Davis’s queen nursery consists of a frame filled with such cages, which can be hung in any hive. I have tried both, and prefer this to the lamp nursery.

SHALL WE CLIP THE QUEEN’S WING?

In the above operation, as in many other manipulations of the hive, we shall often gain sight of the queen, and can, if we desire, clip her wing, ¢f she has met the drone; but never before, that in no case she shall lead the colony away to parts unknown. This is an old practice, for Virgil speaks of retaining the bees by tearing off the wings of “the king.” This does not injure the queen, as some have claimed. General Adair once stated that such treat- ment injured the queen, as it cut off some of the air tubes, which view was approved by so excellent a naturalist as Dr. Packard. Yet I am sure that this is all a mistake. The air tube and blood vessel, as we have seen, go to the wings to carry nourishment to these members. With the wiig goes the necessity of nourishment and the need of the tubes. As well say that the amputation of the human leg or arm would enfeeble the constitution, as it would cut off the supply of blood.

Many of our best apiarists have practiced this clipping of the queen’s wings for years. Yet these queens show no diminution of vigor; we should suppose they would be even more vigorous, as useless organs are always nourished at the expense of the organism, and if entirely useless, are seldom long continued by nature. The ants set us an exam- ple in this matter, as they bite the wings off their queens, after mating has transpired. They mean that the queen shall remain at home, xolens volens, and why shall not we require the same of the queen bee? Were it not for the necessity of swarming in nature, we should doubtless have been anticipated in this matter by nature herself.

Some of our first apiarists think that queens with wings clipped are not as acceptable to the other bees. I have now had experience for eighteen years in this practice, and have

244 , Clipping the Queen.

yet to see the first indication that the above is true. Still, if the queen essays to go with the swarm, and if the apiarist is not at hand, she will sometimes be lost, never regaining the hive; but in this case the bees will be saved, as they will return without fail. J always mean to be so watchful, keeping my hives shaded, giving ample room, and dividing or increasing, as to prevent natural swarming. Sometimes, however with the closest vigilance swarms will issue; then we may save much labor and vexation if we have the wing of the queen clipped. Many of our farmers are now keep- ing bees with marked success and large profits, who could not continue at all except for this practice. Mr. George Grimm keeps about eighty colonies of bees, and says he only works ten days in the year. But he clips the queens’ wings and his wife does the hiving.

Some apiarists clip one primary wing the first year, the secondary the second year, the other primary the third, and if age of the queen permits, the remaining wing the fourth year. Yet, such data, with other matters of interest and importance, better be kept on a slate or card, and firmly attached to the hive, or else kept in a record opposite the number of the hive. The time required to find the queen is sufficient argument against the “queen-wing record.” This is not an argument against the once clipping of the queen’s wings, for, in the nucleus hives, queens are readily found, and even in full colonies this is not very difficult, especially if we keep Italians or any of the other races of yellow bees. It will be best, even though we have to look up black queens, in full colonies. The loss of one good colony, or the vexatious trouble of separating two or three swarms which had clustered together, and finding each queen, or the hiving of a colony perched high up on some towering tree, would soon vanquish this argument of time.

To clip the queen’s wing, which we must never do until she commences to lay eggs, take hold of her wings with the right thumb and index finger—never grasp her body especially her abdomen, as this will be very apt to injure her—raise her off the comb, then turn from the bees, place her gently on the left hand, and press on her feet with the left thumb sufficiently to hold her. Now with the right

Fertile Workers Replaced. 245

hand, by use of a small, delicate pair of scissors, cut off about one-half of one of the front or primary wings. This method prevents any movement of legs or wings, and is easy and quick.

Some bee-keepers—inexperienced they must be—com- plain that queens thus handled often receive a foreign scent, and are destroyed by the worker-bees. I have clipped hundreds and never lost one.

FERTILE WORKERS.

We have already described fertile workers. As these can only produce unimpregnated eggs, they are, of course, valueless, and unless superseded by a queen will soon cause the destruction of the colony. As theirpresence often pre- vents the acceptance of cells or a queen, by the common workers, they are a serious pest.

The absence of worker brood, and the abundant and careless deposition of eggs—some cells being skipped, while others have received several eggs—are pretty sure indica- tions of their presence. The condition that favors these pests, is continued absence of a queen or means to produce one. They seem more common with the Cyprian and Syrian bees.

To rid a colony of these, unite it with some colony with a good queen, after which the colony may be divided if very strong. Simply exchanging places of a colony with a fertile worker, and a good strong colony, will often cause the destruction of the wrong-doer. In this case, brood should be given to the colony which had the fertile worker, that they may rear a queen; or better, a queen-cell or queen should be given them. Caging a queen in a hive, with a fertile worker, for thirty-six hours, will almost always cause the bees to accept her. Shaking the bees off the frames two rods from the hive, will often rid them of the counter- feit queen, after which they will receive a queen-cell or a queen. But prevention is best of all. We should never have a colony or nucleus without either a queen or means to rear one. It is well to keep young brood in our nuclei at all times. Queens reared from brood four days from the egg are usually drone layers.

246 Queen Register.

In all manipulation with the bees we need something to loosen the frames. Many use a chisel or small iron claw. I have found an iron scraper (Fig. 96), which I had made

Fic. 96.

by a blacksmith, very convenient. It serves to loosen the frames, draw tacks, and scrape off propolis. It would be easy to add the hammer.

QUEEN REGISTER OR APIARY REGISTER.

With more than a half dozen colonies it is not easy to know just the condition of each colony. Something to mark the date of each examination, and the condition of the colony at that time, is very desirable. Mr. Root fur- nishes the Queen Register (Fig.97). With this it is very easy to mark the date of examination of each hive, and the condition of the colony at the time. Mr. Newman fur- nishes an Apiary Register which serves admirably for the same purpose. Each hive is numbered. Dr, Miller tacks a small square piece of tin bearing the number in black paint to each hive. A corresponding number in the Regis- ter gives us all desired facts. We have only to note down at the time the condition of each colony and date of exam- ination in the Register.

247

Queen Register,

Fic. 97.

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248 S warming Preferred.

CHAPTER X. INCREASE OF COLONIES.

No subject will be of more interest to the beginner, than that of increasing stocks. He has one or two, he desires as many score, or, if very aspiring, as many hundred, and if a Jones, a Hetherington, or a Harbison, as many thou- sand. This is a subject, too, that may well engage the thought and study of men of no inconsiderable experience. I believe that many veterans are not practicing the best methods in obtaining an increase of stocks.

Before proceeding to name the ways, or to detail the methods, let me state and enforce that it is always safest, and generally wisest, especially for the beginner, to be content with doubling, or certainly with tripling, his num- ber of colonies each season. Especially let all remember the motto: “Keep all colonies strong.”

There are two ways to increase: The natural, known ‘as swarming, already described under natural history of the ‘bee; and the artificial, improperly styled artificial swarm-

ing. This is also called and more properly “dividing.” SWARMING.

In case of the specialist, or in case some one can be near by to watch the bees, swarming is without doubt the best way to increase, and probably in most cases it is profitable and so desirable, even though the bee-keeper has all the colonies he cares for. Therefore the apiarist should be always ready with both means and knowledge for immedi- ate action. Of course, necessary hives were all secured the previous winter, axd will never be wanting. Neglect to provide hives before the swarming season is convincing proof that the wrong pursuit has been chosen.

If, as I have advised, the queen has her wing clipped the matter becomes very simple, in fact, so much simplified that were there no other argument, this would be sufficient to recommend the practice of clipping the queen’s wing.

Alethods of Hiving. 249

Now, if several swarms cluster together, we have not to separate them; they will usually separate of themselves and return to their old homes. To migrate without the queen means death, and life is sweet even to bees, and is not to be willingly given up except for home and kindred. Even if they all.enter into one hive, the queens are not with: them and it is very easy to divide them as desired. Neither has the apiarist to climb trees, to secure his bees from bushy trunks, from off the lattice-work or pickets of his fence, from the very top of a tall, slender, fragile fruit tree, or other most inconvenient places. Nor will he even be tempted to pay his money for patent non-swarming hivers or patent swarm catchers. He knows his bees will return to their old quarters, so he is not perturbed by the fear of loss or plans to capture the unapproachable. It requires no effoit “to possess his soul in patience.” If he wishes no increase, he steps out, takes the queen by the remaining wings, as she emerges from the hive, soon after the bees commence their hilarious leave-taking, puts her in a cage, opens the hive, destroys, or, if he wishes to use them, cuts out the queen-cells as already described, gives more room—either by adding a crate of sections or taking out some of the frames of brood, as they may well be spared—places the cage enclosing the queen under the quilt, and leaves the bees to return at their pleasure. At night-fall the queen is liberated, the hive may be removed to another place, and very likely the swarming fever is subdued for the season,

If it is desired to unite the swarm with a nucleus, exchange the places of the old hive with the caged queen, as soon as the swarm is out, and the nucleus hive, to which, of cource, the swarm will now come. The queen-cells should be removed at once from the old hive, and the queen likerated. The nucleus colony, now strongly enforced, should have empty frames, but always with starters, added, making five in all; and a crate of sections with thin foundation added atonce. The five frames—Langstroth size, more if smaller ——are put on one side and the rest of the space filled by division boards. Here the nucleus is at once transformed into a large, strong colony.

If it is desired to hive the swarm separately—and usually

250 Methods of Hiving.

this gives the best results, even if we do not care for increase —we remove the old hive one side, and turn it entirely around, so that the entrance that was east is now west. We now place a new hive with five or six empty frames, which have narrow starters, right where the old hive previously stood, in which the caged queen is put. We fill the extra space in this hive with division boards, and set on it the crate of sections previously placed on the old hive; or in case this colony that just swarmed had not previously received a case of sections, we place a case with a queen-excluding honey board on the hive where the new swarm is now to enter.

As this colony has no comb in the brood chamber, only foundation starters, and-has sections with comb or thin foundation, the bees will commence to work vigorously in the sections, especially as the brood chamber is so restricted. This idea originated with Messrs. Doolittle and Hutchin- son, and is fully explained in “Comb Honey,” Mr. Hutchinson’s excellent little work, which should be in the hands of every comb honey producer.

The hive from which the swarm issued—now close beside the hive with the new colony—should be turned a little each day so that by the eighth day the entrance will be as before to the east or close to that of the other hive. On the eighth day this hive is carried to some distant part of the bee-yard. Of course all the bees that are gather- ing—and by this time they are numerous—will go to the other hive, which will so weaken the still queenless colony that they will not care to send out another or second swarm, and so will destroy all remaining queen-cells and queens after the first queen comes forth,. This is a quick easy way to prevent after or second swarms. It originated with Mr. James Heddon, and I find that, with rare exception, it works well. I believe where one is with his bees, this last described plan is the most profitable that the bee-keeper can adopt. Sometimes the mere introducing of a new queen into the old hive will prevent any-farther swarming. The queen at once destroys the queen-cells,

Some extensive apiarists, who desire to prevent increase of colonies, when a colony swarms, cage the old queen,

Methods of Hiving. 251

destroy all queen-cells, and exchange this hive —after taking out three or four frames of brood to strengthen nuclei—with one that recently swarmed. Thus a colony that recently sent out a swarm, but retained their queen, has probably, from the decrease of bees, loss of brood, and removal of queen-cells, lost the swarming fever, and if we give them plenty of room and ventilation, they will accept the bees from a new swarm, and spend their future ener- gies in storing honey. If the swarming fever is not broken up, we shall only have to repeat the operation again in a few days.

Still another modification, in case no increase of bees but rather comb honey is desired, is recommended by such apiarists as Doolittle, Davis, and others. The queen is caged seven days, the queen-cells in the hive are then destroyed, the queen liberated, and everything is arranged for immense yields of comb honey. In this case the queen is idle, but the bees seem to have lost not one jot of their energy. Dr. C. C. Miller, instead of caging the queen, places her with a nucleus on top of the old hive, thus keep- ing her at work, by exchange of frames. After seven days he destroys the queen-cells in the old hive and unites the nucleus with it. Here the queen is kept at work, the swarming impulse subdued, and a mighty colony made ready for business. This plan slightly modified has the sanction of such admirable apiarists as Messrs. Elwood and Hetherington.

Two objections are sometimes raised right here. Sup- pose several swarms issue at once, one of which is a second swarm, which of course has a virgin queen, then all will go off together, and our loss is grievous indeed. I answer that second swarms are unprofitable and should never be permitted. We should be so vigilant that this fate would never befall us. If we will not give this close attention without such stimulus, then it were well to have this threatening danger hanging over us. Again, suppose we are not right at hand when the swarm issues, the queen wanders away and possibly is lost. Yes, but if unclipped the whole colony would go, now it is only the queen. Usually the queen gets back. If not, a little looking will

252 Mithods of Hiving.

generally find her not far away within a ball of friendly workers. At night-fall, smoke these bees, and by watch- ing we learn the hive which swarmed, as the bees about the queen will repair at once to it. Mr. Doolittle suggests that we may always find what colony swarmed when a swarm is out. If we take a portion of the bees from the cluster into a pail and swing them around lively, then throw them out, they will at once, he says, fly to the old home. When a swarm first issues young bees, too young to fly, crawling about before the hive, will often reveal the colony that swarmed.

HIVING SWARMS.

But in clipping wings, some queens may be omitted, or from taste, or other motive, some bee-keepers may not desire to “deform her royal highness.” Then the apiarist must possess the means to save the would-be rovers. The means are: good hives in readiness; some kind of a brush —a turkey-wing will do; a basket with open top, which should be at least eighteen inches in diameter, and so made that it may be attached to the end of a pole; and two poles, one very long and the other of medium length.

Now, let us attend to the method: As soon as the clus- ter commences to form, place the hive in position where we wish the colony to remain, leaving the entrance widely open. As soon as the bees are fully clustered, we must manage as best we can to empty the whole cluster in front of the hive. As the bees are full of honey they are not likely to sting, but will sometimes. I have known bees when clustered in a swarm to be very cross. This, how- ever, is not usual, Should the bees be on a twig that could be sacrificed, this might be easily cut off with either a knife or saw (Fig. 98), and so carefully as hardly to disturb the bees, then carry and shake the bees in front of the hive, when with joyful hum they will at once proceed to enter. If the twig must not be cut, shake them all into the basket, and empty before the hive. Should they be on a tree trunk, or a fence, then brush them with the wing into the basket, and proceed as before. If they are high up on a tree, take the pole and basket, and perhaps a ladder will

253

Whitman's Fountain Pump.

254 Hiving Bees.

also be necessary. Always let ingenuity have its perfect work, not forgetting that the object to be gained is to get just as many of the bees as is possible on the alighting- board in front of the hive. Carelessness as to the quantity might involve the loss of the queen, which would be serious. The bees w7// mot remain unless the queen enters the hive. Should a cluster form where it is impossible to brush or shake them off, they can be driven into a basket, or hive, by holding it above them and blowing smoke among them. All washes for the hive are more than use- less. It is better that it be clean and pure. With such, if they are shaded, bees will generally be satisfied. But assurance will be made doubly sure by giving them a frame of brood, in all stages of growth, from an old hive. This may be inserted before the work of hiving is com- menced. Mr. Doolittle thinks this does little or no good and tends to induce the building of drone comb. Mr. Bet- singer says they are even more apt to go off; but I think he will not be sustained by the experience of other apia- rists. He certainly is not by mine. I never knew but one colony to leave uncapped brood; I have often known them to swarm out of an empty hive once or twice, and to be returned, after brood had been placed in the hive, when they accepted the changed conditions, and went at once to work. We should expect this, in view of the attachment of bees for their nest of brood, as also from analogy. How eager the ant to convey her larve and pupw—the so-called eggs—to a place of safety, when the nest has been invaded and danger threatens. Bees doubtless have the same desire to protect their young, and as they cannot carry them away to a new home, they remain to care for them in one that may not be quite to their taste. Of course if swarm- ing is permitted either with or without clipped queens, the bees must be closely watched at the swarming season. Dr. Miller secures a bright active girl or boy to watch. He says the watcher can sit in the shade and go and look once in every four or five minutes. For 100 colonies it takes the whole time of one person, as the noise made by so many flying bees makes actual inspection of all hives necessary. This watching is necessary from 8 a. M. till 2

Preventing Increase of Colonies. 255

P. M.; or in very hot weather from 6 A. M. to 4 P. M., or even later. Of course there is relief on rainy days.

Farmers can keep many swarms and attend to their farm work as usual, They have only to have a boy or girl to catch and cage the queens—the “gude wife” may do this —and let him know at noon or night what colonies have swarmed. When a colony swarms, the impulse seems to be general, and often a half dozen colonies will be on the wing in atrice. These will very often, generally, in truth, cluster together. In this case, to find the queens is well nigh impossible, and we can only divide up the bees into suitable colonies, and as soon as we find any starting queen- cells, give them a queen. Of course we may lose every queen but one. In view of this trouble, and the expense and doubtful practicality of the various swarm catchers in vogue, I would say clip the queen’s wing.

If no more colonies are desired, the swarm may be given to a colony which has previously swarmed, after removing from the latter all queen-cells, and adding to the room by putting on the sections, and removing some frames of brood to strengthen nuclei. These frames may be replaced with empty frames. We may even return the bees to their old home by taking the same precautionary measures, with a good hope that storing and not swarming will engage their attention in future; and if we exchange their position with that of a nucleus, we shall be still more likely to succeed in overcoming the desire to swarm; though some seasons, usually when honey is being gathered each day for long intervals, but not in large quantities, the desire and deter- mination of some colonies toswarm is implacable. Room, ventilation, changed position of hive, each and all will fail. Then we can do no better than to gratify the propensity by giving the swarm a new home, and make an effort

TO PREVENT SECOND SWARMS.

The Heddon method of preventing second swarms has already been explained. This method is valuable because it requires no looking up of queen-cells, and thus saves time.

As already stated, the wise apiarist will always have on hand extra queens. Now, if he does not desire to form

256 After Swarms Prevented,

nuclei (as already explained), and thus use these queen- cells, he will at once give the old colony a fertile queen. At the same time this practice secures only carefully reared queens from his best colonies. As the queen usually destroys all queen-cells, farther swarming is prevented. The method of introduction will be given hereafter, though in such cases there is very little danger incurred by giving them a queen atonce. If desired, the queen-cells can be used in forming nuclei, in manner before described. If extra queens are wanting, we have only to look carefully through the old hive and remove all but one of the queen-cells. A little care will certainly make sure work, as after swarming the old hive is so thinned of bees that only carelessness will overlook queen-cells in such a quest. Mr. Doolittle waits till the eighth day, or till he hears the piping of the young queen; then cuts out all queen-cells, when of course he certainly inhibits second swarms.

TO PREVENT SWARMING.

As yet we can only partly avert swarming. Mr. Quinby offered a large reward for a perfect non-swarming hive, and never had to make the payment. Mr. Hazen attempted it, and partially succeeded, by granting much space to the bees, so that they should not be impelled to vacate for lack of room. The Quinby hive already described, by the large capacity of the brood chamber, and ample opportunity for top and side storing, looks to the same end. Mr. Simmins, of England, thinks he can prevent swarming by keeping unoccupied cells between the brood nest and entrance to the hive. Mr. Muth says if we always have empty cells in the brood nest, swarming will seldom occur. Yet he says “seldom.” We may safely say that a perfect non- swarming hive or system isnot yet before the bee-keeping public. The best aids toward non-swarming are shade, ventilation and roomy hives, But as we shall see in the sequel, much room in the brood chamber, unless we work for extracted honey—by which means we may greatly repress the swarming fever—prevents our obtaining honey in-a desirable style. If we add sections, unless the connec- tion is quite free—in which case the queen is apt to enter

: Artificial Increase. 257

them and greatly vex us—we must crowd some to send the bees into the sections. Such crowding is almost sure to lead to swarming. I have, by uncapping the combs of honey in the brood chamber, as suggested to me by Mr. M. M. Baldridge—causing the honey to run down from the combs—sent the bees crowding to the sections, and thus deferred or prevented swarming. Those who have frames that can be turned upside down or invertible hives, may often secure the same results by simple inversion. By plac- ing our sections in the brood chamber till the bees commence to work on them, and then removing them above, or by car- rying brood up beside the sections, the bees are generally induced to commence working in sections. This requires too much manipulation and so is not practical with the gen- eral bee-keeper.

It is possible that by extracting freely when storing is very rapid, and then by freely feeding the extracted honey in the interims of honey secretion, we might prevent swarming, secure very rapid breeding, and still get our honey in sections. My experiments in this direction have not been as successful as I had hoped, and I can not recom- mend the practice, though some apiarists claim to have succeeded. Even if this could be made to work it involves too much labor to make it advisable.

The keeping of colonies queenless, in order. to secure honey without increase, is practiced and advised by some even of our distinguished apiarists. Dr. C. C. Miller’s method already described, accomplishes the same object, and keeps all the queens at work all the time.

ARTIFICIAL INCREASE,

While, as already remarked, there is no better way than to allow swarming as just described when one’s circum- stances makes it possible to do so; yet in some cases the bee-keeper can be with his bees only at certain times— often early in the morning, late in the afternoon, or per- chance at the noontide hour; then of course‘artificial divid- ing becomes necessary. It is required to secure any desired increase of colonies, also to prevent loss from swarming when no one is by. This requires more time than swarm-

17

258 Methods of Dividing.

ing as detailed above, and may not—probably often does not-—secure quite as good results. Yet Iam very sure from a long experience, that with sufficient care, artificial colo- nies may be formed that shall fully equal natural swarms in the profits they bring to their owners,

HOW TO DIVIDE.

Mr. Cheshire argues against natural swarming and in favor of dividing, as the former tends through selection to develop the swarming habit. Ido not accept his reason- ing, as unless we permit swarming we can not tell what colonies to breed from, as we have no way to know their tendencies. Often, too, swarming only indicates great pro- lificness. By the process already described, we have secured a goodly number of fine queens, which will be in readiness at the needed time. Now, as soon as the white clover har- vest is well commencéd, early in June, we may commence operations. If we have but one colony to divide, it is well to wait till they become pretty populous, but not till they swarm. ‘Take one of our waiting hives, which now hoids a nucleus with laying queen, and place the same close alongside the colony we wish to divide. This must be done on a warm day, when the bees are active, and better be done while the bees are busy, in the middle of the day. Remove the division board of the new hive, and then remove five combs well loaded with brood, and of course containing some honey, from the old colony, bees and all, to the new hive. Also take the remaining frames and shake the bees into the new hive; only be sure that the gueen still remains in the old hive. Fill both the hives with empty frames—if the frames are filled with empty comb it will be still better, if not, it will always pay to give full frames of foundation—and return the new hive to its former position. The old bees will return to the old colony, while the young ones will remain peaceably with the new queen. The old colony will now possess at least seven frames of brood, honey, etc., the old queen, and plenty of bees, so that they will work on as though naught had transpired, though perhaps moved to a little harder effort, by the added space and five empty combs or frames

sethods of Dividing. 259

of foundation. These last may be all placed at one end, or placed between the others, though not so as to greatly divide brood. The new colony will have eight frames of brood, comb, etc.,:three from the nucleus and five from the old colony, a young laying queen, plenty of bees, those of the previous nucleus and the young bees from the old colony, and will work with a surprising vigor, often even eclipsing the old colony.

If the apiarist has several colonies, it is better to make the new colony from several old colonies, as follows: Take one frame of brood comb from each of six old colonies, or two from each of three, and carry them, bees and all, and place with the nucleus. Be sure that no queen is removed. Fill all the hives with empty combs, or foundation, as before. In this way we increase without in the least dis- turbing any of the colonies, and may add a colony every day or two, or perhaps several, depending on the size of our apiary, and can thus almost always, so experience says, pre- vent swarming.

By taking only brood that is all capped, we can safely add one or two frames to each nucleus every week, with- out adding any bees, as there would be no danger of loss by chilling the brood. In this way, as we remove no bees, we have to spend no time in looking for the queen, and may build up our nuclei into full stocks, and keep back - the swarming impulse with great facility.

These are unquestionably the best methods to divide, and so I will not complicate the subject by detailing others. The only objection that can be urged against them, and even this does not apply to the last, is that we must seek out the queen in each hive, or at least be sure that we do not remove her, though this is by no means so tedious if we have Italians or other races of yellow bees, as of course we all will. I might give other methods which would render unnecessary this caution, but they are to my mind inferior, and not to be recommended. If we: proceed as above described, the bees will seldom prepare to swarm at all,and if they do they will be discovered in the act, by such frequent examinations, and the work may be cut short by at once dividing such colonies, as first explained,

260 Absconding Swarms.

and destroying their queen-cells, or, if desired, using them for forming new nuclei..

CAPTURING ABSCONDING SWARMS.

Sometimes swarms break cluster and take wing for their prospective home, before the bee-keeper has hived them. Throwing dirt among them will sometimes cause them to light again. Throwing water among them in form of a fine spray (Fig. 98) will almost always do this. For such purpose some hand pump is very desirable. Whitman’s fountain pump is one of the most convenient. Another important use for such a pump in the apiary is this: If a swarm when clustered be sprinkled occasionally it will remain clustered indefinitely. It costs about $7.00. While most customs have a reasonable basis, the common one of horns and bells and beating of pans to stop a swarm is a notable exception. It does not the least good.

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Superiority of Italians. 261

CHAPTER X17. ITALIANS AND ITALIANIZING.

The history and description of Italians have already been considered, so it only remains to discuss the subject in a practical light.

The superiority of the Italians seems no longer a mooted question. I now know of no one among the able apiarists in our country who takes the ground that a thorough bal- ancing of qualities will make as favorable a showing for the German as for the Italian bees, though I think that the late Baron of Berlepsch held to this view.

I think I am capable of acting as judge on this subject. I have never sold a dozen queens in my life, and so have not been unconsciously influenced by self-interest. In fact, I have never had, if I except two years, any direct inter- est in bees at all, and all my work and experiments had only the promotion and spread of truth as the ultimatum. Again, I have kept both blacks and Italians side by side and carefully observed and noted results during eight years of my experience. I have carefully collected data as to increase of brood, rapidity of storing, early and late habits in the day and season, kinds of flowers visited, amia- bility, etc., and I am more than persuaded that the gen- eral verdict, that they are superior to the German race, is entirely correct. The Italians are far superior to the Ger- man bees in many respects, and though I am acquainted with all the works on apiculture printed in our language, and have an extensive acquaintance with the leading apia- rists of our country from Maine to California, yet I know hardly a man that has had opportunity to form a correct judgment, that does not give strong preference to the Ital- ians. The black bees are in some respects superior to the Italians, and if a bee-keeper’s methods cause Him to give these points undue importance, in forming his judgments, then his conclusions may be wrong. Faulty management, too, may lead to wrong conclusions.

«

262 Excellencies of Italians.

The Italians certainly possess the following points of superiority:

First. They possess longer tongues, and so can gather from flowers which are useless to the black bee. This point has already been sufficiently considered. How much value hangs upon this structural peculiarity I am unable to state. I have frequently seen Italians working on red clover. I never saw a black bee thus employed. It is easy to see that this might be, at certain times and certain seasons, a very material aid. How much of the superior storing qualities of the Italians is due to this lengthened ligula, Iam unable to say. Mr. J. H. Martin has a very ingenious tongue measurer by which the length of the tongues of bees in the several hives can be quickly and accurately compared. I have made a very simple and con- venient instrument to accomplish the same end; two rec- tangular pieces, one of glass and the other of wire gauze, are so set in a frame that the glass inclines to the gauze. At one end they touch; at the other they are separated three-fourths of an inch. Honey is spread on the -glass and all set in the hive. The bees can only sip the honey through the gauze. The bees that clean the glass farthest from the end where it touches the ‘gauze have the longest tongues. This gives only relative lengths, while Mr. Martin’s register tells the absolute length.

Second, They are more active, and with the same oppor- tunities will collect a good deal more honey. This is a matter of observation, which I have tested over and over again, Yet I will give the figures of another: Mr. Doo- little secured from two colonies, 309 lbs. and 301 Ibs. respectively, of comd honey, during the past season. These surprising figures, the best he could give, were from his best Italian stocks. Similar testimony comes from Klein and Dzierzon over the sea, and from hosts of our own apiarists.

Third. They work earlier and later. This is not only true of the day, but of the season. On cool days in spring, I have seen the dandelions swarming with Italians, while not a black bee was to be seen. On May 7th, 1877, I walked less than half a mile, and counted. sixty-eight bees

Points of Superiority of Italians. 2623

gathering from dandelions, yet only two were black bees. This might be considered an undesirable feature. Yet from careful observation covering twenty years, I think that Italian bees are quite as apt to winter well and pass the spring months without harm as are black bees.

Fourth. They are far better to protect their hives against robbers. Robbers that attempt to plunder Italians of their hard-earned stores soon find that they have “dared to beard the lion in his den.” This is so patent that even the advo- cates of black bees are ready to concede it.

fifth. They are proof against the ravages of the bee- moth’s larva. This is also universally conceded. This is no very great advantage, as no respectable bee-keeper would dread moths, even with the black bees.

Sixth. The queens are decidedly more prolific. This is probably in part due to the greater and more constant activity of the workers. This is observable at all seasons, but more especially when building up in the spring. No one who will take the pains to note the increase of brood will long remain in doubt on this point.

Seventh. They are less apt to breed in winter, when it is desirable to have the bees very quiet. :

Eighth. The queen is more readily found, which is a great advantage. In the various manipulations of the apiary, it is frequently desirable to find the queen. In full colo- nies I would rather find three Italian queens than one black one. Where time is money, this becomes a matter of much importance.

Ninth. The bees are more disposed to adhere to the comb while being handled, which some might regard a doubtful compliment, though I consider it a desirable quality.

Tenth. They are,in my judgment, less liable to rob other bees. They will find honey when the blacks gather none, and the time for robbing is when there is no gather- ing. This may explain the above peculiarity.

Eleventh, In my estimation, a sufficient ground for pref- erence, did it stand alone; is that the Italian bees are far more amiable. Years agoI got rid of my black bees, because they were so cross. A few years later, I got two or. three colonies, that my students might see the difference, but to

261 What Bees to Keep.

my regret; for, as we removed the honey in the autumn, they seemed perfectly furious, like demons, seeking whom they might devour, and this, too, despite the smoker, while the far more numerous Italians were safely handled, even. without smoke. The experimentat least satisfied a large class of students as to superiority. Mr. Quinby speaks in his book of their being cross, and Captain Hetherington tells me that if not much handled they are more cross than the blacks, From my own experience, I cannot understand this. Hy- brids, between blacks and Italians, are even more cross than are the pure black bees, but otherwise are nearly as desir- able as the pure Italians.

I have kept these two races side by side for years; I have studied them most carefully, and I feel sure that none of the above eleven points of excellence are too strongly stated,

The black bees will go into sections more readily than Italians, yet the skillful apiarist will find it easy to over- come this objection in manner already described.

There is no question but that the German bees produce nicer, whiter comb honey than do the Italians. This supe- riority is due in part to thicker cappings, and to a wider air space between honey and capping. This, however, is too nice a point to count very greatly in their favor. The comb honey produced by Italians does not have to go begging in the markets.

The advantages of the Italians, which have been consid- ered thus fully, are more than sufficient to warrant the exclusion of the German bees from the apiary. Truly, no one needs to be urged to a course that adds to the ease, profit and agreeableness of his vocation.

THE NEW RACES OF BEES.

All of the valuable characteristics of the Italian bees are exaggerated in the Syrian bees, except that of amiability. This feature, irritability, would not be an objection to an experienced bee-keeper. I believe, after several years’ experience with the Syrians, that they will soon ‘be as pleasant to manage and handle as are the Italians. They are not so readily subdued with smoke as are the Italiane,

Introduction of Queens, 265

and require careful handling. They are astonishingly prc- lific, and keep up the brood rearing whether there are nec- tar-secreting flowers or not. For queen rearing they are super-excellent, The comb honey of these bees is said to be quite inferior, because of thin caps; a point I have failed to observe. I think the honey about equal to that of tke Italians in appearance. The Cyprian bees are in no way superior to the Syrians, so far as I can learn, though I have had no experience with them, and they are consid- erably more irritable. The Carniolans are much praised by European bee-keepers. They are certainly very amiable and so excellent for the beginner. I am now breeding from a cross between the Syrian and Carniolan, and hope in time to develop a race of superior excellence.

WHAT BEES SHALL WE KEEP?

The beginner certainly better keep Italians or Carnio- lans. Ifthe Syrians maintain their apparent superiority, I would certainly advise the experienced bee-keeper to give them a trial.

HOW TO ITALIANIZE.

From what has been already explained regarding the natural history of bees, it will be seen that all we have to do to change our bees is to change our queens. Hence, to Italianize a colony, we have only to procure and introduce an Italian queen. The same of course is true of Cyprian- izing or Syrianizing. If we change the queen we soon change the bees.

HOW TO INTRODUCE A QUEEN.

In dividing colonies, where we give our queen to a col- ony composed wholly of young bees, it is safe and easy to introduce a queen in the manner explained in the section on artificial increase of colonies. To introduce a queen to a colony composed of old bees requires more care. First, we should seek out the old queen and destroy her, then cage our Italian.queen in a wire cage (Fig. 99), which may be made by winding a strip of wire cloth, three and

266 ueen Introduction by Caging.

one-half inches wide, and containing fifteen to twenty meshes to the inch, about the finger. Let it lap each way one-half inch, then cut it off. Ravel out the half-inch on each side, and weave in the ends of the wires, forming a tube the size of the finger. We now have only to put the aueen in the tube and pinch the ends together, and the queen is caged. The cage containing the queen should be

Queen Cage.

inserted between two adjacent combs containing honey, each of which will touch it. The queen can thus sip honey as she needs it. If we fear the queen may not be able to sip the honey through the meshes of the wire, we may dip a piece of clean sponge in honey and insert it in the upper end of the cage before we compress this end. This will furnish the queen with the needed food. In forty-eight hours we again open the hive, after a thorough smoking, and also the cage, which is easily done by pressing the upper end at right angles to the direction of the pressure when we closed it. In doing this do not remove the cage. Now keep watch, and if, as the bees enter the cage or as the queen emerges, the bees attack her, secure her imme- diately and re-cage her for another forty-eight hours. I have introduced many queens in this manner, and have very rarely been unsuccessful. At such times if the queen is not well received by the bees, then she is “balled,” as it is termed. By the expression “balling the queen,” we mean that the worker hees press about her in a compact cluster, so as to form a real live ball as large as a good sized peach. Here the queen is held till she dies; or at least I have repeatedly had queens balled and the next day would find them in front of the hive dead. By smoking the ball or throwing it into water the queen may be speedily

The Peet Cage. 267

liberated. Mr. Dadant stops the cage with a plug of wood (Fig. 99), and when he goes to liberate the queen replaces the wooden stopple with one of comb, and leaves the bees to liberate the queen by eating out the comb. Mr. Bet- singer uses a larger cage, open at one end, which is pressed against the comb till the mouth of the cage reaches the middle of it. If I understand him, the queen is thus held by cage and comb till the bees liberate’ her.

If, upon liberating the queen, we find that the bees “ball” her, that is, gather so closely about ‘her as to form a compact cluster, we must at once smoke the bees off and re-cage the queen, else they will hold her a prisoner till she is dead.

The Peet cage (Figs. 95 and 100), which is not only an introducing but a shipping cage, is a most valuable inven- tion. The back of the cage is tin (Fig. 95), and may be drawn out, which leaves the back of the cage entirely open. The pieces in front are to be tacked on in shipping.

Fic. 100.

Queen Cage.

They prevent the accompanying bees from stinging any one who may handle the cage and also secure ventilation. The tin points, which turn easily, are turned at right angles to the cage, as shown in the figure. The cage is pressed close up to a smooth piece of comb containing both brood and honey, where it is held by the tin points, and then the tin back is withdrawn. The bees will soon eat under the comb and thus liberate the queen.and almost always accept her. I have had such admirable success with this cage

268 Introduction of Queens.

that I heartily recommend it. The food in the cage will keep the queen, even though the bees do not feed her through the wire, and there is no honey in the comb,

Judge Andrews, of Texas, states a valuable point in this connection, which, though I have not tried, I am glad to give. The reputation of Judge Andrews and the value of the suggestion alike warrant it. He says queens will be accepted just as-quickly when caged in a hive with a colony of bees, even though the old queen is still at large in the hive. Such caged queens, says the Judge, after two or three days, are just as satisfactory to the worker bees as though “to the manor born,” and even more safe when liberated-—of course the old queen is first removed—as the bees start no queen-cells, if the old queen has remained in the hive until this time, and the presence of queen-cells agitates the newly liberated queen, which is pretty sure to cause her destruction. Here then we may cage and keep our queens after they have been fecundated in the nuclei, and at any time can take one of these, or the old queen, at pleasure, to use elsewhere, though if the latter, we must liberate one of the caged queens, which, says the Judge, “will always be welcomed by the bees.” Mr. Doolittle, as already stated, causes the bees to fill themselves with honey, then shakes them into a box, which is set for a day in a cool, dark room, when the new queen can be given them at once, even though she be a virgin. It is also stated that if we remove a queen at noonday, and after dark smoke the colony, after keeping the queen fasting for half an hour, we may safely introduce her at once. I have tried neither of these methods. I think this is the method of Mr. Simmins, of England.

When bees are not storing, especially if robbers are abundant, it is more difficult to succeed, and at such times the utmost caution will occasionally fail of success if the bees are not all young. Sometimes a queen may be safely introduced into a queenless colony by simply shaking the bees all down in front of the hive, and as they pass in, let- ting the queen run in with them. If the queen to be intro- duced is in a nucleus, we can almost always introduce her safely by taking the frame containing the queen, bees and

Tu Introduce Valuable Queens. 26)

all, and setting it in the middle of the hive containing the queenless colony; though it is well to smoke the colony well.

A young queen, just emerging from a cell, can always be safely given at once to the colony, after destroying the old queen.

A queen-cell is usually received with favor, especially if the colony has been queenless for twenty-four hours. If we use a cell we must be careful to destroy all other queen- cells that may be formed; and if the one we supply is destroyed, wait twenty-four hours and introduce another. If we wait seven or eight days, and then destroy all their queen-cells, the bees are sure to accept a cell. But to save time I should always introduce a queen. 3

If we are to introduce an imported queen, or one of very great value, we might make a new colony, all of young bees. We simply place two or three combs of fully ma- tured brood in a hive, and the queen on them. By night- fall there will be a goodly cluster of young bees. Unless the day and night are warm the hive must be set in a warm room. The entrance should be closed in any case. This keeps the queen from leaving and robber bees from doing harm. Asthe number of bees warrant it, more brood may be added, and by adding capped brood alone we may very soon have a full sized colony.

