OP THB UNIVERSITY M THE BEE-KEEPER'S DIRECTORY, THEORY AND PEACTICE OF BEE CULTURE, IN ALL ITS DEPARTMENTS, THE RESULT OF EIGHTEEN TEARS PERSONAL STUDY OF THEIR HABITS AND INSTINCTS. BY J. S. HAKBISON, PBACTICAL APIAKIAN. WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY 0. C. WHEELER, Corresponding Secretary of the California State Agricultural Society. * " OF THB ^V UNIVERSITY 1 _ Embellished with Eighty Illustrations SAN FRANCISCO: H. H. BANCROFT AND COMPANY 1861 . PRESERVATION COPY ADDED ORIGINAL TO BE RETAINED 76-2 Entered according to Act of Congress, A. D. 1861, BY J. S. HARBISON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern Districtof California. TOWNE & BACON, PRINTERS, 503 CLAY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE. L Experience in Bee-Keeping 27 II. Introduction of the Honey Bee to California 37 III. The Honey Bee: Classification, Physiology and Char- acteristics 47 IV. Diseases 83 V. Enemies , , 105 (VI. Taming Bees 121 VII. Hives . 129 VIII. Choice of Stock 161 IX. Pasturage 171 X. The Apiary 181 XL Honey. 189 XII. Pollen, or Bee-Bread 211 XIII. Propolis 221 XIV. Bees-Wax 226 XV. Swarming 233 XVI. Forced Swarming 253 XVII. Colonizing 259 XVIII. Comb 277 XIX. Transferring 289 XX. Feeding 299 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE. XXI. Bobbery ^. 313 XXII. Over-Stocking 321 XXIII. Transportation 335 XXIV. Wintering Bees 343 XXV. Monthly Management 351 XXVI. Italian Honey Bee 381 XXVII. Stingless Honey Bee, 399 XXVHI. Miscellaneous... .. 411 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. Frontispiece BEE TREE. PLATE I, p. 47, fig. 1. Represents the Queen, life size, and fig. 2, magnified. PLATE I, p. 47, fig. 3. Drone, life size, and fig. 4, magnified. " " fig. 5. Worker, life size, and fig. 6, magnified. " " fig. 7. Anatomical view of Worker. " " fig, 8. Worker magnified, showing wax exuding from the rings of the belly. PLATE I, p. 47, fig. 9. Legs of Worker loaded with Pollen. " fig. 10. Section of Brood Comb. PLATE II, p. 64, fig. 11. Section of Comb containing Brood of Drone- laying Queen. PLATE III, p. 77, fig. 12. Section of Comb containing Brood of Fer- tile Worker. PLATE IV, p. 110, fig. 13. Bee-moths, or Millers. PLATE V,^>. 112, fig. 14. Worm Gallery on surface of Brood Comb. " " fig. 15. Worm Gallery, separate. PLATE VI, p. 112, fig, 16. Worms at different stages of growth. " " fig. 17. Pupa and Cocoon of Moth. " " tig. 18. A mass of Cocoons. PLATE VII, p. 135, fig. 19, Vertical section of Straw Hive, with Combs. PLATE VII, p. 135, fig. 20. Cross Section of Straw Hive with Combs. PLATE VIII, p, 137, fig. 21. Cross Section of Square Box, with Combs. 1* X EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. PLATE IX, p. 145, fig', 22. Frame of Huber Hive. " " fig. 2& HuberHive, PLATE X, p. 146, fig. 24. Be*van' Bee Be*, " " fig. 25. Sevan's 1 Bee Box storing PLATE XI, p. 147, fig. 26. Munn Hive. PLATE XII, p. 149, fig. 27. Langstroth Hive. PLATE XIII, p. 150, fig. 28. Front view of California Hive*'/ PLATE XIV, p. 151, fig. 29. Rear view of California Hive. PLATE XV, p. 152, fig. 30. Side Section view of California Hive. PLATE XVI, p. 152, fig. 31. Stile or side of Hive, separate. PLATE XVII, p. 153, fig. 32. Front Board of Hive, separate. " " fig. 33. Sill of Hive, separate. PLATE XVIII, p. 153, fig. 34. Parts composing Comb Frame. PLATE XIX, p. 153, fig. 35. Gauge for nailing the Comb Frames together. PLATE XX, p. 154, fig. 36. Comb Frame. " fig. 37. Parts composing Section of Honey-box. PLATE XXI, p. 154, fig. 38. Gauge for nailing the Section of Honey- box together. PLATE XXII, p. 155, fig. 39. Section Honey-box and Section. " fig. 40. Chamber Floor. By using canvas or paste-board for this purpose instead of wood, less animal heat would be absorbed, and larger honey-boxes can be used if de- sired. PLATE XXIII, p. 16, fig. 41. Front view of Improved Chamber Hive. PLATE XXIV, p. 156, fig. 42. -Side view of Improved Chamber Hive. PLATE XXV, p. 156, fig. 43. -JJear view of Improved Chamber Hive. PLATE XXVI, p. 156, fig. 44. Chamber Floor of improved Cham- ber Hive. PPATE XXVI, p. 156, fig. 45. Honey-box. PLATE XXVII, p. 157, fig. 46. Storifying Hive. PLATE XXVIII, p. 183, fig. 47. Bee Shade. Washing^ EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. XI PLATE XXIX, p. 185, fig. 48. Roll of Cotton Stuff on fire, the smoke of which is used to conquer Bees. PLATE XXIX, p. 185, fig. 49. Wing. " " fig. 50. Pocket Knife. " " fig. 51. Carving Knife. " " fig. 52. Queen Cage. " " fig. 53. Tool used for cutting Comb, etc. " " fig. 54. Tool used for cutting Comb, etc. PLATE XXX, p. 199, fig. 55. Hive with Collateral Honey Box and Ventilating Block separate. PLATE XXXI, p. 239, fig. 56. Swarms of Bees. PLATE XXXII, p. 248, fig. 57. Swarm Net aflixed to Hive to catch a Swarm. PLATE XXXIII, p. 249, fig. 58. Hiving Swarm from the Net. PLATE XXXIV, p. 264, fig. 59. Queen Nursery. PLATE XXXV, p. 266, fig. 60. Queen Nursery with Queen Cells complete. PLATE XXXVI, p. 267, fig. 61. Section of Comb with Queen Cells as built on side of Worker Comb. PLATE XXXVI, p. 267, fig. 62. Queen Cell as built on edge of Comb. PLATE XXXVII, p. 268, fig. 63. Queen Cell as destroyed by Queen. " " fig. 64. Queen Cell, separate. PLATE XXXVIII, p. 268, fig. 65. Comb with Queen inserted. PLATE XXXIX, p. 269, fig. 66. Hive from which a Colony has been separated. PLATE XL, p. 270, fig. 67. Hive containing Colony. PLATE XLI, p. 270, fig. 68. Comb containing Mature Brood, also Queen Cell inserted. PLATE XLII, p. 293, fig. 69. Driving Bees from Hive. " " fig. 70. Transferring Comb. PLATE XLIII, p. 294, fig. 71. Fitting Comb to Frame. " " fig. 72. Frame for receiving Comb. PLATE XLIV, p. 306, fig. 73. Feed Box. PLATE XLV, p. 381, fig. 74. Italian Queen. " " fig. 75. Italian Drone. Xll EXPLANATION OP THE PLATES. PLATE XLV, p. 381, fig. 76. Italian Worker. " "fig- 77. The Ovary of a Queen, highly mag- nified. (Fig. 77 is copied from " Hive and Honey Bee.") PLATE XL VI, p. 401, fig. 78. Nest of Stingless Honey Bees. PLATE XL VII, p. 413, fig. 79. Fumigator. " " fig. 80. Wire Cylinder. " " fig. 81. Roll of Cotton Stuff prepared for burning in Fumigator. PREFACE. THE following treatise is not designed to supersede or sup- plant the numerous and valuable works upon the same subject which have already been given to the public ; but, like each of them, to add something to the stock of general knowledge, and illustrate and enforce some particular points in the import- ant science of Bee-Keeping. It has been the endeavor of the author, as far as possible, to shun all theorizing, and confine himself to a practical application of those scientific principles which experience has taught him to be the true basis of suc- cess in all laudable undertakings. The following pages are the result of the author's personal attention to the Apiary in all its details, through a period of nearly twenty years, during which time he has spared neither time, labor nor money to supply himself with all the published writings, and a knowledge of all the practical facts pertaining to the culture of the Honey Bee. Wherefore, he hopes that his book may be received as it is intended as a reliable direct- ory for those who wish to learn the science of Bee-Keeping, or the daily,' practical workings of the Apiary. He claims no literary merit for the work ; strictures, therefore, upon this department, can inure to the benefit of the author in but a XIV PKEFACE, very limited degree ; but npoe the subject matter of the work he invites the most thorough criticism 1 . Having been compelled to write in the midst of other ab- sorbing labors, freedom from errors cannot be anticipated ; if, however, one of these errors should be found in a failure to give due credit to authors whose works have assisted me, I beg pardon in advance ; for I have, in all cases, intended to gfve such credit ; and in this connection, my sincere thanks are due to the authors of " The Honey Bee," by Betao, Quimby's " Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained," Langstroth's " Hive and Honey Bee," Jaeger's " Life of North American Insects," and many individuals of practical experience, for facts and information ; in the latter connection, I am especially indebted to 0. C. WHEELER, Corresponding Secretary of the California State Agricultural Society. Hoping that the reader may find as much profit in the pe- rusal, as the author has in the preparation of the work, it is cordially submitted to a generous public, by J. S. HARBISON. i i V JtlKSJL 1 I i i V JtlK ifO INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. BY O. C. WHEELER, A. M. THE ORIGIN Am HISTORY OF THE HONEY BEE. Itf ttte absence of historical data concerning' the origin and history of the noney bee, we are compelled to rely upon well known collateral facts, and the inevitable deductions of anal- ogy ; yet these often Constitute evidence as strong, and produce convictions as clear as the most direct and positive testimony. Should we assume that this most useful and exemplary insect was among the "Living Creatures 11 made by Deity prior to the creatiojj of man, the following arguments come to our sup- port, unbidden as sidereal luminaries to the relief of night clear as a vernal stream, leaping from its snowy source, down the mountain's side resistless as the ocean's swelling surges : 1st, Otter .classes of creatures, not as important to the sup- ply of human wants, and the .early interests of man, were cer- tainly among the labors of the original " six days." 2d. The fact just stated, aside from their excellence, per se, proves that this insect was of sufficient importance to have been one of the very early subjects of creative genius and power. XVI ORIGIN AND HISTORY 3d. Man's primeval state very strongly called for perhaps absolutely demanded just such an article as the honey bee would produce. 