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STUN : SUN ERENT EN NE TAVERN R AER

ALBERT R. MANN
LIBRARY

New YorRK STATE COLLEGES
OF
AGRICULTURE AND HomME ECONOMICS

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;

MANUAL OF THE APIARY

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.

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.

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

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.

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,

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

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
| "|

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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,

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.

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.

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

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

)

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.

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.

esi

I HAGA

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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-

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.

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-

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

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

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 |

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

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.

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,

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

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).

‘

—

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 \

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-

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.

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.

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

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,

(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.‘

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,

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 ‘

‘

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.

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

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,

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.

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+.-«

. 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.

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

414

416

417

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

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.

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

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,

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Prof. A. J. Cook’s “* Manual of the Apiary*’ contains, besides the descrip-
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I have read_with a good deal of interest the copy of Cook’s Manual you
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prices by Bat Litera Geceas made to dealers, and to newspapers
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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.

-orwo Suospuy “OO FY WATAYD “Hp cavasvAN woRTEA)
“sulIa} pux 9NSO[VWS IO} 91M sjeaosdde uo pjos pue peoquvsens Ayny 018 spoos 1nO

_ ‘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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