By having a colony thus Italianized in the fall, we may commence the next spring, and, as described in the section explaining the rearing of queens, we may control our rear- ing of drones, queens, and ail and ere another autumn have only the beautiful, pure, amiable, and active Italians. I have done this several times, and with the most perfect satisfaction. I think by making this change in blood, we add certainly two dollars to the value of each colony, and I know of no other way to make money so easily and

pleasantly. VALENTINE’S COMB STAND.

In the work of finding queens, and in other manipula- tions, it is often desirable to take out frames. If these are set down beside the hive they are liable to injury. J. M.

Devices for Holding Frames.

Fic. 101.

Young’s Eacel,

Dollar Queens Preferred. 271

Valentine has given us a valuable “comb stand” (Fig. 101 »s As will be seen this holds two frames. The platform is handy to receive tools, and the drawer serves well to hold scissors, knife, queen cages, etc.

Mr. M. G. Young has invented an “ Easel” (Fig. 101) for the same purpose. This will hold several combs. Of course it will not do to leave combs thus exposed, except when the bees are busy in the field; or we will have great trouble with robber bees.

TO GET OUR ITALIAN QUEENS,

At present the novice, and probably the honey producer who prefers to purchase rather than rear his queens, better send to some reliable, experienced breeder, and procure “dollar queens.” Unless these are impurely mated, which will rarely happen with first-class breeders, they are just as good as “tested queens.” Testing only refers to the matter of pure mating.

I have felt, and still feel, that this cheap queen traffic tends to haste, not care, in breeding, and that with “dollar queens” ruling in the market, there is lack of inducement for that careful, painstaking labor that is absolutely requisite to give us the best race of bees. It is justly claimed, how- ever, in favor of the “dollar queen” business, that it has hastened the spread of ‘Italian bees, gives those who rather buy than rear their queens a cheap market in which to pur- chase, and, best of all, weeds out of the business all but the most skillful, cautious, and honest breeders. Only skillful men can make it pay. Only cautious, honest men can find a market for their stock. We know that men are making a handsome profit in the business and at the same time are giving excellent satisfaction. This is the best argument in favor of any business. I repeat, then, that the beginner better purchase “dollar queens” of some reliable breeder— one who has made queen rearing a success for years, and given general satisfaction.

I have feared that this “cheap queen” traffic would crush the hard effort, requiring study, time, money, and the most cautious experiment and observation, necessary to give us a very superior race of bees. There is reason to hope now

.

272 Viallon Candy. . that it will, at most, only delay it. Enterprising apiarists see in this the greatest promise for improved apiculture, and already are moving forward. Enterprising bee-kcep- ers will purchase and pay well for the bee of the future that gives sure evidence of superior excellence. One thing is certain, “dollar queens” are in the market, and are in demand; so, whether the business tends to our good or evil, as rational men we must accept the situation and make the most of things as they exist. , Let me urge, however, upon the progressive apiarist, that there is no possible doubt but that the bees of the future will be immensely superior to those of to-day. Man can and will advance here as he has in breeding all other stock. If the obstacles in the way are greater because of the pecu- liar natural history of the bee, then the triumph, when it comes, will be greater, and the success more praiseworthy.

TO SHIP QUEENS.

For shipping queens the character of the shipping cage and of the food are of first importance. Nothing serves better for a cage than Peet’s cage (Fig. 100), already men- tioned. As will be seen the bees are covered with a double screen—one of wire, the other (removed in the figure) of wood. These are separated one-fourth of an inch. The food should never be honey. This may daub the queen and cause her death. If the food consists of hard candy, then the cage must contain a bottle of water, the cork of which has a small opening, through which is passed a small cotton string. These bottles are not satisfactory, and so our queen-breeders have discovered a moist candy which makes them unnecessary.

VIALLON CANDY.

This candy, suggested by Paul L. Viallon, keeps moist for a week or more. To make it, we take twelve ounces of powdered white sugar, four ounces of brown sugar, one tablespoonful of flour, and two of honey. Stir these well, adding enough water to make a stiff batter, then boil for a moment, and longer if we added too much water, after which we stir till it begins to thicken, when we turn it into

The Gcod Candy. 273

the cage. The cage (Fig. 102) should be long enough to receive two half-inch auger holes in the wood and at the

Fic. 102.

Peet Cage.

end, which should be cut half way through the block, so near the chamber as to cut away an opening large enough for the bees to get at the food. The candy should be turned into these holes. The wire gauze should cover these holes, as well as the chamber for the bees.

THE GOOD CANDY. .

This consists of granulated sugar moistened with extracted honey. We are indebted to Mr. I. R. Good for this cheap and excellent food, although a similar candy was recom- mended in Germany years ago. The only caution required is to get it just moist enough to keep it soft and not so moist that it will drip at all. The end of the cage (Fig. 102) to contain this should extend one and one-half inches beyond the chamber made for the bees. Through this end bore one or two three-eighths inch holes. Fill these with the candy, and if bored lengthwise, as they often are, insert a wooden cork into the holes at the end of the cage. The fault with this candy is that it crumbles, as the honey is sipped from it, or evaporates. With the holes as sug- gested above, we find this is obviated. With this candy I have had queens on the road two weeks without the loss of a single bee.

PREPARATIONS TO SHIP.

The tin on the back of the cage has one corner cut off a little, so if we draw it back slightly we make a small open-

18

274 Moving Colonies.

ing. We now hold the cage in the left hand with the thumb over the hole, to keep the bees in, and with the right hand pick up the queen and eight or ten worker bees —bright ones, neither very young nor old—by grasping the wings with thumb and index finger, and put them into the cage. Close the opening by pushing in the tin slide, nail on the wooden screen (Fig. 100), and our queen is ready to mail. In this work we can make good use of the comb stand (Fig. 101).

We should send queens by mail. They go as safely as by express and it costs but a cent or two. Vo one should presume, on any account, to send a gueen by matt, unless the queen cage is covered by this double screen and ts pro- visioned as directed above, instead of with honey. lf ship- pers neglect these precautions, so that the mails become daubed, or the mail agents stung, we shall again lose the privilege of sending queens by mail.

5 TO MOVE COLONIES.

Should we desire to purchase Italians or other colonies, the only requisites to safe transport are: A wire-cloth cover for ventilation, securé fastening of the frames so they can- not possibly move, and combs so old that they shall not break down and fall out. In spring, wire gauze over the entrance usually affords enough ventilation. If the col- ony is very large, and the weather very warm, the entire top of the hive should be open and covered with gauze, or the bees may smother. The entrance ought also to be cov- ered with gauze. Dr. C. C. Miller, in his valuable little book “ A Year among the Bees,” offers a good suggestion. It is to double a narrow piece of wire gauze, a little longer than the entrance to the hive, and tack the cut edges to one side of a similar shaped piece of soft wood, so that it will project one-half inch below. By screwing or tack- ing this strip just above the entrance of a hive, we quickly shut the bees in. Several of these may be made in ad- vance. I find them very convenient. If combs are built from wired foundation they will not break down even if new. Bees thus shut up should never be left where the sun can shine on them. In the cars the frames should

.

Moving Colonies. 275

extend lengthwise of the. cars. In moving in a wagon springs or a good bed of straw should be used, and the frames should extend crosswise of the wagon. I would never advise moving bees in winter, though it has often been done with entire safety. I should wish the bees to shave a flight very soon after such disturbance,

°

276 The Honey Extractor.

CHAPTER XI,

EXTRACTING AND THE EXTRACTOR. ‘

The brood chamber is often so filled with honey that the queen has no room to lay her eggs, especially if there is any neglect to give other room for storing. Honey in brood-combs is unsalable, because the combs are dark, and the size undesirable. Comb is very valuable, and should never be taken from the bees, except when desired to ren- der the honey more marketable. Hence, the apiarist finds a very efficient auxiliary in the

HONEY EXTRACTOR.

No doubt some have expected and claimed too much for this machine. It is equally true that some have blundered quite as seriously in an opposite direction. For, since Mr. Langstroth gave the practical movable frame to the world the apiarist has not been so deeply indebted to any Tventon as to him who gave us the Mel Extractor, Herr von Hruschka, of Germany.

The principle which makes this machine effective is-that of centrifugal force, and it was suggested to Major von Hruschka by noticing that a piece of comb which was twirled by his boy at the end of a string was emptied of its honey. Herr von Hruschka’s machine was essentially like those now so common, though in lightness and con- venience there has been a marked improvement. His machine consisted of a wooden tub, with a vertical axle in the center, which revolved in a socket fastened to the bottom of the vessel, while from the top of the tub fasten- ings extended to the axle, which projected for a distance above. The axle was thus held exactly in the center of the tub. Attached to the axle was a frame or rack to hold the comb, whose outer face rested against a wire cloth. The axle with its attached frame, which latter held the uncapped comb, was made to revolve by rapidly unwinding a string

American Honey Extractors. 294

which had been previously wound about the top of the axle, after the manner of top-spinning. Replace the wooden tub with one of tin, and the string with gearing, and it will be seen that we have essentially the neat extractor of to-day. The machine is of foreign invention, is not covered by a patent, and so may be made by any one who desires to do so.

Fic. 103.

SEUPELEEL

ig

Comb Basket.

Fic. 105.

United States Extractor, Muth Extractor,

The first American honey extractor was that made by Messrs. Langstroth and Wagoner (see Am. Bee Jour- nal, Vol. 3, No. 10), in the year 1867. As we should expect, our enterprising friends, A. I. Root (Novice), M. M. Bald- ridge, and others were soon in the field. Some of these early extractors, like the Peabody, ran without gearing ; others, like Mr. Baldridge’s, were of wood, while Mr.

278 Valuable Points in a Honey Extractor.

Langstroth’s, if we may judge from the engraving, was very much like the ones of to-day.

DESIRABLE POINTS IN AN EXTRACTOR.

The machine (Fig. 103) should be as light as is con- sistent with strength. It is desirable that the can be made of tin, as it will be neater and more easily kept sweet and clean. The can should be stationary, so that only a light frame (Fig. 104) shall revolve with the comb. In some

Fic. 106,

Automatic Extractor.

of the extractors (Fig. 104) the walls of this frame incline- This keeps the frames from falling in when the machine is at rest, but varies the centrifugal force at the top and bottom of the comb, which is urged as an objection. Of course this difference in force is very slight. Some of the extractors, like the United States (Fig. 103), are made so that the whole centcr can be removed in a moment, and

Honey Extractor Described. 279

with the central axis removed so that combs can be reversed without removal from the hive, both of which are sub- stantial improvements. But the most decided improve- ment is seen in the automatic extractor. This extractor (Fig. 106) is so made that the combs can be quickly reversed without removal from the extractor. This machine, although it costs more than any other, will be especially prized in large apiaries. Simply by reversing the motion the combs are also reversed.

It is desirable that the machine should run with gear- ing, not only for ease, but also to insure or allow an even motion, so that we need not throw even drone larve from the brood-cells, while in the act of extracting. In some machines the crank runs in a horizontal plane (Fig. 103),

Fic. 107,

in others in a vertical plane (Fig. 105). Both styles have their friends. I think there is little choice between them. The arrangement for exit of the honey should permit a speedy and perfect shut-off. A molasses gate is excellent to serve fora faucet. I also prefer that the can should hold 30 or 4o pounds of honey before it would be necessary to let the honey flow from it.

In case of small frames, I should prefer that the comb basket might hold four frames. The comb basket should ‘ be placed so low in the can that no honey will be thrown over the top to daub the person using the extractor. I think that a wire attachment with a tin bottom (Fig 107, a, 6) and made to hook on to the comb basket, which will

280 When to Extract.

hold pieces of comb not in frames, is a desirable addition to an extractor.

The can, if metal, which is lighter and to be preferred to wood, as it does not sour nor absorb the honey, should be of tin, so as not to rust. A cover (Fig. 105) to protect the honey from dust, when not in use, is very desirable. The circular cloth cover, gathered around the edge by a string or a rubber, as made by Mr. A. I. Root, is excellent for this purpose. As no capped honey can be extracted, it is necessary to uncap it, which is done by shaving off the thin caps. To do this, nothing is comparable in excellence

Fie. 108,

*

to the Bingham & Hetherington honey knife (Fig. 108). After a thorough trial of this knife, here at the college, we pronounce it decidedly superior to any other that we have used, though we have several of the principal knives made in the United States. I do not think the bee-keeper can afford to use any other knife. This knife is peculiar for its thick blade which is beveled to the edge.

USE OF THE EXTRACTOR.

Although some of our most experienced apiarists say nay, it is nevertheless a fact, that the queen sometimes remains idle, or extrudes her eggs only to be lost, simply because there are no empty cells. The honey yield is so great that the workers occupy every available space, and sometimes even they become unwilling idlers, simply because of necessity. Itis true that the proper arrangement and best management of frames for surplus would prevent this. Yet in every apiary such a condition will occasionally occur; at such times we should always extract from the’ brood nest.

The extractor also enables the apiarist to secure honey-— extracted honey—in poor seasons, when he could get very

When to Extract, 281

little, if any, in sections or boxes. By use of the extractor we can avoid swarming, and thus work for honey instead of increase of colonies.

By use of the extractor, at any time or season, the apiarist —especially the beginner—can secure nearly if not quite double the amount of honey that he could get in combs. It requires much more skill to succeed in procuring comb honey than is.required to secure extracted. The beginner will usually succeed far better if he work for extracted honey.

The extractor enables us to remove uncapped honey in the fall, which, if left in the hive, may prove injurious to the bees.

By use of the extractor, too, we can throw the honey from -our surplus brood-combs in the fall, and thus have a salable article, and have the empty combs, which are invaluable for use the next spring.

If the revolving racks of the extractor have a wire basket attachment (Fig. 107) as I have suggested, the uncapped sections can be emptied in the fall and used the following spring at a marked advantage. Pieces of drone-comb cut from the brood chamber, which are so admirable for starters in the sections, can be emptied of their honey at any season.

By use of the extractor, we can furnish, at two-thirds the price we ask for comb honey, an article which is equal, if not superior, to the best comb honey, and which, were it not for appearance alone, would soon drive the latter from the market.

Indeed, extracted honey is gaining so rapidly in public favor that even now its production is far in excess of that of comb honey.

WHEN TO USE THE EXTRACTOR.

If extracted honey can be sold for fifteen cents, or even for ten or twelve, the extractor may be used profitably the summer through; otherwise it may be used as suggested by the principles stated above.

I would always extract just as the bees commence cap- ping the honey. Then we avoid the labor of uncapping,

282 Care of Extracted Floney.

and still have the honey thick and nearly ripe, as it is styled. I have proved over and over that honey may be extracted when quite thin, and artificially ripened or evaporated, and equal the very best. However, as there is danger of imper- fect ripening, it is wisest to leave it in the combs till the bees commence capping it. Many tier up’and leave all in the hive till the busy season is over, then extract all, when the honey is of course thick and of the best quality. This is the method advised and practiced by such able authorities asthe Dadants. If the honey granulates, it can be reduced to the fluid state with no injury, by heating, though the temperature should never rise above 200° F. This can best be done by placing the vessel containing the honey in another containing water, though if the second vessel be set on a stove, a tin basin or pieces of wood should prevent the honey vessel from touching the bottom, else the honey will burn. As before stated, the best honey is pretty sure to crystallize, but it may be prevented by keeping it in a temperature which is constantly above 80° F, If canned honey is set on top of a furnace in which a fire is kept burn- ing, it will remain liquid indefinitely. If honey is heated to 180° F. and sealed, it will generally remain ever after liquid. Granulated honey, if reduced will often remain permanently liquid. It is a curious fact that unripe honey is quicker to granulate than is honey that is thoroughly evaporated.

The fact that honey granulates is the best test of its purity. To be sure, some honey does not crystallize, but if honey does we may pretty safely decide that it is unadulterated.

To render the honey free from small pieces of comb or other impurities, it should either be passed through a cloth or wire sieve—I purposely refrain from the use of the word strainer, as we should neither use the word strained, nor allow it to be used, in connection with extracted honey—or else draw it off into a barrel, with a faucet or molasses gate

_near the lower end, and after all particles of solid matter have risen to the top, draw off the clear honey from the bottom. In case of very thick honey, this method is not so satisfactory as the first. I hardly need say that honey,

How to Extract. 283

when heated, is thinner, and will of course pass more read- ily through common toweling or fine wire cloth.

Never allow the queen to be forced to idleness for want of empty cells. Extract all uncapped honey in the fall, and the honey from all the brood-combs not needed for winter. The honey should also be thrown from pieces of drone-comb which are cut from the brood-frames, and from the uncapped comb in sections at the close of the season.

HOW TO EXTRACT. The apiarist should possess one or two light comb boxes or baskets (Fig. 109), of sufficient size to hold all the

frames from asingle hive. These should have convenient handles, and a close-fitting cover. Now, go to two or

Fic. 109.

Comb Box.

three colonies, and take enough combs for'a colony. The bees may be shaken off or brushed off with a large feather, pine twig, or other brush. A little experience makes it easy to shake bees—even Italians—from a'comb. A quick, forcible, vertical jerk will always doit. We often find that a mild jar, quickly followed by an energetic one, will fell nearly every bee from the comb. The Davis brush (Fig. 110) is excellent for removing bees from the combs. It is

284 Method of Extracting.

kept for sale by supply dealers. If the bees are trouble- some, close the box as soon as each comb is placed inside. Extract the honey from these, using care not to turn so hard as to throw out the brood. If capped, with a thin knife pare off the caps, and after throwing the honey from one side, turn the comb around, and extract it from the other. -If the combs are of very different weights, it will be better for the extractor to use those of nearly equal weights on opposite sides, as the strain will be much less,

Fic. 110,

Davis Brush,

Now take these combs to another colony, whose combs shall be replaced by them. -Then close the hive, extract this second set of combs, and thus proceed till all the honey has been extracted. At the close, the one or two colonies from which the first combs were taken shall receive pay from the last set extracted, and thus, with much saving of time, little disturbance of bees, and the least invitation to robbing, in case there is no gathering, we have gone rap- idly through the apiary.

Some apiarists take the first set of combs from a single colony and leave that colony without combs till they are through for the day. If the bee-keeper works for extracted honey the extracting combs should be kept separately in an upper story (Figs. 60 and 61), while the queen and

Preserving Extracted FHoney. 285

breeding should be kept below in the lower story of the hive.

In case the bees are not gathering, we shall escape rob- bing and stings by use of the tent (Fig. 111). This covers

Fig. It.

Root's Bee. Tent, Folded und Pitched,

the hive and operator. The one figured is very ingenious in its construction, is light and cheap. Mr. Root sells it all made for use for one dollar.

TO KEEP EXTRACTED HONEY.

Extracted honey, if to be sold in cans or bottles, may be run into them from the extractor. The honey should be thick, and the vessels may be sealed or corked, and boxed at once. ;

If large quantities of honey are extracted, it may be most conveniently kept in barrels. These should be first-class, and ought to be waxed before using them, to make assur- ance doubly sure against any leakage. To wax the barrels, we may use beeswax, but paraffine is cheaper, and just as efficient. Three or four quarts of the hot paraffine or wax

286 Preserving Extracted Honey.

should be turned into the barrel, the bung driven in tight, the barrel twirled in every position, after which the bung is loosened by a blow with the hammer, and the residue of the wax turned out. Economy requires that the barrels be warm when waxed, so that only a thin coat will be appro- priated. I think of late soft wood barrels are being used almost exclusively for honey. These must be tight without soaking, though it is well to drive the hoops well before using them. We should also test them by use of a little hot water before use. If when sealed no steam escapes they are surely tight.

Large tin cans, waxed and soldered at the openings after being filled, are cheap, and may be the most desirable receptacles for extracted honey. Tin cans are rapidly replacing barrels for honey. These are made of various sizes and are shipped either in a wooden jacket, or packed in barrels.

Extracted honey unless sealed should always be kept in dry apartments. If thin when extracted, it should be kept in open barrels or cans in a warm, dry room till it has thor- oughly ripened. If quite thin it must be kept in quite a warm room, in very shallow vessels. In this way I have ripened very thin honey, so it was of excellent quality. In all such cases the vessels should be covered by cheese cloth.

Preparation for Comb Honey. 287

CHAPTER XIII.

WORKING FoR Coms Honey.

While extracted honey has so much to recommend it, and is rapidly growing in favor with American apiarists, still such reports as that of Dr. C. C. Miller, who in 1884 increased his 174 colonies to 202, and took 16,000 pounds of comb honey in one-pound sections, which netted him very nearly $3,000, and that of Mr. Doolittle, who has secured nearly 100 pounds of comb honey per colony for a long series of years, may well lead us not to ignore this branch of our business. The showy horse, or the red short- horn, may not be intrinsically superior to the less attractive animals; but they will always win inthe market. So comb honey, in the beautiful one-pound sections, will always attract buyers and secure the highest price. As more embark in the production of extracted honey, higher will be the price of the irresistible, incomparable comb honey. Well then may we study how to secure the most of this exquisite product of the bees, in a form that shall rival in attractiveness that of the product itself, for very likely the state of the market in some localities will make its pro- duction the most profitable feature of apiculture.

POINTS TO CONSIDER.

To secure abundance of comb honey the colonies must be very strong, and the brood-combs full of brood at the dawn of the honey harvest. The swarming fever must be kept at bay or cured, before the rapid storing com- mences, and the honey should be secured in the most attract- ive form.

TO SECURE STRONG COLONIES.

By feeding daily, whenever the bees are not storing, commencing as soon as the bees commence to store pollen, we shall almost certainly, if the bees have been well win- teréd, secure this result. We should also use the division

288 To Avoid Swarming.

board, and keep the bees crowded, especially if weak in the spring. Only give them the number of combs that they can cover. Keep them warmly covered. Though this last may with proper management be unnecessary, it certainly does no harm; it may aid greatly. True, Mr. Heddon objects to this work of feeding and manipulating division boards, and makes much honey and money. I have often wondered what his genius and skill would accom- plish should he vary his method in this respect. Instead of feeding by use of the White (Fig. 91) or other feeder, we may uncap a comb of honey and with it separate combs of brood as the bees get two or three full frames of the latter, This will stimulate the bees, and as they will carry the honey from the uncapped cells the queen will be impelled to most rapid laying. We may also fill empty combs as already described and place these in or close beside the brood-nest. By turning around the brood combs, or separating them by adding combs with empty cells as the colonies gain in strength, we hasten brood-rearing to the utmost. This matter of separating the brood-combs must be very cautiously managed or brood will be chilled and much harm done.

TO AVOID THE SWARMING FEVER.

This is not always possible by any method, and has ever been the obstacle in the way of successful comb-honey pro- duction. The swarming impulse and great yields of this de- lectable product are entirely antagonistic. Mr. James Hed- don, Davis, and others let the bees swarm. They hive these swarms on foundation, and hope to have this all done, and. both colonies strong, in time for the honey harvest. Messrs. Hutchinson and Doolittle hive the swarm on empty frames, always, however, with starters, placing sections with their foundation or better, comb on the hive at once. They also restrict the brood chamber, either by filling space with division boards (Doolittle), or by using the lower half of a horizontally divided brood chamber (Hutchinson, see new Heddon hive, p. 189). In this way the whole work- ing force is put at once into the sections. Some of our best Michigan and New York bee-keepers, with Dr.

Arrangements for Comb Honcy’. 289

Miller, let the bees swarm, and return them, either caging the queen or placing her in a nucleus for seven days, then return her to the bees, after cutting out the queen-cells. This takes nothing from the energy of the bees, and will doubtless work best of all methods in the hands of the beginner. In this case, as the full energies of the colony are turned to storing, the amount of honey would be theoret- ically greater. My practice sustains the theory. Such authorities as Messrs. Hetherington and Elwood practice this method. J. H. Robertson kills the old queen, and in seven days destroys all but the largest queen-cell, and so gains the same end, and re-queens his apiary. If increase is desired, however, then Mr. Hutchinson’s method should be followed. The yield of comb honey in this last case will not.usually be so great, though in excellent seasons it may be greater.

Some very able bee-keepers manipulate so skillfully, by adding empty combs to the hives, as to keep this swarming impulse in check, and still keep the bees increasing most rapidly. Others divide the colonies, and so hold at bay the swarming fever. All must practice as their own experience proves best, as the same method will not have equal value with different persons. We must work as best we can to secure strong colonies, and check or retard the swarming fever, and while learning by experience to do this, may well work the most of our bees for extracted honey, which is more easily secured, and is sure to be in demand, even though the price is less) The quantity may more than compensate for lower price.

ADJUSTMENT OF SECTIONS.

As before suggested, a wide space between bottom bars of séctions—three-eighths inch—is desirable. Mr. A. J. Green has half-story supers with frames only one-half as deep for extracting. These are put, one on each hive at the dawn of the honey harvest. As soon as the bees com- mence to work in them they are removed or raised and a section crate put in their place. As the bees commenee in the sections these extracting half-story hives are used one above another with such colonies as are worked for

19

290 Arrangement of Sections.

extracted honey. The sections should be on at the very dawn of each honey harvest, as white clover, basswood, etc. At first the full set of sections better not be added, but as soon as the bees commence to work well in them, then all should be added, on side and top, if side storing is practiced, and if we wish to tier up, the crate of sections first added should be raised and others added below. I like this practice of tiering up very much. As soon as the bees are working well in all the sections I raise the crate and place another underneath. This is continued often till there are three crates of sections on a single hive. As already stated it is best not to have the sections too closely shut in. Slight ventilation is desirable.

If the queen troubles by entering the sections, use may be made of the perforated zinc (Fig. 64), or better still the queen-excluding honey board (Fig. 64), to keep her from them. As already suggested, we must arrange the form and size of sections as the market and our hives and apparatus make most desirable. We may vary the size and form of our sections so as to make them smaller and yet use the same crates or frames that we used with larger sections. Small sections are most ready of sale, and safest to ship; yet with their use, we may secure less honey.

If we can get nice straight combs by having them less thick without using separators in the sections, so that these latter can be readily placed side by side in shipping crates, then we, by all means, better omit the separators. If we use separators, we can use wood or tin. Wood is cheapest, and I find that in practice it serves even better than tin.

GETTING BEES INTO SECTIONS.

The crowded hive or brood chamber, with no intent to swarm, the wide spaces between sections, and a rich harvest of nectar, will usually send the bees into the sections witha rush. If they refuse to go, sections with comb, a little drone brood, or the exchange of sections temporarily from above to the brood-nest, or the moving of a brood frame up beside the sections for a short time, as before described, will frequently start the bees into the sections. Some apia- rists have their crates with sections so made that they can

Removal of Sections. 291

be placed between the brood frames till the bees commence to work in the sections; others accomplish the same end by inverting the frames. I find that a few sections full of comb in the section crate very greatly aid to tempt the bees to work in the sections. I also have used the invert- ible frames to excellent purpose in obtaining the same result. I invert the frames and at the same time uncap the honey in them. With experience will come the skill which can accomplish this, and make comb-honey production the most fascinating feature of bee keeping.

REMOVAL OF SECTIONS.

The three-eighths inch space between the upper as well as the lower bars of the sections enables us to see quickly the condition of each section just by removal of the cover. Each section should be removed as soon as capped, if we would have it very nice. This of course can not be done unless we use separators. Any delay will make it dark and hurt its sale. During the harvest we should add other sections to take the place of those removed. Towards the close of the harvest we should not add other sections, for, by contracting the space, the last sections will be more surely filled and quickly capped. To remove the bees from single sections taken from frame or crate, we have only to brush them off,

Few bee-keepers will stop to remove single sections. In fact the tiering up process is, in my opinion, the key to the successful production of comb honey. If we remove a full crate, we can often shake a large portion of the bees from the sections, then by piling the crates in a box over-spread by a sheet, or in a bee tent, or evenin the honey house, the bees will all leave the sections. Mr. J. S. Rees, of Ken- tucky, uses double cones of wire gauze, one smaller than and within the other, to remove the bees from sections. These are fastened with their bases (Fig. 112) just over an inch hole in a board just the size of a section crate. When it is desired to clear a crate of sections of bees, the crate is raised and an empty crate with the board upon it, and the cones projecting downward, is placed beneath (Fig. 112). One need not try this to know that it would be practical.

292 The Rees and Boardman Cones.

The double cones absolutely prevent the bees from return- ing. Mr. J.S. Boardman uses a single cone (Fig. 113), for a similar purpose. Mr. Rees forms his cones by press- ing the wire between tin cones which fit into each other, Mr. Boardman forms his over hardwood cones of the size desired.

To remove the sections from the crate, we invert the crate and set it on a shallow’ box just the size of the

Fig. 112.

nn tl |

ey

The Rees Cones.

crate. This need not be more than two inches high. We now lay a block which will cover a row on the sections when by asmart blow from a mallet a whole row of sec. tions is loosened at once.

If there is any possible danger of moths, the comb hone should be fumigated by use of burning sulphur (See Bee Moth). This is a wise precaution, even though the bee-

Removal of Sections From Crate. 293

keeper rarely sees one of these insects. A single moth can stock several crates of sections with the fatal eggs.

' Mr. R. L. Taylor, one of Michigan’s most successful bee-keepers, who produces large harvests of comb honey,

Fic. 113.

Boardman Cones,

gives the following points, to be heeded in producing comb- honey: f

1. Bees must winter well.

2. There must be a goodly amount of honey in the hive in the spring. Bees never prosper on scant rations.

3. Keep colonies warm in spring.

4. Tier up and leave sections on the hive till just at the close of the season.

5. When removed, pile the crates of sections one upon another, and keep in a warm room till sold.

The above are points well worthy consideration, and may be called the axioms of comb-honey production.

294 Why Bees Sting.

CHAPTER NTV.

HANDLING BEES.

But some one asks the question, shall we not receive those merciless stings, or be introduced to what “Josh” calls the “business end of the bee?” Perhaps there is no more causeless or more common dread in existence than . this of bees’ stings. When bees are gathering, they will never sting unless provoked. When at the hives—espe- cially if Italians or Carniolans—they will rarely make an attack. The common belief, too, that some persons are more liable to attack than others, is, I think, erroneous. With the best opportunity to judge, with our hundreds of students, I think I may safely say that one is almost always. as liable to attack as another, except that he is more quiet, or does not greet the usually amiable passer-by with those terrific thrusts, which would vanquish even a practiced pugilist. Occasionally a person may have a peculiar odor about his person that angers bees and invites their darting tilts, with drawn swords, venom-tipped; yet, though I take my large classes each season, at frequent intervals, to see and handle the bees, each for himself, I still await the first proof of the fact that one person is more hable to be stung than another, providing each carries himself with that com- posed and dignified bearing that is so pleasing to the bees. True, some ;:eople, filled with dread, and the belief that bees regard them with special hate and malice, are so ready for the battle that they commence the strife with nervous. head-shakes and beating of the air, and thus force the bees. to battle, zodentes volentes. I believe that only such are regarded with special aversion by the bees. Hence, I believe that o ove need be stung.

Bees should never be jarred, nor irritated by quick motions. Those with nervous temperament—and I plead very guilty on this point—need not give up, but at first better protect their faces, and perhaps even their hands, ull time and experience show them that fear is vain; then

Bee Veil Described, 295

they will divest themselves of all such useless encumbrances. Bees are more cross when they are gathering no honey, and at such times, black bees and hybrids especialiy, are so irritable that even the experienced apiarist will wish a veil.

THE BEST BEE VEIL,

This should be made of black tarlatan, sewed up like a bag, a half yard long, without top or bottom, and with a diameter of the rim of a common straw-hat. Gather the top with braid, so that it will just slip over the crown of the hat—else, sew it to the edge of the rim of some cheap, cool hat, in fact, I prefer this style—and gather the bottom

Fic. 114.

with rubber cord or rubber tape, so that it may be drawn over the hat rim, and then over the head, as we adjust the hat. .

Some prefér to dispense with the rubber cord at the bottom (Fig. 114), and’have the veil long so as to be gathered in by the coat or dress. If the black tarlatan troubles by coloring the shirt or collar, the lower part may be made of white netting; indeed all may be made of white netting, except a small square to be worn just in front of the eyes. When in use, the rubber cord

296 Bee Dress for Ladies.

draws the lower part close about the neck, or the lower part tucks within the coat or vest (Fig. 114), and we are safe. This kind of a veil is cool, does not impede vision at all, and can be made by any woman at a cost of less than twenty cents. Common buck-skin or sheep-skin gloves can be used, as it will scarcely pay to get special gloves for the purpose, for the most timid person—I speak from experience—will soon consider gloves as unnecessary and awkward.

Special rubber gloves are sold by those who keep on hand apiarian supplies. It is reported that heavily starched linen is proof ‘against the bees’ sting, and so may be used for gloves or other clothing. Some apiarists think that dark clothing is specially obnoxious to bees. It is certainly true that fuzzy woolen, and even hairs on one’s hands are very irritating to them. Clothes with a heavy nap should be rejected by the bee-keeper, and the Esaus should singe the hair from their hands.

For ladies, my friend, Mrs. Baker, recommends a dress which, by use of a rubber skirt-lift or other device, can be instantly raised or lowered. This will be convenient in the apiary, and tidy anywhere. The Gabrielle style is pre- ferred, and of a length just to reach the floor. Itshould be. belted at the waist, and cut down from the neck in front, one-third the length of the waist, to permit the tucking in of the veil. he under.waist should fasten close about the neck. The sleeves should be quite long to allow free use of the arms, and gathered in with a rubber cord at the wrist, which will hug the rubber gauntlets or arm, and pre- vent bees from crawling up the sleeves. The pantalets should be straight and full, and should also have the rub- ber cord in the hem to draw them close about the top of the shoes.

Mrs. Baker also places great stress on the wet “ head- cap,” which she believes the meh even would find a great comfort. This is a simple, close-fitting cap, made of two — thicknesses of coarse towelling. The head is wet with cold water, and the cap wet in the same, wrung out, and placed on the head.

Mrs. Baker would have the dress neat and clean, and so

flow to Quiet Bees. 207

trimmed that the lady apiarist would ever be ready to greet her brother or sister apiarists. In such a dress there is no danger of stings, and with it there is that show of neatness and taste, without which no pursuit could attract the atten- tion, or at least the patronage, of our refined women.

TO QUIET BEES.

In harvest seasons, the bees, especially if Italians, can almost always be handled without their showing resent- ment. Our college bees—hybrids, between Syrians and Carniolans—are so gentle that I go freely among them without protection each May and June, with my large classes. At first each student puts on the veil, but soon these are thrown aside, and it is rare indeed that any one gets asting. But at other times and whenever they object to necessary familiarity, we have only to cause them to fill with honey—very likely it is the scare that quiets the bees—to render them harmless, unless we pinch them. This can be done by closing the hive so that the bees cannot get out, and then rapping on the hive for a short time. Those within will fill with honey, those without will be tamed by surprise, and all will be quiet. Sprink- ling the bees with sweetened water will also tend to render them amiable, and will make them more ready to unite, to receive a queen, and less apt to sting. Still another method, more convenient, is to smoke the bees. A little smoke blown among the bees will scarcely ever fail to quiet them, though I have known black bees, in autumn, to be very slow to yield.

The Syrian bees, when first imported, are maddened rather than quieted by use of smoke. I find, however, that with handling they soon become more like Italians. Delib- eration is specially desirable wher we first open the hive of Syrian bees.

Dry cotton cloth, closely wound and sewed or tied, or better, pieces of dry, rotten wood are excellent for the pur- pose of smoking. These are easily handled, and will burn for along time. But best of all is a

298 The Bellows Bee-Smoker.

BELLOWS SMOKER.

This is a tin tube attached to a bellows. Cloth, corn-cobs, damp shavings, or rotten wood (that which has been attacked by dry rot is the best) can be burned in the tube,

Fic. 116.

The Original BINGHAM

1 Bee Smoker

Quinby Smoker,

Patented. 1878. Bingham Smok r,

and will remain burning a long time. The smoke can be directed, at pleasure, the bellows easily worked, and the smoker used without any disagreeable effects or danger from fire.

THE QUINBY SMOKER,

Lhis smoker (Fig. 115) was a gift to bee-keepers hy the ate Mr. Quinby, and not patented. Though a similar device had been previously used in Europe, without doubt Mr. Quinby was not aware of the fact, and as he was the person to bring it to the notice of bee-keepers, and to make it so perfect as to challenge the attention and win the favor of apiarists zzstanter, he is certainly worthy of great praise, and deserving of hearty gratitude.

Mr. Bingham was the first to improve the old Quinby

Methods to Quiet Bees. ; 299

smoker in establishing a direct draft (Fig. 116). Mr. Clark next added the cold draft (Fig. 117). This has a large fire chamber, but it is awkward in form and the small cold air tube soon chokes with soot. -

There are now several smokers on the market, each of which has its merits and its friends. I have tried all, and in my opinion the Bingham is incomparably superior to any other. I should have it at double or triple the price of any other. Still I know excellent bee-keepers who prefer the Clark. No person who keeps even a single colony of bees, can afford to do without some one of them,

TO SMOKE BEES.

Approach the hive, blow a little smoke in at the entrance, then open from above, and blow in smoke as required. If,

Fic. 117.

Clark Smoker.

at any time, the bees seem irritable, a few puffs from the smoker will subdue them. Thus, any person may handle his bees with perfect freedom and safety. If, at any time, the fire-chamber and escape-pipe of the smoker become filled with soot, they can easily be cleaned by revolving an iron or hard-wood stick inside of them.

CHLOROFORM.

Mr. Jones finds that chloroform is very useful in quieting bees. He putsa dry sponge in the tube of the smoker, then

300 Remedies for Stings.

a sponge wet in chloroform—it takes but a few drops — then puts in another dry sponge. These dry sponges pre- vent the escape of the chloroform, except when the bellows is worked. Mr. Jones finds that bees partially stupefied with chloroform receive queens without any show of ill- will. As soon as the bees begin to fall, the queen is put into the hive and no more of the vapor added. I tried this last summer with perfect success. This was recommended vears ago in Germany, but its use seems to have been aban- doned. It is more than likely that Mr. Jones’s method of applying the anesthetic is what makes it more valuable. The smoker diffuses the vapor so that all bees receive it, and none get too much. JI should use ether instead of chloroform, as with higher animals it is a little more mild and safe. Our British friends of late are recommending carbolic acid in lieu of smoke to quiet bees. By means of a feather the liquid is brushed about the entrance and along the top of the frames, or else a cloth dampened with the acid is placed over the frames. This is also used to fumigate the bees for the same purpose. Mr. Cheshire advises a little creosote placed in the common smoker, to make the smoke more effective. There is no question but that this obnoxious substance will quiet the bees; but it seems to me from a brief experience, that it is far less convenient than the smoker. :

TO CURE STINGS...