4th. To have neglected to provide a creature so easy of pro- duction, so important in the scale of being, and above all, so very essential to the comfort of man, " for whom all things were made," would have been totally discordant with the well known principles of universal Divine benevolence. 5th. History testifies positively to the existence and working of the bee, within a comparatively short time after the general creation. 6th. History neither records, mentions or makes the remotest allusion to any subsequent act of creation, either of this or any other creature, save woman the "better half" of man himself. 7th. Both the laws of physiology and the principles of anal- ogy forbid the conjecture that it may be a hybrid race, result- ing from the intercommunication of some two other preceding species. 8th. There was no law, physical, moral or divine, to inter- fere with or to preclude such a creation, among the labors of that great fundamental " week" 9th. Since we know that the Creator did prepare a garden with blooming flowers and ripening fruit, for the sustenance and the pleasure of man, to which He introduced him on the very morning of his creation ; and since honey was so import- ant to man's comfort and happiness, we have not only no rea- son to doubt, but the strongest possible reasons for believing that He also provided this fundamental saccharinum, prepared in nature's own refinery and that our first parents actually found " honey and the honey-comb " in the garden, among " the OF THE HONEY BEE. XV11 good thing's of God," which everywhere greeted their first morning stroll through the avenues of Paradise, It is certain that no song of birds in Eden's bower could surpass the mellifluous hum of the bee ; no sportive gambol, circling flight, or sudden dart, or graceful curve of sparrow OB the wing, could equal the grace and beauty, the action and the science of her aerial sports or daily duties; nor could the combined aroma and symmetrical form of the thousand para- disian flowers compare with the sweetness of her honey, and the garniture of her store-house. Hence, no portion of the garden, which Adam was directed to " keep and dress," could have presented greater attractions to his attention, or stronger claims upon his care and protection. Sugar, separated from its source, and prepared for tise by the hand of man, is of recent origin ; but honey " was of old," among the first of good things, among the best of first things the one, a creation of God ; the other, an invention of man the one had entire dominion for thousands of years ; the other has enjoyed partial sway in very modern times. Nor was this busy collector of nature's sweetest products left, like many of the other classes of unintelligent creatures, to- withstand the changes of a precarious world alone. Man came to her early protection from danger, and her aid in toil ; he built her a house to exclude the cold, break the winds and shelter from the storm. Thus, her divinely appointed protect- or became at once her patron and a pensioner upon her bounty. Man's early companion and blessing, she repaid his care by soothing the sorrow of his apostacy, sweetening the cup of his bitterest woe, and restoring the vigor of his toil-worn frame In view of her relations to human weal, she was furnished XV1U ORIGIN AND HISTORY a niche in the house of Noah and his family, during the three hundred and seventy days' voyage from the former to the lat- ter world ; and was, during this protracted confinement, the object of as anxious daily care as the most^delicate or superb animal intrusted to the keeping of the patriarch of the deluge. Nor did she fail, under the fostering care of her protector after the flood, to fulfill the divine behest, " multiply and re- plenish the earth ;" for we find, at an early subsequent day long before the captivity in Egypt that honey was considered not only an important article of commerce, but one of the " best fruits of the land,"* and fit to be made an offering to a king, whose favor might be life whose frown must be death. This plenteousness is more than asserted; it is illustrated when the sacred penmanf associates it with " milk," and " but- ter," and " fat of lambs," and " wine ;" and also whenj as drop- ping like rain, lying upon the ground in the comb. Another, with the pen of inspiration^ makes it as common as " flour," and " oil," and " bread ;" and another, still,|| connects it with "locusts," which were frequently so plenty as to eat up " every green thing," and when in flight to obscure the light of a noon-day sun ; while the oft-repeated expression of various contributors to the sacred volume is, that the land of Canaan " flowed with milk and honey." Divine wisdom has also brought to view the power and importance of the honey bee, by a variety of strongly expres- sive allusions. In one place** it is said, " They compassed me about like bees ;" and in another,ff " The Amorites * * * * Gen. 43: 11. t Deut. 32 : 13, 14. * 1 Sam. 14 : 25-30. Ezek. 16 : 13, 19. II Matt. 3: 4. **Ps.ll8: 12. ft Deut. 1: 44. ' OP THE HONEY BEE. XIX came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you." Honey was also considered a great delicacy. Was a king to give a sumptuous repast, or a queen invited to a special banquet ? was an exhausted soldier to be revived, or an invalid prince to be nourished ? honey was an universal accompaniment of the most nutritive and costly articles of harmless diet. As far back as human records extend ; in as free and full expressions as human pen can give, testimony to the culture, the importance, and the value of the honey bee is universal and abundant. On every page of history we meet her name ; in every volume of political economy or domestic industry her diligence is the motto ; in the sweetest strains of Parnassus, her cheerful " hum " is the key-note everywhere, and at all times, her products have " lightened " the darkest hours of grief and sweetened the bitterest cups of human woe ; while her industry has both urged and inspired man to higher aims and nobler achievements. 41 So work the honey bees, Creatures that, by a rule hi nature, teach The art of order to a peopled kingdom," that philosophers have embellished their most brilliant attain- ments by the hues of her character, statesmen have given strength to empire by copying her colonial system, and war- riors have become conquerors by emulating her courage. While the ancients studied assiduously, and wrote volumin- ously upon the natural history of the honey bee, yet it is a strange fact, that after the first simple hive a home with one room, perhaps first used by the father of our race to convey a swarm with him to the wilderness when expelled from Para- XX ORIGIN AND HISTORY dise thousands of years passed without any known effort to improve the comforts of her house, or the facilities for econ- omy in her products, by multiplying the number of apartments and introducing a system of ventilation. Little as is now generally known of the economy of bee- keeping, writers upon the subject have been far more numerous than on almost any kindred topic. Democritus, who wrote upon this theme four hundred years B. C., had already been preceded by more than five hundred authors on bees and bee-keeping, among whom are several not unknown to fame in the world of letters. Those have been succeeded by a constellation of illuminating brilliants in each succeeding age ; generally teaching without first having learned, and always failing, in a greater or less degree, to afford reliable information and clear illustration to the reader and the learner. In tracing this line of authors on this subject for three thou- sand years, we find the names of Aristomachus, who made bees their character and habits his study for fifty-eight years ; Philistratus, who became so absorbed in the study that he retired to the wilderness and desert, and spent near a score of years in learning their nature and instincts, when untram- meled by man ; Aristotle, whose writings show the most per- fect familiarity with the details of the apiary in his day ; Col- umella, who tells us that the Greeks were the first to turn the products of the bee to commercial account, and that the idea originated on Mt. Hymettus, after the return of Cecrops from Egypt to Attica ; Ceci, President of the Roman Academy of Sciences ; Madam Merian, who beautifully illustrates the met- amorphosis of the insects ; Maraldi, who, in 1712, invented the glass hive, thus preparing the way for the experiments of OF THE HONEY BEE. XXI Reaumer, Hunter, Schirach and Huber. There are also the names of Solin, Menus, John of Lebanon, Misland, Aristeus, Galen, Yarro, Aldrovandus, Yirgil, Monfet, Pliny, Boer, Wildman, Nutt, Cotton, Briggs, Bay, Willoughby, Liste, But- ler, Purchass, Warder, White, Thorley, Keys and Bonner, (not given in chronological order, but as they occur to the mind at the moment of writing) and an almost endless host of others. These writings are, at the present day, mostly unextant ; but were not unfrequently as grossly in error as Yirgil was when, in his Georgics, he favored the idea previously advanced, that bees originated in the putrid bodies of deceased animals an opinion, perhaps, traceable to the fact that a swarm was once found in the carcass of a dead lion. In 1646, De Montfet published a treatise entitled "THE PORTRAIT OF THE HONEY FLY ITS YIRTUES, FORM, AND INSTRUCTIONS How TO REAP ADVANTAGES FROM THEM." Three years later, there was printed, at Antwerp, another work, under the title, "THE SPRING OF THE HONEY FLY, DIVIDED INTO Two PARTS, IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND A CURIOUS, TRUE AND NEW HISTORY OF THE ADMIRABLE AND NATURAL CONDUCT OF THE BEE, DRAWN SOLELY FROM THE HAND OF EXPERIENCE." But it was a century and a half later before Maraldi, Reaumer and Swammerdam, by their dis- sections and experiments, gave to the world the first true light upon the natural history of the honey bee. They discovered the sex of bees ; and Schirach the fact that a queen can be raised by the workers, from a common egg, by constructing a peculiar cell and supplying appropriate food to the young larvae ; while Reims discovered the " fertile worker ;" all of whom were followed by that most wonderful experi- ERRATA. On page 33, twentieth line, (in a small portion of the edition) the word " California" has, by a slip of the types, been divided, and the three first letters placed at the commencement of the sentence. Page 64, twentieth line, " fig. 21," should read " fig. 11." Page 77, fifteenth line, " plate II," should read " plate III." Page 301, last line, should read " bees can subsist," etc. CHAPTEK I. EXPERIENCE IN BEE-KEEPING. Invention of the California Hive, 33 28 EXPERIENCE. price, thus destroying the great incentive to improve- ment. Owing to the inaccessible nature of these rudely constructed hives, they were generally permitted to stand without any attention, from the time the swarm was hived, until they were either killed or robbed. This left the bees to battle against the moths and other enemies as best they could. The result has been that bees have become scarce wherever left thus severely alone. The chamber hive (or Weeks' hive as it was called) was first brought to my notice in the spring of 1844, and after using them extensively in various forms for a period of four years, I found that they answered but the one additional purpose over the common square box, viz : to furnish surplus honey in boxes in a more desirable form. Many hives with various patented devices attached were brought to my notice during this period. Some of the most promising I tried thoroughly, but found none of them to possess any considerable advantages over the common chamber hive. The success which attended my efforts at bee-keep- ing previous to 1848, although good, was not such as I believed could be attained. The lack of system and uniformity of hives, as well as the impeufect arrangement of the latter, caused such an amount of labor as to render bee- keeping both a small and uncertain business. Flat-bottomed hives allow the filth to accumulate, EXPERIENCE. 29 (the bees frequently being unable to remove all of it) furnishing the moth a safe deposit for her eggs, and food for her progeny. To remedy this defect I made an inclined bottom board, not that the thing was new but an improvement. Instead of making the main incline movable, as was then the practice when used, I made it stationary, and added an inclined front slide, held in place by means of wedges, so that it could be taken out, for the purpose of examining the combs and removing the filth, and returned to its place with facility. This style of bottom enables the bees themselves to keep their hives better freed from worms than could well be done by such occasional cleanings as are given to flat-bottomed hives by most bee-keepers. After having used this improved inclined bottom for twelve years, I find that it gives, as it always has done, perfect satisfaction. No bee-keeper who has regard to his own convenience or pecuniary interest, can afford to do without it, notwithstanding it costs more at first than the old arrangement. Another want which I felt, was a hive so arranged that the bees together with their combs and contents could be transferred with safety from one hive to another, either for the purpose of renovation or the formation of artificial colonies. In other words, I wanted control of the comb. To supply these wants I constructed a hive with a movable glass frame in the rear, and a door to cover it and the surplus honey boxes above. 30 EXPERIENCE. Having thus obtained easy access to the interior of the hive, I next constructed a movable platform within the hive, on which the combs were adjusted, and the whole so elevated that the bees fastened the combs to the top of the hive. This plan I found to work well. These improvements, together with the chamber for surplus honey, gave a hive well suited to the wants of the bee, and hence a greater yield of honey. The annual mortality of bees in these hives, as compared with those in common hives, I found to be enough less to amply pay the diiference in the first cost, thus making an annual profit thereafter. At the time of making the above improvements, (fall of 1848) I had become the owner of eight hives of bees, (farther additions were afterwards made to my stock by purchase) all of which I trans- ferred into the improved hive, and increased partly by natural swarming, and partly by artificial divis- ion. My success was such that in 1853 I sold up- wards of 6,300 Ibs. of honey, at an average price of eighteen cents per Ib. But, in 1854, an unprecedented drought occurred throughout many portions of the United States, which cut short the growing crops. The bee pasture was so deficient that but few localities yielded any honey for market, and in most places the bees laid up so small a store that a large majority of them died dur- ing the following winter. I escaped with the loss of about one-half of my EXPERIENCE. 81 stock, while most of my neighbors lost over four- fifths, and others lost all. In anticipation of such loss, I concluded to try and retrieve my fortune in California. In pursuance of this resolution, I sailed from New York October the 27th, 1854, and landed at San Francisco November the 20th of the same year. After a residence of two and a half years in Cali- fornia, I returned East, and arrived at my old home on the 2d of June, 1857. During my absence, Quinby's " Mysteries of Bee- keeping Explained," and " Langstroth on the Honey Bee," (both valuable works) had been introduced into the libraries of some of the bee-keepers, where I saw and read them for the first time. The Langstroth hive had also been introduced into a number of apiaries, ours among others. From the glowing accounts which I had Heard of it while in California, I expected to find the desideratum long sought for by apiarists, and as a result of its introduc- tion into our apiaries, that they would be in a highly flourishing condition, particularly that portion of the stock contained in the new style of hive. In this I was doomed to disappointment, as most of the bees that had been put into them had died of starvation, they having eaten all the stores from the bottom to the top of the hive, in the center of a diameter equal to the size of the cluster, leaving an abundance of stores still within the hive, but owing to the severe cold, the bees were unable to reach them. 32 EXPERIENCE. As an offset to this, I found that the bees in my old improved hive were strong and vigorous, proving most conclusively the superiority of a hive deep from top to bottom, over low flat ones.* The worms were also much more troublesome and destructive in the Langstroth than any other hive, unless more frequently overhauled. From my previous experience, I was satisfied that although the Langs troth'hive did not fulfill its promise, yet that the movable comb principle possessed some important advantages over all others. With these views, I went to work and rei'ntroduced bees into a number of hives from which the previous swarms had died, and constructed others of a greater depth, but less in width and length. Into these I put a consid- erable number of natural swarms, also transfers and divisions. I was then prepared to test the merits of the Langstroth nive by varied and extensive use, the result of which showed the following defects to exist : First, The frames being simply suspended on rabbets, rendered it difficult to space them with the necessary precision ; for, if the space is insufficient, the bees shorten the cells on the side of one comb, thus rend- ering that side useless ; and if placed more than the usual width, it requires a greater amount of bees to hover the brood, as also to raise the temperature to the * The same result has, in a great measure, attended the use of the respective hives throughout that section of country since that time. INVENTION OF THE CALIFORNIA HIVE. 33 proper degree for building comb. Second, When the combs are too widely spaced, the bees, while re- filling them with stores, lengthen the cells, and thus make the comb thick and irregular the application of the knife is then the only remedy to reduce them to the proper thickness. Another objection to the suspended frame, is the impossibility of removing the hives containing bees to a distance, without first nailing or fastening each frame to its place ; and to get control of them, the hive has again to be opened and the frames unfast- ened ; all of which requires time and trouble, to say nothing about the liability of being stung while treat- ing the bees thus rudely. After a fair trial of the Langstroth hive and its working capabilities, compared with the hive which I had previously used, I found it inferior, and accord- ingly determined to abandon its use entirely. INVENTION OF THE CALIFORNIA HIVE. Immediately after my arrival in California with bees, (fall of 1857) I procured lumber and other material suitable for making hives on my old plan. After cut- ting out the stuff for twenty, and completing a portion of them, I became satisfied that useful improvements could be made. What I wanted was a hive for the use of my own bees : one that I could adapt and use to the exclusion of all others, so long as I continued the business of bee-raising. 9* ' -34 EXPERIEXCE. With this view, I went to work, and after many days and nights of close study and experimenting, the different improvements of the present hive were gradually developed. The first improvement sec- tion honey box, (applicable to any hive) was made December the 25th, 1857. The second improve- ment, the adjustable comb frame and manner of its adjustment, was made January the 2d, 1858. The third improvement was the manner of ventilation, made January the 4th, 1858 ; and the fourth improve- ment was the metallic clamps for fastening combs into frames, made January the 9th, 1858. Other improve- ments, as well as slight changes, have been since made, all of which have been thoroughly tested, giv- ing entire satisfaction to all who have given them a fair trial. The large number of this style of hive now in use in this State, within so short a time as has elapsed since its invention, is good evidence of its utility. CHAPTER II. INTRODUCTION OF THE HONEY BEE TO CALIFORNIA. CHAPTEE II. INTRODUCTION OF THE HONEY BEE TO CALIFORNIA. THE introduction of the HONEY BEE into Califor- nia was an important event, and engrossed a large share of public attention ; wherefore it is peculiarly appropriate to preserve as full a record of the trans- action as possible. The following letter from one of the earliest and most successful apiarists of this State, contains an authentic account of the introduction of the first bees into California, as well as the success attending their first five years' cultivation in San Jose* Valley. SAN JOSE, Jan. llth, 1860. Mr. J. S. HARBISON, Dear Sir : Yours of the 26th December, propounding cer- tain inquiries, has been received. The first bees imported into California was in March, 1853. Mr. S belt on purchased a lot consisting of twelve swarms, of some person to me unknown, at Aspinwall. The party who left New York became disgusted with the experiment, and returned. All of the hives contained bees when landed in" San Francisco, but finally dwindled down to one. They were brought to San Jose and threw off three swarms the first sea- son. Mr. Shelton was killed soon after his arrival, by the explosion of the ill-fated steamer Jenny Lind. In December, 38 INTRODUCTION TO CALIFORNIA. two of the swarms were sold at auction to settle up his estate and were bought by Major James W. Patrick, at $105 and $110, respectively. Mr. Wm. Buck imported the second lot in November, 1855. He left New York with thirty-six swarms and saved eighteen. I purchased a half-interest in them. I also, in the fall of 1854, bought one swarm of Major Patrick, from which I had an increase of two. Mr. Buck returned East immediately, and arrived in Feb- ruary, 1856, with forty-two swarms, of which he saved but seven. Our increase in 1856, from the twenty-eight swarms, was seventy-three ; we also had about 400 Ibs. of honey in boxes, which we sold at from $1.50 to $2.00 per Ib. Mr. Wm. Briggs, of San Jose, brought out, spring of 1856, one swarm, from which he had an increase of seven or eight swarms the following summer. The above were the only importations I know of prior to the year (spring) 1857, which covers the ground of your ii" quiries. There are in our county at this time, about one thousand swarms. Very respectfully, &c., F. G. APPLETON. The first hive of bees ever in the SACRAMENTO VAL- LEY, was brought from San Jose* in the summer of 1855, by Mr. A. P. Smith, the eminent nursery- man of Sacramento ; they however soon died, which gave the impression that bees would not do well in this vicinity. In this belief I did not concur, and therefore took measures to test the matter further. In the fall of 1855, 1 sent East and had one hive of bees brought out, which arrived in Sacramento IMPORTATION OF 1857. 89 February the 1st, 1856. Though most of the bees had died or escaped from the hive during the passage enough remained to prove that by careful handling they could be imported with little loss, and that they would increase and make large quantities of honey when here. I left San Francisco May the 5th, 1857, on board the steamship Golden Gate, on my way East, for the purpose of preparing a stock of bees for shipping to California. Sixty-seven colonies were prepared from my own apiaries, situated in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. They were taken to New York, and shipped on board the steamer Northern Light, which sailed from that port November the 5th, bound for Aspinwall. The bees were put on board in good order, were placed on the hurricane deck,^ept well shaded and ventilated, and arrived at the latter port on the 15th of the same month, being ten days from port to port. Having arrived at Aspinwall in the forenoon, and ascertained that no passengers or freight would be sent forward before the next morning, I obtained per- mission to open the hives on the Company's grounds, and let the bees fly during that evening^ which greatly relieved them, and contributed to their health during the remainder of the voyage. The hives were closed up and placed on board the cars, crossed safely to Panama, and reshipped on board the steamer Sonora, which sailed from that port on the evening of the 16 th, bound for San 40 INTRODUCTION TO CALIFORNIA. Francisco, where she arrived on the evening of the 30th.* The bees had ample stores within their hives before they were started, to last them through their long journey. I neither watered or gave them any addi- tional food during the whole trip, except what they obtained while flying out at Aspinwall. During each day's confinement the bees labored incessantly to gain their liberty, but as soon as it was dark they always became quiet, and remained so during the night. At San Francisco the bees were transferred from the Sonora to the steamer New World, and landed in Sacramento on the morning of December the 2d, 1857, thus terminating a journey of 5,900 miles, which was at that time the longest distance that bees had been known to be* transported at one continuous voyage.f On opening the hives, I found that considerable numbers of bees had died in each, and that in five *There were other importations of bees made during the win- ter of 1857 and 1858, a large proportion of which died. t To the officers and agents of the various transportation com- panies, over whose routes I passed from Newcastle, Pennsylvania, to Sacramento, California, particularly Mr. J. F. Joy, agent, Panama Railroad Company, Capt. Tinklepaugh, of the steamship Northern Light, and Capt. Whiting, of the Sonora, I am in- debted for their valuable and efficient aid in securing a safe trans- it, and probably the most successful shipment of bees ever made to California. IMPORTATION OF 1858. 41 all were dead, having been destroyed by worms which had been hatched on entering the warm climate from eggs laid by the moth previous to start- ing. The combs were entirely enveloped in webs containing the worms, and were a perfect ruin. A few worms were found in each of the hives contain- ing living bees, but were soon exterminated. Some hives were found to contain so few bees that they were united with other weak ones, till the num- ber was reduced to fifty. In the latter part of January, 1858, 1 made a dis- covery which has since been verified in a number of instances. All the bees in 1;wo hives swarmed out, leaving them entirely deserted. On examining, I found young brood, the combs were clean and healthy, and each hive contained some six or eight pounds of honey. But it was nearly all sealed up, only a few cells containing honey being open. The cause of their deserting was then a mystery. as they had apparently all the requisites to do well. I finally suspected that, owing to their long con- finement, and frequent passing over the sealed sur- face of the comb, it had become glazed so that the bees were not aware that they possessed so ample a store.* *In the spring of 1859, and particularly the present one, 1860, I have known fhe bees (California-raised) from a number of hives, to leave in like manner. The only difference was that the hives were not over half full of combs. But these were full of honey and tightly sealed, like those before mentioned. 42 INTRODUCTION TO CALIFORNIA. Acting from this belief, I at once with a knife un- capped a portion of the honey in each remaining hive ; this was repeated twice a week for the two following ones, and as the honey became scarce, feed was given to the most destitute. The result was that no more hives were deserted. There was no indication of disease of any kind existing in any of them. Hence there is no doubt of the above being a cause of bees deserting their hives. The stock was still further reduced by sale, so that thirty-four hives of bees remained on the 1st of April. These were increased to one hundred and twenty, most of which were sold in the summer and fall of that year. Again, on the steamer of September the 20th, 1858, I returned East, for the purpose of transport- ing another stock, which had been prepared for that purpose during the previous summer. On the 6th of December, in company with my brother, W. C. Harbison, I sailed from New York with one hund- red and fourteen colonies, and arrived at Sacra- mento January 1st, 1859, with one hundred and three living. Of this importation, sixty-eight were from Centralia, Illinois ; the remaining forty-six were from Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. Owing to the lateness of the season of shipping, and unfavorable weather during the first three weeks after our arrival, we were only able to save sixty-two out of the whole number ; these, together with six IMPORTATION OF 1858-9. 