In case a person is stung, he should step back a little for a moment, as the pungent odor of the venom is likely to anger the bees and induce further stinging. By forcing a little smoke from the smoker onto the part stung, we will obscure this odor. The sting should be rubbed off at once. Isay rubbed, for we should not grasp it with the finger- nails, as that crowds more poison into the wound. I£ the pain is such as to prove troublesome, apply a little ammonia The venom is an acid, and is neutralized by the alkali, A strong solution of saltpetre I have found nearly as good to relieve pain as the ammonia. Ice cold water drives the blood from any part of our body to which itis applied, and so it often gives relief to quickly immerse the part stung in

Bee Tent Described. 301

very cold water. In case horses are badly stung, as some- times happens, they should be taken as speedily as possible into a barn (a man, too, may escape angry bees by’ enter- ing a building), where the bees will seldom follow, then wash the horses in soda water, and cover with blankets wet in cold water.

A wash or lotion, “ Apifuge,” is praised in England as a preventive of stings. The hands and face are simply washed in it. I have tried it but could see no advantage. The substances used are oil of wintergreen or methyl salicylate.

THE SWEAT THEORY.

It is often stated- that sweaty horses and people are obnoxious to the bees, and hence almost sure targets for their barbed arrows. In warm weather I perspire most profusely, yet am scarcely ever stung, since I have learned to control my nerves. I once-kept my bees in the front yard-—they looked beautiful on the green lawn—within two rods of a main thoroughfare, and not infrequently let my horse, covered with sweat upon my return from a drive, crop the grass, while cooling off, right in the same yard. Of course, there was some danger, but I never knew my horse to get stung. Why, then, the theory? May not the more frequent stings be consequent upon the warm, nervous condition of the individual? The man is more ready to strike and jerk, the horse to stamp and switch. The switching of the horse’s tail, like the whisker trap of a full beard, will anger even a good-natured bee. I should dread the motions more than the sweat.

Often when there is no honey to gather, as when we take the last honey in autumn, or prepare the bees for winter, the bees are inordinately cross. “This is especially true of black bees and hybrids. At such times 1 have found an invaluable aid in

THE BEE TENT.

This also keeps all robbers from mischief. It is simply a tent which entirely covers the hives, bees, bee-keeper and all. The one I use (Fig. 118) is light, large, and easily

302 Bee Tent Described.

moved, or folded up if we wish to put it in the house. The sides are rectangular frames made of light pine strips, well braced (Fig. 118, 6, 6), and covered with wire cloth. The top and ends are covered with factory cloth, firmly tacked, except at one end, where it is fastened, at will, by rings which

Fig. 118. SA OG Ws A Ds ieee Pi TEES y H PELE m Be yam os ot 53 EERE EE = EERE EERE a SiC eReeRaaeuGl ans ee mii + rT 7 HE ain se bed Li 4 ‘ th H HHH rf CCI a a HH tt i H a al ‘i ~ q i Z. L, a ae 5 a Ha aay bE = oaeae ‘cus (] . im eae rT 4 + oor an C1 crt at = Ht . d Bee Tent,

hook overscrews. The two sides have no permanent connec- tion of wood, except at the ends (Fig. 118,¢,c). The small strips which connect at these places are double, and hinged to the side frames, and the two parts of each hinged together, Thus these may drop, and so permit the side frames to come close together when we wish to «fold our

Bee Tent Described, 303

tent.” The sides are kept apart by center cross-strips at the ends (Fig. 118, 2, a), from which braces (Fig. 118, z, 7) extend to the double cross-strips above. These center strips, with their braces hinged to them, are separate from the rest of the frame except when hooked on as we spread the tent. I have since made a similar tent, and for end pieces used simply four round sticks, the ends of which fitted very closely into holes bored into the uprights of the side frames, one into the top and one into the middle of each. These end pieces are as long as can be crowded in. This is very simple,and excellent.

After use of this tent several years, I can not praise it too highly. It is also admirable in aiding to get bees out of sections, and to use at fairs, when bees can be manipu- lated in the tent. Ihave so used it. I have already referred toa cheap tent made by Mr. A. I. Root (Fig. 111),

304 Value of Comb,

CHAPTER XV. ComsB FOUNDATION.

Every apiarist of experience knows that empty combs in frames, comb-guides in the sections, to tempt the bees and to insure the proper position of the full combs, in fact, combs of almost any kind or shape, are of great importance. So every skillful apiarist is very careful to save all drone comb that is cut out of the brood chamber—where it is worse than useless, as it brings with it myriads of those

. useless gormands, the drones—to kill the eggs, remove the brood, or extract the honey, and transfer it to the sections. He is equally careful to keep all his worker comb, so long as the cells are of proper size to domicile full-sized larve, and never to sejl any comb, or even comb honey, unless a greater price makes it desirable.

No wonder, then, if comb is so desirable, that German thought and Yankee ingenuity have devised means of giy- ing the bees at least a start in this important yet expensive ‘

Fic. 119.

Comb Foundation,

work of comb-building, and hence the origin of another great aid to the apiarist—comb foundation (Fig. 119).

HISTORY.

For more than thirty years the Germans have used im- pressed sheets of wax as a foundation for comb, as it was

History of Foundation Machines. ' 305

first made by Herr Mehring, in 1857. These sheets are four or five times as thick as the partition at the center of natural comb, which is very thin, only 1-180 of an inch thick. This is pressed between metal plates so accurately formed that the wax receives rhomboidal impressions which are a_fac simile of the basal wall or partition between the opposite cells of natural comb. The thickness of this sheet is no objection, as it is found that the bees thin it down to the natural thickness, and use the shavings to form the walls. As we have seen, the bees form comb in the same way, when they make their own foundation.

AMERICAN FOUNDATION.

Mr. Wagner secured a patent on foundation in 1861, but as the article was already in use in Germany, the patent was, as we understand, of no legal value, and certainly, as it did nothing to bring this desirable article into usé, it had no virtual value. Mr. Wagner was also the first to suggest the idea of rollers. In Langstroth’s work, edition of 1859, p- 373, occurs the following, in reference to printing or stamping combs: “ Mr. Wagner suggests forming these outlines with a simple instrument somewhat like a wheel cake cutter. When a large number are to be made, a machine might easily ‘be constructed which would stamp them with great rapidity.” In 1866, the King Brothers, of New York, in accordance with the above suggestion, made the first machine with rollers, the product of which they tried to get patented but failed. These stamped rollers were less than two inches long. This machine was useless, and failed to bring foundation into general use.

In 1874, Mr. Frederick Weiss, a poor German, invented the machine which brought the foundation into general use. This was the machine on which was made the beau- tiful and practical foundation sent out by “John Long,” in 1874 and 1875, and which proved to the American apiarists that foundation machines, and foundation, were to be a success. :

In 1876, Mr. A. I. Root commenced in his energetic, enthusiastic way, and soon brought the roller machine (Fig. 120) and foundation into general use. These machines

20

306 Foundation Machines.

i i : re still i feat, and though a great aid to apiculture, were still imper : though sold at an extravagantly high prce—siveusy + fault of Mr. Root, as he informs me—were in great es 4 Next, Mrs. F. Dunham greatly improved the machine by

A ATTA

7 Zi fe Fins i l so making the rolls that the foundation would have a very thin base and high thick walis which, in the manufacture, were not greatly pressed. These three points are very desirable in all foundation—thin base and thick, high walls, which shall not be compactly pressed.

Mrs. Dunham is not only entitled to gratitude for the superior excellence of the machines she manufactured, but by putting so excellent a machine onto the market ata lower price, all roller machines had to be sold more reason- ably. Mr. Vandervort also improved the rollers, so that his machine secures the same results as does Mrs. Dunham’s, while the form of the foundation is somewhat more natural, though not preferred by the bees I think. Another form of foundation—that with flat bottom—is made by the Van Deusen mill. This has a very thin base, and is very hand- some. It was made to use with wires. This can be made

The Given Press. 307

very thin, and many bee-keepers praise it very highly. Mr. Root has kept his machine abreast with the latest improve- ments. Mr. Pelham has invented rolls that are made in rings or sections, each ring the width of a cell. Such rolls will reduce the price of machines so that all—even small ipiarists—can afford to own them.

THE PRESS FOR FOUNDATION,

Mr. D. A. Given, of Illinois, has given a press (Fig. 121) that stamps the sheets by plates and not by rolls,

Fic. 121.

which, at present, is giving nearly if not quite as good sat- isfaction as the improved roller machines, This shuts up like a book and the wax sheets, instead of passing between carved metal rollers, are stamped by a press after being placed in position. The advantages of this press, as claimed by its friends, are that the foundation has the requisites already referred to, par excellence, that it is easily and rap- idly worked, and that foundation can at once be pressed

308 How Foundation is Alade.

into the wired frames. Rubber plates have also been made but as yet have not won general favor or acceptance. Plaster of Paris molds made directly from the foundation are made and used satisfactorily by some excellent bee- keepers. All of the improved machines give us founda- tion of exquisite mold and with such rapidity that it can be made cheap and practical. As Mr. Heddon says, the bees in two days, with foundation, will do more than they would in eight days without it. Every one who wishes the best success must use foundation often in the brood cham- ber, and always in the sections, unless nice white comb is at hand. Whoever has 100 colonies of bees may well own a machine for himself, though it usually pays better to purchase. The specialist can make nicer foundation than the mere amateur.

HOW FOUNDATION IS MADE,

The process of making the foundation is very simple. Thin sheets of wax, of the desired thickness, are pressed between the plates or passed between the rolls, which are made so as to stamp either drone or worker foundation as desired. Worker is best, I think, even for sections. The only difficulty in the way of very rapid work is that from sticking of the wax sheets to the dies. Mr. Heddon finds that by wetting the dies with concentrated lye the wax is not injured and sticking is prevented. Mr. Jones uses soap- suds with excellent success for the same purpose. Think of two men running through fifty pounds of foundation in an hour! That is what I saw two men do at Mr. Jones’s, with a Dunham machine, by use of soap-suds. The man who put in the wax sheets was not delayed at all. The kind of soap should be selected with care. Mr. Root pre- fers common starch to either lye or soap-suds. New machines are more liable to trouble with sticking than are those that have been used for some time. It is said that dipping the sheets in salt brine also prevents this trouble- some sticking. Mr. Baldridge gives this hint but conceals the name of the discoverer.

Forming the Wax Sheets, 309

TO SECURE THE WAX SHEETS.

The wax should be melted in a double walled tin vessel, with water between the walls, so that in no case would it be burned or overheated. ;

To form the sheets a dipping board of the width and length of the desired sheets, is the best. It should be made of pine, and should be true and very smooth. This is first dipped into cold water—salt in the water makes it easier to remove the sheets—then one end is dipped quickly into the melted wax, then raised till dripping ceases—only a second—-this end dipped into the cold water, grasped by means of a dextrous toss with the hands and the other end treated the same way. The thing is repeated if necessary till the sheet is thick enough. Twice dipping is enough for brood combs, once for sections. We now only have to shave the edges with a sharp knife, and we can peel off two fine sheets of wax. This is Mr. Jones’s plan, and is | better than to dip only one end of the board, as in that case the wax runs down the board and the sheets are thickest at one end. With the device of Mr. Jones the wax runs to the ends, and to make the middle as thick, the board is lowered in the melted wax below the center. At Mr. Jones’s I saw one man dip the sheets as fast as two men could run them through the machine. Mr. Heddon, who has used nearly all of the roller machines, thinks Given’s press can be used more easily and rapidly than any of them. This seems to me hardly possible, yet we must remember that the press puts the foundation right into the wired frames. Surely Mr. Jones’s accomplishment with the Dunham mill leaves little to be desired. Of course the press can only make thin sheets, as the wax sheets are thin, while with the roller machines we can reduce the thickness by simply approximating. the rollers.

For cutting foundation, nothing is so admirable as the Carlin cutter (Fig. 122, 2), which is like the wheel glass- cutters sold in the shops, except that a larger wheel of tin takes the place of the one of hardened steel. Mr. A. I. Root has suggested a grooved board (Fig. 122, 4) to go with the above, the distance between the grooves being

310 Value of Foundation.

equal to the desired width of the strips of comb foundation to be cut. :

For cutting smaller sheets for the sections the same device may be used. I saw Mr. Jones cut these as fast as. a boy would cut circular wads for his shot-gun, by use of a sort of modified cake cutter (Fig. 123).

USE OF FOUNDATION.

Unless to force the bees into sections, when, as we have seen, it is better to hive swarms on empty frames, with mere starters, we better always use foundation in brood frames. It is astonishing to see how rapidly the bees will

Fic. 122.

extend the cells, and how readily the queen will stock them with eggs. Zhe foundations should always be the right size for worker comb. Even for surplus comb honey the small cells are best. The honey evaporates more quickly, and so will be sooner capped, and it looks better. For brood combs I prefer wired frames. The sheet of founda- tion should not quite fill the frame. The advantage of foundation is, first, to insure worker comb, and thus worker brood, and second, to furnish straight, nice combs. We have proved in our apiary repeatedly, that by use of foun- dation, and a little care in pruning out the drone comb, we could limit or even exclude drones from our hives, and we have but to examine the capacious and constantly crowded

Foundation in Sections. 311

stomachs of these idlers to appreciate the advantage of such a course. Bees may occasionally tear down worker-cells, and build drone-cells in their place; but such action, I believe, is not sufficiently extensive to ever cause anxiety. I am also certain that bees that have to secrete wax to form comb do less gathering. Wax secretion seems voluntary, and when rapid seems to require quiet and great consump- tion of food. If we make two artificial colonies equally strong, supply the one with combs, and withhold them from the other, we will find that this last sends less bees to the fields, while all the bees are more or less engaged in wax secretion. Thus the other colony gains much more rapidly in honey; first, because more bees are storing; sec- ond, because less food is consumed. This is undoubtedly the reason why extracted honey can be secured in greater abundance than can comb honey.

It also pays remarkably well to use foundation in the sections. If we use very thin foundation—eleven or twelve feet to the pound—all talk about “the fish-bone” need not frighten any one: Foundation for the sections should be about twelve feet to the pound, while that for the brood chamber is better at seven feet. The foundation may or may not fill these sections. It is recommended by Dr. Miller and our Canadian friends, to put two pieces of foun- dation in each section—an inch strip from the bottom, and a piece from the top to reach within one-eighth of an inch of the lower strip. Of course this.takes time and care. When only one piece is used, I have had best suc- cess leaving a one-eighth inch space on sides and bottom, Many prefer to fasten to both top and bottom. Of course, foundation for the sections—in fact, all foundation—should. only be made of nicest, cleanest wax. Only pure, clean, unbleached wax should be used in making foundation. We should be very careful not to put on the market any comb honey where the foundation has not been properly thinned by the bees. If we always use thin foundation there will be no trouble.

Foundation can be fastened into the sections by means of melted wax. This method, however, is too slow; though my friend R. L. Taylor has an ingenious arrangement

Nie Fastening Foundation.

whereby he melts the edges of the foundation and fastens it in the sections with great accuracy and rapidity. ‘

The Parker foundation fastener (Fig. 124) for press- ing starters or full sheets of foundation into sections, is prized very highly by most who have used it. The figure shows how it is used.

The Clark foundation fastener works on the same prin- ciple, except the pressure is given by the foot. Dr.

Fic. 124.

Parker Foundation Fastener,

Miller has filled ten sections per minute by use of this instrument. Mr. Taylor exceeds even this, and does it better.

Still other machines for the same purpose are in the market. Our British friends recommend grooving the sections on all sides in the center to receive the foundation as we often groove the top. They also recommend split- ting the top in the middle and in placing together, after adjusting one half, add the foundation, and then crowd down the other side, thus holding the foundation in place. These methods may be easily tried.

Foundation can be fastened into the brood frames rap- idly and very securely by simply pressing them against the rectangular projection from the top-bar already de- scribed. This may be done by use of a case knife dipped in honey to prevent its sticking. In this case a block Fig 125, @) should reach up into the frame from the de which is nearest to the rectangular projection—it will be

Foundation Fasteners. 313

remembered that the projection is a little to one side of the center of the top-bar, so that the foundation shall hang exactly in the center—so far that its upper surface would be exactly level with the upper surface of the rectangular projection, This block has shoulders (Fig. 125, c), so that it will always reach just the proper distance into the frame. It is also rabbeted at the edge where the projection of the top-bar of the frame will rest (Fig. 125, 6), so that the projection has a solid support, and will not split off with pressure. We now set our frame on this block, lay on our foundation, cut the size we desire, which, unless strength- ened, will be as long as the frame, and nearly as wide. The foundation will rest firmly on the projection and block, and touch the top-bar at every point. We now take a board as thick as the projection is deep, and as wide (Fig. 126, @) as the frame is long, which may be trimmed off, so as to have a convenient handle (Fig. 126, e), and by wetting the edge of this (Fig. 126, @) either in water, or better, starch-water, and pressing with it on the foundation

Fic. 125. Fic. 126.

€

above the projection, the foundation will be made to adhere firmly to the latter, when the frame may be raised with the block, taken off, and another fastened as before. I have practiced this plan for years, and have had admirable suc- cess, I have very rarely known the foundation to drop if made of good wax, though it must be remembered that our hives are shaded, and our frames small. If the top-bar of

314 Wired Frames.

the frame has not the projection the comb can be pressed directly on the top-bar and then bent at right angles, aS with the Parker foundation fastener. To make this more secyre a narrow strip may be tacked to the tép-bar, press- ing the foundation. Our English friends use a double top- bar which is dovetailed to the uprights of the frame. Thus in putting together the frame the foundation is pressed between the two halves of the top-bar and so firmly held in place. : The above methods are successful, but probably will receive valuable modifications at the hands of the ingenious

Fic. 127.

apiarists of our land. If we have frames with the V-shaped top-bar (Fig. 69), we may easily break the foundation and press it on, as shown in Fig. 127.

WIRED FRAMES.

But as foundation does sometimes fall or sag, so that many cells are changed to drone-cells, or warp into awk- ward shapes, especially if the hive is unshaded, or receives a full colony of bees with all its frames full of foundation, and as the wax is sometimes so brittle that it will not hold together, however well fastened, wired frames (Figs. 128 and 70) are rapidly coming into use. Another point strongly in favor of such frames is, that they can be handled or shipped, and there is not the least danger of their combs falling from the frames. Mr. Jones states that with wired frames we may use thinner foundation and thus save one- third the expense. The wires should be two inches apart,

Fastening in Brood Frames, 315

and the extreme wires not more than one-half inch from the side of the frame. They may be fastened by passing through holes in the top and bottom-bars of the frames, which must be exactly in the center, or they may be hooked over little hooks, such as may be made by driving a staple into the frame after we have cut one limb of the staple off near the curve. If holes are to be made through the top- oars of the frame, they can be easily formed by use of sharp awls. If these are set in a strong block like an iron cake, each bar can be pierced at one stroke by use of a

Fic, 128.

be Ba

Root’s Wired Frame, End-wires are too far from End-bars,

lever press. Ifthe foundation is to be stamped in the frame by the Given press, then the wire should be No. 36; if it is to be put on by hand, then No. 30 must be used. Tinned wire should be used. To cut wire the right length for frames and not have it tangle, it may be wound lengthwise about a board of the right length so that one round of wire will be just enough for a frame. Then tie two or three strings tightly around board, wire and all. The strings extend at right angles to the wire. We now cut across all the wires at one angle of the board. Thus the wires are all of the proper length and are held firmly, ready for use. Some, even with the Given press, prefer to put the founda- tion onto the wires by hand. In this case the foundation should be warmed till quite soft, then laid on a board and the frame placed over all so that the wires rest on the foundation. Then by use of a shoe-buttoner, with a longitudinal groove cut into the convex side of the curve, the wires are pressed into the foundation. This work is easily and rapidly performed. A tin wire imbedded (Fig. 129) works admirably and costs very little. Mr. Cheshire states that the brood dies over the wires. There is no

316 Saving the Wax.

such trouble in my apiary. In Germany it is recommended to press the foundation for extracting combs onto a board and so have the cells built out only on one side and elon- gated so as to hold much honey. This gives strong combs and saves turning the frames when extracting. But wired combs are strong, and our improved extractors make turn- ing very easy and rapid. Again evaporation or ripening

Fic. 129.

Wire Imbedder,

in deep cells is very slow. I have also found ‘that bees object to foundation on a board and often bite it off,

SAVE TILE WAX,

As foundation is becoming so popular, it behooves us all to be very careful that no old comb goes to waste. Even now the supply of wax in the country is scarce equal to the demand. Soiled drone-comb, old, worthless worker-comb all the comb in the old hives if we use Mr. Heddon’s method of transferring, and all fragments that cannot be used in the hives, together with cappings, after the honey is drained out through a coarse bag or colander—which process may be hastened by a moderate heat, not sufficient to melt the wax, and frequent stirring—should be melted cleansed and molded into cakes of wax, soon to be again stamped, not by the bees, but by wondrous art,

METHODS,

A slow and wasteful method is to melt in a vessel of heated water, and to purify by turning off the top, or

i Wax Extractors. 3147

allowing to cool, when the impurities at the bottom are scraped off, and the process repeated till all impurities are eliminated.

A better method to separate the wax is to put it into a strong, rather coarse bag, then sink this in water and boil. At intervals the comb in the bag should be pressed and stirred. The wax will collect on top of the water.

To prevent the wax from burning, the bag should be kept from touching the bottom: of the vessel by inverting a basin in the bottom of the latter, or else by using a double-walled vessel with hot water between the walls. The process should be repeated till the wax is perfectly cleansed.

But as wax is to become so important, and as the above methods are slow, wasteful, and apt to give a poor quality

Fic. 130.

Swiss Wax Extractor,

of wax, specialists, and even amateurs who keep ten or twenty colonies of bees, may well procure a wax extractor (Fig. 130). This is also a foreign invention, the first being made by Prof. Gerster, of Berne, Switzerland. These cost from five to seven dollars, are made of tin, are very convenient and admirable, and can be procured of any dealer in apiarian supplies.

The comb is placed in the perforated vessel, and this in the larger can, which is set on a kettle of boiling water, The clean, pure wax passes out the spout. Mr. Jones has improved the common wax extractor (Fig. 131). This is

318 Swiss Wax Extractor.

what he says of it: “ Put extractor on stove in the same manner as an ordinary pot, having beforehand filled lower tank with water, and the perforated basket above tank with broken comb or whatever material you wish to extract wax from. The steam passes through perforated metal walls of basket, melting every particle of wax from the crude material; the wax runs out of a spout for. the purpose, turned downwards; under this spout have a receptacle,

Fic 131.

x

Mt

ones Wax Extractor.

which have slightly oiled, to keep wax from adhering to its walls. The tube turned upwards serves two very im- portant purposes, viz.: To fill water into lower tank, and to see if tank requires replenishing, without taking out the basket above. Keep everything but tube for wax closed, in order to lose no steam and give it full force. When not in use as an extractor it is excellent as a capping can; the cappings drop into basket, the honey drains off,

Solar Wax Extractor. 319

leaving the remainder just where you want them to extract from.” Still better than the above is the solar wax extractor (Fig. 132). This is cheap, and can be easily made at

Fic. 132.

small cost. A box lined with tin has hinged to its top, first, a glass cover, and then to the top of this glass cover, a wooden cover lined with tin, or a glass mirror.

A perforated tin wax pan is made to set just under the glass cover. This is placed conveniently where the sun can strike it, and is always ready for pieces of wax. By raising the upper cover the reflector hastens the work. I value the solar wax extractor very highly. It is always ready for pieces of comb.

By these last inventions all'the wax, even of the oldest combs, can be secured, in beautiful condition, and as it is perfectly neat, there is no danger of provoking the “ best woman in the world,” as we are in danger of doing by use of either of the first named methods—for what is more untidy and perplexing than to have wax boil over on the stove, and perhaps get on the floor, and be generally scat- tered about!.

All pieces of comb should be put into a close box, or in the solar wax extractor if we have one, and if any larve are in it, the comb should be melted so frequently that it will not smell bally. By taking pains, both in collecting and melting, the apiarist will be surprised at the close of the season, as he views his numerous and beautiful cakes of wax, and rejoice as he thinks how little trouble it has all cost.

320 Marketing Honey.

CHAPTER XVI. +

MARKETING HONEY.

No subject merits more attention by the apiarist than that of marketing honey. There is no question but that the supply is going to continually increase; hence, to sus- tain the price we must stimulate the demand, and by doing this we shall not only supply the people with a food element which is necessary to health, but we shall also supersede in part the commercial syrups, which are so adulterated as not only to be crowded with filth the most revolting, but are often even teeming with poison. (Report of Michigan, Board of Health for 1874, pp. 75-79.) To bring, then, to our neighbor’s table the pure, wholesome, delicious nectar, right from the hive, is philanthropy, whether he realizes it or not.

Nor is it difficult to stimulate the demand. Ihave given special attention to this topic for the last few years, and am free to say that not a tithe of the honey is consumed in our country that might and should be.

HOW TO INVIGORATE THE MARKET,

First, See that no honey goes to market from your apiary that is not in the most inviting form possible. Grade all the honey thoroughly, and expect prices to correspond with the grade. If, as estimated by two of our most suc- cessful bee-keepers, it costs from five to eight cents to pro- duce extracted honey and from seven to thirteen cents to produce comb honey, we see that all should labor that prices for first-class honey should never fall below ten cents for extracted and fifteen cents for comb. See that every package and vessel is not only attractive, but so arranged as not to make the dealer any trouble or cause him any vexation, One leaky can or crate may do great injury.

Second. See that every grocer in your vicinity has honey constantly on hand. Do all you can to build up a home

fio v to Create a Market, 321

market. The advice -to sell to only one or two dealers is, I think, wrong. Whether we are to buy or sell; we shall find almost always that it will be most satisfactory to deal with men whom we know, and who are close at hand. Only when you outgrow your home market should you ship to distant places. This course will limit the supply in large cities, and thus raise the prices in the great marts,

Fic. 133.

ite

ven ii A

att: |

whose prices fix those in the country. Be sure to keep honey constantly in the markets.

Third. Insist that each grocer make the honey very con- spicuous. If necessary, supply large, fine labels, with your own name almost as prominent as is that of the article,

2i

322 Marketing Extracted Honey.

Fourth. Deliver the honey-in small lots, so that it will be sure to be kept in inviting form, and, if possible, attend to the delivery yourself, that you may know that all is done “decently and in order.”

Fifth. Instruct your grocers that they may make the honey show to the best effect (Fig. 133), and thus captivate the purchaser through the sight alone. ~ :

Sixth. Call local and general conventions, that all in the community may know and practice the best methods, so that the markets may not be demoralized by poor, unsal- able honey.

It is of the greatest importance to encourage State, inter- State, and National Associations. Happily, our civilization makes every person affected by the acts of each person. Selfishness, not less than Christianity, urges us all to be interested in each other. The honey traffic reaches from State to State. Bee-keeping will never be perfect as an art till all bee-keepers act as one man. He is short-sighted that decries conventions. It is the experience of the world that they are valuable in other arts. Bee-keeping is no exception. Let us all urge that the associations act in unison, from the local to the general, that all other apiarian interests no less than the markets shall be in the highest degree fostered. Each association, from the most local to the most general, has its special mission which no other can perform,

PREPARATION FOR MARKETS,

Of course, the method of preparation will depend largely upon the style of honey to be sold, so we will consider the kinds separately.

EXTRACTED HONEY.

As before intimated, extracted honey has all the flavor, and is in every way equal, if not superior—comb itself is innutritious and very indigestible—to comb honey. As Dr. Miller has pointed out, granulated honey, thoroughly drained and then melted, gives a most delicious article. When people once know its excellence—know that it is not “strained”—then the demand for extracted honey will

Small Vessels for £foney. ‘ 323

be vastly increased, to the advantage both of the consumer and the apiarist.

Explain to each grocer what we mean by the word ex- tracted, and ask him to spread wide the name and charac- ter of the honey. Leave cups of honey with the editors and men of influence, and get them to discuss its origin and merits. I speak from experience, when I say that in

Fic. 134.

these ways the reputation and demand for extracted honey can be increased to a surprising degree, and with astonish- ing rapidity.

HOW TO TEMPT THE CONSUMER.

First, Have it chiefly in small cups or pails. Many persons will pay twenty-five cents for an article, when if it cost fifty cents they would not think of purchasing.

Second. Study the kinds of receptacles that will take best with the buyers. Some persons will prefer such vessels as jelly cups or glass fruit jars, etc., that will be useful in

324 Vessels for Shipping.

every household when the honey is gone. As Dr, Mason and Mr. Cutting have shown, jelly cups, by simply dip- ping the upper edge in melted wax, then quickly filled and covered, are quite securely sealed. Others will prefer more showy vessels, like the Muth one-pound and two-pound jars (Fig. 134), even though they cost more. At present the neat tin pails (Fig. 135) holding from one-half pound to twelve pounds, are very popular in the markets, The

Fic. 135.

covers shut inside, and if the honey is granulated they are very excellent. The bails make them more convenient and salable. Mr. Jones has a pail that is easily sealed with wax strings, and is beautifully decorated with chromoed labels. Such pails are cheap, convenient, and leave little to be desired. Their beauty aids the sale. Mr. A. I. Root pronounces them the best receptacle for extracted honey.

If the honey is to be sent to a distant market it may be put in soft wood—spruce, pine or hemlock—kegs (Fig. 136). These are light, and if we carefully drive the hoops,

Fic. 136.

and test by use of boiling water, we need not wax them. Hard wood barrels must be waxed, then if the honey gran-

Marketing Comb Honey. 325

ulates the hoops must be loosened to take out the head. This cracks the wax and a leak results. At present large tin vessels in wooden jackets are rapidly gaining in favor, Even small tin vessels of honey can be safely and cheaply shipped as freight by packing in barrels, using straw to make all close and secure.

Third. Explain to the grocer that if kept above the tem- perature of 70° or 80° F., it will not granulate, that gran- ulation is a pledge of purity and superiority, and show him how easy it is to reduce the crystals, and ask him to explain this to. his customers. If necessary, liquify some of the granulated honey in his presence. Put on the labels directions for re-liquifying candied honey. Honey, like many other substances, will not granulate if heated to 200° F., and then sealed while hot. This does no injury to the honey, but it is trouble, and makes the honey less convenient to ship, though at times it may pay till we educate our patrons ‘in reference to the excellence of granulated honey.

Lastly. If you do not deliver the honey yourself, be sure that the vessels will not leak in transit. It is best, in case jelly cups are used, that they be filled at the grocery, and sealed as already described. Do not forget the large label, which gives the kind of honey, grade, and producer’s name.

If the honey is extracted before it is fully ripened—before the bees cap it—it should always be kept in an open can or barrel, covered with cloth, and in a warm room. Thus arranged it will thicken as well as in the hive. Vo honey should ever be kept in a cool, damp room.

The admirable work of Mr. C. F. Muth, in Cincinnati, educating people in reference to extracted honey, fighting all adulteration, pushing it into the candy, tobacco, and confectionery establishments, deserves our hearty grati- tude. wr. Muth’s market has become stupendous, and graphically shows what this trade is to be in the near future, when all our cities have a Muth to work for us. I would also recommend to all the very valuable little © pamphlet of Mr. Chas. Dadant, on the production and sale of extracted honey. It is most interesting reading to the honey producer, and shows what energy and thought may accomplish in this direction,

326 Preparation for Shipping.

COMB HONEY.

This, from its wondrous beauty, especially when light- colored and immaculate, will always be a coveted article for the table, and will ever, with proper care, bring the highest price paid for honey. So it will always be best to work for this, even though we may not be able to pro- cure it in such ample profusion as we may the extracted. He who has all kinds will be able to satisfy every demand, and will most surely meet with success.

RULES TO BE OBSERVED.

This should be chiefly in small sections (Fig. 80), for, as before stated, such are the packages that surely sell. Sections from three to six inches square will just fill a plate nicely, and look very tempting to the proud housewife, especially if some Epicurean friends are to be entertained.

The sections should surely be in place at the dawn of the white clover season, so that the apiarist may secure the most of this irresistible nectar, chaste as if capped by the very snow itself. They should be taken away as soon as all are capped, or at least as soon as the harvest is over, as delay makes them highways of travel for the bees, which always mars their beauty.

When removed, if demanded, glass the sections, but before this we should place them in hives one upon an- other, or special boxes made tight, with a close cover, in which to store either brood frames in winter or sections at any season, and fume them with burning sulphur. This is quickly and easily done by use of the smoker. Get the fire in the smoker well to burning, add the sulphur, then place this in the top hive, or top of the special box, The sulphurous fumes will descend and deal out death to all moth larve. This should always be done before shipping the honey, if we regard our reputations as precious. It is well to do this within two weeks after removal, and also two weeks later, so as to destroy the moth larve not hatched when the sections are removed.

If separators have been used, these sections are in good condition to be glassed, and are also in nice shape to ship

Marketing Comb Honey. 327

even without glass, as they may stand side by side and not mar the comb.

The shipping crate (Fig. 137) should be strong, neat and cheap, with handles as seen in Fig. 137—such handles

Fic. 137.

are also convenient in the ends of the hives (Fig. 112), and can be cut in an instant by having the circular saw set to wabble. With handles the crate is more convenient, and is more suré to be set on its bottom. The crate should also be glassed, as the sight of the comb will say: “Handle with care.”

Mr. Heddon makes a larger crate (Fig. 138), which is neat and cheap. Muth’s crate is like Heddon’s, only smaller. It is best to have single tier case (Fig. 137), and when full it should not weigh more than twenty-four pounds. Even twelve-pound crates are preferred by many.

It may be well to wrap the sections in paper, as thus breakage of one will not mean general ruin.

In shipping in freight cars, it is desirable that the sections be set lengthwise of the cars, as the danger from the shocks of starting and stopping will be much less. Always ship a car-load, if possible, so as to avoid re-shipping. When moving honey in a wagon the combs should extend cross- wise of the wagon.

In groceries, where the apiarist keeps honey for sale, it

328 Marketing Queens and Bees.

will pay him to furnish his own boxes. These should be made of whitewood, very neat and glassed in front to show the honey, and the cover so fixed that unglassed sec- tions—and these, probably, will soon become the most popular—cannot be punched or fingered. Be sure, too, that the label, with kind of honey, grade and name of apiarist, (Fig. 133) be so plain that “he who runs may read.”

Comb honey that is to be kept in the cool weather of autumn, or the cold of winter, must be kept in warm rooms, or the comb will break from the sections when

Fic. 138.

handled. By keeping it quite warm for some days previous to shipment, it may be sent to market even in winter, but must be handled very carefully, and must make a quick transit.

Above all, let “taste and neatness” ever be your motto,

MARKETING BEES,

Before leaving this subject, let me sa See ject, y a word about

SELLING QUEENS,

As queen rearing and shipping have alre ciently described, it only chine to be oe pean of queens cannot be too prompt or fair or cautious Suc cess no less than morality demands the most perfect honest ‘ Tf, for any reason, queens cannot be sent promptly, the

Honey Vinegar. 329

money should at once be returned, explanation made, and if reasonable, delay may be requested. The breeder who by careful selection, and care in following the rules of breeding, shall secure a type of bees pronounced in excel- lence, will surely win in the race.

I have described shipping bees. The rules just given should guide also in selling whole colonies,

SELLING BEES BY THE POUND.

This is now quite a business, and originated, I think, with Mr. A.J. Root. The bees are put, by use of a large tin tunnel, into a cage (Fig. 139) made of sections as shown

Fic. 139.

inthe figure. The handle makes it easy to carry them, and they get careful handling without any special request. It is said that a pound of bees can be prepared for shipment’ in five minutes. The cages are provisioned with “ Good candy.” It is always safe to get a pound of bees in June or July, with a queen, expecting to have a good colony by winter. It is reported that from such a start, even five good colonies have been secured, all of which wintered. In this

case they were fed. ,

VINEGAR FROM HONEY.

Mr. T. F. Bingham utilizes the cappings secured while extracting, to produce wax and a most excellent quality of

330 Floney at our Fairs.

vinegar. The honey is drained from the cappings, which are then covered for an hour or two with water. The cap- pings from 1,000 pounds of honey will sweeten enough water for 45 gallons of vinegar. The water 1s now drained into an open barrel, which should be kept cov- ered with cloth. The scum should be removed as it rises. In about a year the change to first-class vinegar will have been accomplished. After the water is drained from the cappings they can be converted into pure wax, as already described.

The poorer grades of honey may also be profitably used in the same way. One pound of honey will make one gal- lon of the best vinegar.

FAIRS AND THE MARKET.

Our English friends have demonstrated that large honey exhibitions are a most powerful aid in developing the honey market.

Till within two years our American honey exhibits have been a disgrace and a hindrance, and they are largely so to-day. A little second-rate honey sandwiched in with sugar and syrups, and supplemented by a cake or two of black dirty wax, describes the honey exhibit at most of our fairs to-day. The premiums range from twenty-five cents to fifty cents.

WHAT SHOULD WE HAVE?

Our industry demands a separate building, filled with tons, not pounds, of honey, and exhibiting every thing that is valuable in modern apiculture. Bees may be exhibited in hives covered by wire gauze, and if it is desired to manipulate them, this can be readily done in a bee tent, to the great satisfaction and pleasure of many who know nothing of such matters. I have proved this by actual trial.

It can berranged with the managers that sales of honey and all apparatus be made at any time at this building, on conditions that the exhibit should be in nowise interfered with. The premiums should range from one dollar to twenty, and the total should reach to the hundreds.

Lffects of Such Exhibits. 331

We have found here in Michigan that all that is necessary to effect this grand and invaluable transformation is a lit- tle life and energy on the part of the bee-keepers. Through the enterprise of Mr. H. D. Cutting and others, the bee- keeping exhibit at our State fairs, in a separate building, leaves little to be desired, and is a credit to the industry.

EFFECTS OF SUCH EXHIBITS.

They show that apiculture is no second-rate business. They attract attention and educate as nothing else can. They go hand in hand with local conventions in instruct- ing bee-keepers so that no inferior honey will go onto the markets. They enable bee-keepers to see and buy just what they need in the more intelligent prosecution of their business. They scatter the little pint, half-pint, and gill pails of honey into thousands of homes, and develop a knowledge and taste that stimulate the honey market most powerfully. Tons of honey have been sold at the Toronto fairs, the influence of which has been a lasting surprise even to the most enterprising producers. I believe that the great quartet that is to advance apiculture is fairs, associa- tions, planting for honey, and improved bees,

332 Tulip-Tree Bark Louse.

CHAPTER XVII.

Honey PLANTS.

As bees are dépendent mainly upon flowers for honey, it of course follows that the apiarist’s success will depend largely upon the abundance of honey-secreting plants in the vicinity of his apiary. True it is that certain bark and plant lice secrete a kind of liquid sweet—honey of doubt- ful reputation—which, in the dearth of anything better,

Fic. 140.