43 "good hives remaining from the previous year, we increased to four hundred and twenty-two (422) colo- nies, including the sixty-eight old ones ; three hund- red of them filled standard hives, and the remainder averaged half full. The increase was all made on the artificial princi- ple (as laid down in this work) . Not a single natural swarm issued from any hive during the whole season. I also formed a large number of colonies, for different parties in Sacramento and vicinity, which were at- tended with like success. During the time between the 1st of October, 1858, and April 1st, 1859, there were shipped from New York for California, over one thousand hives of bees, not' over two hundred of which survived on the 1st of May of the latter year. All but three of the parties engaged in shipping them lost money by the operation, many of them being unacquainted with the business. Of the modes of importing bees to California, the most novel was that of Mr. J. Gridley, who brought four swarms across the Plains from Michigan, placed in the rear end of a spring wagon. He arrived in Sacramento on the 3d of August, 1859, with them, in good condition. His plan was to feed them, and in addition, stop occasionally in the afternoon and allow the bees to fly out and work till dark, when they were closed up, to resume their journey early on the following morning. This was repeated from time to time, as they required their liberty. 44 INTRODUCTION TO CALIFORNIA. Notwithstanding such disastrous results attending" the previous years' shipments, there were upwards of six thousand hives of bees imported during the winter of 1859-60. They arrived in better condition appar- ently than those of previous years ; yet, owing to the fact that large numbers of them were infected with the disease known as foul brood prior to their pur- chase and shipment, together with the effects of so long a voyage, probably one-half of the whole num- ber were lost. Many of the remainder have since died, or now linger in a diseased condition, which is infinitely worse for the parties owning them than if all had died at once. Thus, the result has been bad for all concerned ; for, while some have lost their money, others have injured their reputation, besides paralyzing for a time an important branch of pro- ductive industry. CHAPTER III. THE HONEY BEE: CLASSIFICATION, PHYSI- OLOGY AND CHARACTERISTICS. The Queen, 48 When Qneens are Bred, 48 Impregnation of the Queen, 51 Sex of Eggs, 55 Laying and Hatching of Eggs and Treatment of the Young, 56 Playing, 62 Drone Laying Queen, 64 External Evidence of the Loss of the Queen, 65 Internal Evidence, 67 The Drone, 69 The Drone killed by Workers, 70 White-Headed Drones, 71 The Worker, 71 Wax produced by Workers, 74 Their Industry, 76 Fertile Workers, 77 OFTHK UNIVERSITY ' Wash! CHAPTER III. THE HONEY BEE: CLASSIFICATION, PHYSI- OLOGY AND CHARACTERISTICS. Each family of bees is composed, (Curing a portion of the year, of three classes viz: queen, drones, and workers. During the remainder there are only two the queen and workers, or developed and unde- veloped females. (See plate 1.) Fig. 1 represents the queen life size, and 2, mag- nified. 3. Drone life size, and 4, magnified. 5. Worker life size, and 6, magnified. 7. Anatomical view of the worker ; a, thorax or pipe through which the honey passes from the mouth into the honey sack 5, and c the intestines. 8. Worker magnified, showing the scales of wax as they exude from the rings of the belly ; a, scales of wax separated from the bee. 9. The legs of a worker loaded with pollen. 10. Section of brood comb ; in the center is seen a queen cell, from which a queen has emerged ; on the right, drone comb, with drone brood emerging ; on the left, (where the queen cell is attached) worker comb, with worker brood emerging. 48 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. THE QUEEN. The queen, or mother, is the only perfectly devel- oped female in the hive. Her form is symmetrical and .graceful ; her color, on the back and sides, is usually of a dark brown, but occasionally of a slightly yellow or variegated appearance ; while the belly and legs are of a bright copper color. Strictly, speaking, the queen is a working mother, rather than a ruling sovereign. Her main office is to deposit eggs in the cells ; which is proved by the fact that a queenless colony continue labor with nearly the same alacrity as though they possessed one, till finally terminated by the death of the generation. WHEN QUEENS ARE BRED. Bees, if left to themselves to swarm in the natural way, only breed queens at a period preparatory to swarming, or to supply the place of old ones about to die.* When a hive is sufficiently full, and pasture abundant at the season when instinct prompts them to swarm, from five to eight days prior to the first #1 have, in two instances, found sealed queens (in one there were three, in the other, one) in a hive not half full of comb, with the old queen still laying eggs, although so decrepid from age, or other causes, that it was impossible for her to fly, and conse- quently could not accompany a swarm. After the young queen emerged, there were no more eggs deposited for about ten days, the required time for the young queen to become fruitful. During this time, the old queen had either died or was slain by her suc- cessor. From these facts, we are led to conclude that the bees were aware of the approaching death of the queen, and thus wisely provided a successor while it was in their power to do so. WHEN QUEENS ARE BRED. 49 one leaving, they form a number of queen cells, usu- ally from three to eight, in which the queen deposits eggs. This is done at intervals up to the time when the first swarm departs, at which time one or more of the cells are sealed ; the remaining ones are sealed afterwards, in the order of their respective ages, all being finished by the sixth day after the swarm has left, (the old queen invariably accompanying the first swarm) at which time, or within twenty-four hours thereafter, (being seven days from the departure of the first swarm) the first sealed queen. emerges, and usually in three days from her birth she accompanies the second swarm. The second queen accompanies a third swarm on the second or third day from the second ; a fourth, and even a fifth swarm sometimes follow, at intervals of every other day. All the swarms from the same hive must depart within nineteen days from the time the first one left; after which time no more can depart for a period of from forty to sixty days : instances of a hive swarming at a second period dur- ing the same season are rare. Bees also rear queens from worker larvae, when deprived of their queen.* * " The fact is said to have been known long before Schirach wrote : M. Vogel and Signer Monticelli, a Neapolitan professor, have both asserted this ; the former states it to have been known upwards of fifty years, the latter a much longer period ; he says that the Greeks and Turks in the Ionian Islands are well acquainted with it, and that in the little Sicilian Island of Faviguana, the art of producing queens has been known from very remote antiquity ; he even thinks that it was no secret to the Greeks and Romans." Bevan. 3 50 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. It is on this fact that artificial division or formation of colonies, is founded. When a number of queen cells remain in a hive that does not intend to swarm any more, the first queen out destroys all her embryo sister queens, by gnawing into the cells, and either biting or stinging them. The workers then carry out the dead and demolish the mutilated cells ; this is usually done the first day of the existence of the queen. If it is intended that other swarms shall issue, the royal cells are not destroyed. But after the swarms have all departed, the remaining royal pupa is de- stroyed. It has been asserted that the bees guard the royal cells from the attacks of the queen. This statement I consider mere assertion, not founded on fact. My reasons for this belief are, first, that the instinct of the bees (the queen included) is perfect in every par- ticular relating to their increase. Then why guard the cells ? Second, I have in two instances seen a young queen running over and around the royal cells, stopping every two or three minutes, and with her wings making the piping noise.