Tulip-Tree Bark Louse, 3, 4, §, and 6, Greatly Magnifted,

1 Scale on Twig. 2 Under sid

H r Yous ate 2 yes d i = le of Scale, eg.

the bees seen glad to appropriate. I have thus seen the bees thick about a large bark louse which attacks the tulip tree, and thus often destroys one of our best honey trees,

Nectar From Bark and Plant Lice. 333

I have described this insect (Fig. 140) under the name of Lecanium Tulipifera. In 18470 it did no small injury to our tulip trees here at the college. It has seriously in- jured this tree in the states bordering the Ohio river. The tulip is often called poplar, which is quite incorrect. The poplar belongs to the willow family, the tulip to the mag- nolia. This louse is of double interest to bee-keepers. It ruins one of our best honey trees, and supplies a poor sub- stitute for plant nectar to the bees. All bark lide, which include the orange tree scale lice of the south, are best destroyed by use of kerosene oil. This latter is best ap- plied in the form of an emulsion, with soap. To make the kerosene and soap emulsion I make a very strong suds, using one-fourth pound of whale oil soap, or one quart of soft soap, and two or three quarts of water. To this is added one pint of kerosene oil and all churned by use of a force pump till it is thoroughly and permanently mixed. I then dilute with water till the kerosene oil forms one- fifteenth of the whole. Whitman’s fountain pump is admi- rable for making such applications.

I have also seen the bees thick about several species of plant lice. One, the Erisoma imbricator, Fitch, works on the beech tree. Its abdomen is thickly covered with long wool, and it makes a comical show as it wags this up and down upon the least disturbance. The leaves of trees attacked by this louse, as also those beneath the trees, are fairly gummed with a sweetish substance. I have found that the bees avoid this substance, except at times of extreme drouth and long protracted absence of honeyed bloom.

Another species, Thalaxes ulmicola gives rise to certain solitary galls, which appear on the upper surface of the leaves of the red elm. These galls are hollow, with a thin skin, and within the hollows are the lice, which secrete an abundant sweet that often attracts the bees to a feast of fat things, as the gall is torn apart, or cracks open, so that the sweet exudes. This sweet is anything but disagreeable, and may not be unwholesome to the bees. The larch louse, Lachnus laricis, secretes a liquid that is greedily taken by the bees.

Another of the aphides, ‘of a black hue, works on the

334 Nectar From Plant Lice.

branches of our willows, which they often entirely cover, and thus greatly damage another tree valuable for both honey and pollen. Were it not that they are seldom numer- ous two years in succession, they would certainly banish from among us one of our most ornamental and valuable honey-producing trees. These are fairly thronged in Sep-

Fic. 141.

\ : Ey

mm iT

Frnale. Male, Sycamore Plant Louse, much enlarged,

Fic. 142.

Female, Male, Apple Tree Aphis, much magnified, tember and October, and not unfrequently in spring and summer if the lice are abundant, by bees, wasps, ants, and various two-winged flies, all eager to lap up the oozing

Aphides, Nectar and Honey Dew. 335

sweets. This louse is the Lachnus dentatus of Le Baron, and the Aphis salicti of Harris.

The past summer I have received from apiarists of Indiana and Ohio, a very large, dark gray plant louse which worked on the sycamore, and is reported from both states as keep- ing the bees actively employed for some weeks. This louse is one-fourth of an inch long. The winged lice measure three-eighths of an inch to the tips of their wings. The veins of the wings, as also the short nectaries—the tubes at the posterior part of the abdomen—show that this louse (Fig. 141) belongs to the genus Lachnus. The lice of the genus Aphis—-of which there are innumerable species—have longer nectaries (Fig. 142), from which ooze large drops of nectar. This is much relished by the ants, which often care for these lice as tenderly as for their own. young.

Doubtless many have supposed that the bees were gath- ering a real honey dew, when closer inspection would have shown that some species of plant lice was wholly responsi- ble. I think that very often this nectar from plant lice is entirely wholesome and unobjectionable. I would, how- ever, never consider it a safe food for bees in winter, unless it was agreeable to my taste, and fit for my own table.

REAL HONEY DEW.

Bees also get, in some regions, a sort of honey-dew, which enables them to add to their stores with surprising rapidity. J remember one morning while riding on horse- back along the Sacramento river, in California, I broke off a willow twig beside the road when, to my surprise, I found it was fairly decked with drops of honey. Upon further examination I found the willow foliage was abund- antly sprinkled by these delicious drops. These shrubs were undisturbed by insects, nor were they under trees. Here then was a real case of honey-dew, which must have been distilled through the night by the leaves. I never saw any such phenomenon in Michigan, yet others have. Dr. A. H. Atkins, an accurate and conscientious observer, has noted this honey-dew more than once, here in Central Michigan. Many bee-keepers have noticed the same thing.

Many plants, like the cotton and cow pea (Fig. 143) of

336 Genuine Honey Dew.

the South, have extra floral glands which secrete nectar, In case of the cow pea these glands are on the peduncles or flower stems, just at the base of the flowers (Fig, 143, a,a). Prof, Trelese thinks that this nectar serves the plant:

Fic. 143.

Cow Pea. a,a Glands, 6 Flower. ¢ Pods,

by attracting bees, wasps, etc., which keep injurious insects from attacking it.

SWEET SAP AND JUICES,

Bees often gather much nectar from the stubble of wheat that is cut early, while the straw is yet green. The sap

Bees and Grapes. 337 from the maple and other trees and plants also furnishes them sweets. They gather juices of questionable repute from about cider mills, some from grapes and other fruit which have been crushed or eaten and torn by wasps and other insects, That bees ever tear the grapes is a question of which I have failed to receive any personal proof, though for years I have been carefully seeking it. I have lived among the vineyards of California, and have often watched bees about vines in Michigan, but never saw bees tear open the grapes. I have laid crushed grapes in the apiary, when the bees were not gathering, and were ravenous for stores. which, when covered with sipping bees, were replaced with sound grape-clusters, which in no instance were mutilated. I have even shut bees in empty hives on warm days and closed the entrance with grape-clusters, which even then were not cut. I have thus been led to doubt if bees ever attack sound grapes, though quick to improve the oppor- tunities which the oriole’s beak and the stronger jaws of wasps offer them. My friend, Prof. Prentiss, suggests that when the weather is very warm and damp, and the grapes very ripe, the juice may ooze through small open- ings of the grapes and so attract the bees. It is at just such times that attacks are observed. I feel very certain that bees never attack sound grapes. I judge not only from observation and inquiry, but from the habits of the bee. Bees never bore for nectar but seek, or even know only of that which is fully exposed. Still, Dr. C. V. Riley feels sure that bees are sometimes thus -guilty, and Mr. Bidwell tells me he has seen bees rend sound grapes, which they did with their feet. Yet, if this is the case, zt ts certainly of rare occurrence, and is more than compen- sated by the great aid which the bees afford the fruit- grower in the great work of crogs-fertilization, which is imperatively necessary to his success, as has been so well shown by Dr. Asa Gray and Mr. Chas. Darwin. It is true that cross-fertilization of the flowers, which can only be accomplished by insects, and early in the season by the honey-! 8:, is often, if not always, necessary to a full yield of fruit and vegetables. In diecious plants, like the willows and most nut-bearing trees, the stamens that bear the pollen

22

The Valuable Honey Plants. 33)

I am informed by Prof. W. W. Tracy, that the gardeners in the vicinity of Boston keep bees that they may perform this duty. Mr. Root found in New York a greenhouse, where bees were kept at work all winter, to save the other- wise necessary hand fertilization, which was very laborious and expensive. That bees ever injure blossoms and thus effect damage to the fruitage of such plants as buckwheat— or to any plants, as is sometimes claimed—is utterly absurd and without foundation.

But the principal source of honey is still from the flowers.

WHAT ARE THE VALUABLE HONEY PLANTS?

In the northeastern part of our country the chief reliance, for May, is the fruit blossoms, willows, and sugar maples. In June, white clover, Alsike clover, and raspberries yield largely of the most attractive honey, both as to appearance and flavor. In July, the incomparable basswood makes both bees and apiarist jubilant. In August, buckwheat offers a tribute, which we welcome, though it be dark and pungent in flavor, while with us in Michigan, August and September give us a profusion of bloom which yields to no other in the richness of its capacity to secrete honey, and is not cut off till the autumn frosts—usually about September 15.

Thousands of acres of willow-herb (Fig. 184), golden rod, boneset, asters, and other autumn flowers of our new northern counties, as yet have blushed unseen, with fra-

. grance wasted. This unoccupied territory, unsurpassed in its capability for fruit production, covered with grand forests of maple and basswood, and spread with the richest of autumn bloom, offers opportunities to the practical apiarist rarely equaled except in Texas and the Pacific States. In these localities one or two hundred pounds a season to the colony and its increase, is no surprise to the apiarist, while , even four or five hundred are not isolated cases.

In the following table will be found a list of valuable honey plants. Those in the first column are annual, bien- nial or perennial; the annual being enclosed in a paren- thesis thus: (); the biennial enclosed in brackets thus: [ ]; while those in the second column are shrubs or trees; the

340 Important Honey Plants.

names of shrubs being enclosed ina parenthesis. The date of the commencement of bloom is, of course, not invaria- ble. The one appended, in case of plants which grow in our State, is about average for Central Michigan. Those plants whose names appear in small capitals yield very superior honey. Those with (a) are useful for other pur- poses than honey secretion. All but those with a * are native or very common in Michigan. Those written in the plural refer to more than one species. Those followed by a fare very numerous in species. Of course I have not named all, as that would include some hundreds which have been observed at the college, taking nearly all of the two great orders, Composite and Rosaceew. I have only aimed to give the most important, omitting many foreign plants of notoriety, as I have had no personal knowledge of them.

Herbaceous Honey Plants.

34!

Annuals or Perennials.

Apriland May.. Apriland May.. April and Ma: ays May. May May and ee May and June May and ine une.

May and May and June May to August... May to Fall...

‘une.

‘une,

UME, rccocscsensccaccnsess ise eee veeees ‘une.

une to june to

[SS ae SOR Cy SEY DY 1a Der ERY YS VOR YO SO a ey ON Sy Yer SY Wy

.| WHITE CLOVER.

..*(Cotton.

a (Mustard)t ..|*(Rape.)

ie sAsparagus.

..|* Viper

Skunk Cabbage,

«| Dandelion. .| Strawberry. (a)

*Ba_, BLACK oR BLuE SAGg—California,

»)*WHITE SacK—California,

(Seven-Top Turnip).

*Horehound—California,

*Sumac—California,

*Coffee Berry—California,

*Horsz Mint—South.

False Indigo.

Lupine.

Ground Ivy orSill.

(Cow Pea.) (2)—South,

*Stone Crop—South. Mammoth Red Clover. (2)

*California Figwort—California,

(Hemp.) (a) cae

ALSIKE CLOVER.

: altel CLOVER.) "| Ox-Eyed Daisy—Bad Weed.

orehound.

Bush ‘Honeysuckle,

*(Partridge Pea.) ' : uratmony, Vine. e

""] Mother-wort, a0 {Cotton

C (a) ilk or Milk Weeds, . (a

t. John’s Wort,

a MIGNONETTE), (a)

Corn). (a)

- *(Teasel). (a)

Basils or Mountain Mint. (2)

ountain Bee Plant). 's Bugloss (Blue Thistle}, Blue Vervain or Verbena,

“| White Vervain or Verbena.

Marsh Milk Weed.

uly to frost... uly to frost,

ae ae a a

> i=]

wr 7 un

September August to frost August to frost. August to frost. August to frost. August to frost. August to frost. August to frost. August to frost.....

Bergamot. Figwort. Giant Hyssop. Malva.

..| Iron Weed. ..| Culver’s Root. .| Indian Plantains,

‘Touch Me Not or Sprang Bale) GreaT WILLow-HErs, Fire Weed), Golden Honey Plant.

Large Smart Weed. We Sainte FLOWER). (GoLDEN Rop). ¢

AsTERS. +

Marsh Sunflower. +

..| Tick-Seed. + ..| Beggar-Ticks, + .| Spanish Needles, +

Rattlesnake Root or ‘Tall White Lettuce,

342 Trees or Shrubs.

Date, Shrubs or Trees. January to May |eManzanita—California. January to May. *(Willow) t—California, | January to May. haparall—California Lilae

‘Gall Berry)—South.

February to Jun *Orange--South,

March Madrona--California.

April Box Elder or Ash-Leaf Maple, April Red or Soft Maple. (a)

April Poplar or Aspen.

April an Ves (Willows) t also Trees, Apriland May. *Judas Tree—South. May ‘ (Shad-Bush)

(Alder). Maples—Sugar Maple. (a) «| Crab Apple. .|(Hawthorns). Fruit Trees—Apple, Plum, Cherry, Pear, etc. (a) ..|(Currant and Gooseberry). (@) ..|*(Wistaria-Vine—South.

(Chinese Wistaria Vine—South.) Capen Privet—South),

arnish Tree—South, Acacia—South. --| Black Gum—South, «-|(Bladder Nut), -| Parsimmon (2)—South, Saw Patmetrro—South, .| Buckeye. -|(Barberry). . Grape Vine). (2) .-| Tulip-tree. ..{(Sumac). --| Buck Thorn—South. -| Black Mancrove—Florida, -| Magnolias—South,

Honey Locust. «| Wild Plum, -I(Black Raspberry). (a)

ocusts

Rep RaspBerry). (2) Blackberry). *Sourwood—South, (Button Bush). Basswoop. (a) (Virginia Creeper.) (2) *CABBAGE PaALMETTO—South, *Blue Gum—California, Catalpa. (2) -|*Pepper-tree—California, (St. Nahas Worts). ate Sumac). -| Indian Currant or Coral Berry, -|*Red Gum—California, -| Japan Plum—South. .|(Germander or Wood Sage).

‘

—

a

June to July.. sete toJuly...

ran

March Honey Plants. 343

DESCRIPTION, WITH PRACTICAL REMARKS,

As this subject of bee pasturage is of such prime import- ance, and as the interest in the subject is so great and wide- spread, I feel that details with illustrations will be more than warranted.

We have abundant experience to show that forty or fifty colonies of bees, take the seasons as they average, are all that a single place will sustain to the greatest advantage. Then how significant the fact, that when the season is the best, full three times that number of colonies will find ample resources to keep all employed. So this subject of artificial pasturage becomes one well worthy close study and observation. The subject, too,is a very important one in reference to the location of the apiary.

It is well to remember in this connection, that while bees do sometimes go from five:to seven miles for nectar, two or three miles should be regarded as the limit of profitable gathering. That is, apiaries of from fifty to one hundred or more colonies, should not be nearer than four or five miles of each other.

MARCH PLANTS,

In Florida the orange gives early bloom, and the thou- sands of trees in that land, not only of flowers but of honey, will have no small influence in building up the col- onies for the grand harvest of mangrove and palmetto soon to follow. '

The gall-berry of the South commences to bloom even in February, and yields abundant nectar. In Florida this shrub gives the main supply of honey during the swarm- ing season.

APRIL PLANTS.

As we have already seen, the apiarist does not secure the best results, even in the early spring, unless the bees are encouraged by the increase of their stores of pollen and honey; hence, in case we do not practice stimulative feed- ing—and many will not—it becomes very desirable to have some early bloom. Happily, in all sections of the United States our desires are not in vain.

344 April Honey Plants.

Early in spring there are many scattering wild flowers, as skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, which supplies abundant pollen and some honey; the blood-root, San- guinaria Canadensis, liver-leaf, Hepatica acutiloba, and various others of the crow-foot family, as also many species of cress, which belong to the mustard family, and the gay dandelion, Taraxacum dens-leonis, which keeps on blooming for weeks, etc., all of which are valuable and important.

The maples, which are all valuable honey plants, also con-

Fic. 145.

Red Maple, x pile Plessoms. ¥ Female blossoms, tribute to the early stores. Especially valuable are the silver maples, Acer dasycarpum, the red or soft maples, Acer rubrum (Fig. 145), and the box elder or ash-leaf maple Negundo aceroides, as they bloom so very early long before the leaves appear. The bees work on these, here

The Maples and Willows. 345

in Michigan, the first week of April, and often in Marcl. They are also magnificent shade trees, especially those that have the weeping habit. Their early bloom is very pleasing, their summer form and foliage beautiful, while

Fic. 146.

+f q (f Way HME

SS \

Sy

Willow. « Fudas Trea,

their flaming tints in autumn are indescribable. The foreign maples, -sycamore, Acer pseudo-platanus, and Norway, Acer platanoides, are also very beautiful. Whether superior to ours as honey plants, I am unable to say.

‘The willows, too (Fig. 146), rival the maples in the eatly period of bloom. Some are very early, blossoming in March, while others, like the white willow, Salix alba (Fig. 146), bloom in May. The flowers on one tree or bush of the willow are all pistillate, that is, have pistils but no stamens, while on others they are all staminate, haying no pistils. On the former, bees can gather only honey, on the latter only pollen. That the willow furnishes both honey and pollen is attested by the fact that I saw both

346 May Honey Plants.

kinds of trees, the pistillate and the staminate, thronged with bees the past season. The willow, too, from its ele- gant form and silvery foliage, is oné of our finest shade trees. It grows everywhere in the United States,

Fic. 148.

‘ wh

Sugar Maple,

In the south of Michigan, and thence southward to Ken- tucky, and even beyond, the Judas tree, or red-bud, Cercis Canadensis (Fig. 147), is not only worthy of cultivation as a honey plant, but is also very attractive, and well desery-

Jay Honey Plants, 347

ing of attention for its ornamental qualities alone. This blooms from March to May, according to the latitude.

The poplars—not the tulip—also bloom in April, and are freely visited by the bees. The wood is immaculate, and is used for too hpicks and sections for comb honey.

In California, the unique and exquisite Manzanitas (spe- cies of Arctostaphylos), together with the willows and many other flowering plants, keep the bees busy from January till May.

MAY PLANTS.

In May we have the grand sugar maple, Acer saccha- rinum (Fig. 148), incomparable for beauty, also all our various fruit trees, peach, cherry, plum, apple, etc.; in fact all the Rosacee family. Our beautiful American wista-

Fic. 149.

American Wistaria,

ria, Wistaria frutescens (Fig. 149), the very ornamental climber, or the still more lovely Chinese wistaria, Wista- ria sinensis (Fig. 150), which has longer racemes than the native, and often blossoms twice in the season. These are the woody twiners for the apiarist. I regret to say that neither one is hardy in Michigan.

348 The California Sages.

The barberry, too, Berberis vulgaris (Fig. 150), comes after fruit blossoms, and is thronged with bees in search of nectar in spring, as with children in winter, in quest of the beautiful scarlet berries, so pleasingly tart.

In California, the sumac, the horehound, the famous black sage (Fig. 151), Audibertia Palmeri, or more cor-

Fic 150.

Barberry,

Chinese Wistaria,

rectly Trechostema lanatum (there are two other species less common), with its most beautiful and delicious honey, and the more common, and hardly less excellent, white sage, Audibertia polystachia (Fig. 152), keep the bees roaring with activity, in favorable seasons, from April even unto June.

In the South, as I learn from that able apiarist, Dr. J. H. P. Brown, they are no less favored. The Japan privet, the varnish tree, the acacia, the black gum and the per-

é

The Black Sage. 349 Fic 151.

Ball or Black Sage.

350 The White Sage.

simmon stir the bees up to their best endeavor in May. The banana blooms not only in May, but, as Mr. W. 5S. Hart, of Florida, writes me, it is in blossom the year

Fic. 152.

White Sage.

around. So rich are the flower tubes in nectar that Mr. Hart says he could soon gather a teacupful, by hand, of clear beautiful nectar of good flavor. Chinquapin (Cas-

May Honey Plants, 351

tanea pumila), is an excellent honey plant in the Caro- linas.

The horse mint (Fig. 153), Monarda aristata, is sending the bees loaded to their hives with its peculiar aromatic nectar, “This, with the buckthorn, yields honey into June.

Fic. 153.

Florse Mint, +

This plant often covers acres in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Mr. Freeborn, of Wisconsin, has often secured a large harvest from this plant when all else failed,

The saw palmetto, Sable serulata, forms a dense growth and makes clearing the land no small expense in Florida.

352 White Clover,

The slim trunk creeps along the ground for twenty feet, and sends roots beneath for nourishment. The leaves arise from this stem, and are from four to six feet long. The clusters of small yellowish-white blossoms are immense in size. The blossoms last from the middle of April till June. The honey is yellow, thick and fine. The fruit of this palm is about twice the size of the Concord grape, and from October till Christmas the oozing nectar keeps the bees at work. This is dark honey, but very good for stim- ulative feeding.

TUNE PLANTS.

With June comes the incomparable white or Dutch clover, Trifolium repens (Fig. 154), whose chaste and modest bloom betokens the beautiful, luscious, and unrivaled sweets

Fic. 154.

White or Dutch Clover,

which are hidden in its corolla tube. Also its sister, Alsike or Swedish, Trifolium hybrida (Fig 155), which seems to resemble both the white and red clover. It is qa stronger grower than the white, and has a whitish blossom tinged with pink. Messrs. Doolittle and Root think that white clover furnishes about fifty pounds of honey to the acre dur.

353

Alstte Clover:

Fig. 155.

Alsike Clover,

354 White, Alsike and Sweet Clover.

ing the season. I am sure that Alsike may furnish much more than this, and I believe the same is true of white. This forms excellent pasture and hay for cattle, sheep, etc., and may well be sown by the apiarist. It will often pay api- arists to furnish neighboring farmers with seed as an induce- ment to grow this excellent honey plant. Like white clover, it blooms all through June into July. Both of these should be sown early in spring with timothy, five or six pounds of seed to the acre, in the same manner that red clover seed issown. As Alsike seeds itself each year, and so lasts much longer than red clover, I think it pays well to mix

Fic. 156.

Melilot Clover.

the seed, using about three pounds of Alsike clover seed and five or six of red clover. By cutting Alsike clover just as it commences to bloom, it may be made to come into blos- som the second time, so as just to fill the vacant space in August. This is a very important fact, and may well be acted upon. I have known Alsike clover to give a good harvest of nectar during a dry year, when white clover utterly failed.

Sweet clover, yellow and white, Melilotus officinalis (Fig. 156) and Melilotus alba, are well named.. They

Borage and Mignonette. 355

bloom from the middle of June to the first of October. ‘Their perfume scents the air for long distances, and the hum of bees that throng their flowers is like music to the apiarist’s ear. The honey, too, is just exquisite. These clovers are biennial, not blooming the first season, and dying after they bloom the second season. They perpetu- ate themselves, however, through the seed so as to really

Fic. 158.

Mignonette,

Borage,

become perennial. A disagreeable fact is that they have little value except forhoney. The Bokhara clover is only a variety of the above, though Mr. D. A. Jones thinks it quite superior to the others,

The other clovers-—lucerne, yellow trefoil, scarlet tre- foil, and alfalfa—have not proved of any value. with us, perhaps owing to locality. The alfalfa is valued highly for bees in Colorado and other western States.

Borage, Borago officinalis (Fig. 157), an excellent bee plant, blooms from June till frost, and is visited by bees ven in very rainy weather. It seems not to be a favorite, but is eagerly visited when all others fail to yield nectar.

Mignonette, Reseda odorata (Fig. 158), blooms from the

356 Fune Honey Plants.

middle of June till frost, is unparalleled for its sweet odor, furnishes nectar in profusion, and is well worthy cultiva-

Okra.

Fic. 160.

Mint,

tion. It does not secrete well in wet weather, but in favorable weather it is hardly equaled. Okra, or gumbo, Hibiscus esculentus (Fig. 159), also.

otherwort for Honey. 357

blooms in June. It is as much sought after by the bees in quest of honey, as by the cook in search of a savory vege- table, or one to give tone tosoup. .

Sage, Salvia officinalis, horehound, Marrubium vulgare, motherwort, Leonurus cardiaca, and catnip, Nepeta cataria,

Fic. 161.

Motherwort.

which latter does not commence to bloom till July, all fur- nish nice white honey, remain in bloom a long time, and are very desirable, as they are in bloom in the honey dearth of July and August. They, like many others of the mint

358 Sune Floney Plants.

family (Fig..160), are thronged with bees during the sea- son of bloom. The first and last are of commercial import- ance, while very few of our native plants afford so much nectar, are such favorites with the bees, and are so inde- , pendent of weather as motherwort (Fig 161). Itis crowded with bees from the dawn of its bloom till the last flower withers. By cutting it back in May it can be made to

Fic. 163.

Fic. 162.

Pollen of Milk-Weed on Bee's Foot. Black Mustard.

blossom just at the dearth of nectar-secreting bloom; other- wise it comes in June and early July, just when Linden is yielding its precious harvest. Few plants are more desir- able to sow in waste places.

The silk or milk-weed furnishes abundant nectar from June to frost, as there are several species of the genus Asclepias, which is wide-spread in our country. Indeed pleurisy root or butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is the bee-plant that Mr. Heddon has praised so highly. He thinks it one of our best indigenous honey-plants. These are the plants which have large pollen masses which often ad- here to the legs of the bees (Fig 162), and sometimes

The Mustards and Rape. 359

so entrap them as to cause their death. Prof. Riley once very graciously advised planting them to kill bees. I say graciously, as I have watched these very closely and am sure they do little harm, and are rich in nectar. Seldoma bee gets caught so as to hold it long, and when these awk- ward masses are carried away with the bee, they are usu- ally left at the door of the hive, where I have often seen them in considerable numbers. The river bank hard by our apiary is lined with these sweet smelling herbs, and we

Fic. 164.

Rape.

would like even more. Occasionally, however, the bee: become so burdened with these pollen masses that the other bees drag or drive them from the hive, as no longer fit for labor or worthy to live. Bees are veritable Hottentots, they kill, though they do not eat, the old and the feeble.

Black mustard, Sinapis nigra (Fig. 163), white mustard, Sinapis alba, and rape, Brassica campestris (Fig. 164), all look much alike, and are all admirable bee plants, as they furnish much and beautiful honey. The first, if self-sown, blooms with us July ist, the others June 1st; the first about eight weeks after sowing, the others about four.

360 Fune Honey Plants.

The mustards bloom for four weeks, rape for three. These are all specially commendable, as they may be made to bloom during the honey dearth of July and August, and are valuable plants to raise for seed. Rape seems to be

Fic. 165.

Tulip,

very attractive to insects, as the flea beetles and the blister beetles are often quite too much for it, though they do not usually destroy the plants till after they have blossomed.

The Tulip Tree. 361

I have several times purchased what purported to be Chi- nese mustard, dwarf and tall, but Prof. Beal, than whom there is no better authority, tells me they are only the white and black, and certainly they are no whit better as bee plants. These plants, with buckwheat, the mints, borage, and mignonette, are specially interesting, as they cover, or may be made to cover, the honey dearth from ‘about July zoth to August 2oth.

The mustards and rape may be planted in drills about eight inches apart, any time from May ist to July 15th. Four quarts will sow an acre.

In this month blooms the tulip tree, Liriodendron tulip. ifera (Fig. 165)—often called poplar in the South, which

Fic. 166.

Teasel,

is not only an excellent honey producer, but is one of our most stately and admirable shade trees. Dr. Brown, of Georgia, says this is the great dependence—the basswood of the South. He says that along rivers especially the bloom is so prolonged, being earlier on the uplands, that the harvest is long as bountiful. Now bloom the sumacs. though one species blooms in May, the wild plum, the raspberries, whose nectar is unsurpassed in color and flavor. and the blackberry. The blackberry comes quite late.

362 Sune Honey Plants.

some days after the raspberry. I think it is far less valua- ble as a honey plant. Corn yields largely of honey as well as pollen, and the teasel, Dipsacus fullonum (Fig. 166), is said, not only by Mr. Doolittle, but by English and German apiarists, to yield richly of beautiful honey. This last has commercial importance. In central New York it is raised in large quantities. The spinous fruit heads

Fic. 167.

Common Locust,

are used in preparing woolen cloth. The fragrant locust (Fig. 167) Robinia pseuda-cacia opens its petals in June, which, from its rapid growth, beautiful form and hand- some foliage, would rank among our first shade trees, were it not that it is so tardy in spreading its canopy of green, and so liable to ruinous attack by the borers, which last peculiarity it shares with the incomparable maples. Wash- ing the trunks of the trees in June and July with soft soap will in great part remove tbis trouble. ji In June the mammoth red clover, Trifolium pratense, comes out in one mass of crimson. This, unlike common red clover, has flower tubes short enough for even the ligula of the black bee. It is pretty coarse for hay but

Lhe Partridge Pea. 363

excellent for pasture and for green manuring. The Par- tridge pea, Cassia chamacrista (Fig. 168), furnishes abun- dant nectar, and like the cow pea of the South has extra floral as well as floral glands. Lupine, Lupinus perennis, and gill or ground ivy, Nepeta glechoma, commenced to

Fic. 168.

>

Pe

as ~ Rs4 ps ws

Partridge Pea,

blossom in May and now are fully out. This last isa mint, a near relative of catnip. I find there are foreign mints which are excellent honey-plants, and very likely would pay well to sow in waste places. The matrimony vine, Lycium vulgare, and the beautiful honey locust, Gleditschia triacanthos ( Fig. 169), are now full of life, as the bees come and go full-loaded with nectar. In California, the fig- wort, Scrophularia Californica, contributes to the honey

304

The Honey Locust.

Fic. 169.

gi WA

Honey Locust,

The Cow Pea and Cotton. 365

supply. Our brothers of the South reap a rich harvest from the great staple, cotton, Gossypium herbaceum (Fig. 170), which commences to bloom early in June, and

Fic. 170.

‘Cotton,

remains in blossom even to October. This belongs to the same family—Mallow— as the hollyhock, and like it blooms and fruits through the season.

The cow pea (Fig. 143) is not only good for bees, but for feed, and to enrich the soil. The stone-crop, Sedum pulchellum, is another valuable honey plant of the South. In June the magnolias (Fig. 171)—there are several spe- cies in the South—are in bloom. In many parts they com- mence to blossom in May. One.of the finest of these is the Magnolia glauca (Fig. 171). One would suspect at once that it was a near relative of the tulip tree.

366 Basswood as a Honey Plant.

JULY PLANTS.

Early in this month opens the far-famed basswood cr linden, Tilia Americana (Fig. 172), which for the profusion

Fic. 171.

SX

Magnolia,

and quality of its honey has no superior, Mr. Doolittte got 66 pounds of honey from this source by a single cul-

Linden or Basswood. 367

ony in three days. There is rarely a year that it does not give us some of its incomparable nectar. It has been esti-

Basswood.

mated that one linden tree would furnish, in a favorable year, fifty pounds of honey. The tree, too, from its great

268 Figwort for Honey.

spreading top and fine foliage, is magnificent for shade, Five of these trees are within two rods of my study win- dow, and their grateful fragrance and beautiful form ard shade have often been the subject of remark by visitors,

Fic. 173.

Figwort,

This tree is par excellence for roadside plant;

1 c planting. It bears transplanting admirably, and is very little diecirbed: by insects. We have only to keep stock away from it, and

The Chapman Honey Plant. 360

they are death to any tree. Maples, and even elms in many parts of the United States, may well give place to the linden.

Figwort, Scrophularia nodosa (Fig. 173), often called Rattleweed, as the seeds will rattle in the pod, and Carpen- ter’s Square, as it has a square stalk, is an insignificant look-

Fic. 174.

Chapman’s Honey Plant,

ing weed, with inconspicuous flowers, that afford abundant nectar from the middle of July till frost. I have received almost as many for identification as I have of the asters and golden rods. Prof. Beal remarked to mea year or two since, that it hardly seemed possible that it could be so valuable. We cannot always rightly estimate by appear- ances alone. It is a very valuable plant to be scattered in waste places. The Chapman’s honey plant, Echinops spherocephalus (Fig. 174), commences to bloom late in July and continues tillin August. It takes its first name

24

379 Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant,

Fuly Honev Plants. 371

from its spines, and the second from its round flower-head. It promises well, and now that the government distributes its seeds we shall soon know fully as to its virtues.

That beautiful and valuable honey plant from Minne- sota, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, cleome, or the Rocky Mountain bee-plant, C:come integrifolia (Fig. 175), if self-sown, or sown in the fall, blooms by the middle of July and lasts for long weeks. Nor can anything be more gay than these brilliant fowers, alive with bees all through the long fall. This should be planted in fall in drills two

_ feet apart, the plants six inches apart in the drills: It will not grow if planted in the spring. The seeds, which grow in pods, are very numerous, and are said to be valuable for chickens. It does best on light soil. This is one of our most promising plants for sowing on waste places. Now commence to bloom the numerous Eupatoriums, or bone- sets, or thoroughworts (Fig. 176), which fill the marshes of our country, and the hives as well, with their rich golden nectar. These are precursors of that profusion of this composite order, whose many species are even now budding, in preparation for the sea of flowers which will deck the marsh-lands of August ‘and September. Wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, which like the thistles is of importance to the apiarist, also blooms in July. As before remarked, this is one of the plants whose long flower tubes are pierced by the Nylocopa bees. Then the honey-bees help to gather the abundant nectar. This is a near relative of the horse-mint which, as will be seen, it closely recem- bles. The golden honey-plant, Actinomeris squarrosa, so praised by Dr. Tinker, and rattle-snake root, Nabalus altissimus, which swarms with bees all the day long, are also composite plants.

The little shrub of our marshes, appropriately named button-bush, Cephalanthus occidentalis (Fig. 177), also shares the attention of the bees with the linden; while api- arists of the South find sour-wood, or sorrel tree, Oxyden- drum arboreum (Fig. 178), a valuable honey tree. We have this plant on our college grounds, but it is not hardy here, as it kills back nearly every winter. This belongs to the Heath family, which includes the far-famed heather

372 Boneset or Thoroughwort.

Fic. 176.

Boneset,

Honey Plants of Fuly. 373 bloom of England. It also includes our whortleberry, cranberry, blueberry, and one plant which has no enviable reputation, as furnishing honey which is very poisonous, even fatal to those who eat, the mountain laurel; Kalmia latifolia. There is good reason to question these reports as to poisonous honey. We can easily see how mistakes could occur. It is not easy to understand, if these plants furnish poisonous nectar, why poisonous honey (?) is so very rare an occurrence. A near relative of K. latifolia, which grows at the South, Andromeda nitida, is said to fur-

Fic. 177.

Butto: Balt,

ni$h beautiful and wholesome honey in great quantities. The Virginia creeper also blooms in July. I wish I could say that this beautiful vine, transplendent in autumn, is a favor- ite with the honey-bee. Though it often, nay always, swarms with wild bees when in blossom, yet I have rarely: seen honey-bees visit the ample bloom amidst its rich, green, vigorous foliage.

374 St. Fohn’s Wort.

The St. John’s wort, Hypericum, with its many species, both shrubby and herbaceous, offers bountiful contributions to the delicious stores-of the honey bee. The catnip, Ne- peta cataria, and asparagus—which if uncut in spring will

Fic. 178.

Sour Wood,

bloom in June—so delectable for the table, and so elegant for trimming table meats and for banquets in autumn, come now to offer their nectarian gifts, and beautiful orange pollen,

Basil or mountain mint, Pycnanthemum lanceolatum— we might almost include all the mints, the blue and white

Cabbage Palmetto. 374

vervains, or verbenas, Verbena hastata, and V. stricta, also fog-fruit, Lippia lyceroides, another of this family, is val- ued very highly in Texas—it grows ten feet high and bears beautiful white flowers; the iron weeds, Vernonias, the mal- vas, Culver’s root, Veronica Virginica—another of the fig- wort family; Indian plantains, Cacalias, and viper’s bugloss —the so-called blue thistle—all contribute to the apiary in July; the viper’s bugloss, Echium vulgare, though most common South is very abundant at Beeton, Canada. Mr.

Fic. 179.

Cabbage Palmetto,

Jones has it growing all about his apiaries. I have never seen it in Michigan. It is a near relation of borage, and does not belong even to the family—Composita—of the thistles.

In California, the blue gum and the red gum, Eucalyp- tus globulus, and E, rostrata, introduced from Australia, furnish honey from July and August till December.

The catalpa, a very rapid growing tree, throws its large, showy blossoms to the breeze and bees in July. It is rap-

The Mangrove and Palmetto.

376

: re ; ; ee ai idly growing in favor as a shade tree, and is incompara fr oe. It lasts for a great many years when imbedded

inthe earth. But “the noblest Roman of them all” is the

True Mangrove,

It

(Fig.179). As Mr.. who saw and tasted it

is the linden of the South.

ps palmetto

ays, this ney, which, as all

cabbage palmetto, Chamero Hart, of Florida, s yields abundant ho

Summer Honey Plants. 377

at the last convention at Cincinnati, can vouch, is unsur- passed in flavor, Mr. Muth well said that he wished no finer, This tree grows to the height of seventy feet. The trunk is. leafless to near the top, and varies little in size from the earth to the top. The small, white blossoms nestle among the long palm leaves in profusion, and are tich in both nectar and pollen, from June 1st till August. The tree is found from the Carolinas to the Gulf.

At the same time with the above, the white blossom of the black mangrove, Avicennia tomentosa, and its near relative, Avicennia oblongifolia, come forth with their abundant and incomparable nectar which hangs in drops.

Fic. 181.

Buckwheat,

The honey from this and the cabbage palmetto is clear, and as fine and beautiful as that of white clover. This tree is confined to the Peninsula of Florida, where it is regarded as the best honey plant that grows in that locality.

Here we see the danger of common names. This is not a mangrove at all; though the leaves resemble those of the true mangrove, they are more tomentose or hairy, and, like that tree, grows down to the very waters’ edge, so is not affected by drouth. This is an evergreen, and forms an

378 Fall Honey Plants.

impenetrable thicket on the muddy shores of the sea. It bzlongs to the same family as our verbenas—the vervain family.

The true mangrove (Fig. 180) has yellow blossoms, and like the renowned Banyan tree, sends numerous stems to the earth, each of which takes root. This tree belongs to the mangrove family, and is Rhizophora mangle.

AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER PLANTS.

The cultivated buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum (Fig. 181), usually blooms in August, as it is sown the first of

Fic. 182.

Golden Rod.

July—three pecks per acre is the amount to sow—but by sowing the first of June, it may be made to bloom the middle of July, when there is generally, in most localities, an absence of nectar-secreting flowers. The honey is inferior in color and flavor, though some people prefer this to all other honey. The silver-leaf buckwheat blooms

Sunflowers and Golden Rod. 379

longer, has more numerous flowers, and thus yields more grain than the common variety. The Japan buckwheat is said to be superior even to the silver leaf.

The odd shrub, Hercules’ club, Aralia spinosa, grown as a curiosity North, but indigenous in Kentucky and Ten- nessee, yields abundant nectar. It blooms at Lookout Mountain early in August, just after the sourwood.

Now come the numerous golden rods. The species of

Fic. 183.

Aster.

the genus Solidago (Fig. 182), in the Eastern’ United States, number nearly two score, and occupy all kinds of soils and are at home on upland, prairie and morass. These abound in all parts of the United States. They yield abundance of rich, golden honey, with flavor that is unsur- passed by any other. Fortunate the apiarist who can boast of a thicket of Solidagoes in his locality.