* The bees neither seemed to notice her, or the royal cells. Whether the workers had previously given her to understand that she must not molest them, or that they ever prevent a queen from doing so, is more than I can tell, notwithstanding Huber, * This discovery is due to A. Harbison. IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN. 51 Langstroth, and other authors assure us that such is the fact. Mr. Quinby expresses his views as follows : " It is stated that when the bees decide an after swarm shall issue, the first queen matured is not allowed to leave her cell, but is kept a prisoner there, and fed until wanted to go forth with the swarm. This may be true in some cases, (though not satis- factorily proved) but I am quite sure it is not in all. " When she is confined to her cell, how does she ascertain the presence of others ? By leaving the cell this knowledge is easily obtained. Huber says she does, and is ' enraged at the existence of others, and endeavors to destroy them while yet in the cell, which the workers will not allow ; this is so irritating to her majesty that she utters this peculiar sound.' Also, second and third swarms may contain several queens, frequently two, three and four ; even six* at one time came out. If these had to bite their way out, after the workers had decided it was time to start, (for it must be they decide it when the queens are shut up) they would hardly be in season." IMPREGNATION OP THE QUEEN. A young queen having succeeded to the vacancy . * * About the 1st of June, 1860, I hived an after swarm which had seven queens with them. I removed all but one and supplied them to artificial colonies. I examined the hive from whence the swarm had issued within an hour thereafter, and found two more queens, which had probably emerged after the departure of the swarm. A. Harbison. 52 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. occasioned by the emigration or death of the parent queen, as the future mother of the hive, (or as such in any swarm or colony) flies out for the purpose of being impregnated. This takes place from the sev- enth to the tenth day after she emerges from her cell ; and from two to four days more elapse before she commences to deposit eggs, which will be on the ninth to the fourteenth day of her existence. Sometimes impregnation is retarded, or fails to take place ; the result in either case is that she becomes a drone layer. Exclusive drone laying (in my opin- ion) frequently results from the imperfect develop- ment of the ovaries of the queen. " Impregnation," (according to Dr. Fleming) " in insects, appears to take place while the eggs pass a reservoir containing the sperm, situated near the ter- mination of the oviduct in the vulva." "In dis- secting the female parts in the silk-moth, says Mr. Hunter, I discovered a bag, lying on what may be called vagina, or common oviduct, whose mouth or opening was external, but it had a canal of commu- nication betwixt it and the common oviduct. "In dissecting these parts before copulation, I found this bag empty ; and when I dissected* them after- wards, I found it full." (Phil. Trans. 1792, p. 186.) Dr. Leidy, who made dissections and microscopic examinations of queen bees for Mr. Langstroth, in the winter of 1851-2, " found, on making his dis- sections, a small globular sac, about one thirty-third of an inch in diameter, communicating with the ovi- IMPREGNATION OF THE QUEEN. 53 duct, and filled with a whitish fluid ; * this fluid when examined under the microscope, abounded in the spermatozoa which characterizes seminal fluid. " A comparison of this substance later in the sea- son with the semen of a drone, proved them to be exactly alike." " These examinations have settled, on the impreg- nable basis of demonstration, the mode in which the eggs of the queen are vivified. In descending the oviduct to be deposited in the cells, they pass by the mouth of this seminal sac, or ' spermathecaj and receive a portion of its fertilizing contents. Small as it is, it contains sufficient to impregnate hundreds of thousands of eggs." " Dzierzon asserts that all impregnated eggs pro- duce females, either workers or queens ; and all un- impregnated ones males or drones ; and concluded that the eggs laid by the queen bee and fertile worker had, from the previous impregnation of the eggs from which they sprung, sufficient vitality to produce the drone, which is a less highly organized insect than the queen or worker." " It had long been known that the queen deposits * " Posel describes the oviduct of the queen, the sperraatheca and its contents, and the use of the latter in impregnating the passing egg. This work was published at Munich, in 1784. It seems also from his work that before the investigations of Huber, Jansha, the bee-keeper royal of Maria Theresa, had discovered the fact that the young queens leave their hive in search of the drones . " Langstroth . 54 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. drone-eggs in the large or drone cells, and worker- eggs in the small or worker cells, and that she makes no mistakes. " Dzierzon inferred therefore, that there was some way in which she was able to decide the sex of the egg before it was laid, and that she must have such control over the mouth of the seminal sac as to be able to extrude her eggs, allowing them at will to receive or not a portion of its fertilizing contents. In this way, he thought she determined their sex, according to the size of the cells in which she laid them." Bonner (who wrote a work on bees in 1795) was of the opinion that a queen would lay eggs capable of producing both males and females, although they never saw a drone. From circumstances that have come 'under my own observation, I believe that Bonner is nearer the truth than Dzierzon, yet there are doubts in my mind as to the entire correctness" of either. The following theory was advanced by Mr. Wag- ner (p. 38, " Hive and Honey Bee ") viz: " that the queen in depositing eggs in-worker cells has her body slightly compressed by their size, thus causing the eggs as they pass the spermatheca to receive its viv- ifying influence. On the contrary, when she is lay- ing in drone-cells, as this compression cannot take place, the mouth of the spermatheca is kept closed, and the eggs are necessarily unfecundated." This theory needs no other refutation than the fact that the queen frequently, as in the case of young SEX OF EGGS. 55 swarms, lays her eggs in cells not an eighth of an inch deep ; this she does both in worker and drone cells, yet they always produce workers and drones respectively, with the same regularity as if the cells had been built the usual length at the time the eggs were deposited. SEX OF EGGS 1 . That the sex of the eggs is determined at, or pre- vious to the time of deposit in the cells by the queen, there can be no doubt, as all the eggs laid in drone cells produce drones only, while those laid in worker cells can be developed perfect queens or workers at the pleasure of the nursing bees. To prove this I give the following experience. In practicing the dividing system I have frequently found the bees to build a portion of the queen cells on drone comb containing drone larvae, and in three instances all built being the same. In two of the cases I supplied comb the second time, containing eggs and larvae, both in the worker and drone cells, and in both cases the queen cells were all built on the drorte comb, and in one instance this was repeated three successive times. I have given these apparent queen cells repeatedly to queen- less colonies, but in no instance have either queen or drone emerged from them. I have opened nearly one hundred of these cells, and at various times, and have found them to contain larvae of considerable size, but none had ever become a pupa, but had died on reaching that age. These cells are larger than 56 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. the proper cells built from worker brood, and should be destroyed whenever found. Many of the failures to produce queens have resulted from using such cells, not knowing their true character. By using the queen nursery, as directed in Chap, xvn, it will prevent, in a great measure, such cells being built. LAYING AND HATCHING OF EGGS, AND TREATMENT OF THE YOUNG. The following quotations from Bevan, give a very full and correct description of the manner in which the egg is laid, and the appearence and treatment of the insect in all stages to the fully developed bee. " It is the office of the queen bee to multiply the species by laying eggs, which she deposits in cells constructed for their reception by the working bees. These cells vary from one another in size (and in the instances of the royal cells they also vary in form and direction) according as they are intended to be the depositories of eggs that are to become drones, or of those that are to become workers. When the queen is about to lay, she puts her head into a cell and remains in that position for a second or two, probably to ascertain its fitness for the deposit which she is about to make. She then withdraws her head, and curving her body downwards, inserts her tail into the cell ; in a few seconds she turns half round upon herself and withdraws, leaving an egg behind her. When she lays a considerable number, she does it equally on each side of the comb, those on the one LAYING AND HATCHING OF EGGS. 57 side being as exactly opposite to those on the other as the relative position of the cells will admit. The effect of this is to produce a concentration and econ- omy of heat for developing the various changes of the brood. " The eggs of bees are of a lengthened oval shape, with a slight curvature, and of a bluish white color ; are composed of a thin membrane filled with a whitish liquor, and being besmeared at the time of laying with a glutinous substance, they adhere to the basis of the cell and remain unchanged in figure or situa- tion for four days ; then they are hatched, the bottom of each cell presenting to view a small white worm or maggot, with several ventral rings. On its grow- ing so as to touch the opposite angle of the cell, it coils itself up in the shape of a semicircle ; to use the language of Swarmnerdam, ' it coils itself up like a dog when he is going to sleep ;' and floats in a whitish transparent fluid which is deposited in the cells by the nursing bees, and by which it is probably nourished ; it becomes gradually enlarged in its dimensions till the two extremities touch one another and form a ring. In this state it obtains indifferently the name of worm, larva, maggot, or grub, and is fed with farina or bee-bread. The slightest move- ment on the part of the nursing bees suffices to attract it to its food, to receive the welcome morsels of which it eagerly opens its two lateral pincers, and a most liberal supply is afforded to it, though by no means trenching on the bounds of prodigality. 