The many plants usually styled sunflowers, because of their resemblance to our cultivated plants of that name,

350 Autumn Honey Plants.

which deck the hill-side,’ meadow and marsh land, now unfurl their showy involucres, and open their modest corollas, to invite the myriad insects to sip the precious nectar which each of the clustered flowers secretes. Our cultivated sunflowers, I think, are indifferent honey plants,

Fic. 184.

Great Willow Herb, after Gray,

a wieset bet ripe stigma, = pee stigma,

nripe stamens, lower with ri P Petal. : Po Pollen grain, See T Pollen tube.

though some think them big with beauty, and their seeds are relished by poultry. But the numerous species of asters (Fig. 183), so wide-spread, the beggar-ticks and Spanish-needles, Bidens, of our marshes, the tick-seed Coreopsis, also, of the low, marshy places, with hundreds more of the great family Composite, are replete with

Autumn Honey Plants. 381

precious nectar, and with favorable seasons make the apiarist who dwells in their midst jubilant, as he watches

Fic. 185.

Spider Plant.

the bees which fairly flood the hives with the rich and

382 Books for Apiarists..

delicious honey. In all of this great family, the flowers are small and inconspicuous, clustered in compact heads, and when the plants are showy with bloom, like the sun- flowers, the brilliancy is due to the involucre, or bracts which serve as a frill to decorate the more modest flowers.

The great willow herb, or fire weed, Epilobium angus- tifolium (Fig. 184), is often the source of immense honey harvests. The downy seeds blow to great distances, and finding a lodgment, their vitality makes them burst forth whenever brush is burned or forest fires rage. Hence the name, fire weed. This handsome plant often covers acres of burnt lands in Northern Michigan with its beautiful pink bloom. Unlike most nectar from late bloom, the honey from this flower is white as clover honey. It often gives a rich harvest to the apiarist of Northern Michigan. Another excellent fall honey plant of wide range is the coral berry or Indian currant, Symphoricarpus vulgaris. The honey product of this plant is worthy its name. I close this account with mention of another Cleome, the famous spider plant (Fig. 185), Cleome pungens. Th's plant thrives best in rich, damp clay soil. It is only open for a little time before night-fall and at early dawn; but when open its huge drops of nectar keep the bees wild with excitement, calling them up even before daylight, and enticing them to the field long after dusk.

I have thus mentioned the most valuable honey plants of our country. Of course there are many omissions. Let all apiarists, by constant observation, help to fill up the list.

BOOKS ON BOTANY.

I am often asked what books are best to make apiarists botanists. JI am glad to answer this question, as the study of botany will not only be valuable discipline, but will also furnish abundant pleasure, and give important prac- tical information. Gray’s Lessons and Manual of Botany, in one volume, published by Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co., New York, is the most desirable treatise on this subject. A more recent work by Prof. C. E. Bessey, and published by Henry Holt & Co., is also very excellent

flints for Planting. 383

The former treats of systematic, the latter of physiological botany.

PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS.

It will pay well for the apiarist to decorate his grounds with soft and silver maples, for their beauty and early bloom. If his soil isrich, sugar maples and lindens may well serve a similar purpose. Indeed, every apiarist should strive to have others plant the linden. No tree is so worthy a place by the roadside. The Judas and tulip trees, both North and South, may well be made to ornament his home. For vines, obtain the wistarias, where they are hardy.

Sow and encourage the sowing of Alsike clover and silver-leaf or Japanese buckwheat in your neighborhood. Be sure that your wife, children, and bees can often repair to a large bed of the new giant or grandiflora mignonette, and remember that it, with figwort, spider plant, Rocky Mountain bee plant, and borage, blooms till frost.. Study the bee plants of your region, and then study the above table, and provide for a succession, remembering that the mustards, rape and buckwheat may be made to bloom almost at pleasure, by sowing at the proper time. Do not forget that borage and the mustards seem comparatively indifferent to wet weather. Be sure that all waste places are stocked with motherwort, catnip, pleurisy root, figwort, cleome, viper’s bugloss, asters, etc.

The above dates, unless specially mentioned, are only correct for Michigan, Northern Ohio, and similar latitudes, and for more southern latitudes must be varied, which, by comparison of a few, as the fruit trees, becomes no difficult matter.

384 Causes of Winter Losses.

CHAPTER XVII,

WINTERING BEES.

This is a subject, of course, of paramount importance to the apiarist of the Northern States, as this is the rock on which some of even the most successful have split. Yet I come fearlessly to consider this question, as from all the multitude of disasters I see no occasion for discourage- ment. If the problem of successful wintering has not been solved already, it surely will be, and that speedily. So important an interest was never yet vanquished by misfor- tune, and there is no reason to think that history is now going to be reversed. Of course this chapter has no prac- tical value to the apiarists of the South and Pacific Coast. There safe wintering is assured, except as the careless bee- keeper permits starvation.

THE CAUSES OF DISASTROUS WINTERING.

I fully believe, and to no branch of this subject have I given more thought, study, and observation, that all the losses may be traced to either unwholesome food, extremes of temperature, or protracted cold. I know from actual and wide-spread observation, that the severe loss of 1870 and 1871 was attended in this part of Michigan with unsuitable honey in the hive. The previous autumn was unprecedentedly dry. Flowers were rare, and storing was largely from insect secretion, and consequently the stores were unwholesome. I tasted of honey from many hives only to find it nauseating.

Extremes of heat and cold are also detrimental to the bees. If the temperature of the hive becomes too high, the bees become restless, eat more than they ought, and if confined to their hives are distended with their feces, become diseased, besmear their comb and hives, and die. If when they become thus disturbed, they could have a purifying flight, all would be weil. Again, if the temperature become extremely low, the bees to keep up the animal heat must

Reguirements for Safe Wintering. 385

take more food; they are uneasy, exhale much moisture, which may settle and freeze on the outer combs about the cluster, preventing the bees from getting the needed food, and thus in this case both dysentery and starvation confront the bees. That able and far-seeing apiarist, the lamented M. Quinby, was one of the first to discover this fact; and here, as elsewhere, gave advice that if heeded would have saved great loss and sore disappointment. I have little doubt, in fact I know from actual investigation, that in the past severe winters, those bees which under confinement have been subject to severe.extremes, were the ones that invariably perished. Had the bees been kept in a uniform temperature, ranging from 40° to 45° F., the record would have been materially changed. Bees do not hibernate in the sense that other insects do, though if the temperature is just right, from 40°. to 45° F., they are very quiet and eat but little. Yet that they are even then functionally active is readily shown by the high independent tempera- ture in the hive and their frequent change of position in the cluster,

Excessive moisture, especially in cases of protracted cold, is always to be avoided. Bees, like all other; animals, are constantly giving off moisture, which of course will be accelerated if the bees become disturbed and are thus led to consume more food. This moisture not only acts as explained above, but also induces fungous growths. The mouldy comb is not wholesome, though it may never cause death. Hence another necessity for sufficient warmth to drive this moisture from the hive, and some means to absorb it without opening the hive above ard permitting a current, which will disturb the bees, and cause the greater consump- tion of honey. It is probable that with the proper tem- perature moisture will do little harm.

THE REQUISITE TO SAFE WINTERING—GOOD FOOD.

To winter safely, then, demands that the bees have thirty pounds, by weight not guess—I have known many cases where guessing meant starvation—of good capped honey (granulated sugar is just as good). It is now proved that it is even safer to feed a syrup made of granulated sugar.‘

26

386 Rules for Wintering.

We thus are sure that our stores are good and suitable. Often it pays to do this as we get enough for the extracted honey to pay well for the sugar and our time and trouble. If desired this may be fed as previously explained, which should be done so early that all will be capped during the warm days of October.

The bees should be able to pass over or through the combs, Hill’s device—bent pieces placed above the frames so as to raise the cloth cover—will permit the first, while small holes cut through the combs will enable the bees to pass from one comb to another without having to pass around. In a good cellar it is not necessary to do more at most than to so arrange that the bees can pass over the frames. I used to cut holes, but do so no more. This preparatory work I always do early in October, when 1 extract all uncapped honey, take out all frames after I have given each colony the thirty pounds, éy we/g At, of honey, confine the space with a division board, cover with the quilt and chaff, and then leave undisturbed till the cold of November calls for further care. I prefer that the combs have no pollen in them, and that they be so full of honey that six or eight will be enough. Pollen usually does no harm, though sometimes it is injurious. If the bees can fly often or if kept in a uniform temperature at from 40° to 45° F., the pollen willdono harm. The combs may well be one-half inch apart. If the bees have been neglected, and mid-winter finds them destitute of stores, then they should not be fed liquid honey, though this has been done with success, but either the Good or Viallon or some other solid candy should be placed on the frames just above the cluster.

Or we may run the candy into a frame and hang it in the hive,

SECURE LATE BREEDING...

_ Keep the bees breeding till the first of September. Except in years of excessive drouth, this will occur without extra care. Failure may result from the presence of worthless queens. Any queens which seem not to be prolific should be superseded whenever the fact becomes evident. regard, this as most important. Few know how much is lost by

Packing Box for Winter. 387

tolerating feeble, impotent queens in the apiary, whose ability can only keep the colonies alive. Never keep such queens about. Here, then, is another reason for always keeping extra queens on hand. Even with excellent queens, a failure in the honey yield may cause breeding to cease. In such cases, we have only to feed as directed under the head of feeding. It is not true that very large colonies will winter better than smaller ones. Yet it is important that the bees be normal in age and condition.

TO SECURE AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER TEMPERATURE.

We ought also to provide against extremes of tempera- ture. It is desirable to keep the temperature about the hive between 38° and 50° F., through the entire winter, from November to April. If: no cellar or house is at hand, this may be partially accomplished as follows: Some pleasant, dry day in late October or early November, raise the stahd and place straw beneath; then surround the hive with a box a foot outside the hive, with movable top, and . open on the east; or else have a long wooden tube, oppo- site the entrance, to permit flight; this tube should be six or eight inches square to per mnt easy examination in win ter. The same end may be gained by driving stakes and putting boards around. Then we crowd between the box and the hive either cut. straw, chaff or shavings. - After placing a good thickness of cut straw above the hive, lay on the cover of the box, or cover with boards, This pre-‘ serves against changes of temperature during the winter, and also permits the bees to fly, if it becomes necessary from a protracted ‘period of warm weather, I have thus kept all our bees safely during two of the disastrous win- ters. This plan usually succeeds well, but will fail in a very severe winter like that of 1880-81. As some may wisH to try, and possibly to adopt it, I will describe the box used at our College, which costs but one dollar and is convenient to store away in summer.

BOX FOR PACKING.

The sides of this (Fig. 186, a, a2) facing east and west are three and a half feet long, two feet high at the south

388 Winter Packing Box.

end, and two and a half feet at the north. They are in one piece, which is secured by nailing the boards which form them to cleats, which are one inch from the ends. The north end (Fig. 186, 6) is three feet by two and a. half feet, the south (Fig. 186, 4) three feet by two, and made the same as are the sides. The slanting edges of the side (Fig. 186, a, 2) are made by using for the upper boards, the strips formed by sawing diagonally from corner to

Fic. 186.

Packing Box,

corner a board six inches wide and three feet long. The cover (Fig. 186, g), which is removed in figure, is large enough to cover the top and project one inch at both ends. It should be battened, and held in one piece by cleats (Fig

186, 4) four inches wide, nailed on to the ends. fiece will drop over the ends of the box, and thus hold the cover in place, and prevent rain and snow from driving in. When in place this slanting cover permits the rain to run off easily

and will dry quickly after a storm. By a single nail at

Advantages of Chaff-Hives. "389

each corner the four sides may be tacked together about - the hive, when it can be packed in with cut straw (Fig. 186), or fine chaff, which should be carefully done, if the day is cold, so as not to disquiet the bees. At the center and bottom of the east side (Fig. 186, c) cut out a square, eight inches each way, and between this and the hive place a bottomless tube (the top of this tube is represented as removed in figure to show entrance to hive), before putting ‘in the cut straw or chaff and adding the cover. This box should be put in place before the bleak cold days of Novem- ber, and retained in position till the stormy winds of April are passed. This permits the bees to fly when very warm weather comes in winter or spring, and requires no atten- tion from the apiarist. By placing two or three hives close together in autumn—yet never move the colonies more than three or four feet at any one time, as such removals involve the loss of many bees—-one box may be made to cover all, and at lessexpense. This will also be more trustworthy in very cold winiers.. Late in spring these boxes may be removed and packed away, and the straw or chaff carried away, or removed a short distance and burned.

CHAFF-HIVES.

Messrs. Townley, Butler, Root, Poppleton and others, prefer chaff-hives, which are simply double-walled hives, with the four or five inch chambers filled with chaff. The objections to these I take to be: first, they are not proof against severe and long-continued cold, like the winter of 1880-81; second, such cumbrous hives are inconvenient to handle in summer; and, third, they are expensive. That they would in part supply the place of shade, is, perhaps, in their favor, while Mr. A. I. Root thinks they are not expensive.

Mr. O. O. Poppleton, one of our most intelligent bee- keepers, shows practically that the first objection given above is not valid. So very likely the failure in so many apiaries in 1880-81 was rather due-to improper use. Mr. Poppleton claims numerous advantages for these hives:

1st, In his hands, success. .

2d. They permit early preparation for winter.

390 How to Use Chaff-fives.

ad. They give entire fresdom from care of the bees from September till March. :

4th. Preparation for winter requires only slight labor.

5th. We can easily get at the bees at any time.

6th. The bees are not excited by a slight rise in tem- perature, and so are not lost by flying on cold days; do not breed in winter and spring when they need quiet, and do not “dwindle” in spring. ;

7th. They are valuable aids in building up nuclei and

Fic. 187.

Section of a Chaff- Hive,

weak colonies at cold periods at any one time ofthe year. sth, They are specially desirable to protect the bees in April and May, and prevent “spring dwindling.”

RULES FOR THEIR USE.

Mr. Poppleton urges the following important points:

st. Pack early in autumn before cold weather, and do not remove the packing till the warm weather has come to stay.

Wintering in Bee House. 391

2d. Have five or six inches on ad/ sédes of bees, of jine chaff—timothy is best—entirely freed from straw.

3d. Be sure and have the chaff below the bees as well as above and on the sides.

4th. Do not put the chaff above the bees on loose, but confine in sacks. This is for convenience and neatness.

5th. Have as much empty space as possible inside the hive and outside the packing; and never let the cover to the hive rest immediately on the packing.

6th. Crowd the bees on to a few frames—never more than eight—and the packing close to the bees.

yth. Winter passages should be made through all the combs.

Mr. Jones prefers that the outer wall of the chaff-hive should be of narrow boards so as to be more impervious to dampness. He also uses fine dry sawdust instead of chaff. Mr. Root in his two-story hives (Fig. 187) uses a thicker layer of chaff below, but carries it to the top. Of course the double wall need not extend on the sides of the frames. The division boards on the sides of the frames may make the double wall.

WINTERING IN BEE HOUSE.

As Mr. D. A. Jones has tested bee houses on a very large scale, and met with success, I will quote directly from him:

«The house should be so constructed that the out-door temperature cannot affect that of the bee house; and in order to accomplish this its walls should be packed tightly with two feet of dry sawdust or three feet of chaff pack- ing, overhead same thickness, and the bottom so protected that no frost can penetrate. Next, it should have a venti- lating tube at the top, of not less than one square inch to each colony of bees. It should have sub-earth ventilation by means of a tube laid below the depth frost will pene- trate, and from one to three hundred feet in length, coming in contact with outside atmosphere at the other end; as air passes through this' tube it is tempered by the distance through the earth, and comes into the house at an even temperature. By means of slides at these ventilators, the

392 Wintering in Cellar.

temperature can be arranged in the bee house, which should stand from 43° to 46°, and in no case should it fall lower than 42°. There should be tight-fitting triple doors, which will make two dead-air spaces.

«‘ When the bee house is filled, and during warm weather. in the spring—the bees should not be let out on the sum- mer stands until the first pollen appears (which is gen- erally from the tag alder or black willow )—it is necessary that the temperature of the room be kept at the wintering standpoint. This may be done by means of an ice-box or refrigerator, filled with ice or snow, and suspended at top of room in close proximity to the ceiling. The bottom of the box must be so constructed that while the warm air may be allowed to pass up through the refrigerator, the drippings+ will not drop to the floor and create moisture. This latter may be prevented by means of a tube running: from the box down through the floor.” The rules for remov- ing and storing in the house are the same as those for cel-° lar. From expense and difficulty in maintaining a uniform temperature, I think the house less desirable than the cellar.

WINTERING IN CELLAR.

North of the latitude of Central, and I think we may say Southern, Ohio, I think a good cellar is not’only the safest but the best place in which to winter bees. I have kept our college bees for many years in such a cellar with no loss. The great point is to have perfect control of the temperature. This must be kept between 38° F. and 50° ¥F., and should never vary suddenly. It were best if it were always at 45° F. With a cellar all is under ground, and we are thus fortified against the effects of our sudden changes of temperature. The sub-earth ventilator as de- scribed above, though not necessary, as the experience of many has fully proved, is a help. It is still better if the vertical shaft or pipe connect with a stove above which is much used in winter. This creates a draft and as the air is brought under ground through the long sub-earth pipe the air is warmed. The pipe should connect with the stove- pipe above at quite a height above the stove or the stove may smoke. I have found here at the college that we get

Temperature of Cellar. ; 393

quite a draft especially on windy days, even if there is no fire, but our vertical pipe—a common stove-pipe serves excellently well—connects simply with a chimney which projects above the house. Such an arrangement not only controls the temperature but ventilates the cellar. A large cistern full of water or water running through a cellar deep under ground is a wonderful moderator and will surely keep the temperature at the proper point. It is imperative that every bee-keeper have a thermometer in his cellar and by frequent examination KNow that the temperature is at the proper point. Unless he finds that he cannot control the temperature without, he better not go to the expense of either sub-earth ventilation or a cistern.

Dr. C. C. Miller keeps a small coal stove burning with open door in each cellar, and thus keeps the temperature just as he desires. My brother keeps as many bees in his house cellar with no such pains or labor, and yet is as suc- cessful as is Dr. Miller. The thing to remember is, we must control the temperature.

I commence preparation for winter as soon as the first frost shows that the harvest is over. I then put five Lang- stroth or seven Gallup frames at one side or end of the hive where they are to remain for the winter. If these have not enough food I feed till they have. If other frames have brood I put these close beside; and remove them as soon as the brood has all matured, and close up the other frames by use ofadivision board. I now cover all with acloth and with a super of chaff or dry sawdust. For the past two years I have left all the combs in very strong colonies and covered simply with a board, and these colonies haye done well. In a good cellar bees need no packing about or above the brood chamber.

Before cold weather—any time from the first to the middle of November—the bees are carried into the cellar. This better be done carefully, so as not to disturb the bees. Yet Iam not sure that such disturbance is any special injury. To prevent the bees from coming out in case of disturbance the entrance blocks must close the entrances. Dr. Miller uses wet cloths to effect this.

‘In the cellar the hives should rest a foot from.the bottom

394 Wintering Bees in the Cellar.

and may rest on each other, breaking joints, the weakest colonies at the top. When all are in, and quiet, the entrances are opened wide. I would, if it were not for the expense, and I had loose bottom boards so that I could, place a rim under each hive so as to raise it two or three inches above the bottom board. Except for the open entrance, I give no special ventilation to each hive. Now we shut our two or three doors, and if our cellar is right we have no more care for the bees till the succeeding April. Should the * bees become uneasy and soil their hives about the entrance —they will not if the food is all right and the temperature keeps at the right point, from 38° to 50° F.—then it may be well to set the bees out for a flight in February or March, in case a warm day affords opportunity. In case there is snow, a little straw may be scattered over it. The day must be quite warm. It is far wiser to have our cellar right so we shall not need to do this.

If the bees get short of stores in winter—this would show great neglect on the part of the bee-keeper—they should be fed “Good candy,” cakes of which may be laid on the frames and covered with cloth. -Frames of honey or syrup, filled as already described, may be given bees in mid-winter. The idea that bees cannot be examined in winter is incorrect. Frames may be taken out or added. though it were doubtless better to leave the bees undis- turbed. The cellar should be dark and quiet, If every- thing is just right, light does no harm; but if it gets pretty cold or too warm then the bees become uneasy and fly out, never to return. Some bees always leave the hive in win- ter. These are veterans and are ready to die. Thus with 100 colonies of bees in a cellar, we need not be anxious even if a good many quarts come out to die.

In spring, when the flowers have started, so that the bees can gather honey and pollen, they may be set out. This better be too late than too early. Here in Central Michigan, the 15th of April is usually early enough. I repeat: Better too late than too early. The colonies are set each on its own stand and each hive well cleaned out. Each colony should have plenty of honey. Scant stores in spring always bring loss if not ruin. We now take away

Preparation for Winter. 395

extra frames of comb, giving. the bees simply what they will cover, but always. a good amount of honey. A frame of pollen taken away the previous autumn may also be added. We close up about the bees with a division board, and cover warmly above by adding a chaff filled super.

If we give abundant stores, I am not sure but for strong colonies a full set of frames and board above, which, how-

ever, must fit very snugly, is as good as a chaff covering or chaff-hive. For the simple Heddon- Langstroth hive, however, I think a warm cloth under the cover is very desirable. I have tried’ some colonies in this way the past two springs, and was pleased with the results. I am not yet sure but it is always better to cover with chaff, sawdust or leaves; dut.we must give plenty of honey, and perhaps we must cover warmly and snugly, to win the best suc- cess. I always thought so, but now I am in doubt. Even if better, it may still prove more profitable to give plenty of honey, and let the hives alone, with a full set of combs in each. This saves much time. Geo. Grimm and my brother practice this and succeed.

Perhaps I ought to say that all colonies should be strong in autumn; but I have said before, never have weak colo- nies. As before stated, a colony need not be very large to winter well; but they should be strong, in the possession of a good queen, and the proper proportion of young and. vigorous bees. Yet for fear some have been negligent, I remark that weak colonies and nuclei should be united in preparing for winter. To do this, approximate the col- onies each day, four or five feet, till they are side by side. Now remove the poorest queen, then smoke thoroughly, sprinkle both colonies with sweetened water scented with essenee of peppermint, put a sufficient number of the best frames and all the bees into one of the hives, and then set this midway between the position of the hives at the com- mencement of the uniting. The bees will unite peaceably, and make a strong colony. In case of nuclei I usually unite three for winter. Uniting colonies may pay at other seasons. It may seem rash to. some, yet I fully believe that if the above suggestions are carried out in full, I may guarantee successful wintering. But if we do lose our bees,

396 Burying Bees in Winter.

having all our hives, combs and honey, we can buy col- onies in the spring with a perfect certainty of making a good per cent. on our investment. Even with*the worst condition of things, we are still ahead, in way of profit, of most other vocations.

BURYING BEES, OR CLAMPS.

In principle this is the same as cellar wintering. There are two serious objections to it. First, we do not know that the temperature is just right, and secondly, if aught goes wrong we know nothing of it+the bees are away out of sight. If this is practiced, the ground should be either sandy or well drained. If we can choose a side-hill it should be done. Beneath the hives and around them, straw should be placed. I should advise leaving the entrance well open, yet secure against mice. Zhe hives should all be placed beneath the surface level of the earth, and a mound should be raised above them sufficient to preserve against extreme warmth or cold. A trench about the mound to carry the water off quickly is desirable. In this arrangement the ground acts as a moderator. I would urge the suggestion that no one try this with more than a few colonies, for several years, till repeated successes show that it is reliable in all seasons. I tried burying very suc- cessfully for a time, then for two winters lost heavily. These last winters the bees would have wintered well on their summer stands, as the weather was very warm. The bees became too warm, and were worried to death.

SPRING DWINDLING.

As already suggested, this is not to be feared if we keep our bees breeding till autumn, prepare them well and early for winter, and use a good cellar for wintering. It may be further prevented by forbidding late autumn flights, fre- quent flights in winter, when the weather is warm, and too early flying in spring. :

I am aware that this matter of spring dwindling is most stoutly urged as an objection to cellar wintering, and as an argument in favor of chaff-hives. I have had excellent success in cellar wintering, and never yet lost a colony by

Spring Dwindling. 397

“spring dwindling.” Crowd the bees up onto a few frames when taken from the cellar, give them abundant food; cover warmly above and at sides of division boards with generous bags of sawdust, and leave these on the hives if the weather remains cool, until we wish to place the section crates or extracting second story on the hives, and bees from the cellar—a good cellar—will come through the spring in excellent condition. In the win- ter of ’81~82, I put some chaff-hives into my cellar alongside of my single walled hives, arranged as just de- scribed, and the bees in them did no better in spring after removal from the cellar than in other hives. Be sure in early spring that the bees have no more combs than they can cover, and cover warmly—feeding daily a little warm syrup is also desirable—and spring dwindling will lose its terror. Good wintering, and ample spring stores are the antidote to spring dwindling. Never set bees perma- nently on their summer stands from the cellar till the flowers and warmth will enabie them to work. Be'ow 60° F. in the shade is too cold for bees to fly. At 7o° F. we may safely handle our bees without chilling the brood.. When not clustered bees chill at about 55°.

I have little doubt but that bees will do better if no breeding takes place in winter. Perfect quiet should be our desire. If the bees have no pollen, of course no breeding will take place, and so I advised its removal. It is not for winter use.

398 The College Bee House.

CHAPTER XIX. Tue House APIARY AND BEE Howse.

The house apiary is a frost-proof house in which the bees are kept the year through. The entrances to the hives are through the sides of the house, and all manipula- tion of the bees is carried on inside. From what I have’ said about wintering, it at once appears that such a house should preserve a uniform temperature. As many such houses were built a few years ago, and are now, with very few exceptions, used for other purposes, I will-only say that if such houses afe ever desirable it is only. when queen rearing is to occupy the chief attention of the apiarist.

BEE HOUSES.-

As a good and convenient bee house is very desirable in every apiary of any considerable size, I will proceed to give a few hints.in reference to its construction. _

First, I should have a good cellar under the house, en- tirely under ground so as certainly to be frost proof, mouse and rat proof, thoroughly grouted, and ventilated as already described. JI would have three doors to this from the east, the outer one inclined. In pur new college apiary we have a vestibule to the cellar, and four doors beside the slanting one, two to the inner one or bee cellar and two to the outer or vestibule. I should have the entrance an inclined plane, which, especially if the apiary is large, should be so grad- ual in its descent that a car could pass down it into the cellar on a temporary track. The cellar should be well drained, or if water be permitted to pass through it, this should be kept in prescribed channels. In our cellar we have a large cistern, This is mostly in the outer cellar,

but partly in the inner or bee cellar. A tight partition * separates the two rooms except at bottom of the cistern. In case of large apiaries the track and car make the re- moval of the bees to and from the cellar an easy matter. The first floor I should have, if my apiary was large, on a

Bee House Described, 399

level with the ground. This (Fig. 188) should contain three rooms, one on the north.for a shop, one on the south-

Fie. 188. p: w c ai || ek el i 3 @ A Clstern. 8 x 14, H f= J} outside measure, 33 "436 ft. high. = \ é ! : ‘ \ | “ \ AH] >» 3 Cellar, Tfeet high, tf" Iw 2 grouted on the bot- He H Py tom, and plastered ni) ci eae z with water-Ime or : «\M, celled above. \ = t i : ‘ ’ i ! H = s | 30 feet, outside mesure. Diagram of Cellar, % w——— 34¢-ft. D: Ww = é 30 ft., outside measure, oa 3 3 5 3 ‘ Wa Celling 8 ft, Soe = : Pump 344-ft. Stairs D > : oth: Chimuey gt > i , 15 ft. 3 2 é » Hard-wood Floor, Lathed and ah Plastered. w as : i “Cellar Trap- |" a Door-double, s eae 4 a w oh

Diagram of First Floor. _

east for comb honey, and one on the southwest for extract- ing, and storing extracted honey and brood combs. Fcr

400 » Lhe College Bee House.

100 colonies of bees, this building need not be more than twenty by twenty-four feet. A chimney should pass from the attic at the common angle of these three rooms through the roof. Wide doors on the south, if the apiary is large, should permit the car to enter either of the rooms on an extemporized track, whenever extracting or taking off comb heney is in operation. . é

The house should be so constructed as to be always free from rats and mice. In summer, wire gauze doors should be used, also wire gauze window screens made to swing out like common window blinds. Ours are single, not double, light, and so hung that when opened they remain so till shut. At the top the gauze extends outside the upper piece of the frame, and is separated from it by a bee- space width. At the top a few three-eighths inch round holes are made. This permits all bees to leave the house, while the character of the opening precludes outside bees from entering. Inside doors should permit our passing directly from any of these rooms to the others. The posi- tion of the chimney makes it easy to have a fire in any of the rooms. This.would be desirable in the shop, in win- ter, when hive making, etc., is in operation, or when visit- ing with other bee-keepers is in progress. The ripening of honey or late extracting makes it often desirable to have a fire in the extracting room. If comb-honey is kept in the designated room late in the ‘season, it is desirable to _warm that room. Of course a large stove in the shop might be made to heat any or all of the rooms. I would have the comb-honey ‘room very tight, and ventilated by an easily regulated slide into the chimney for the purpose of easy fumigation. Platforms a little out from the wall on which the honey may rest for a time are desirable, as the honey will not be so fine if immediately crated for market.

The extractor room should have close, moth proof cup- boards for receiving brood combs. Those in our house are high enough for three rows of frames, and wide enough to just receive the top-bar of a frame crosswise. Cleats nailed on to the inside hold the frames, which are turned diagonally a little to pass them to the lower tier. This

The College Bee House. 401

room ought also to have a table for work, and large open tanks, open barrels, or extractor cans, to hold the honey while it ripens. If the building is painted dark, this room will be warmer in summer. The warmer it becomes the more rapidly the honey thickens.

A chamber above costs but little, and serves admirably as a place for storage. This may be entered by stairs from the shop.

A neat bench and sharp tools, all conveniently placed, make the shop a very desirable fixture to every apiary.

I have spoken of a car and track in large apiaries; such an arrangement, which costs but little, is exceedingly desira- ble. The tracks run close to the rows of hives, and by means of simple switches, the car can be run any where in the apiary,

4

402 Robbing and its Cure.

CHAPTER XX. Evits TuHat CONFRONT THE APIARIST.

There are various dangers that are likely to vex the apiarist, and even to stand in the way of successful apicul- ture. Yet, with knowledge, most, if not all, of these evils may be wholly vanquished. Among these are: Robbing among the bees, disease, and depredations from other ani- mals.

ROBBING.

This is a trouble that often very greatly annoys the inexperienced. Bees only rob at such times as the general scarcity of nectar forbids honest gains. When the question comes: Famine or theft, like many another, they are not slow to choose the latter. It is often induced by working with the bees at such times, especially if honey is scattered about or left lying around the apiary. It is especially to be feared in spring, when colonies are apt to be weak in both honey and bees, and thus are unable to protect their own meager stores. The remedies for this evil are not far to seek:

First. Strong colonies are very rarely molested, and are almost sure to defend themselves against marauders; hence it is only the -weaklings of the apiarist’s flock that are in danger. Therefore, regard for our motto, “Keep all col- onies strong,” will secure against harm from this cause.

Second, Italians—the Cyprians and Syrians are even more spirited in this work of defense than are the Italians —as before stated, are fully able, and quite as ready, to protect their rights against neighboring tramps. Woe be to the thieving bee that dares to violate the sacred rights of the home of our beautiful Italians, for such temerity is almost sure to cost the intruder its life.

But weak colonies, like our nuclei, and black bees, are still easily kept from harm. Usually, the closing of the entrance, so that but a single bee can pass through, is all

Diseases of Bees, 403

sufficient. Mr. Jones closes the entrance by use of wet grass, straw, or shavings. Mr. Hayhurst places a frame six inches by eighteen inches covered by wire gauze over the entrance. This keeps the robbers out, and still affords ventilation.

Another way to secure such colonies against robbing is to move them into the cellar for a few days. This is a further advantage, as less food is eaten, and the strength of the individual bees is conserved by the quiet, and as there is no nectar in the fields no loss is suffered.

In all the work of the apiary at times of no honey gath- ering, we cannot be too careful to keep all honey from the bees unless placed in the hives. The hives, too, should not be kept open long at atime. Neat, quick work should be the watchword. During times when robbers are essay- ing to practice their nefarious designs, the bees are likely to be more than usually irritable, and likely to resent intru- sion; hence the importance of more than usual caution, if it is desired to introduce a queen. Working under the bee- tent (Figs. 111 and 118) prevents all danger of inciting the bees to rob.

DISEASE.

The common dysentery—indicated by the bees soiling their hives, as they void their feces within instead of with- out—which so frequently works havoc in our apiaries, is, without doubt, I think, consequent upon wrong manage- ment on the part of the apiarist, poor honey, or bad win- tering, usually the result of severe weather, as already suggested in Chapter XVIII. As the methods to prevent this have already been sufficiently considered, we pass to the terrible

FOUL BROOD.

This disease, said to have been known to Aristotle— though this is doubtful, as a stench attends common dysen- tery—though it has occurred in our State as well as in States about us, is not very familiartome. Of late I receive many samples of this affected brood each season. It is causing

404. foul Brood.

sad havoc in many regions of our country. No bee malady can compare with this in malignancy. By it Dzierzon once lost his whole apiary of 500 colonies. Mr. E. Rood, first President of the Michigan Association, lost all his bees two or three times by this terrible plague.

The symptoms are as follows: Decline in the prosperity of the colony, because of failure to rear brood. The brood seems to putrefy, becomes “brown and salvy,” and gives off a stench which is by no means agreeable, while later the caps are concave instead of convex, and many will have little holes through them. The most decided symptom is. the salvy elastic mass in the brood cell. With a pin head we never draw forth a larva or pupa, but this brown stringy mass which afterwards dries down in the cell.

There is no longer any doubt as to the cause of this fearful plague. Like the fell “Pebrine” which came so near exterminating the silk worm, and a most lucrative and extensive industry in Europe, it, as conclusively shown by Drs. Preusz and Schonfeld, of Germany, is the result of fungous or vegetable growth. Schonfeld not only infected. healthy bee larvz but those of other insects, both by means. of the putrescent foul brood and by taking the spores. Professor Cohn discovered in 1874 that the cause of foul brood was a microbe, Bacillus alveolaris, Mr. Hilbert the following year showed that these micro-organisms existed in the mature bees as well as in the brood.

Fungoid growths are very minute, and the spores are so infinitesimally small as often to elude thé sharp detection of the expert microscopist. Most of the terrible contagious. diseases that human flesh is heir to, like typhus, diphtheria, cholera, small pox, etc., are now thought to be due to ~ microscopic germs, and hence to be spread from home to. home, and from hamlet to hamlet; it is only necessary that. the spores, the minute seeds, either by contact or by some sustaining air current, be brought to new soil of flesh, blood, or other tissue—their garden spot—-when they at once spring into growth, and thus lick up the very vitality of their victims. The huge mushroom will grow in anight. So

too, these other plants—the disease germs—will develo ‘

P

‘

Remedies for Foul Brood, 405

with marvelous rapidity; and hence the horrors of yellow fever, scarlatina and cholera.

To cure such diseases the fungi must be killed. To pre- vent their spread the spores must be destroyed, or else confined. But as these are so small, so light, and so invisi- ble—easily borne and wafted by the slightest zephyr of summer, this is often a matter of the utmost difficulty.

In “foul brood” these germs feed on the larve of the bees, and thus convert life and vigor into death and decay, If we can kill this miniature forest of the hive, and destroy the spores, we shall extirpate the terrible plague.

Some of the facts connected with “foul brood” would Jead us to think that the germs or spores of this fungus are only conveyed in the honey. This supposition, alone, enables us to understand one of the remedies which some of our ablest apiarists hold to be entirely sure.

REMEDIES.

If we can fin1 a substance that will prove fatal to the microbes and yet not injure the bees, the problem is solved. Our German scientists, those masters in scientific research and discovery, have found this valuable fungicide in sali- cylic acid, an extract from the same willows that give us pollen and nectar. This cheap white powder is easily soluble in alcohol, and, when mixed with borax, in water.

Mr. Hilbert, one of the most thoughtful of German bee- keepers, was the first to effect a radical cure of foul brood in his apiarv by the use of this substance. He dissolved fifty grains of the acid in five hundred grains of pure spirits. One drop of this in a grain of distilled water is the mixture he applied. Mr. C. F. Muth, from whom the above facts as to Herr Hilbert are gathered, suggests a vari tion in the mixture.

Mr. Muth suggests an improvement, which takes advan- tage of the fact that the acid, which alone is very insoluble in water, is, when mixed with borax, soluble, His recipe is as follows: Eight grains of salicylic acid, eight grains of soda-borax, and one ounce of water. This remedy is ‘applied as follows: First, uncap all the brood, then throw the fluid over the comb in a fine spray. This will not

406 Remedies for Foul Brood.

injure the bees, but will prove fatal to the fungi. Mr. Muth found on trial that though this method would cure, the labor and danger of spreading the disease in the opera- tion was so great that actual cremation of all affected stocks. was often to be preferred. An improvement which is just. as successful and without the objections, is suggested by Mr. Muth as follows: Drum the bees all out into a cleam hive, filled with foundation, shut them in this hive and feed them honey or syrup, after adding to each quart one ounce of the above compound, except that sixteen grains each of the salicylic acid and soda-borax are used, thus making the solusion of double the strength. The honey should be extracted and boiled, the old combs melted into wax, and the hive scalded or burned. Great caution should be exer- cised that none of the honey be eaten by bees till it has been scalded. In 1874 Dr. Boutleroff, a Russian, introduced car- - bolic acid or phenol as a cure of foul brood. Dr. Preusz. also recommends this very highly. It is recommended to. destroy the worst combs, remove the queen, arid in twenty- one days.remove the bees toa new hive and feed them with syrup one pound of which has received two drops of carbolic acid. It is best to melt up all the combs, extract and scald the honey, and scald the hives. The bees may be put on foundation. A less safe way is to uncap the cells and spray with the following: Pure crystalline phe- nol is dissolved in one-fourth its weight of water. One part of this is added to fifty or seventy-five parts water and used as the spray. But there is much danger of scattering the germs, inoculating some visiting bee from another hive, or of not making thorough work. In this day of cheap. foundation it is better to melt up the combs and use founda- tion. The thorough way is the wise and the only safe way. Mr. Cheshire claims that the germs are not in the honey, and claims to have been very successful in the worst cases, by treating with phenol.

Some bee-keepers in England think they have cured this malady by simply placing camphor gum in the hive. The fact that others have not succeeded with this remedy, amakes it a very doubtful one.

Mr. D. A. Jones is successful with what he terms the

Lemedics for Foul Brood. 407

starvation method: The bees are drummed into an empty hive, and given no food for three or four days, till they have digested all honey in their stomachs. They are then given foundation and food, and the combs, honey and hive treated as described above. It would seem that the spures are in the honey—we know surely that they are in the chyle, though Schonfeld finds that they are not in the blood of the bee— and by taking that the contagion is administered to the young bees. The honey may be purified from these noxious germs by subjecting it to the boiling temperature, which is generally, if not always, fatal to the spores of fungoid life. By immersing the combs in a salicylic acid solution, or sprinkling them with the same, they would be rendered sterile, and could be used without much fear of spreading contagion. It is better however, to melt them at once. The disease is probably spread by robber bees visiting affected hives, and carrying with them in the honey the fatal germs. Mr. Doolittle, after some experience, agrees with the lamented Quinby, that it is not necessary to cause the bees to fast as described by Mr. Jones. They can at once be hived safely on foundation.

From this remedy it would seem that the germs are in the honey, and not as Hilbert proved in the bees themselves.

It should be remembered that it is easy to scatter these fatal germs, and whatever cure is adopted, too great care can not be exercised. Mr. R.L. Taylor tells me that after an experience of two years he does not greatly fear this malady. .He finds it easy, by means of the fasting cure, and salicylic acid, to hold it in check or to cureit. Yet he -admits that without much care and judgment it might work fearful havoc.

(I have found that a paste made of gum tragacanth and water is very. superior, and I much prefer it for either gen- eral or special use to gum Arabic. Yet it soon sours— which means that it is nourishing these fungoid plants— and thus becomes disagreeable. I have found-that a very little salicylic acid will render it sterile, and thus preserve it indefinitely. )

408 The Bee Moth.

ENEMIES OF BEES.

Swift was no mean entomologist, as is shown in the fol-

lowing stanza: “The little fleas that do us tease, Have lesser fleas to bite them, And these again have lesser fleas, And so ad infinitum.”

Bees are no exception to this law, as they have to brave the attacks of reptiles, birds, and other insects. In fact they are beset with perils at home and perils abroad, perils by night and perils by day.

THE BEE MOTH—GALLERIA CEREANA, FABR.

This insect belongs to the family of snout moths, Pyrai- ide. This snout is not the tongue, but the palpi, which fact was not known by Mr. Langstroth, who is usually so accurate, as he essayed to correct Dr. Harris, who stated correctly that the tongue, the ligula, was “very short and hardly visible.” This family includes the destructive hop moth, and the noxious meal and clover moths, and its mem- bers are very readily recognized by their usually long palpi, the so-called snouts.

The eggs of the bee moth are white, globular and very small. These are usually pushed into crevices by the female moth as she extrudes them, which she can easily do by aid of her spy-glass-like ovipositor. They may be laid in the hive, in the crevice underneath it, or about the entrance. Soon these eggs hatch, when the gray, dirty looking cater- pillars, with brown heads, seek the comb on which they feed. To better protect themselves from the bees, they wrap themselves in a silken tube (Fig. 189), which they have power to spin. They remain in this tunnel of silk during all their growth, enlarging it as they eat. By look- ing closely, the presence of these larve may be known by this robe of glistening silk, as it extends in branching out- lines (Fig. 190) along the surface of the comb. A more speedy detection, even, than the defaced comb, comes from the particles of comb, intermingled with the powder-like droppings of the caterpillars, which will always be seen on

Natural History of Bee Moth, 409

the bottom board in case the moth larvez are at work. Soon, in three or four weeks, the larvae are full grown (Fig. 191). Now the six jointed and the ten prop-legs— making sixteen in all, the usual number possessed by caterpillars—

Fic. 189. Fic. 190.

are plainly visible. These larva: are about an inch long, and show by their plump appearance that they at least can <ligest comb. However, though these are styled wax-moths they must have either pollen or dead bees to mingle with

Fic. 191.

their wax. While it is true that there is a little nitrogenous ‘material in wax, there is not enough so that even the wax- moth larva could thrive on it alone. They now spin their cocoons, either in some crevice about the hive, or, if very numerous, singly (Fig. 192, a) or in clusters (Fig. 192, 4)

410 Bee Moth Described.

on the comb, or even in the drone cells (Fig. 192, c), in which they become pupz, and in two weeks, even less. sometimes, during the extreme heat of summer, the moths again appear. In winter they may remain as pup® for months, The moths or millers—sometimes incorrectly called moth-millers—are of an obscure gray color, and thus so mimic old boards that they are very readily passed unob- served by the apiarist, They are about three-fourths of an inch long, and expand (Fig. 193) nearly one and one-

Fic. 192. FIG! 193.

fourth inches. The females are darker than the males, possess a longer snout, and are usually alittle larger. The wings, when the moths are quiet, are flat on the back for a narrow space, then slope very abruptly. They rest by day, yet, when disturbed, will dart forth with great swift- ness, so Réaumur styled them “nimble-footed.” They are active by night, when they essay to enter the hive and deposit their one or two hundred eggs. If the females are held in the hand they will often extrude their eggs; in fact they have been known to do this even after the head and thorax were severed from the abdomen, and, still more strange, while the latter was being dissected. It is generally stated that these are two-brooded, the first moths occurring in May, the second in August. Yet, ‘as I have seen these moths in every month from May to

fistory of Bee Moth. 4tI

September, and as I have proved by actual observation that they may pass from egg to moth in less than six weeks, I think under favorable conditions there may be even three broods a vear. It is true that the varied conditions of tem- perature—as the moth larve may grow in a deserted hive, in one with few bees, or one crowded with bee life—will have much to do with the rapidity of development. Cir- cumstances may so retard growth and development that there may not be more than two, and possibly, in extreme cases, not more than one brood in a season.

It is stated .by Mr. Quinby that a freezing temperature will kill these insects in all stages, while Mr. Betsinger thinks thet a deserted hive is safe; neither of which asser- tions is correct. I have seen hives whose bees were killed by the severe winter, crowded with moth pupz or chrys- alids the succeeding summer. I have subjected both larve and pup to the freezing temperature without injuring them. I believe, in very mild winters, the moth and the chrysalids might be so protected as to escape unharmed, even outside the hive. It is probable, too, that the insects may pass the winter in any oné of the various stages, though they generally exist as pupe during the cold season.

HISTORY.

These moths were known to writers of antiquity, as even Aristotle tells of their injuries. They are wholly of Oriental origin, and are often referred to by European writers as a terrible pest. The late Dr. Kirtland, the able scientist, and first president of our American bee associa- tion, once said in a letter to Mr. Langstroth that the moth was first introduced into America in 1805, though bees had been introduced long before. They first seemed to be very destructive. It is quite probable, as has been suggested, that the bees had to learn to fear and repel them; for, un- questionably, bees do grow in wisdom. In fact, may ‘not the whole of instinct be inherited knowledge, which once had to be acquired by the animal? Surely bees and other animals learn to battle new enemies, and vary their habits with changed conditions, and they also transmit this knowl- edge and their acquired habits to their offspring, as illus-

412 Exterminating the Bee Moth.

trated by setter and pointer dogs. In time, may not this. account for all those varied actions, usually ascribed to instinct? At least I belicve the bee to be a creature of no small intelligence.

REMEDIES.

In Europe, late writers give very little space to this moth. Once a serious pest, it has now ceased to alarm, or even disquiet the intelligent apiarist. In fact, we may almost call it a blessed evil, as it will destroy the bees of the heedless, and thus prevent injury to the markets by their unsalable honey, while to the attentive bee-keeper it will work no injury at all. Neglect and ignorance are the moth breeders.

As already stated, Italian bees are rarely injured by moths, and strong colonies never. As the enterprising apiarist will only possess these, it is clear that he is free from danger. The intelligent apiarist will also provide not only against weak but queenless colonies as well, which from their abject discouragement are the surest victims to moth invasion. Knowing that destruction is sure, they seem, if not to court death, to make no effort to delay it.

As my friend, Judge J. H. Andrews, asserts, no bees, black or Italian, will be troubled with these insects so long as all the combs are covered with bees.

In working with bees an occasional web will be seen glis- tening in the comb, which should be picked out with a knife till the manufacturer—the ruthless larva—is found, when it should be crushed. Any larva seen about the bottom board, seeking place to spin its cocoon, or any pupe either on comb or in a crack, should also be killed. If, through carelessness, a colony has become thoroughly Ke timized by these filthy wax devourers, then the bees and any combs not attacked should be transferred to another hive, after which the old hive should be sulphured by usc of the smoker, as before described; then by giving one or two each of the remaining combs to strong colonies, after killing any pup that may be on them, they will be cleaned and used, while by giving the enfeebled colony

The Wee Bee Moth, 413

brood, and if necessary a good queen, if it has any vigor remaining it will soon be rejoicing in strength and pros- perity.

We have already spoken of caution as to comb honey and frames of comb, and so need not speak further of them.

THE WEE BEE MOTH,

In 1887 another smaller moth attacked comb in New York and Michigan, Mr. W.J. Ellison of South Carolina writes me that this insect does much harm in his State. It is Ephestia interpunctella, Hiib., and belongs to the same family of moths, Pyralide, or snout moths that contains *’ the old bee moth. I shall call this (Fig. 194) the Wee

Fic. 194.

Wee Bee Moth,

bee moth. The moths lay eggs in July and August, upon the comb. The larve feed in August, September and — October upon the pollen, and-do mischief by spreading their thin layer of silk over the combs. Mr. Ellison says the web on the comb honey is no small injury. Very likely there is an early summer brood.

REMEDIES.

The only suggestion I can offer at present is that the combs shall not be exposed. Fumigation, of course, will destroy these also, and might be desirable in case comb honey is injured. :

414 The Missouri Bee Niler.

TWO DESTRUCTIVE BEETLES.

There are two destructive beetles that often work on the comb, more, however, for the pollen and dead bees than for the wax. One of these, Tenebrionellus molitor, Linn., is the common flour or ‘meal beetle. It is dark brown in color, and five-eighths of an inch (16 mm.) long. The-larva or grub is of a lighter color and when fully developed is one inch (25 mm.) long. It resembles very closely the larva of our Elater beetles—the wire worms. The other is the bacon beetle, Dermestes lardarius, Linn. (Fig. 195), which is a sore pest in museums, as it feeds on all kinds of dried animal tissues. The beetle is black,

Fic. 195.

4

D.-Lavdarius.

while nearly one-half of the wing covers, next to the thorax, are yellowish-gray, lined in the middle with black, The beetle is three-eighths of an inch (10 mm.) long. The larva is some longer, very hairy, and ringed with brown and black bands. These beetles are not very troublesome in the apiary and can be readily destroyed by use of bisul- phide of carbon. Care is necessary, however, in the use of this very explosive liquid.

ROBBER FLIES,

There are several of these flies that prey upon bees.’ The most common is Asilus Missouriensis, Riley. This is a two-winged fly, of the predacious family Asilide, which attacks and takes captive the bee and then feeds upon its fluids. It is more common in the southern part of our country. The fly (Fig. 196) has a long, pointed abdomen, strong wings, and is very powerful. I have seen an allied species attack and overcome the powerful tiger-beetle, whereupon I took them both with my net, and now have

The Robber Flies. 415

them pinned, as they were captured, in our college cabinet. These flies delight in the warm sunshine, are very quick on the wing, and so are not easily-captured. It is to be

Fic. 196.

hoped that they will not become very numerous. If they should, I hardly know how they could’be kept from their evil work. Frightening them or catching with a net might be tried, yet these methods would irritate the

Fic. 197. FIG. 199.

bees, and need to be tried before they are recommended. I have received specimens of this fly from nearly every Southern State. During the past summer this same fly has been well employed here in Michigan. It has been observed to kill the cabbage butterfly by scores.

416 Southern Bee Killers.

I have also a fly of the same family, with the same bee- destroying habits, a species of Erax (Fig: 197). In form it resembles the one referred to above. The wing (Fig- 199), as will be seen, is quite different in its venation. I received this species from Louisiana. Fig. 198, a, shows the antenne magnified. The Nebraska bee killer, Pro- machus bastardi, is the same in general appearance as the above. The second vein of the primary wing, not the third, as in case of Asilus, forks. In Erax as seen in the figure, this branch is disconnected.

There are two other insects of this family, Mallophora

Fic. 200. Fic. 201.

orcina and Mallophora bomboides, which differ greatly in form from those mentioned above; they look more like bumble-bees, for which they have been mistaken.

I have received these insects from several of our enter- prising bee-keepers of the South—Tennessee, Georgia and Florida—with the information that they dart forth from some convenient perch, and with swift and sure aim grasp a bee, and bear it to some bush, when they leisurely suck out all but the mere crust and cast away the remains.

The insects in question belong to Loew’s third group Asilina, as the antennz end in a bristle (Fig. 200) while the second longitudinal vein of the wing (Fig. 268 b) runs into the first (Fig. 202,:a). ‘

The genus is Mallophora, The venation of the wings

Lhe Robber Flies, 417

much resembles that of the genus Promachus, though the form of these insects is very different. .

In Mallophora and Promachus the venation is as repre- sented in Fig. 202, where, as will be seen, the second vein (Fig. 202, 6) forks, while in the genus Asilus (Fig. 196)

Fig. 202.

the third vein is forked, though in all three genera the third joint of the antenne (Fig. 200) ends in a prolonged bristle.

One of the most common of these pests, which I am informed by Dr, Hagen is Mallaphora orcina, Weid., is

Fic. 203.

one inch long, and expands one and three-fourths inches (Fig. 203). The head (Fig. 200) is broad, the eyes black and prominent, the antenne three-jointed, the last joint terminating in a. bristle, while the beak is very large, strong, and, like the eyes and antennz, coal black. This

27

418 Asilide or Robber Flies.

is mostly concealed by the light yellow hairs, which are crowded thick about the mouth and between the eyes.

The thorax is prominent and thickly set with light yellow hairs. The abdomen is narrow, tapering, and covered with yellow hairs except the tip, which is black. Beneath, the insect is clear black, though there are scattering hairs of a grayish yellow color on the black legs. The pulvilli, or feet pads (Fig. 201, 4), are two in number, bright yellow in color, surmounted by strong, black claws (Fig. 201, a), while below and between is the sharp spine (Fig. 201, c), technically known as the empodium.

The habits of the flies are interesting, if not to our liking. Their flight is like the wind, and perched near the hive, they rush upon the unwary bee returning to the hive with its full load of nectar, and grasping it with their hard strong legs, they bear it to some perch near by, when they pierce the crust, suck out the juices, and drop the carcass, and are then ready to repeat the operation. A hole in the bee shows the cause of its sudden taking off. The evisce- rated bee is not always killed at once by this rude on- slaught, but often can crawl some distance away from where it falls, before it expires.

Another insect nearly as common is Mallophora bom- boides, Weid. This fly might be called a larger edition of the one just described, as in form, habits, and appearance it closely resembles the other. It belongs to the same genus, possessing all the generic characters already pointed out. Itis very difficult to capture this one as it is so quick and active.

This fly is one and five-sixteenths inches long, and expands two and a half inches. The head and thorax are much as in the other species. The wings are very long and strong, and, as in the other species, are of a smoky brown color. The abdomen is short, pointed, concave from side to side on the under surface, while the grayish yellow hairs are abundant on the legs and whole under portion of the body. The color is a lighter yellow than in the other species. These insects are powerfully built, and if they

-become numerous must prove a formidable enemy to the bees,

The Stinging Bug. 419

Another insect very common and destructive in Georgia, though it closely resembes the two just described, is of a different genus. It is the Laphria thoracica of Fabricius. In this genus the third vein is forked, and the third joint of the antenna is without the bristle, though it is elongated and tapering. The insect is black, with yellow hair cover- ing the upper surface of the thorax. The abdomen is wholly black both above and below, though the legs have yellow hairs on the femurs and tibia. This insect belongs to the same family as the others, and has the same habits. It is found North as well as South.

THE STINGING BUG—PHYMATA EROSA, FABR.

This insect is very widely distributed throughout the United States. I have received it from Maryland to Mis- souri on the South, and from: Michigan to Minnesota on the North. The insect will lie concealed among the flowers, and upon occasion will grasp a bee, hold it off at arm’s length, and suck out its blood and life.

Fic. 204. Fic. 206.

9 <

Fic. 205. b

Side view, natural size, Magnified twice, Beak much magnified.

This is a Hemipteron, or true bug, and belongs to the family Phymatide, Uhler. It is the Phymata erosa, Fabr., the specific name erosa referring to its jagged ap- pearance. It is also called the “stinging bug,” in refer- ence to its habit of repelling intrusion by a painful thrust with its sharp, strong beak.

The “stinging bug” (Fig. 204) is somewhat jagged in appearance, about three-eighths of an inch long, and gen-

420 Structure of Phymata Erosa.

erally of a yellow color, though this latter seems quite variable. Frequently there is a distinct greenish hue. Be- neath the abdomen, and on the back of the head, thorax, and abdomen, it is more or less specked with brown;

Fic. 207. v Fie. 208, Fic. 209. G > & Interior view, Exterior view, Antenna much Magnified, Anterior leg magnified.

while across the dorsal aspect of the broadened abdomen is a marked stripe of brown (Fig. 205, d, 2). Sometimes this stripe is almost wanting, sometimes a mere patch, while rarely the whole abdomen is very slightly marked, and as often we find it almost wholly brown above and below. The legs (Fig. 205, 6), beak and antenne (Fig. 205,@) are greenish yellow. The beak has three joints (Fig. 206, a, 6, c), and a sharp point (Fig. 206, d). This beak is not only the great weapon of offense, but also the organ through which the food is sucked. By the use of this, the insect has gained the sobriquet of “stinging bug.” This compact jointed beak is peculiar to all true bugs, and by observing it alone we are able to distinguish all the very varied forms of this group. The antenna is four-jointed. The first joint (Fig. 207, 2) is short, the second and third (Fig. 207, 6 and c) are long and slim, while the terminal one (Fig. 207, d@) is much enlarged. This enlarged joint is one of the characteristics of the genus Phymata, as described by Latreille. But the most ‘curious structural peculiarity of this insect, and the chief character of the genus Phymata, is the enlarged anterior legs (Figs. 208 and 209). These, were they only to aid

Habits of Phymata Erosa. 421

in locomotion, would seem like awkward, clumsy organs, but when we learn that they are used to grasp and hold their prey, then we can but appreciate and admire their modified form. The femur (Fig. 208, 4) and the tarsus (Fig. 208, a) are toothed, while the latter is greatly en- larged. From the interior lower aspect of the femur (Fig. 210) is the small tibia, while on the lower end of the tarsus (Fig. 209, d) is a cavity in which rests the single claw. The other four legs (Fig. 211) are much as usual.

This insect, as already intimated, is very predaceous, lying in wait, often almost concealed, among flowers, ready to capture and destroy unwary plant-lice, caterpillars, beetles, butterflies, moths, and even bees and wasps. We have

Fic. 211.

Claw, enlarged, Middle leg, much magnified.

already noticed how well prepared it is for this work by = ne anterior legs, and its sharp, strong, sword-like eak.

It is often caught on the golden rod. This plant, from its color tends to conceal the bug, and from the character of the plant—being attractive as a honey plant to bees— the slow bug is enabled to catch the spry and active honey- bee.

As Professor Uhler well says of the “stinging bug:” “Tt is very useful in destroying caterpillars and other vege- table-feeding insects, but is not very discriminating in its tastes, and would as soon seize the useful honey-bee as the pernicious saw fly.” And he might have added that it is

422 The Bee Stabber.

equally indifferent to the virtues of our friendly insects like the parasitic and predaceous species. é

We note, then, that this bug is not wholly evil, and as its destruction would be well-nigh impossible, for it is as widely scattered as are the flowers in which it lurks, we may well rest its case, at least until its destructiveness. becomes more serious than at present.

THE BEE STABBER.

In the Southern states there is another bug, Euthyrhyn- chus Floridanus, Linn. (Fig. 212), which I have named the bee stabber. This bug places itself at the entrance of the hive and stabs and sucks the bees till they are bloodless.

Fic, 212.

Bee Stabber,

As will be seen its powerful four-jointed beak fits it well for this purpose. This bug is purplish or greenish blue, with dull yellowish markings as seen in the figure. It is also yellowish beneath. Itis one-half of an inch long.

BEE HAWK—LIBELLULA.

These large, fine, lace-wings (Fig. 213) are Neuropterous insects. They work harm to the bees mostly in the South- ern states and are called mosquito hawks. Insects of this genus are called dragon flies, devil’s darning needles, etc. They are exceedingly predaceous. In fact, the whole sub- order is insectivorous. From its four netted veined wings, we can tell it at once from the asilus flies before mentioned,

The Dragon Fly. 423

which have but two wings. The bee or mosquito hawks are resplendent with metallic hues, while the bee killers are of sober gray. The mosquito hawks are not inaptly named, as they not only prey upon other insects, swooping down upon them with the dexterity of a hawk, but their graceful gyrations, as they sport in-the warm sunshine at noon-day, are not unlike those of our graceful hawks and falcons. These insects are found most abundant near water, as they lay their eggs in water, where the larve live and feed upon other animals. The larve are peculiar in breath- ing by gills in the rectum. The same water that bathes

Fic. 213.

these organs and furnishes oxygen, is sent out in a jet, and thus sends the insect darting along. The larve also possess enormous jaws, which formidable weapons are masked till it is desired to use them, when the dipper-shaped mask is dropped or unhinged and the terrible jaws open and close upon the unsuspecting victim, which has but a brief time to bewail its temerity.

A writer from Georgia, in Gleanings, volume 6, page 35, states that these destroyers are easily scared away, or brought down by boys with whips, who soon become as expert in capturing the insects as are the latter in seizing

424 Tachina Flies.

the bees. One of the largest and most beautiful of these Fig. 213) is Anax junius. It has a wide range in the nited States, North and South, and everywhere preys upon the bees.

TACHINA FLY.

From descriptions which I have received, I feel certain that there is a two-winged fly, probably of the genus Tachina (Fig. 214), that works on bees. I have never seen these, though I have repeatedly requested those who

Fic. 214.

have to send them to me. My friend, J. L. Davis, put ‘some sick looking bees into a cage, and hatched the flies which he told me looked not unlike a small house fly. It is the habit of these flies, which belong to the same famil as our house flies, which they much resemble, to lay their ‘eggs on other insects. Their young, upon hatching, bur- row into the insect that is being victimized, and grow by eating it. It would be difficult to cope with this evil ‘should it become of great magnitude. We may well hope that this habit of eating bees is an exceptional one with it The affected bees will be found dead at early dawn in Frouit -of the hives.

BEE LOUSE—BRAULA CCA, NITSCH,

_ This louse (Fig. 215) is a wingless Dipteron, and one of the uniques among insects. It is a blind, spider-like parasite, and serves as a very good connecting link between insects and spiders, or, still better, between the Diptera,

Lhe Bee Louse. 425

where it belongs, and the Hemiptera, which contains the bugs and most of the lice. It assumes the semi-pupa state almost as soon as hatched, and, strangest of all, is, consid-

ering the size of the bee on which it lives and from which it sucks its nourishment, enormously large. Two or three,. and sometimes as many as ten, are found on a single bee.

When we consider their great size, we cannot wonder that

they soon devitalize the bees.

These have done little damage except in the south of Continental Europe, Cyprus and other parts of the Orient. The reason that they have not been naturalized in other parts of Europe and in America may be owing to climate,

Fic. 215.

Imago, Larva.

though I think more likely it is due to improved apicul- ture. Mr. Frank Benton, who has had -much experience with these bee lice in Cyprus, writes me that the Braula is no serious pest if the bees are properly cared for. “In fact, if hives are kept clean inside, and colonies supplied with young queens and kept strong, the damage done by the Braula is very slight if anything. In old, immovable comb hives, where the combs are black and thickened, and in case the queens are old; or where through some extra- neous cause -the colonies have become weak, these lice are numerous on queens and workers. .1 have not noticed them. on the drones. Since they are found on workers .as well as the queen, their removal from the latter will bring but

426 Enemies of the Bee.

temporary relief. About ten is the greatest number that I have seen on one queen. I have only thought it necessary to remove them in case there were three or more on a queen. The only way to remove them is to pick them off with a knife, scissors, forceps or similar instrument. They are quick footed and glide from one place to another like the wax-moth. I hold the queen between the thumb and first finger of the left hand, and with pocket-knife or clip- ping scissors shave off the parasite. It is no easy matter to get them the first time, as when you attempt their removal they glide around to the other side of the queen so adroitly that you have to turn the queen over to try again.” Mr. Benton says that it is not practicable to remove these lice by lessening the size of the entrance to the hive. He thinks that, with the attention given to bees in America, the Braula will never become a serious pest, if introduced here. While these lice have been imported to America several times, they seem to disappear almost at once, which verifies Mr. Benton’s prophecy.

ANTS.

These cluster about the hives in spring for warmth, and seldom, if ever, I think, do any harm in our cold climates, though in California and the South they do much harm. Should the apiarist feel nervous, he can very readily brush them away, or destroy them by use of any of the fly poisons which are kept in the markets. As these poisons are made attractive by adding sweets, we must be careful to preclude the bees from gaining access to them. As we should use them in spring, and as we then need to keep the quilt or honey board close above the bees, and as the ants cluster above the brood chamber, it is not difficult to practice poi- soning. One year I tried Paris green with success. There are several reports of ants entering the hives and killing the bees; even the queen is said to have been thus destroyed. In such cases, if they occur, it is best to put a sweet poison- ous mixture in a box and permit the ants to enter through an opening too small to admit bees, and thus poison the ants. Or we may find the ant’s nest, and with a crowbar, make a hole in it, turn in this an ounce of bisulphide of

The Praying Adantes, 427%

carbon, and quickly plug it up by packing clay in the hole and on the nest. The liquid will kill the ants. This better be done when the ants are mostly in their nest.

THE COW-KILLER.

This ant-like insect, Mutilla coccinea (Fig. 216), has been sent me from Illinois and the South as far as Texas. It is a formidable enemy of the bees, The male has wings and no sting. The female has no wings, but is possessed of a powerful sting. She is an inch (25 mm.) long, very hairy, and black, except the top of her head and thorax, and a broad basal band and the tip of the upper part of her

Fic. 216.

abdomen, which are bright red. A central band of black divides the red spaces of the abdomen. The entire under part of the body and all the members are black.

So hard and dense is the chitinous crust of these insects that they enter the hives fearlessly, and unmindful of stings, deliberately kill the bees and feed on the young. The males are said to sting. This is certainly a mistake. The sting is a modified ovipositor—an organ not possessed by males. These insects belong to the family Mutillide, so called because the females are wingless. They are closely allied in structure to the ants, which they much. resemble.

THE PRAYING MANTIS,

This strange insect I have received from Indiana and other Southern and Western States. Its scientific name is Mantis Carolina, Linn. It is very predacious, and the female has been known to eat up her mate immediately after the sexual act. No wonder that they make our friends of the hive contribute to their support. This insect (Fig.

428 The Blister Beetles.

217) is a sort of nondescript. In the South it is known as devil’s race-horse. It is acorpulent “ walking-stick” with wings. In fact is closely related to our own “ walking- sticks” of the North. Its anterior legs are very curious. As it rests upon them, it appears as if in the attitude of de- votion, hence the name praying mantis. It also raises these anterior legs in a supplicating attitude, which would also

Fic. 217.

suggest the name. It might well be preying mantis, These peculiar anterior legs, like the same in Phymata erosa, are used to grasp its victims. Itis reported to move with sur- prising rapidity, as it grasps its prey.

Its eggs (Fig. 218) are glued to some twig, in a scale- like mass, and covered with a sort of varnish. Some of

Fic. 218,

these hatched out in one of my boxes, and the depravity of these insects was manifest in the fact that those first hatched fell to and ate the others.

BLISTER BEETLES,

I have received from Mr. Rainbow, of Fall Brook, Cal- ifornia, the larve (Fig. 219, @) of some blister beetles,

Injuries from Wasps. 429

probably Meloe barbarus, Lec., as that is a common species in California. Mr. Rainbow took as many as seven from one worker bee. Fig. 219, 2, represents the female of Meloe angusticollis, a common species in Michigan and the East. I have also received these from Mr. Ham- mond, of New York, who took them from his bees. He says they make the bees uncomfortable. These are likely M. angusticollis. As will be seen, the wing covers are short, and the beetle’s abdomen fairly drags with its weight of eggs. The eggs are laid in the earth. The larve when first hatched crawl upon some flower, and as occasion per-

Fic. 219.

mits, crawl upon a bee and thus are borne to the hive, where they feast on eggs, honey and pollen. These insects undergo what M.. Faber styles hyper-metamorpho- sis, as the larva appears in four different forms instead of one. Two of these forms show in the figure. The Span- ish fly—Cantharides of the. shops—is an allied insect. Some of our common blister beetles are very destructive to plants. Girard in his excellent work on bees, gives illustrations of all the forms of this insect.

WASPS.

I have never seen bees injured by wasps. In the South» as in Europe, we hear of such depredations. I have re- ceived wasps, sent by our southern brothers, which were caught destroying bees. The wasp sent me is the large, handsome Stizus speciosus, Drury. It is black, with its

430 The Bee Mite.

abdomen imperfectly ringed with yellow. The wasps are very predaceous, and do immense benefit by capturing aut eating our insect pests. I have seen wasps carry off “cur- rant worms” with a celerity that was most refreshing.

As the solitary wasps are too few in numbers to do much damage—even if they ever do any—any great damage which may occur would doubtless come from the social paper-makers. In this case, we have only to find the nests and apply the torch, or hold the muzzle of a shot-gun to the nest and shoot. This should be done at nightfall when the wasps have all gathered home. Let us not forget that the wasps do much good, and so not practice wholesale slaughter unless we have strong evidence against them.

A BEE MITE.

It has long been known to chicken fanciers that our poul- try often suffer serious injury from a small mite. Other mites attacked the cow, the horse, the sheep, etc. ;

During the past Spring a lady bee-keeper of Connecti-

Fic. 220.

cut discovered these mites in her hives while investigating to learn the cause of their rapid depletion. She had noticed that the colonies were greatly reduced in number of bees, and upon close observation she found that the diseased or failing colonies were covered with these mites. A cele-

California Bee Killer. 431

brated queen breeder of New York State sent me these same mites last year (1887) with the report that they killed his queens while yet in the cell. I found great numbers in a cell sent by this gentleman. The strong and prosperous colonies were exempt from the annoyance. So small are these little pests that a score could take possession of a sin- gle bee, and not be near neighbors either. ‘The lady states that the bees roll and scratch in their vain attempts to rid themselves of these annoying stick-tights, and finally, wor- ried out, either fall to the bottom of the hive or go forth to die outside.

The bee mite (Fig 220) is very small, hardly more than five mm, (1-50 of an inch) long. The female is slightly larger than the male, and somewhat transparent. The color is black, though the legs and more transparent areas of the femaies appear yellowish.

REMEDIES.

The fact that what would be poison to the mite would probably be death to the bees, makes this question of remedy quite a difficult one. I can only suggest what Mrs. Squire has tried—frequent changing of the bees from one hive to another, after which the hive can be freed from the mites by scalding. Of course, the more frequent the transfer the more thorough the remedy.

I would suggest placing pieces of fresh meat, greased or sugared paper, etc., in the hives, in hopes to attract the pests which when massed on these decoys could easily be killed.

CALIFORNIA BEE KILLER,

Mr. J. D. Enas, Napa, California, has sent me specimens of a curious bee enemy (Fig. 221), which he finds quite a serious enemy of bees.

This is a Datames, possibly D. Californicus, Simon, though it does not quite agree with the description of that species. It, like the mites just described, belongs to the sub-class Arachnida or spiders, and is related to the scorpions. The group of animals is known as the family Solpulgide or Galeodides. As will be seen, the head and thorax are

432 Spiders.

not separate, as they are in true insects. The abdomen is long and segmented, a shield-like plate covers the head, and the eyes are far forward, small and globular. The most peculiar organs are the jaws or falces, which are im- mense, and armed with formidable teeth, spines, hairs, etc. The family is small, little known, and except in one case, Datames Pallipes, Say., which is said to live in houses in

Fic. 221.

California Bee Killer.

[Jaws. or falces, and posterior leg.]

Colorado and to feed on bed-bugs, the habits have not been described.

Mr, Enas finds this species in his hives, killing and eating the bees. The remedy must be hand picking, which will not be very difficult.

SPIDERS.

These sometimes spread their nets so as to capture bees. If porticos—which are, I think, worse than a useless ex- pense—are omitted, there will very seldom be any cause for complaint against the spiders, which on the whole are friends. As the bee-keeper who would permit spiders to worry his bees would not read books, I will discuss this subject no further.

Toad and King Bird. 433

THE KING BIRD—TYRANNUS CAROLINENSIS,

This bird, often called the bee-martin, is one of the fly- catchers, a very valuable family of birds, as they are wholly insectivorous, and: do immense good by destroying our insect pests. The king bird is the only one of them in the United States..that deserves censure. Another, the chim- ney swallow of Europe, has the same evil habit. Our chimney swallow has no evil ways. I am sure, from per- sonal observation, that these birds capture and eat the workers, as well as drones, as I have taken worker bees from their stomachs; and I dare say, they would pay no more -respect to the finest Italian queen. They perch on a tree or post and dart with the speed of an arrow as their poor ‘victim comes heavily laden towards the hives, Yet, in view of the good that these birds do, unless they are far more numerous and troublesome than I have ever observed them to be, I should certainly be slow to recom- mend the death warrant.

TOADS.

The same may he said of the toads, which may often be seen sitting demurely. at the entrance of the hives, and lapping up the full-laden bees with the lightning-like movement of their tongues, in a manner which can but be regarded with interest, even by him who suffers loss. Mr. Moon, the well known apiarist, made this an objection to low hives; yet, the advantage of such hives far more than compensates, and with a bottom board, such as described in the chapter on hives, we shall find that the toads do very little damage. In case of toads, the bees sting their throats, as I have taken, on several occasions, the stings from the throats of the toads, after seeing the latter cap- ture the bees. As the toads make no fuss, it seems proba- ble that their throats are callous against the stings. I do not know whether king-birds are stung or not. I shall find out at the next opportunity.

MICE,

These little pests are a consummate nuisance about the apiary. They enter the hives in winter, mutilate the comb,

8

434 Shrews and Mice.

irritate, perhaps destroy, the bees, and create a very offen- sive stench. They often greatly injure comb which is out- side the hive, destroy smokers, by eating leather off the bellows, and if they get at the seeds of honey plants, they mever retreat till they make complete the work of destruc- tion,

In the house and cellar, unless they are made as they should always be—mouse proof, these plagues should be, by use of cat or trap, completely exterminated. If we winter on the summer stands, the entrance should be so contracted that mice cannot enter the hive. In case of packing as I have recommended, I should prefer a more ample opening, which may be safely secured by taking a piece of wire cloth or perforated tin or zinc, and tacking it over the entrance, letting it come within one-fourth of an inch of the bottom board. This will give more air, and still preclude the entrance of these miserable vermin.

SHREWS. These are mole-like animals (Fig. 222), and look not

Fic. 222.

unlike a mouse with a long pointed nose like the moles, to which they are closely related. They are insectivoro us and have needle shaped teeth, quite unlike those of the Rodentia which includes the true mice. I have received from Illinois and Missouri species of the short-tailed shrews —Blarina—which enter the hives in winter and eat the bees, only refusing the head and wings. .They injure the combs but little. As they will pass through a space three- eighths of an inch wide, it is not easy to keep them out of hives where the bees are wintering on their summer stands. I have received a short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevi- cauda, Gray, which was taken in the hives by Mr. Little, of Illinois.

Work from Fanuary to March, 435

“CHAPTER XXT1. CALENDAR AND AXIOMS.

WORK FOR DIFFERENT MONTHS,

Though every apiarist will take one, at least, of the sev- eral excellent journals relating to this art, printed in our country, in which the necessary work of each month will be detailed, yet it may be well to give some brief hints in this place.

These dates are arranged for the Northern States, where the fruit trees blossom about the middle of May. By noting these flowers, the dates can be easily changed to suit any locality.

JANUARY.

During this month the bees will need little attention. Should the bees in the cellar or depository become uneasy, which will not happen if the requisite precautions are taken, and there comes a warm day, it were well to set them on their summer stands, that they may enjoy a purifying flight. At night when all are again quiet return them to the cel- lar. While out I would clean the bottom boards, especially if there are many dead bees. This is the time to read, visit, study, and plan for the ensuing season’s work.

FEBRUARY.

No advice is necessary further than that given for Jan- uary, though if the bees have a good fly in January, they will scarcely need attention in this month. The presence of snow on the ground need not deter the apiarist from giving his bees a flight, providing the day is warm and still. It is better to let them alone if they are quiet, as they should and will be if all is right.

MARCH. Bees should still be kept housed, and those outside still retain about them the packing of straw, shavings, etc. Frequent flights do no good, and wear out the bees. Col-

4.36 Work from April to Fuly.

onies that are uneasy and besmear their hives are not win- tering well, and may be set out and allowed a good flight and then returned.

APRIL.

Early in this month the bees may all be set out. It will be best to feed all, and give all access to flour, when they will work at it, though usually they can get pollen as soon as they can fly out to advantage. Keep the brood chamber contracted so that the frames will all be covered, and cover well above the bees to economize heat.

The colony or colonies from which we desire to rear queens and drones should now be fed, to stimulate breeding. By careful pruning, too, we may and shou.d prevent the rearing of drones in any but the best colonies. If from lack of care the previous autumn, any of our stocks are short of stores, now is when it will be felt. In such cases feed either honey, sugar, or syrup, or place candy on top of the frames beneath the oil-cloth cover. Remember that plenty of stores insures rapid breeding.

MAY.

Prepare nuclei to start extra queens. Feed sparingly till bloom appears. Give room for storing. Extract if necessary, and keep close watch, that you may anticipate and forestall any attempt to swarm. Now, too, is the best time to transfer.

JUNE.

Keep all colonies supplied with vigorous, prolific queens. Divide the colonies as may be desired. Extract if necessary, or best, adjust frames or sections, if comb honey is desired, and be sure to keep all the white clover honey, in whatever form taken, separate from all other. Now is the best time to Italianize.

JULY. The work this month is about the same as that of June.

Keep the basswood honey by itself, and tier up sections as. soon as the bees are well at work in them. Be sure that

Work from August to December. 437

queens and workers have plenty of room to do their best, and do not suffer the hot sun to strike the hives.

AUGUST.

Do not fail to supersede impotent quzens. Between basswood and fall bloom it may pay to feed sparingly. Give plenty of room for queen and workers, as fall stor- ing commences,

SEPTEMBER.

Remove all surplus boxes and frames as soon as storing ceases, which usually occurs about the middle of this month. See that all colonies have enough stores for winter. If necessary to feed honey or sugar for winter, it should be done at this time.