58 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. " So nicely do the bees calculate the quantity which will be required, that none remains in the cell when the larva is transformed to a nymph. It was the opinion of Reaumur, and is still that of many eminent naturalists, that farina does not constitute the sole food of the bee-larva, but that it consists of a mixture of farina with a certain proportion of honey and water, partly digested in the stomachs of the nursing bees, the relative proportions of honey and farina varying according to the age of the young. The compound at first is nearly insipid, but gradually receives an accession of sweetness and acescency which increase as the insects approach maturity. " The larva having derived support in the manner above described, for four, five, or six days, according to the season, continues to increase during that period, till it occupies the whole breadth and nearly the length of the cell. The nursing bees now seal up the cell, with a light brown cover, externally, more or less convex, (the cap of a drone cell is more convex than that of a worker) and thus differing from that of a honey-cell, which is paler and somewhat concave. The larva is no sooner perfectly inclosed than it begins to labor, alternately extending and shortening its body, whilst it lines the cell by spinning round itself, after the manner of the silk worm, a whitish silky fiber or cocoon, by which it is encased as it were in a pod or pellicle. ' The silken thread employed in forming this covering proceeds from the middle part of the under lip, and is in fact composed of two LAYING AND HATCHING OF EGGS. 59 threads gummed together as they issue from the two adjoining orifices of the spinner.' When it has undergone this change, it has usually born the name of nymph or pupa. " It may appear somewhat extraordinary, that a creature which takes its food so voraciously prior to its assuming the pupa state should live so long with- out food after that assumption ; but a little consider- ation will perhaps abate our wonder ; for when the insect has attained the state of pupa, it has arrived at its full growth, and probably the nutriment taken so greedily is to serve as a store for developing the perfect insect. " The bee when in its pupa state has been denom- inated, but improperly, chrysalis and aurelia; for these, as the words import, are of a golden yellow color, and they are crustaceous, whilst the bee nymphs are of a pale dull color, and readily yield to the touch. The golden splendor to which the above names owe their origin is peculiar to a certain species only of the papilio or butterfly tribe. The term pupa, which is employed by the higher class of entomolo- gists, after the example of Linnaeus, signifies that the insect is enveloped in swaddling clothes like an infant ; a very apt comparison. Kirby and Spence have remarked that it exhibits no unapt representa- tion of an Egyptian mummy. When in this state, it presents no appearance of external members, and retains no very marked indications of life ; but within this outward case its organs are gradually and fully 60 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. developed, its integuments hardened and consolidated, and as soon as it is qualified it bursts its fetters, and is introduced to a new career of existence ; from hav- ing been a mere worm, it becomes a sportive inhabit- ant of the air and enters upon new scenes and new enjoyments. " The working bee-nymph spins its cocoon in thirty-six hours. After passing about three days in this state of preparation for a new existence, it grad- ually undergoes so great a change as not to wear a vestige of its previous form, but becomes armed with a firmer mail and with scales of a dark brown hue fringed with light hairs. On its belly six rings become distinguishable, which, by slipping one over another, enable the bee to shorten its body whenever it has occasion to do so ; its breast becomes entirely covered with gray feather-like hairs, which, as the insect advances in age, assume a reddish hue. " When it has reached the twenty-first day of its existence, counting from the moment the egg is laid, it quits the exuviae of the pupa state, comes forth a perfect winged insect, and is termed an imago. The cocoon or pellicle is left behind, and forms a closely attached and exact lining to the cell in which it was spun ; by this means the breeding cells become smaller and their partitions stronger the oftener they change their tenants ; and when they have become so much diminished in size by this succession of pellicles or linings as not to admit of the perfect development of full-sized bees, they are converted into receptacles for honey. LAYING AND HATCHING OF EGGS. 61 " Such are the respective stages of the working bee ; those, of the royal bee are as follows. She passes three days in the egg and is five a worm ; the workers then close her cell, and she immediately be- gins spinning the cocoon, which occupies her twenty- four hours. On the tenth and eleventh days, as if exhausted by her labor, she remains in complete repose, and even sixteen hours of the twelfth. Then she passes four days and one-third as a nymph. It is on the sixteenth day, therefore, that the perfect state of queen is attained. " The male passes three days in the egg, six and a half as a worm, and metamorphoses into a fly on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth day after the egg is laid. The great epoch of laying the eggs of males may be accelerated or retarded by the state of the atmosphere*, promoting or impeding the collection of the bees. The development of each species likewise proceeds more slowly when the colonies are weak or the air cool, and when the weather is very cold it is entirely suspended. Mr. Hunter has observed that the eggs, maggots and nymphs all require a heat above 70 of Fahrenheit for their evolution. The in- fluence of temperature in the development of embryo insects is very strongly illustrated in the case of the Papilio Machaon. According to Messrs. Kirby and Spence, ' if the caterpillar of the Papilio Machaon becomes a pupa in July, the butterfly will appear in thirteen days ; if it do not become a pupa till Sep- tember, the butterfly will not make its appearance 62 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. until the following June.' And this is the case, say they, with a vast number of other insects. Reaumur proved the influence of temperature by effecting the regular change in a hot-house during the month of January. He also proved it conversely by having recourse to an ice-house in summer, which enabled him to retard the development for a whole year. " The larvae of bees, though without feet, are not always without motion. They advance from their first station at the bottom of the cell in a spiral direc- tion ; this movement for the first three days is so slow as to be scarcely perceptible, but after that it is more easily discerned. The animal now makes two entire revolutions in about an hour and three-quarters, and when the period of its metamorphosis arrives, it is scarcely more than two lines from the mouth x of the cell. Its attitude, which is always the same, is a strong curve. This occasions the inhabitant of a horizontal cell to be always perpendicular to the horizon, and that of a vertical one to be parallel with it." u The young bees break their envelopes " from the inside ; they immediately come forth and commence cleansing themselves. They seldom leave the hive till four or five days old and probably commence their labors soon after this event. PLAYING. Playing is a peculiarity in the habits of the bee not generally understood, and as it sometimes causes PLAYING. 