OCTOBER.

If not already done, prepare colonies for winter. See that all have at least thirty pounds, by weight, of good, capped stores, and that all are strong in bees. If the bees are to be packed, it should be done early in October.

NOVEMBER.

Before the cold days come, remove the bees to the cellar or depository. DECEMBER.

Now is the time to make hives, honey boxes, etc., for _ the coming year. Also labels for hives. These may just contain the name of the colony, in which case the full rec- ord will be kept in a book; or the label may be made to contain a full register as to time of formation, age of queen, etc., etc. Slates are also used for the same purpose.

I know from experience that any who heed all of the above may succeed in bee-keeping—may win a double success—receive pleasure and make money. I feel suve that many experienced apiarists will find advice that it may pay to follow. It is probable that errors abound, and cer- tain that much remains unsaid, for of all apiarists it is true that what they do not know is greatly in excess of what they do know.

438 Axioms in Bee Keeping. AXIOMS.

The following axioms, given by Mr. Langstroth, are just as true to-day as they were when written by that noted author:

There are a few first principles in bee-keeping which ought to be as familiar to the apiarist as the letters of the alphabet.

First. Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an attack.

Second. Bees may always be made peaceable by induc- ing them to accept of liquid sweets.

Third. Bees, when frightened by smoke or by drum- ming on their hives, fill themselves with honey and lose all disposition to sting, unless they are hurt.

fourth, Bees dislike any guick movements about their hives, especially any motion which jars their combs.

Fifth, In districts where forage is abundant only for a short period, the largest yield of honey will be secured by a very moderate increase of stocks.

Sixth. A moderate increase of colonies in any one season, will, in the long run, prove to be the easiest, safest, and cheapest mode of managing bees.

Seventh. Queenless colonies, unless supplied with a queen, will inevitably dwindle away, or be destroyed by the bee moth, or by robber bees.

Eighth. The formation of new colonies should ordin- arily be confined to the season when bees are accumulating honey; and if this, or any other operation, must be per- formed when forage is scarce, the greatest precaution shou'd be used to prevent robbing.

The essence of all profitable bee-keeping is contained in Oettl’s Golden Rule: KEEP your sTocKs sTRoNG. If you cannot succeed in doing this, the more money you invest in bees, the heavier will be your losses; while, if your stocks are strong, you will show that you are a dee- master, as well as a bee-keeper, and may safely calculate on generous returns from your industrious subjects.

“ Keep all colonies strong.”

GLOSSARY

AND

GENERAL INDE.

APIARIAN GLOSSARY.

Abdomen—The third or last part of bee’s body, p. 51. mba ae i ian that has separated rom cluster and is going to its new ome, p. 260.

Adulteration--Making impure, as mixing glucose with honey, p. 149.

After Swarms—Swarms that issue within a few days after the first swarms, p. 142.

Aur Tubes—Trachee; Lungs of insects, p. 24. -

Albino—Usually applied to animals with no pigmentin skin, hair, etc, In bee cult- ure it refers toa venice of Italians with white rings, p. 43.

Alighting Board—Board in front of entrance, on which bees light as they return to their hives, p, 179.

American Hive—Langstroth hive with frames one foot square.

Antenne—Horn-like organs of insects, p. 55. ;

Antenna Cleaner—Organ on anterior leg of bees, wasps, etc., to dust antennz,

. 123. Apiacan— nai ective, asapiarian implements; incorrectly used as anoun for apiarist. Apiarist—One who keeps bees. Apiary—Place where bees are kept, including bees and all; Apiculture—Art of bee keeping. oa Apide—Family of bees, p. 29. Aphis—Plant lice, p. 334. Apis—Genus of the honey-bee, p. 35. Artificial Fecundation or Impregnation—F dation in confi (?). Artificial Heat, Swarms, Pasturage, etc.—Furnished by man; not natural. Abavism “inher ing from a remote ancestor,, “| Balling of Queen—Bees gathering snugly about the queen in form ofa sphere p. 266. Bar Hives—Hives with bars across the top to,which the combs are attached, p. 176. Barren—Sterile; not able to produce me or young, p. 97.

+

Bees—Insects of the Family Apida, p..29.

Bee-Bird or Bee Martin—A fly-catcher that captures bees, p. 433.

Bee-Bread—The albuminous food of bees, usually pollen, p. 159,

Bee Culture—Keeping bees. a. ee

Bee Glue—Propolis, p. 162,

Bee A aD gapie of crag tree used fe a pee hive, en

Bee Hat—Hat so arranged as to prevent bees from stinging the face, p. 295.

Bee Hawk —Dragon fly, p.422. ame oP

Bee Hive—Box for bees, p. 173.

Bee House—House where bees are kept, where bee work is done, or bees wintered,

. 391. 3

Beetksapes Ons who keeps ees ; apiarist, -

Bee-line—Straight line, like the route of bee from field to hive, p. 223,

Bee Louse—Braula Cceca, p. 424,

Bee Martin—King or Bee Bird, p. 433.

Bee Master—English, Bee-keeper.

Bee Moth—Galleria Cereana, p. 408.

Bee Pasturage—Honey Plants, p. 332.

. Bee Plants—Plants which secrete nectar and so are visited by bees, p, 332.

Bee Space—Space that will just allow a bee to pass ; it is three-sixteenths of an inch, ‘A double bee space, three-eighths of an inch minus, is the space that bees do not fill with brace combs or glue. g

Bee’s Wax—Secretion of the bee from which comb is fashioned, p. 150.

Bee Tent—Tent covering hive and bee-keeper, pp. 285, 301. In England tent for lectures on bees.

Bee Tree—A hollow tree in which bees breed and store, p. 223.

Bee Veil—Veil for peoeuee face while working with bees, p. 295.

Bell Glass—Glass vessel used for surplus comb honey storing.

Bingham Knife—Uncapping knife with beveled edge, p. 280.

Bingham Smoker—Bee smoker with open draft, p. 558.

e

442 Glossary.

Black Bee—Common or German race of bees, p. 41,

Bottom Board—Floor of hive, pp. 179, 181, 190.

Box Hive—Plain box in which bees are kept, p. 173.

Box Honey—Comb honey stored in boxes.

Brain—Nerve mass in head of insects, pp. 61, 66.

Breed—Race ; Italian breed, p. 41. i!

Bteedie In—Close breeding, as when a queen is fecundated by one of her own rones.

Bridal pila as of queen to meet drone, p. 92.

Brimstone—Sulphur, p. 326.

Brimstone—Fumigation with sulphur fumes, p. 326.

Broad Frame—Wide frame for holding sections, p. 207.

Brood—Immature bees, or bees yet in the cell, p. 80.

Brood Comb—Comb used for breeding, p. 154.

Brood Nest—Space in hive used for breeding.

Brood Rearing—Raising of brood.

Brown Bee—A supposed variety of the common black bee, p, 41.

Bumble Bee—Our large wild bee or humble bee, p. 31.

Candied Honey—Honey crystallized or granulated, p. 149,

Cap—Box to shut over top of a hive.

Cap—To seal or close a cell.

Capped Brood—Brood sealed,

Capped Honey—Honey sealed.

Coppin or Caps—Thin wax sheets cut off in extracting.

Card—Frame of comb, Rare.

Carniolans—Same as Krainer. Race of black bees from Krain, Austria, pp. 38, 48,

Casts—After swarms. Rare.

Caterpillar—Larva of butterfly or moth.

Caucasian Bee—Variety of black bee, from Caucasian mountains, pp, 38, 46.

Cell—Openin in comb for brood, honey or bee-bread, p. 152.

Chaff-hive—A double walled hive with space filled with chaff, p. 180.

Chyle—Digested food ; probable food of larva, p. 116.

Chyme—Partially digested food, p. 116.

Chrysalid or Chrysalis--Pupa of butterflies and moths. Sometimes applied to other

uUpZ. Sleep — Hives laced close together and covered, p. 396. Cleansing Flight—Removing bees from cellar that they may fly, p. 394. Closed End or Top Frames—Where end bars of frames and Eads of top bars are close fitting, p. 197.

Cluster—Bees in compact mass, p. 142. elness oer of head of nceet poor he eyes, ip. 51.

‘ocoon—Case, often containing si ers, which surrounds a pu q Collateral System—Side sre English. pate i ae Colony—The bees of one hive. Comb—The fabric which holds the brood and honey, p. 152. Comb Basket—The frame of an extractor which holds the comb, p. 278. Comb Carrier—Box for carrying combs ; most used in extracting, p. 283. Comb Foundation—Thin sheets of impressed wax, like the foundation of real comb,

p. 305. Comb Foundation Machine—Machine for making comb foundati: . Comb Guide—Strip of wood, comb or foundation om the bottom of top ieee frame, to induce bees to build combs in proper place, pp. 193, 314. i Comb Holder—Device for holding combs, p. 279. Comb EGR ney. in comb, - 287. yes—Large eyes of insects ; so called as they consist of many simple

Compound eyes, B, 59. Corbicula—Pollen basket on hind leg of worker bee, p. 126.

Cover—Lid of hive, or cover of brood fram F Pehl art or joint of the insect’s leg, p BB spore Ne 'rate—Box for sections on the hive, or for shippi Cushion—Quilt or 3 for covering bees, AEDIAE CHD BODAI PAL: SMR: Cepe Bees—A yellow race from the Isle of Cy rus, p. 38, 265. Dalmatian Bees—A variety of black bees from Balcate, the Southwestern Province of Austria, p. 38.

Decoy Hive--Hive set to catch absconding swarms,

Glossary. 443

Diarrhea—Dysentery, p. 403. : f

Dipping Board—Board for securing thin wax sheets in making foundation, p. 309.

Dividing—Forming colonies artificially, p. 257.

Division Board—Board for reducing the size of the brood chamber, p, 186.

Dollar Queens—Queens sold for one dollar, p. 271.

Driving Bees—Causing the bees to pass out of a hive into a box placed above by rapping on the hive, p. 219.

Drone—Male bee, p. 100.

Drone Brood--Brood which produces drone bees, p. 105.

Drone Comb—Comb with large cells, in which drones may be reared, p. 153.

Drone Eee—Eges that produce drones, p. 104.

Drone Trap—Trap for catching drones, p. 240. :

Drumming Bees—Forcing bees from one hive to another hive or box by rapping on the first witha stick or hammer, p. 219.

Dry Faces—Supposed dry excreta of bees.

Dummies—Division boards, p. 186.

Dysentery—Winter disease of bees, p. 403.

Dzierzon Theory—Parthenogenesis ; agamic reproduction ; theory that unfecun- dated eggs will develop, and in bees such eggs always produce drones, p. 104.

Egg—tThe initial or first stage of all the higher animals, pp. 77, 135.

devote Bee—Yellow bee from Egypt, p. 37.

Eke—Rim to raise and enlarge the hive ; often a half hive.

Embryo—The young animal while yet in the egg or before birth.

Entrance—Opening of the hive where the bees enter, p. 182.

Entrance Blocks—Pieces of wood, usually triangular, for contracting or closing the entrance of hive, p. 182. :

Entrance Guard—Perforated zinc to prevent drones or queen from leaving the hive,

p. 240.

Epicranium—Part of head between and above the eyes.

Extracted Honey—Honey thrown from the comb by use of the extractor, p. 281.

Extractor—Machine for extracting, p. 276. .

ye ee of sight in insects ; there are usually two large compound and three small simple or Ocelli, p. 59.

Feces—Intestinal excreta of animals.

Farina—Flour ; incorrectly used for pollen.

Fecundate—Union of sperm and germ cells ; to impregnate, p. 76.

Feeder—Device for feeding bees, p. 227.

Femur—Third and largest joint of an insect’s leg, p. 63.

Fertile—Productive ; often used for impregnated or fecundated. A queen that can lay eggs is fertile ; after mating she 1s fecund.

Fertile Worker—Worker that lays eggs, p. 108. ~ z

Foul brood—Malignant disease of a fungoid character which attacks bees, p. 403.

Foundation, F’dn.--Stamped wax sheets, p. 304.

Frame—Device for holding comb in the hive, p. 192. :

Fumigate—To surround with fumes. We fumigate the bees with smoke and the combs with sulphur fumes, p. 326.

Gallup Frame—Frame 11% inches square, p. 193.

Ganglia--Knots of nerve matter like the brain, p. 65.

German Bee—Common black bee, p. 41.

Glands—Tubular or sack-like organs which form from elements taken from the blood a liquid called a secretion. Bees have several pairs of glands, p. 113.

Glassing--Covering or protecting sections of comb honey with glass.

Glucose—Reducing sugar, p. 146.

Good Candy—Candy made by mixing sugar and honey, p. 273.

Granulated Honey—Honey that has crystallized or candied, p. 282.

Grub—Larva of beetle, p. 78. :

Guide Comb—Narrow piece of comb or starters fastened to top-bar of frame or section, p. 250. %

Hatch—To issue from egg ; egg hatches, the brood develops and emerges from cell,

Hatching Brood—Incorrectly used towefer to bees coming from cells.

Heart—Circulating Organ ; in insects a tube along. the back, p. 67.

Heath Bees—Variety of German bees from Luneberg Heath, Europe, p. 45.

Heddon Hive—Hive with divided brood chamber, the division being horizontal, p.

188. Heddon-Langstroth Hive—Langstroth hive as used by Heddon, p. 181,

444 Glossary.

Hill’s Device—Curved sticks used to raise cloth a little from the frames in winter.

Hive—Box or receptacle for bees, p. 173. .

Hiving—Removing a swarm of bees from cluster to hive, p. 249.

Hiving Basket or Box—Basket or box used in hiving swarms, p. 252. .

Holy Land Bees—Yellow bees from Southern Palestine, p. 45.

Honey—Nectar digested by the bees, p, 145.

Honey-Bee—Apis Mellifica, the domestic bee, p. 82.

Iloney Bag—Honey stomach, p. 117. f

Honey Board—Board between brood chamber and section crate, p. 183.

Honey Box—Box for surplus comb honey.

Honey Comb—Fabric that holds the Lee and brood, p. 152.

Honey Dew—Nectar from insects like Aphides and bark lice, or from extra floral glands, p. 335. :

Honey Extractor—Machine for extracting honey, p. 276,

Honey Gate—Faucet to draw extracted honey from an extractor or barrel. It is closed instantly by a slide or gate.

Horey Knife—A knife for uncapping honey, p. 280.

Honcy Sac—Honey stomach, p. 117.

Honey Slinger—Honey extractor, p. 276.

Honey Stomach—Honey sac where bee carries honey, p. 117.

House Apiary—Building frost-proof where bees are kept continually, p. 398.

Hungarian Bee—Variety of the black bee from Hungary, p. 38. .

Hybrid—Properly an animal which is a cross between two different species. A hy- brid bee is a cross between two different races ; all the bees except the drones from an Italian queen mated to a black drone will be hybrids ; the drones will be pure if the queen is (see Dzierzon theory ).

Ilymettus—A mountain of Greece famed for its delicious eae

Wypopharynx—Membrane or curtain connecting the base of the mouth organs, p. 112.

Ileum—Small intestine, p. 120.

Imago—The mature insect ; the last or winged stage of an insect, p. 81.

Intestine—Digestive tube beyond the stomach, p. 120.

Introducing - Method of making bees accept a strange queen, p. 265.

Introducing Cage—Cage for introducing a queen, p. 267. .

cance raga 2 a hive, section, crate or frame bottom up. Reversing is also used, p. 257.

Italian Bee A yellow race from Italy. Every worker bee has three well marked yellow bands, pp. 42, 261. A

Italianizing—Changing bees from some other race to Italians, p, 261.

Krainer Bees—Bees from Krain, Austria ; same as Carniolans, p. 45.

abium—Under lip of an insect, p. 52.

Labrum—Upper lip of an insect, p. 51.

Lamp Nursery—Tin double walled box used for rearing queens, p. 241.

Tengseoth Frame—Adopted by Mr. Langstroth for his hive ; size 17% by 9%, p. 192.

Langstroth Hive—L. Hive ; Hive with frame suspended in a case or box ; invented y Rev. L. L. Langstroth, p. 176. ,

Ligula—End of labium ; the tongue in bees, p. 52, 112.

Ligurian Bee—Same as Italian ; name from Liguria, a province in Italy, p. 42.

Lining Bees—Noting direction of flight to find bec-tree, etc., p. 223.

Mag; ‘ot—Footless larva of two winged flies ; often applied to any footless larva.

Maiden Swarm--First swarm.

Mandibles—Main jaws of insects, p. 53.

Manipulation—Handling.

eee el pee eal of queen, p. 92.

ea ec cover to place over brood frames, made of slats, straw, etc., pp. 187,

Maturing Brood—Where the bees are just emerging from the cells,

Maxilla—The second or under jaws oe insects, p. 53.

Mel Extractor—Honey extractor, p. 276.

Meliput—Honey extractor, ’p. 276. -

Mentum—Second joint of labium or under lip, p. 52.

Rett seach to fasten end unite corners of frames.

Micropyle—Openings in eggs where sperm cells enter, p. 77.

Miller—Moth, which is the more prener word. ~

Mismated—Not purely mated.

Glossary. 445

Moth--All scale- winged insects except butterflies,

Moth Larva—Immature moth.

Moth- Miller—Incorrect term often used for moth,

Moth Trap—Trap for catching moths.

Movable Frame Hive—Langstroth hive, p. 176.

Nadir—The under story of a two story hive ; a wide eke, p. 189,

Nectar—Sweet substance, as the liquid in nectaries of flowers, p. 145. Nectaries—Nectar glands of flowers,

Nerves—White threads which connect organs to convey inipressions or impulses,

. 65.

Neuter—Incorrect name for worker bees ; they are not neuters but undeveloped females, p. 107. .

New Idea Hive—Long one story hive with many frames,

Non-Swarming Hive—A purely ideal hive, supposed to prevent swarming.

Normal!l—Usual ; regular.

Nucleus—-Plural nuclei; miniature colony of bees for queen rearing, p. 236.

Nurse Bees—Young bees or ones that feed the brood, p. 138.

Nursery—Device for rearing queens. See lamp nursery, p. 241.

Nymph—<An insect in the pupa state ; the immature bee in cell that is the form of adult bee is a nymph, p. 79.

Observatory Hive—Hive with glass sides, so that bees can be seen without dis- turbing them, p. 203.

Ocelli—Simple eyes on epicranium, usually three, p. 59.

Csophagus—Tube leading from pharynx to honey stomach, p. 70.

Open Sections—Sections that do not touch on sides, p. 205.

Ovary--Essential organs of the female, where the eggs grow, p. 75.

Over-stocking—Where more bees are kept than a locality can supply with a full harvest of nectar.

Oviduct—Tube for passage of egg from ovary, p. 75.

Palestine Bees—Race of yellow bees found in Southern Syria ; the so-called Holy Land bees, p. 45.

Paraffine—Wax-like crystalline substance used to coat barrels and prevent leakage; one of the products of crude petroleum

Parasite—An organism that feeds upon another, p. 27.

Parent Colony—The ae from which a swarm has issued,

Paraglosse—Short appendages at base of tongue, p. 112.

Parthenogenesis—Reproduction without males, pp. 94, 106.

Pasturage—Plants from which food is secured, p. 332.

Perforated Zinc—Zinc with holes cut so worker bees can pass, but drones and queens can not, p. 183. :

Pharynx—Throat or back of the mouth, p. 70. =

Phenol—Pure carbolic acid, p. 406.

Piping of Queens—Noise made by young queens when one has emerged from cell and others have not, p. 142.

Poison Sac—Sac at base of sting to hold the poison, p. 131.

Pollen—Male cell or element of flowers ; bee bread, pp. 126, 159.

Pollen Basket —Corbicula; cavity on posterior leg for carrying pollen, p. 126.

Pollen Combs—Rows of hairs on first tarsus of second and third pairs of legs of worker, on the inside, p. 126.

Pollen Hairs—Compound or webbed hairs of bees, used for collecting pollen, p. 123.

Portico—Porch to hive, p. 178.

Pound Section—Section 4% inches square, p. 205.

Prime Swarm—First swarm.

Prize Section—Section 6% by 5% inches square, p. 205.

Propolis—Bee glue, p. 162.

Propolize—To cover with propolis.

Prune—To cut out undesirable comb, as drone or old.

Puff Ball—A large fungus which, when pressed, sends out myriads of spores} it is sometimes used to subdue bees,

Pulvilli—Adhesive disks on the !ast joint of an insect’s leg, p, 125. r 18

Pupa—Third stage of insects, that between larva and imago ; also called nymph,”

p. 79. Queen—Mother bee, p. 82. . Queen or cane for introducing queen, p. 242. Queen Cell—Cell in which queen is reared, p. 234, Queenless—Having no queen. ¢

446 Glossary.

Queen Rearing—Raising of queens, p. 233.

Queen Register—Card to show state of hive as to queen, p. 246.

Queen’s Voice—Noise made by queen like piping; true voice, p. 142.

Queen Yard—Box with perforated zinc, to keep a clipped queen from being lost when she comes out with a swarm ; also called queen trap, p. 141.

Quilt—Cover for brood frames, consisting of two cloths containing wool or cottcn sewed together, p. 185.

Quinby Hive—Large Huber style of hive, p. 198.

Quinby Frame—Large frame 18% by 11% inches, p. 191.

Quincunx—Where things in rows alternate, thus,.*.*.

Rabbet—Where one side of the edge of a board is planed down for a short distance,

. 182.

hace Breed, Where a variety has been closely bred so long as to transmit its peculiarities to its offspring. Race is a natural breed, p. 37.

Rack—Crate or case ; section rack. ~

Rectal Glands—Glands in the rectum, p. 121.

Rectum—Large intestine, p. 121.

Rendering Wax—Melting and cleaning wax, p. 317.

Reversing lover tiie ; turning bottom up, p. 257.

Rhomb—Four equal sided figure, two of whose opposite angles are equal and acute, the others equa! and obtuse,

Ripe honey—Honey that has cured or evaporated, so it is thick, p. 149.

Robbing—When bees steal honey from another colony, p. 402.

Royal Jelly--Food fed to queen larve, p. 88.

Scouts—Bees that go forth just before swarming to find and prepare the new home.

Seal—To close.

Sealed Brood—Brood in cells that the bees have capped, p. 136.

Sealed Honey—Honey in cells that are capped.

Section— Small frame for comb honey, p. 203.

Separator—W ood or tin strip, very thin, for separating sections, so that bees will build straight and true combs, p. 211.

Septum—Base between cells of comb ; incorrectly called mid-rib.

Sholtz ee ae candy; sugar and honey mixed ; described years ago by Sholtz, a German.

Skip—Straw hive, such as were used in olden times.

Smell—Sense located in antennz of insects, p. 56.

Smoker—Instrument used to smoke or quiet bees, p. 298.

Smyrnian Bees—A variety or race of bees from a province—Smyrna—in Asiatic Turkey, p. 46.

Species—Animals so long bred as to have distinctive characteristics, more fixed than a race, p. 37.

Spent Queen—One sterile with age.

Spermatheca—The sac off oviduct of queen that holds the sperm, p. 75.

Spermatozoz—Sperm cells ; the male element or fecundating principle, p. 94.

Spring Dwindling—Rapid dying of bees in the spring, p. 396.

Stand—Support of hive. Incorrectly used for colony.

Starter—A small piece of comb or foundation fastened to the top bar of a hive, p.

250.

Sterile Queen—One that does not lay, p. 97. ence ee organ of defense of bees, wasps, etc., p. 130. Stock—Wrongly used for colony ; if used at all it should refer to bees, hive and all. Stomach—Where the food is mainly digested, p, 120. eid Storify—Used in England for adding upper stories to hives, Strain—A variety, as a strain of bees, developed by the bee-keeper, Strained Honey—Honey strained through a cloth, not extracted honey, Sulphne yet mincta jue to fumigate oe

uper—Upper story, either for extr::cted honey or honey i i Supersede—To replace with another. o ewido Sree bere lori ee in natural division, 140.

warming Basket—Basket to convey swarm from place slusteri i Swarming Impulse or Fever—Desire of the bees ie eS Swarming Season—Season of year when bees are likely to swarm Syian Bee—Race of yellow bees from Northern Palestine p. 44. .

faking u Bees—Destroying bees to get the honey, Rare now Tarsus—Last one to five joints of insect leg ; foot, p 123. ,

Tested Queen—One proved pure by exdmination of her offspring.

Glossary. 447

Tibia—Fourth joint of an insect’s leg, from the body, p. 123.

‘Tibial Spur—Spur at end of tibia, p, 63. 3

Tier up—Setting additional stories or crates of sections on a hive.

Tongue—Sucking tube of bee, p. 111.

Tracheex—Air tubes or tubular lungs of insects, p. 23.

‘Transferring Removing colony of bees from one hive to another, p. 219,

Trochanter—Second joint of insect’s leg, p. 63.

Uncapping—Cutting caps from comb cells, p. 280.

Un‘ertile—Queen or eggs that cannot produce young.

Unicomb Hive—Hive with one comb and glass sides ; observatory hive, p. 203.

Uniting—To put two or more colonies into one, p. 395.

Unripe—Thin honey ; honey not cured or evaporated.

Untested Queen—One whose purity has not been demonstrated.

Urinary Tubules—Tubes attached to the stomach of a bee, p. 120.

Sa amir sae of a race ; a strain.

Veil— Protection for face, p. 295.

Ventilation—Changing the air so it shall be constantly pure.

Virgin—Unmated queen,

Wax —Sec-etion formed between the abdominal segments of worker bees, p. 152,

Wax Extractor— Device for separating the wax from comb, p. 317.

Wax Plates or Pockets—Place where the wax sca'es form on the under side of a worker bee, p. 129.

Wedding Flight—Flight of queen to mate with the drone, p. 92.

Wild Bees—Bees in the forest with no owner.

Wind Break—High fence or evergreen hedge to protect from wind, p, 216.

Winter Passages—Holes through the center of combs so bees can pass through, p.

386. Wired Frames—Frames with opposite sides connected with fine wire, p. 314. Worker Bees—The undeveloped females ; the bees that do the work except that of egg laying, p- 107. 3 Worker Eggs—Egegs that develop into workers, p. 135. sails . : Worm—Term usually appliéd to a larva; really a footless cylindrical animal like an angle worm, '

GENERAL INDEX.

ABC of Bee Culture. Abdomen of insects... Abnormal swarming ..

Absconding swarms. +» 260

prevented... + 260 Acacia....... +» 348 Adulteration.. 149

After swarms.

A ic reproduction.. 94 AG tubes Soc 24 Albino bees 43 Alfalfa......... 355 Alighting board = 179 Alimentary canal.. «i Alsike clover.. 339, 352

figure of......... » 353 Amateur bee-keeper: 1,5

American Apiculturist.. American Bee Journal Anatomy of honey bee

atomy of insects.. Antenna cleaner

description Of ....-sccsssoressserssose

Anite. 301 TUE cence ascnse sopsenvennccesssersee recent Ape 35

Apis mellifica Apparatus for comb honey.. April honey plants.......... Pla aes esas o aceranaeeens oe

Artificial increase.........000+ method Of.s+.-«

29

. Asparagus

Associations ASters..en 0

Bacon beetle..

igure of... Balling of Queen. Banana...

Barberry... 348 figure o: 345 Bark lice... 332

figure of.. 332 honey from. 332 how to kill, 333 Barrels for honey. B24 figure of.. 324

soft wood.

12

Bee bread (see pollen).. 159 Bee dress 296 for ladies . 296 Bee i 408 Bee glue (see 162 netion 0. ++ 163

Bee hat 295 figure of. ++ 295 Bee hawk ... 422

Bee house figure of...... for winter...

Bee journals.

Bee keepers— farmers as... in cities... Indies as...

Bee Keeper’s Guide.... 12 Bee Keeper’s Guide Book. one (15 Bee Keeper's Handy Book 14 Bee Keeper’s Magazine. 1 Bee Keeper’s Review. 12 Bee keeping...... ove 167 8

id: om 10

tte ig conventic ~ 10

450

PAGE Bee keeping—(Continued)? aids to—

DOOKS...sesseceteseee eaeee 12

PAP LTS .eeceeseseee ceeees . 11 visiting bee keepers. 10

for women...... 5 inducements t 2 preparation for. 167 profits Of...... cee. 3 requisites to successful. 16 enthusiasm...... . 17 experience... 9

mental effort . 9

16

414

416

417

416

416

414

figure of - 415 Nebraska.. - 416 Bee louse.. 424 figure 425 Bee mite 430 figure 430 Bee moth..... 408 cocoons 408 figure o: 410 description of,. 40S igure of.. 410 igati 326 galleries of.. 408

409

history of..... 411 remedies for. 412 wee.. 413 Bee papers 11 12

11

Bee Keeper’s Guide.... 12

Bee Keeper’s Magazine Bee Keeper’s Review. British Bee Journal... Canadian Bee Journal.... Canadian Honey Producer.. Gleanings in Bee Culture. Bee pasturage... Bee poison....... inoculated with... « Bee space Bee stabber....c.ssecseeee

collections of. diseases of.....

kinds of in col 82 natural history of. 21 epee w. 297 shipping.. 274, 326

Index.

Bees—(Continued): _ sold by the pouna..

species of...... useful........ which are best. who may keep. amateurs. specialists..... who should not keep. Bees and bee keeping 15 Bees and honey... . 13 Bee’s wax.. . 150 Bee tent..... » 301 figure of.. « 302 Root'’s...... « 285 . 285 Beetles.. - 27 ' bacon « 414 blister. - 428 meal « 414 Bee trees.. ~ 223 hunting 223 Bee veil... 295 figure 295 Benton, Fran 38 i i 38 Bergamot 371 Bibliogra 163 Bingham 201 ure of., 201 Bingham knife. + 280 figure of..... . 280 is am smoker. « 298 ure Of... ‘ Black bee (see German bee)..

Blackberry ...ecesccece vee Block for frame making.. figure of dee

Black gum...

Black sage... Blessed bees. Blister beetles..

Blue thistle (viper’s bugloss)..

Boardman’s cones.. eves: figure of.....

Bokara clover..

A Year amon 5 Bee-kee| ere tiandy Boo ‘Bees and Honey...........

Blessed Bees:..... Dadant on Extracting ..

POG we ncnereriaacsrs 15 King’s Text Book... « 13 Langstroth on the Honey Bee. 12 on Botany, % senee B82

Quinby’s Mysteries of bee keep- ing wee ee 13

Index.

PAGE

Boles (Cusienel) The Production of Comb Honey 14 Bone fis pa

Bottles for honey... figure of...

Box for packing hives 387 Box hives.......000 + 173 rain of insects. 61, 66 figure of......... « 65

Branch Arthropoda., Bridal trip... Brimstone... British Bee Journal.. Brood chamber, restrictirg . Brown bee...

P Cagin: Caen AY. cess seve California bee killer.

‘or foul brood., Canadian Bee Journal.. Canadian honey producer. eae honey

‘or Carbolic acid.. for foul bro

» Cold draft smoker

ure of. + 369 Cheshire , 87 Chinqua 350 Chitine, 22 Chlorofo 299 Chyle.... 116 Chyme...... 116 Circulatory system o: 66

LAMPS.recersreresersees seneaesanees 396 Clark’s cold draft smoker... 299 Clark foundation fastener. 312 Class Insecta... 23 Claw ..cccrecsssenes 125 figure of... 125 Cleansing flight,.. . a B94 Chppite queen’s wing. wae 248, ow done....... oe 244 very desirable. a 243 Clover... 352 Alsike 352 SWE icvssiiiessecseeesaases ssssensisearves 354 white 352 Clustering . 142 Clypeus... « BL Cocoon— of bees....... of insects. of queen...

College bee house... Colonies, how to move.. Columnella. Comb... cells of... fastening.. figure of... how to keep... transferring of.. ure of...

Comb basket..

Comb foundation.. American.

fi

Comb guide Comb Comb honey desirable.., high priced. how to secure remove queen

restrict brood chamber..

strong colonies....... swarming checked. marketing of.. rules for...

452 /ndex.

PAGE PAGE

Comb honey—(Continued) ¢ Drone—( Continued) ? ehionine port for...... +» 827 characters Of... +» 100 stored before shipping. 326 comb of....... . 153 Comb stand 269 copulation of, - 106 Valentine’s.. 269 destruction of 105

development

Young’ or Compound eyes. 10% Copulation... 106

my. 104

157 figure of.. how to select.

figure of..

purity of..... 107 Spermatozoa of. 103 figure of.. 102 testes of..... + 102 re of. » 3 a trap for... » 24 eee Drumming out. 219 Crates ia. ceessedcsceceaies acededsvessenaseeceuecs 209 | Dufour’s theor: 121 AIMStrOng....seee Dummy (see division board). - 186 for marketing. Dunham foundation machine « 306 one story... figure of........ a - 306 Southard... Dzierzon theory.. = two story... Crawfish....0o0 Egegssscssceneve Crustacea Egg laying Cyprian race... Eggs of insects. description of. res 0:

Cuckoo bees Culver’s root... Cyprian bees.....

Egyptian bees.. Hee of bee:

bee hawks. bee killers..

Dalmatian bees... - 422 Dandelion. + 428 Dextrose oH + 431 Digestive system of in 427 re of. 433 Dipping board... + 424 Diseases of bees.... + 427 Dissecting microscop 54 44 Dissection 54, 76 . 433 instruments for. +54, 76 TLE cviaavviiekesinle Cielhégepamspnneneetan' 430 Dividing........ ae 257 413 method of. 258 + 414 Division board.. ae 186 oe 43k figure of...... oe 186 +» 432 perforated zinc... 208, 186 ++ 419 use Of......4 ae 187 494 Dollar queens. 2 403 Driving bees, wasps.. - 429 Drone... Entomological books 50 antenna -o: Entrance........... 182 brood of... Entrance blocks....... + 182

Index. 453

Foul brood—( Continued)? remedies for-—

salicylic acid...

325 | Foundation...

285 American.

Entrance guards. figure of...

Extracted honey. Dadant’s book on., how to keep........ management of.. ripening of.

Extracting « 276 for brood f: Extractor 276 for sections honey 276 history of.

WAX rc csseeee we BIT how made.

Eyes of insects. 59 machines... compound... 59 figure o:

illustrated.. 59, 60 to fasten...

simple... . use of.......

what they should be.. Famity of honey bee.... Farmers as bee keepers.. Favosites coral............ Fecundation, voluntary,

76 Vandervort, 226 ‘Van Deusen Foundation

close bottom board for. division board..

“) 229 Langstroth.. 229 reversible..

Female organs.

figure of..

Femur.,....-.

74 figure of.... 63 Fruit, sound, not injure 245 | Fruit jar feeder.. 90 | Fumigation........

109 | Gall berry...

why present... at 387 | Gall flies...

Fertilization of bees...

Foreign books. Foul brood..... nature of.. remedies f

fasting. er 406 Figure OLscseserssesenssssenssessevenseess hénol. 406 of bees pe

P

454 Lidex.

Glands—( Continued) ¢

of insects.. 70

of larva.. 113

of Meckel. 115

of Ramdohr. 116

of Siebold... 113

of thorax... 115 functions of. 115

of upper head.... 115 unctions of.. 115

Wak... 130 Wolff's 116 figure of... 115 Gleanings in Bee Culture. 11 Glossary. 441 Gloves.. 296 of 296

of cloth 296

of rubber 296 Glucose .....eue 146 Golden honey plant. 371 Golden rod...... 379 figure of... 378 Good candy...... 273 Granulated ' honey... 282 Grapes and bees.. 337 Grape vin® apiary. 16

ve 2 figure of....... 216, 217 Grounds for apiary we 214

made safe in ci Grove for apiary

TUDS...00 cee Guide comb...

Handling bees Head of insects...

organs 0: figures of Hearing i 58 Heart of insects. 67 figure of. 67 Heath bees... » 45 Heddon feeder. 230 figure of. 231 Heddon hive 188 figure of. 189 Heddon L hiv 180 Hercules’ Club...... 379 Hermaphrodites. 98 Herzegovinian bees. 38, 46 Hill’s device. 38

Hive—(Continued) : Munn...

figu

observatory

figure of.

one story....

figure of.

lace for..

two story figure of.,

Holy

Honeys albumen of... composition of, for food.......

function of..... granulation of,. ripening of, source of tests for. unre.lable.

Honey- bee... branch of. natural history of. Honey board (slatted) queen-excluding..

description of figure of, fossil.....

figure o: not tniforin. opaque, why. strength of,.

Honey comb cora figures of.... Honey dew.... Honey extractor. American... figure o automatic... figure o: cover for.. geod point. istory of.... Hruschka’s, when to use Honey knife... figure of Honey locust. figure of.. Honey plants...

Index.

Honey plants—Continoed)

borage...

buckthorn... buckwheat, button bush..

golden honey p ‘olden rod

mangrove... manzanita. maple., March.. matrimony vine..

Honey plants—( Continued) mignonette. milkweed... mint. mountain laurel... mountain mint.

palmetto... partridge pea. per: ons pleurisy root... poplars. TAPCrreeee raspberry. red gum... red wood....... atl Rocky Mounta n bee plant.. SAC eee isin saw palmetto. sour wood...... special planting of.. spider plant. sun flower... Spanish needl St John’s wort. sugar maple...

varnish

verbenas..

viper’s bugloss. 375

Virginia creepe: 373.

wheat 5

white

willow...

willow K

» wistaria... » 347°

Honey stomach.. 11T

figure of.. 118 Honey vinegar.. woe 829 Horehound.. 348, 357 Horse mint.. ae BOL

figure of 351 Horse power... 213

objection to.

Hum of insects... +. 101 Hungarian bees. 38, 45 Hunting bee trees. ++ 223 Hymenoptera...... 26

description of.... 26

highest of insects. 27, 28 Hypopharynx «112 Ichneumon flieS....cssessseseeeeerees 23

456

PAGE PAGE Lleum 120 Labium “A Imago state Labrum Increase, artificial... Ladies’ Dee AresS.resecscsssccrcersesesereee 296 Increase of colonies... Levulose 146

prevented........00 Indian currant Indian plantain......ssseosscceeses

aecseecese 248 250, 251, 255 382

eee B75

Inducements to bee keeping. 2 adaptation to women. 5 aids the nation........... 8 excellence for amateurs. a «=O Gives f00d......+00008 8 mental discipline. 7 profits... 3 recreation 2

Infertile queens 97

Insecta... 23

Insects... 26 description of 25 imago of 25 larva Ofssereccesceerseees 25 metamorphoses of. 25 parts of... 25 pupa of, 25 respiration of. 23

Internal anatomy o: 63

Intestines... 120

Introducin; ‘a aa 267

Introduction of qu 265 Simmins’s method 268 very valuable, 269

Inversion.. os 257

Iron weed 375

Ttalianizing.... -261, 265

Italian race..... description of. figure of... OTIgiN Of........eee00e points of excellence in

37, 42, 261

Japan buckwheat..... Japan privet...

figure of. 115; 122 Jones, e A., importation of bees... 38 ournals—

American Apiculturist.., 12 American Bee Journal. 11 Bee-keeper’s Guide. 12 Bee-keeper’s Revie 12 British Bee Journal. 14 Canadian Bee Journz 11 Canadian Honey Prod 12 Gleanings in Bee Culture 11 Judas tree.... 346 figure of 346

Id oe. eeseeeee

King’s Text Book.

Kin 13 Knife sic cccdonsvente 280

uncapping... 280 Krainer eon Gee Carnio 45

Lam

eee 1 igure of... 177, 178, 179 two story... 2178, 183 Langstroth on the honey bee......... 12 Larval worker. A 135, 136 fed what. ++ 1385 Larva of bees.. + 30 Larva of insects. 78 figure of..... 80 gieat eaters 8 moulting o: 78 Latreille..e ese s 49 Legs Of insects. sss ssecencesseesensnveeeves we 63 Lepidoptera... ” Ligulas. cee 52, 112 Ligurian bee (s - 42 figure of. 43 Linden... 9, 366 Lining be 223 Linneu 48 Lobster. 21 Locatio: 171 Locust..... 362 figure of., + 362 Lucern........ ae B55 Lupine...... 363 Magnolia figure of.. + 366 Male bees... +. 100 Male organs.. 73, 102 figure of, an Malvas.... Mandible: Mangrove.., sana

black.

Manual of Bee Keeping. = 15 Maple..... 339, 344, 347

figure of.. ddd, 346 March honey plants... » 343 Marketing.

Dees iis

y the poun comb honey.

crates figure extracted hone:

8) BE ncces Mating of queen. Matrimony vine.....

Mature insects 81 Maxilla.,

Metal rabbets 188 Mice....... epee 433 Micropyles.ccssseeeecssssssetsecsceseensens 77 Microscope. : 54

figure of. Mignonette...

figure of. Milkweed...

Moth (see bee mot! Motherwort....

figure of... Mountain laurel...

Mouth organs. figure of.... Movable frame hives.. history Of....0.ssaseseee

Munn hive 7174 re of....

figure of Zr 323

Nectar.....«

digestion... +++

Nervous system of ii ‘ure of

of larve.

how form

Nursery... lamp. queen NY Mph.....ccscscsscssssescscassoverseseaes veces 79 Observatory hive.. woe 203 figure Of. sss. eve 202° Ocelli 59

Ovaries....

of ferti 108 figure of... 109 of worker... 108 figure of... 109

Oviduct....

Packing box. figure Of.....00.

Paraglossassecsesesseeccecsseee arasites

Parker foundation fastener.

Perforated zinc...... Periodicals (see papers) PersimmMonneces ssessessssee see

es for foe brood ‘iping of queen lanta, De aseeuses . analyses of chyle. analysis of wax... composition of pollen... Plant lice

Poison sack

Pollen (bee bread)...

.albuminou

Pollen basket va 126 figure of 127 PONEN. COMMS ssc sivasncnienrsctndsvrminn 126 figure of. 128

458

Pollen hairs, ...sesse Pollen in winter... Poplars...ssscssseesenees cesses Pound section . Praying mantis (see mantis).. Products of bees...

of other insec Profits of bee keepi: Propolis...

figure Of...... 80 clipping wing of. 243 development of.. 90 se u eggs of...

BE Rare of... 84 eyes of...... 85 fecundity of. oe 86 fed by workers... 86 figure of. 84 £00d Of.....60s000 86 form of....

function of... lands of. OW LEATEU ...scccsesee sscssecersersssees 233

figure of, piping of ..

rearing of... removing of. shipping o

spermatheca 83 sterile... 97 sting of. 86 tongue of.. - 52 figure o: 52

- 240

- 271

young virgin easily intro uced.. 269

Queen cage... seneeeeD42, 266 figure of. 242, 266, 267 Queen cells... sone 87

figures of... ny 239

Queen cells—( Continue. formed when. Placing in nucleus. when best

Queen-excluding honey board... 183

re of 184, 189 - 241

., 298 Quinby’s Mysteries of Bee Keeping 13

Rabbet. Races of bees......., Rape..eere

figure of. Raspbe Rational

vee 182 37, 38, 41 + 859

Red gum.... Red or soft maple... figure of. Rees cones. figure Ofssssoe sores Register for queen. Reproductive organs. female

figure of...

Respiration of insects..

figure Of... sce Respiratory system of insects.. Reversible frames...

Reversing

Ripe honey... Robber flies Robbing........ aiises

remedy for.. Rocky Mountain bee pl

figure of. Royal jel ly..

Sage. DIACK.... cs secese vee figure of.. white.......... figure of. Salicylic acid... for foul brood for mucilage Salivary glan LW eesevens Saw flies.. Saw palmetto. Saw table.......

Index. 459

Species of Apis—(Continued) ? zonata.nn. Specialists... ae Species of honey bee. 246 | Spermatheca tteenes 136 | Sperm cells 72 figure of. 203 | Spermitophore....

adjusting of.

dovetailed. 204 figure o: 204 freed of bees... 291 290

peng bees in istory of...

how placed.. in crates....

Sterile queen Stimulative feed ite iesscsavvecian

figure of. Stinging bu in wide frames . fi ure ae, figure of, Stingless bees

Sting of bees........ ammonia for.. anatomy of.. description of. figure of... glands of, how cured... how to prevent...... of other Hymenoptera,

hysiology of...

St. John’s wort.

Stomach ......6

a of,

Separators.... Shade board Shade for bees grape vine grove

Shipping colonies.........0+ asonbsasessscee 214 of insects on cars . 275 Stomach mouth. in wagon... +» 275 figure of... Shrew...... 00 « 434 | Stomach valve.. figure of. ++ 434 figure of... Shuck feeder. +. 229 Stone a ae 365 ure of. 229 | Sub-class Insecta...... 25 Shuck hive... . 191 | Sub-earth ventilator... 393 Simplicity hive 178 | Success in Bee Culture... 14 pene of... 178 | Sugars..eceuseee secre vevene en . 146 Skunk cabbage... soe 844 | Sumac 348, 361 Slotte | honey board. 183 | Suniflowers......-sccssecsseecsseessereeseseen 379 Small intestine «» 120 Supers. 209 Smell in insects. 56 ALMStONG...sccesserees anes ceseeceee DLL illustrated. 57 figure of. oe 210 seat of 56 Surplus case or crate... + 184 Smoker. 297 eddon.... 210 Smokers....... . 298 | Surplus com 203 Bingham 298 | Swammerdam

298 Swarmin

Clark... 299 cut sho: fi 299 preparati Quinby: 298 prevented.

298 | Swarms—

Sour wood.... 371 after, 143 figure of. 374 hivin, 252 Spanish needles... 380 second... 143 Species of Apis 37 prevented. 250, 255 adonsoni. 37 several at once a 251 Sweat theory.. Sweet clover

figure of. Syrian race.....

460 PAGE Syrian race—(Continued) ¢ description...... ... cise ssesssecrree 44

Taylor’s foundation fastener... Teasel...

figure 361

, Temperature 387 Test for hone’ 149 Thorax.. 62 musc - 62 figure 62

of insects 51

Heddon’s method........ Old method... ove Transformations of insects.

Tread powereeess secre Trigcona....ssessvcsecee Trochanter T super....

igure re) Tunisian bee

Uncapping,

Uncapping knife. Bin Heme ce aces gure Of...

Uniting west 395

Urinary tubules 120

Varnish tree. aaeees

Veil...... ssaenessevneecscesercecene seveceseseseses, LOD figure o:

Verbena ecseeens 375

Index.

Viallon candy.. Vinegar... scene Viper’s bugloss.. Virgil...eeeeeee Virginia creeper. Vision of insects. Voice of bee... Voice of queen...

Wasps Water for be

figure of. function of..

nature of 151 origin of 150 secretion 152 voluntar: 152 why secrete 161 Wax extractor...... - 317 Jones 318 figure of... SO]AL... cee eeeeeee figure of. Swiss.....s00 figure of Wax jaws figure Of... 127, 128 Wax plates 129, 130 FiG™uyre OF, ccccsseesessevesssccrsseeeeeL 29, 130 Wax pockets 129 figure of. means . 129 Wax sheets 309

Wedding flight sees Wee bee moth figure of remedy for... White clover..... figure of. White feeder...seoe soos

uw .

Who sieyieee D a

Who should not keep bees... Wide fra

figure of......

Wild bees..

Willow...

figure o Willow herb... figure of. Wind break... ..cccesees nee OF bee... esos figure of,.. of insects.

32, 33, 34

index.

Winterin why difficult. TEQUIS tES tOsccereeee

Wired fr: figure Of svovseavsorssnnsnnann neces eansnn as

5, 122 29, 126, 127 we 123

461

PAGE Workers—( Continued) ¢ legs of— middle. 128 POSCETION sersssssssersersesvorrecere L2G

figure of.. longevity of...... mouth parts of.. figures of, ovaries of...

127, 128 som 137

Xylocopasssssceesee ssevesersetseescererers vee 8

Yourng’s €asel...sccsesssese coseeeeee

THE BHE-KEEPER'S GUIDE; MANUAL OF THE APIARY.

By A. J, COOK, Agricultural College, Michigan, Professor of Entomology and Zoology.

18,000 Already Sold. 800 Pages. 222 Illustrations,

This is a new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, enlarged and elegantly illustrated. The first edition of 3,000 copies was exhausted in about 18 months—a sale unprecedented in the annals of bee culture.

This edition has been thoroughly revised, much new matter and many costly illustrations added, and it has been produced with great care, patient study, and persistent research. It comprises a full delineation of the anat- omy and Dey ole y of the honey-bee, illustrated with many expensive wood engravings: the products of the honey-bee; the races of bees; full descriptions of honey-producing plants, treer, shrubs, etc., splendidly illus- trated; and last, though not least, detailed instructions for the various manipulations necessary in the apiary.

READ THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS OF THE BOOK.

, I believe yours the best practical work in the world.—L. L. Langstroth.

I feel like thanking God that we have such a man as Prof. Cook to take hold of the subject of bee culture in the masterly way in which he has done it.—Gleanings in Bee Culture.

It is a book which dees credit to our calling; one that every bee-keeper may welcome as a fit exponent of the science which gives pleasure to all who are engaged in it.— American Bee Journal.

It is just what might have been expected from the distinguished author— a work sheeple to the ordinary bee man, and a delight to the student of scientific apiculture.—Bee-Keepers’ Magazine.

Cook’s new ** Manual of the Apiary’ comes with high encomiums from America, and certainly it appears to havecut the ground from under future book makers for some time to come.—British Bee Journal.

Prof. A. J. Cook’s “* Manual of the Apiary*’ contains, besides the descrip- tion of the anatomy and physiology of the honey-bee, beautifully illustrated, the products and races of the bees, honey plants, and instructions for the different operations performed in the hives. All agree that it is the work of a master, and is of real value.—L’ Apiculteur, Paris.

I have read_with a good deal of interest the copy of Cook’s Manual you sent me, and I intend to publish extracts from it in the “ Bulletin” of the Society of Apiculture of the Department of the Somme, so that our apiarists may be aware of the value of this estimable work. It is a credit to the author as well as the publishers. I have never yet met with a work, either French or foreign, which [ like so much.—L’ Abbe L. DuBois, at La Mal- maison, Aisne, France. ;

Every point connected with the subject is handled in a clear, exhaustive, yet pithy and practical manner_—Rural New Yorker.

__ Fhe most thorough work on the apiary ever published, and the only one illustrating the various bee plants.—Lansing (Mich.) Republican.

Treating the art in all its different branches in a clear, concise and inter- esting manner.—The Canadian Entomologist.

_ it is the fullest, most practical and most satisfactory treatise on the sub- ject now before the public.—Country Gentleman.

I have derived more practical knowledge from Prof. Cook’s new ‘Manual of the Apiary” than from any otber book.—E.H. Wyncoop.

With Cook’s Manual Iam more than pleased. Itis fully up with the times inevery particular. The richest award awaits its author.—A. E. Wenzel.

We have perused with great pleasure the vade mecum of the bee-keeper. It is replete with the best information on everything belonging to apicult- ure. To all taking an interest in this subject we say: Obtain this valuable work, read it carefully, and practice as advised.—. (eae le Quebec.

I regard it as the best work on bees in the world.—P. L. Viallon.

nS wi =) greatly superior to all the other works that I recommend no other. —D. A. Jones.

prices by Bat Litera Geceas made to dealers, and to newspapers who may desir a 4

y e to send it as a premium. A. J. COOK,

Agricultural College, Mich., Author and Publisher.

WHAT IS «# @

The Rural New-Yorker?

The Most Trustworthy of any paper of its class printed.— J. J. Harrison, president of the Storrs & Harrison Company.

Everybody that is a body knows of the Unique Individuality of the Rurat along the lines of original experimental investiga- tion.—J. J. H. GREGORY.

The editor of the RuRaL NEw-YORKER has opened an entirely New Field of Investigation, the possibilities of which can- not be conjectured.—NorMAN J. COLEMAN,

The RuRAL NEW-YORKER has Done More for Farmers than

nine-tenths of all the land-grant colleges and experiment stations. —New York Tribune.

We have seen on the farm of the editor of the RuRaL NEw- YORKER a crop of 134 bushels of shelled corn raised on one acre of land.—American Agriculturist.

The RURAL NEW-YORKER illustrates the Progress made by the agricultural class, much of which is due to the inspiration of the RuraL NEW-YORKER, and the papers which follow its example.— Lt, Gov. E. F. Jonzs,

The RuraL NEw-YORKER has Done More to promote the true interests of Agriculture, than all the experiment stations put together.—The New York Yimes,

The best farm weekly in the world.—Farm Journal.

$2.00 a year. On trial, ten weeks, 25 cents.

Tae Rurat PuBLIsHING Co., Times Building, New York.

te" ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT, no matter what, at REDUCED COST, in return for sending us clubs of subscriptions.

.

MUTIH’S Honey Extractor and Uneapping Knife.

This Extract- or is second to none in ease of |% extracting and desirability, | while the slant- ing sides of its comb- basket “makes its ex- tracting power superior to all others, as centrifugal force is aided by gravity.

PERFECTION COLD BLAST SMOKERS.

SQUARE GLASS HONEY JARS.

We have a full supply always on hand, as wellas a general assortment of Bee-Keepers’ supplies.

“Practical Hints to Bee-Keepers”’: Will be mailed on receipt of 10 cents.

Circular mailed on application. Dealers in Pure Honey and Bees-Wax.

—APPLY TO-—-

O. F. MUTH & SON,

976 and 978 Central Ave., CINCINNATI, O.

BARNES’ PATENT

Foot-Power /T\achinery.

The cut on this page represents our Combined Machine, which is used by hundreds of bee-keepers for use in the construction of their hives, sections, boxes, etc. For this work it is without ques- tion the best foot-power machine made.

is CHARLESTON, N. Y. Mezssrs. BARNES BROS., Rock Forp, ILL.:

Gentlemen :— We cut out with one of your combined machines, last win- ter, 50 chaff hives with 7-inch caps, 100 honey racks, 600 broad frames, 2,000 honey boxes and a great deal of other work. This winter we have doubled the amount of bee-hives, etc., to make and expect to do it all with this saw. It will do all you say it will, every time.

Respectfully, J. I. Parent, Charleston, N. Y.

MACHINES SENT ON TRIAL.

We will send our catalogue and price list free on application.

Address, W. F,. & JOHN BARNES CO., 673 Ruby St., RockrorpD, ILL.

SAVE YOUR FRUIT!

By Spraying with Arsenical Solutions or Kerosene Emulsion.

Spraying machinery has become one of the necessities with farmers of the present h day, and the only question at i issue is, Which of the anany |

,

| kinds now manufacture ‘lh will it best pay me to buy? i With a view to throwing i i Ny some light on this subject, TRA Hi the Nixon Nozzle and Ma- ‘ ' Chine Co. invite your atten- tion to the following facts:

First. That the Climax Nozzle is the only one ever made that will throw a spray fine as fog, to a suf- = ficient distance to spray orchard trees. This nozzle is made by us and used only on our machinery.

econd. That we have the best force pump for this purpose ever invented and one that is designed especially for our machinery. With this pump a solid stream may be thrown from 40 to 60 feet and a fine spray 20 feet. We can refer all who wish to make inquiries concerning the merits of our machinery to any professor of agricultural science or prominent fruit growerin the United States. We also prepare the Climax Insect Poison, which has proven to be the best and cheapest insecticide on the market. We invite all who are interested in the destruction of insects to write for our illustrated price list. Address,

THE NIXON NOZZLE AND MACHINE CO., Dayton, Ohto, U. 8. A.

LONDON PURPLE.

(TRADE MARE.)

Pror. J. A. LINTNER, State Entomologist, Albany, N. Y., says: ‘The experience of the last few years has shown us that a very large proportion of our most destructive insect pests can be controlled by spraying some liquid insecticide by means of a suitable force pump. The best insecticide for use against fruit insects is undoubtedly Paris Green or London Purple. Of these two, I do not hesitate to recommend London Purple in preference. It is quite as effective, is leas liable to burn the foliage, there is less danger from accidental poisoning from it, itis less expensive, and is held more easily in mixture with water.” ay er 7 :

A. C. HAMMOND, Secretary Illinois Horticultural Society, in Orchard. and Garden, June, 1889: “From these sprayed trees, about three hundred in number, I gathered five hundred bushels of apples, sixty to seventy-five

er cent. of Which were perfect, and eighty-five per cent. marketable, while

rom the same number of trees in adjoining orchards I did not gather a

eck of perfect fruit. wes * * T have concluded that the Pondon Purple saved the fruit.” | Me

In the bulletin of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station for March, 1889, Clarence M. Weed gives the following: “The pest (Potato Beetle) is go easily kept in check by the use of London Purple or Paris Green that it hardly paysto try any other method. Apply early,do not wait till the. vines are three-fourths eaten, but kill off the first brood and the later- broods will trouble you much less,”

E. 8. Gorr, Wisconsin Experiment Station, says: ‘‘It is probable that. London Purple will supersede Paris Green as an insecticide when its advantages become generally understood.”

HEMINGWAY'S LONDON PURPLE CO. (Limited), . LONDON, ENG., and 90 Water St, NEW YORK.

i

THE ‘OLD RELIABLE,

BEST ON EARTH, The Original . BINGHAM Bingham Patent smokers

Bee Smoker

Are the only Bee Smokers that last long or give lasting satisfaction. The largest Bee- keepers in Cuba, Australia, Europe and Amer- ica use them exclusively. Also

Bingham & Hetherington’s Honey Knives,

Price from 65 cents to $2, post-paid per mail, according to size. 50,000 in use and not a letter of complaint ever received.

SEND FOR FREE CIRCULAR TO Patented. 1878.

BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON,

Abronia, Mich.

SPRAY YOUR TREES

BL 7S SYM ANenss Par, sor DO.BO

LEWIS’ COMBINATION FORCE PUMP.

Outfit combines three complete brass machines.

Will thoroughly Spray a 10-acre Orchard per day.

ant With the Lewis Patent a: Spraying Attachment you j can change from solid stream to spray instantly while pumping.

“T have used your pump ~Tit==——- with excellent satisfac-

“ta emial tion.”—A. J. Cook. A valuable Mustrated Book (worth $5) on “Our Insect. Foes” given to each purchaser. My agerts are making from $5 to $20 per day. Goods guaran- teed as represented or money refunded. Don’t buy a spraying outtit until you receive my illustrated circulars, price list, and other valuable matter on spraying fruit trees and vines. Address,

P. C. LEWIS, Lock Box, - Catskill, N. Y¥.

Undoubtedly the Largest , Plant in the West, built

We sell as CHEAP AS |THE CHEAPKST, nd our gocds }jare as Goon AS TI BRST, Par- >| jj tles will do well to write us

for estimates on large orders, We will send you our Cata-

logue for your name ona Postal Ca:d, Address

LEAHY MFc. Co., HIGGINSVILLE, MISSOURI.

CARNIOLAN QUEENS @%2 BEES

Will be bred for the coming trade from pure and gentle mothers, whose workers have shown (the past season) to be fine honey gatherers.

Send for circular to JOHN ANDREWS, Patten's Mills, Wash. Co., N. Y.

MARSTON’S

Hand aud Foot-Power Machinery.

Circular Saw, Iron Frame, Steel

Shafte, and Arbor’s Machine-cut Gears. Iron Center-part in top.

Send for Circular and Price List. J. M. MARSTON & Co.,

No. 200 Ruggles St., BOSTON, MASS.

BEE-KEEPERS’ SUPPLIES.

We manufacture all kinds of Bee-Keepers' Supplies and Novelties, both for wholesale and retail trade.

SUPERIOR WORKMANSHIP" AND LOW PRICES

have brought us many thousands of customers. If you have never bought from us send us a trial order. Send for Illustrated Catalogue FREE.

The Buckeye Bee Supply Company,

NEW CARLISLE, OHIO.

Nors.—Anyone sending us 10c. and the names of ten bee-keepers, we will send them the Buckeye Farmer, a monthy paper, for one year.—B. B.S. Co.

FIELD FORCE PUMP CO.'S

PERFEGTION SPRAYING OUTFIT,

FOR HAND POWER.

This machine consists of a copper reser- voir holding six gallons. The pump is made entirely of brass and copper and can , neither corrode nor rust. There is a large air chamber, as shown in the engraving, which will keep the pressure and continue to discharge the spray for nearly one min-- ute after the operator stops pumping. A brass pipe 15 inches in length, with a stop cock is furnished with each machine. The nozzle is the celebrated ‘‘ Vermorel,” so highly recommended by Prof. Riley, and gives universalsatisfaction. This machine is especially adapted for applying remedies in the treatment of black rot, mildew, and other diseases of the grape, as well as the

reatment of leaf and potato blight, ete. Price, 314.00.

One Hundred Trees per Hour ean be Sprayed with this Outfit.

This Pump is fitted with TEN feet of discharge hose and a graduating Spray Nozzle, the above being at- tached to the Pump at the srout “A.” At the aperture ‘B” is at- tached three feet of return hose, at the lower end of which is connected a discharge pipe, so that, at every stroke of the Pump, a small part of liquid is re-discharged into tank near bottom of suction pipe, which KEEPS THE POISON WATER WELL MIXED. There is also a tight cap furnished, to close up opening *‘B” when desired. :

The Pump has three-inch cylin- der, and is furnished with iron suc- tion pipe ready to mount on a bar- rel. Write for circulars.

Price complete, . $12.00 Address, =

FIELD FORCE PUMP CO

: : +, Lockport, N. Y.

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_ ‘enpoid jo Ayypenb srayjeq & ureyqo puv pony puy 10q2] ‘guiry aavs [[[M nod

yt Suisn Kg ‘ouo oy soyjef 34 10 uinySi10g ‘ajdepy oxet 0} proye youuvd NOK = *NOLLV

-100ssy SUTAV-AVONS AAUASTY NAFLSAM OIHO 4} FO siaquiewW puy s1edqjo 1aWA0F pue

quasaid zo Aysofeur yy Aq ose SeMoT ‘Bayo jeanynouSy wepisesg ‘upoqueyy “TM 4d :

fq fueSiyorya 62e821[0D jeanypnaiusy ay} Jo ‘Y00D) “(cy ‘Jorg 4q pasn pue pepusui mosey

tout pue sojesodeng GoidWeda du

THE

BEE-KEEPERS’ REVIEW

Is a new, 28-page monthly, at $1 00 per year, edited and published by W. Z. Hutchinson. : . ‘

It works ina field entirely unuccupied by the other bee journals, that of reviewing current apicultural literature. Errors and fallacious ideas are faithfully but courteously pointed out, while nothing valuable 1s allowed to pass unnoticed. Butfew articles are copied entire, but the ideas are extracted, given in the fewest words possible, and commented upon when

‘ht advisable. : aera feature is that of makinug each issue what might be termed a

SPECIAL NUMBER.

That is, the extracts, correspondence, and editorials of any number all have a bearing upon some special subject. There is gathered together, from every available source, the best that is known upon any given subject; itis then put into the best shape and published ina single number. In other words, each number is to a certain extent, a little pamphlet contain- ing, in the fewest words possible, the best that is known upon some given topic. nstead of devoting space to “hints to beginners,” attention is turned to the solution of the unsolved problems of advanced bee culture. Sample copies will be cheerfully furnished upon application. Back num-

hers can be supplied. —_W. Z, HUTCHINSON, Flint, Mich,

BEE-HIVES, SECTIONS, FRAMES, Ere.

Our prices are the lowest and our goods the best. Write for free illus- trated catalogue and price list.

G. B. LEWIS & CO., Watertown, Wis. 1867. BEES AND QUEENS. 11.

I will mail my 23d Annual Price List of Italian, Cyprian and Holy Land Bees and Nuclei Colonies, either in the American or Langstroth Frame, Choice Tested, Warranted, and Dollar Queens and Apiarian Snnpliee, to all who send me their name and address written plainly on a postal.

H, H. BROWN, Light Street, Ool. Co., Pa.

[EsTABLISHED IN 1864.]

Bee SU Pel asS

AT WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.

Everything Needed in the Apiary of Practical Construction at the Lowest Price.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.

We have the largest steam-power shops, exclusively used for the manu- facture of all kinds of, Bee-Keepers’ Supplies in the west. Send your address on a postal card and we will send you free our illustrated catalogue.

EE. KRETCHMER, Ked Oak, Iowa.

IF YOU WISH TO BUY

Any QumEeEns of either the

FIVE-BANDED GOLDEN, or the THREE-BANDED IMPORTED ITALIAN BEES, Agse—

Note my prices: Warranted purely mated) ! Queens, ip May, $1.25 each, 6 for $6. War- ranted Queens, after June 1, $1, 6 for $5. Tested Queens, in May, $2; June and July, $1.75; after August 1, $1.50. Selected Tested, from $3 to $5. Sample Bees, Scents. Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed anywhere in America. Descriptive Catalogue free.

JACOB T. TIMPE, Granp LEDGE, MICH.

THE BREAD AND BUTTER SERIES, No, 2.

APICULTURE: The Double-hive, Non-swarming System.

By GeorGeE A. STOOKWELL, PROVIDENCE, R. I. Sent post-paid on receipt of 25 cents in postage stamps.

DR. TINKER’S SPECIALTIES.

The Nonpareil Bee Hive and Winter Case, White Poplar Sections, Wood- Zinc Queen Excluders, and the finest and best Perforated Zinc ever made. Send for catalogue of prices, and enclose 25 cents tor the new book, BEE- KEEPING FOR PROFIT. DR. G. L. TINKER, New Philadelphia, Ohio.

DADANTS FOUNDATION

Is kept for sale by Messrs. T. G. Newman & Co., Chicago, Ill.; C. F. Muth, Cincinnati, O.; Jas. Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich.; 0. G. Col ier, Fairbury, Neb.; G. L. Tinker, New Philadelphia, U.; E. Kretchmer, Red Oak, Ia.; P. L. Viallon, Bayou Goula, Le.; Jos. Nysewander, Des Moines. Ia.; C. H. Green, Waukesha, Wis.; G. B. Lewis & Co., Watertown, Wis.; J. Mattoon, Atwater, 0.; Oliver Foster, Mt. Vernon, Ja.; C. Hertel, Freeburg, [1].; Geo. E. Hilton, Fremont, Mich.; J. M. Clark & Co., 1517 Blake street, Denver, Col.; Goodell & Woodworth Mfg. Co,, Rock Falls, Ill.; E. L. Goold & Co., Brantford {Ont.), Can.; R. H. Schmidt & Co., New London, Wis.; J. Stauffer & Sons, Napanee, Ind.; Berlin Fruit Box Co., Berlin Heights, 0.; E. R. Newcomb, Pleasant Valley, N. Y.; L. Hanssen, Davenport, Ia.; C. Theilman, Theil- mwanton, Minn.; G. K. Hubbard, Fort Wayne, Ind.; T. H. Strickler, Solomon City, Kan.; E C. Eaglesfield, Berlin, Wis. ; Walter S. Pouder, Indianapolis, Ind.; E. T. Abbott, St. Joseph, Mo.; I. D. Lewis & Son, Hiawatha, Kan., and numerous other dealers. i

‘“LANGSTROTH ON THE HONEY BEE.”

( REVISED.)

The book for beginners; the most complete text-book on the subject in the English language.

Bee-veils of imported material, Smokers, Sections, etc. Circulars with pane to beginners, samples, etc., free. Send your address on a postal card to

CHas. DADANT & SON, HAMILTON. Hancock Co., Inu.

Please mention Cook's MANUAL.

A. I. ROOT,

Medina, Ohio,

—MANUFACTURER OF AND DEALER IN—

PIARIAN IMPLEMENTS

AND JOBBER IN

HOUSEHOLD CONVENIENCES.

{HOME OF THE HONEY-BEES.]

A 52-Page Price List FREE on Application.

Our price lists are sent out annually to about 250,000 people, and goods are shipped to all parts of the world. To keep pace with late improvements and new inventions, our price list is kept constantly standing in type, and new editions are printed in the busy season, frequently as often as once a

month. OUR A B C OF BEE-CULTURE.

This, a8 its title indicates, isa work for beginners. It is a cyclopedia of 400 pages and 300 fine engravings. It is brimful of contagious enthusiasm, and every page teems with practical experience. It has had an enormous sale—the 52d thousand now in the press. It is kept in standing type, so that each edition may be brought fully up to the times. Every subject is arranged in alphabetical order, and auything that a beginner would desire to know may be found in its proper place. Besides the general matter, it contains, for the inspiration ot beginners, 16 pages of biographical sketches, together with fine engravings of the most successful and prominent bee-keepers of the world, also 16 pages filled with engravings of apiaries. Price, cloth pound, $1.25, by mail; by freight or express, with other goods, 15 cents less.

In answering this advertisement please mention CooK’s MANUAL.

FARMERS REVIEW,

CHICAGO, ILL.

The leading Agricultural Journal of America.

The acknowledged authority on Crop and Stock statistics.

Original Articles on all Farm Topics by the best informed and most practical writers.

Full and Authentic Reports of Shows and Conven- tions,

The best Advertising Medium, as it has the largest paid circulation of any Weekly Agricultural paper in the United States.

The only Weekly Agricultural Paper published in America that furnishes proof of circulation claimed.

‘

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.25 PER ANNUM. Send for Irial 8 Mos. Subscription, 25e,

Speciinen Copy Free on application.

HANNIBAL H. CHANDLER & GO., PROPS.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AN ELEGANT MONTHLY FOR THE

FAMILY AND FIRESIDE,

AT 50 CENTS A YEAR.

It is Printed in the highest style of the Art, and is profusely illustrated with Magnificent and Costly Engravings.

HE ILLUSTRATED HOME JOURNAL is a moral and i intellectual educator, and is invaluable in every library, as

* well as a very attractive and inspiring ornament in every drawing-room. It contains short and serial stories by eminent authors, historical and biographical sketches, with beautiful engravings.

Every number has two pages of Music, and Departments devoted to Household Chats, Puzzles and Fashions. AJI who. examine it are sure to become regular subscribers—for it captivates them all. Each issue contains 32 pages.

A SAMPLE COPY will be sent Free, upon application to the publishers.

THowAs G.NEWoIaNs Sop

" fie PU'B LI SHER Swi 246 East Madison Street, CHICAGO, ILL. ,

OHIO FARMER

Was Established in 1848,

And is to-day without an equal for the general farmer. It is a 16-page, 64-column weekly Agricultural, Live Stock and Family Journal, with over 65,000 paid sub- scribers; carefully protects the farmer at all hazards; is open to any and all of its readers for discussion on any

important farm topic, and all for

ONLY ONE DOLLAR.

REMEMBER, YOU GET 52 ISSUES

SAMPLE COPrinEas FPRE=Z=.

Address OHIO FARMER,

CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SUPERIOR WORKMANSHIP, LOWEST PRICES ano FAIR DEALING

ARE THE REASONS WHY

The W. T. Falconer Mig. Co.,

JAMESTOWN, WN. VY-.-;

SELL SUCH VAST QUANTITIES OF

HIVES, SECTIONS, FOUNDATION,

~» BEE SUPPLIES - EVERY DESCRIPTION.

Send for Illustrated Catalogue and copy of the 4merican Bee-Keeper.

A Magazine for the Beginner in BEE-CULTURE, and the Expert also.

the AMERICAN BEEKEEPER

PUBLISHED MONTHLY,

By The W. T. Falconer Mfg, Co.

ONLY 50 CENTS A YEAR.

It Qontains 20 Pages, with [Illustrated @over.

All latest improvements in hives and appliances are described and illus- trated as soon as out. Honey and bees-wax markets reported each month. SAMPLE Copy FREE. Address,

THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER,

Jamestown, N. Y., or Faleoner, N. Y.

The Oldest Weekly Bee-Paper in the World.

ESTABLISHED IN 1861.

THE AMERICAN DEE JUHA

Is the Recognized Leading Bee-Periodical in America.

ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, IN ADVANCE. A Sample Copy Free, Upon Application.

The most successful and experienced bee-keepers in the World comprise its Corps of Contributors, and it is contin- ually advancing progressive ideas upon the various topics of modern scientific Bee-Culture.

——

PUBLISHED BY

THOS. G. NEWMAN & SON,

246 East Madison St., CHICAGO, ILL ,

JOBBERS AND DEALERS IN

BEE-KEEPERS’ SUPPLIES

INCLUDING

HIVES, SECTIONS,

HONEY & WAX EXTRACTORS, COMB FOUNDATION. KEGS, PAILS, SEEDS, &c.

Mustrated Catalogue sent free upon application

ALLEY Goonvs include Ensilage and fodder Cutters, 16 sizes; Farm Feed Mills and Grinders, 10 sizes; Corn Shellers. both hand and power; Drag and Circular Saw Machines;

Sweep, tread and Steam Rowers. Hoot Cutters, DOr hand and power. Catalogues .and Price Lists

free, SMALLEY MANUFACTURING CO., Manitowoc, Wis.

The Smalley Ensilage and Fodder Cutter is warranted to cut as much green or dry fodder as any machine io the world of equal size; to run as easy and with less power than any other cutter of equal capacity, greater ease to operator, less danger of breakage, and io give better satisfaction than any other in every particular, It is further warranted to be well made, of good material, and durable. With proper care, any breakage occurring within one year, from defective or imperfect material, will be replaced free of charge, except transportation from factory.

ALL SMALLEY GOODS, INCLUDING Sweep and Tread Horse Powers, Drag and Circular Saw Machines,

Are positively ahead of all others, and so WARRANTED.

{SMALLEY MANUFACTURING CO.De

MANITOWOC, WIS.

FRIENDS,

If you are in anyfway interested in

BEES=#=HONEY

We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of our

SEMI-MONTHLY

GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.

This is a 86-page semi-monthly; and, with the addition of the supple- mentary matter, usually makes a volume of about 1,000 Ramee for the year. It contains pieces articles on different subjects from the most successful apiarists. Every issue is beautifully illustrated with original engravings. It is spiced with the following departments: Stray Straws, General Arti- cles, Heads of Grain, Bee Botany, Bee Entomology, Question Box (with replies from a corps of selected apiarists), Notes and Queries, Reports Encouraging, Reports Discouraging, Honey Statistics, Editorials, etc. Price, $1 a year.

Also a descriptive price list of the latest improvements in

Hives, Honey Extractors, Ariiicial Comb,

SECTION HONEY BOXES,

All Books and Journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture.

Simply send your address on a postal card, write plainly to

Pe le BOOT,

Mention Ooox’s MAnvAL. MEDINA, OHIO.

bE KEEPERS’ GUIDE B SPECIMEN COPY FREE. \

A. G HILL, Kendaliville, Ind.

HILL’S BEE-FEEDER ana BEE-SMOKER

This Smoker burns chips or hard wood without any AV, special preparation. Very reliable. Greatest smok- re ing capacity. Easiest to start and cheapest because : it saves time. ©

The Best Bee-feeder, Most convenient for the bees.

No drowning or davbing bees. The feed is taken by

the bees without leaving the cluster, From two to

seven feeders full may be given a colony at one time,

which will be stored in the combs in ten or twelve ours.

Smoker, 3-in. barrel, freight or express, each, $1.20; by mail, $1.40; per dozen, $10.80. Feeders, one quart, eae or express, per pair, 30c.; by mail, 20c.; per doz., $1.60. Address, A. G. HILL, Kendall- ville, Ind., or H. M. HILL, Paoia, Kansas.

co M B FO U N D AT | 0 N __We have a complete outfit for its manufact- * ure. Our mills are all run by steam-power, and we have the very best facilities for purifying the wax. We make it as thin as “hes want it for sections. We make a specialty of manufacturin brood-chamber foundation for square frames, thick at the top, with a grad- ual taper to thin at the bottom, thus securing the greatest ameant of strength for the quantity of wax used. For prices, wholesale or retail, address, A. G. HILL, Kendallville, Ind.

A. G. HILL’S

Bee-Keepers’ Supplies,

A new Chaff Cap, as a winter protector for the abovehive. Section Honey Boxes, Honey and Wax Extractors, all of which have been designed by the

Manufacturer. Send for prices. A. G, HILL, Kendallville, Ind.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMS.

A PAMPHLET OF SIXTEEN PAGES,

A system by which bees may be increased to the greatest extent, without

pigising ths ane te oe ew areng: It wives igen by which a moder- 96 Obtained, and isa system of Queen-rearing. Ev

novice should read it. Sent to any address. for two sent stamps. ree

A. G. HILL, - + KENDALLVILLE, IND.

MICHIGAN Sfale Agricultural College.

P, 0. Agricultural College. Express and Frelght Office, Lansing,

The institution has a teaching force of twenty professors and instructors, and is thoroughly equipped with apparatus for scientific investigation, and with machinery and tools for the use of students in the Department of Mechanic Arts.

The library contains nearly 12,000 volumes, consisting largely of scientific

works. i The General Museum and Museum of Veterinary are well filled.

FOUR YEARS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE COURSE,

WHICH EMBRACES

Chemistry, Mathematics, Mechanics, Drawing, Botany, Zoology, Veterinary, English Lan- guage and Literature, Military Tactics and French and German in the Mechanical Course.

Three hours’ labor on each working day, except Saturday. Maximum rate paid for labor, eight cents an hour.

Rares.—Tuition free. Club boarding, from $2 to $2.50 per week, For Catalogue apply to

O. CLUTE, President, or HENRY G. REYNOLDS, Sec’y.

BRITISH BEE JOURNAL

find Bee-Keepers’ Adviser

Is published every week, at 6s. 6d. per annum. It contains the very best practical information for the apiarist. It isedited by Thomas Wm. Cowan, F.G.S., F. R. M.S., ete., and published by John Huckle, King’s Langley, Herts, England.

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