63 perplexity to new beginners, I deem it worthy of notice. On the first warm day that succeeds cold or gloomy weather, the bees hold a jubilee ; not usually all at once, but a separate hive or a limited number at a time, usually in regular succession. This is for the purpose of purification and exercise. As soon as the day has become warm enough to excite them to go forth, large numbers will be seen to suddenly issue from the hive and mount on the wing with songs of rejoicing, circle round, play a short time, and then return. Others are constantly sallying out and returning in like manner. Then may be heard the bee-hive's happy hum. The excitement occasioned by the departure and arrival of the bees is kept up for about thirty minutes, more or less, according to the number of bees composing the swarm, and the tem- perature of the atmosphere. This playing occurs at intervals during the whole season. During the active breeding season, the young bees flying for the first time constitute the great body of players ; the drones also go forth in considerable numbers. At this period it bears so close a resemb- lance to that of a swarm commencing to depart, that it requires a practiced eye to detect the difference. Hence, young apiarians not unfrequently mistake the amusement for the process of swarming, and prepare to hive them. By observing closely, however, numbers will be seen returning, as well as departing, which is not the 64 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. case in swarming. This playing indicates a healthy and prosperous condition, and frequently precedes the issuance of a swarm. DRONE-LAYING QUEEN. It sometimes happens that the young queen is una- ble to fly out, on account of bad weather or defective wings ; consequently she fails to become impregnat- ed, (at the only time probably that' it can take place, viz : within twenty-one days of her birth) which usu- ally takes place on the wing. She, however, lays eggs, which only produce drones ;* which being laid in worker cells, their character is not easily determ- ined until sealed up. The only indication from the eggs is, that a portion of them appear deficient in size, being only the covering without the substance. After they are sealed up, or nearly so, it is easily detected ; there being but a part of the cells occu- pied, the comb presents an unusual appearance, being in irregular rows and clumps. These cells are raised and oval, being lengthened out and enlarged, to accommodate this unnatural production. (See plate n, fig. 21.) Drones so raised are dwarfs, being but little more than half the size of the drones proper, and are short lived. A hive possessing a drone-laying queen is soon depopulated, and falls a prey to robbers. * Bee-keepers, even from the time of Aristotle, had observed that all the brood in a hive were occasionally drones. Langstroth. PLATE II. FIGURE 11. LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 65 When a hive is found to have such a queen, search her out and destroy her ; then cut out all the comb occupied with her brood, as it is entirely useless. The balance of the combs should then be exchanged for perfect brood, and a queen or royal cell supplied. But if few bees are found, then break it up, and give the remaining bees and comb to other hives. Occasionally young queens lay only drone eggs (but in worker comb) for the first few days after becoming fertile, and afterwards produce workers and drones perfectly developed in their proper order. When the raised oval cells are found, search for the queen ; if her wings are defective, destroy her, but if they are all right, it is best to wait a few days longer, when her character is fully determined. If she changes for the better, it is known by the last brood sealed being smooth and regular. The abdo- men of a drone-laying queen usually appears more slender than that of a perfect one. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE OF THE LOSS OF THE QUEEN. The loss of the queen creates much disturbance during the first day, after which the bees continue their labors as usual. As soon as their loss is discov- ered, numbers of them may be seen running out of the hive and roaming about in an inquiring manner, evidently searching for their lost mother. Though 'other causes frequently produce similar excitement, the agitation will be brief; whereas, the loss of the 68 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. very sensitive, and will attack and sting their keeper or other persons disturbing them, more readily than those having a prolific queen. Cells resembling acorn cups with the mouth down- wards, (called false queen cells) are always built by queenless swarms. Such are also found in hives fully organized, and it requires a practiced eye to de- tect the difference. If queenless, they are found usually in clusters on the ends of the combs ; while if having a queen, there is but an occasional one, and they are to be found on the sides or edge of the comb. Retaining drones late in the season, after other hives have destroyed them, is an indication, though not a positive one, of queenlessness ; for good hives are occasionally known to retain a few through the winter, but they are always killed during the first days of flying, in the spring. It is stated by different authors that the bees of a queenless hive will not carry in pollen. (They say the bees have no use for it, that it is used for the one purpose only of feeding the young.) The assertion however, is not well founded, for I have invariably found them carrying in and storing it as long as a small cluster of bees remained, or till the last stages of its existence. When they fail to do so, it is because there is no pasturage from which to gather it. Mr. Quinby is of the same opinion. THE DRONE. 69 THE DRONE. Drones are males, and without stings, and are about one-fourth larger than the workers, making their ap- pearance in the month of March, and continuing dur- ing the season of breeding, serving no other useful purpose* than to impregnate the young queens ; for shape, see plate No. 1. They leave the hive for excursions from 10 o'clock A. M., to 3 P. M. When on the wing, they make a loud and quick buzzing sound, easily distinguished from that made by the workers. The number found in each hive varies from less than one hundred to several thousand. When very numerous, they consume a large proportion of the honey, rendering the hive unprofitable. As only a small number is necessary to each hive, it will be well to prevent useless hoards being reared. This can be done by removing most of the drone or large- celled comb from the hive in the early spring, or at any period during the season. A portion however should remain and be allowed to mature, for if all is destroyed, the bees will persist in rebuilding. By placing the frame from which the drone comb was cut between two combs already built, they are more likely to rebuild with worker comb. * Various opinions formerly prevailed as to the use of the drone. The following one, given to me many years ago by an aged bee-keeping friend of the name of Brown, is, I believe, orig- inal. "The drones (said he) are for the purpose of tramping the mortar for the worker bees to build combs of." 70 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. THE DRONES KILLED BY THE WORKERS. As a matter of animal economy, or to save the expense of useless boarders, the workers destroy the drones at irregular periods during the spring, sum- mer and fall. The immediate moving cause of the slaughter is a scarcity of honey and pollen secreted in the flowers. They seldom kill all at these periods in the spring or summer, but when flowers fail at autumn, and no more honey can be gathered, they are all killed, or driven forth to perish from hunger and cold. When this killing occurs about the time that swarms should be expected, it is a sure indication that this intention is abandoned or deferred. When a hive retains its drones after all others have killed them, it indicates that such a hive is queenless ; and it should be seen to immediately. If sufficient bees remain, they can be supplied with a queen from some small colony, or what is far better, the two combin- ed in one. ( See directions for supplying queens.) In rare instances the bees will retain a limited num- ber of drones through the winter, which I account for as follows. In some localities a supply of very late pasturage is afforded, giving employment to the bees until the propensity to rid themselves of these useless consumers is passed for the season. They are, however, killed as soon as the spring opens. WHITE-HEADED DRONES THE WORKER. 71 WHITE-HEADED DRONES. In the summer of 1856 I discovered in one of my hives a number of drones, with heads nearly white, some of which continued through the season up to the usual time of killing drones. The same phenomenon has reappeared in the same hive each year since that time, and during the past year they have been more numerous than any of the preceding. I have counted as many as thirty-six of these in sight at once, by looking through the glass in the rear of the hive. In the spring of 1859 a young queen superseded the old one in this hive ; still the drones reared afterwards were the same, there being about one-half thus marked. I have examined a large number of stocks in the middle and western States, and have made inquiries of various bee-keepers, but have failed to learn of another in- stance of like character. The above hive of bees is owned by W. C. & J. S. Harbison, and is in their apiary at the residence of the former in Chenango, Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania. A. Harbison. THE WORKER. The workers are undeveloped females, in size, considerably less than either the queen or drones ; in numbers, comprising the great majority, and being practically the sovereigns of the hive. All as mem- 72 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. bers of the same family work together in the greatest harmony. Nature has provided all animals, birds and insects, with means to protect and guard themselves, so as to insure their proper increase ; hence we find the honey bee armed and equipped, in accordance with the above laws. No less formidable weapon, or less courage than that which they possess, would suffice to guard their young and their treasures, affording as they do, temp- tations to so many hungry creatures. Their means of defense consist of a sting to pierce, and poison to inject into the wound by means of the sting. As a means of protection, nature pro- vides them with a habitation inaccessible to most of their enemies. The sting is situated within and at the termination of the abdomen; it is about an eighth of an inch long, and is thrust out in the act of being used ; it is composed of three parts, (which to the unassisted eye appear as one) the piercer and two laminae. The piercer is a little longer than the lamina, and is furnished with a number of barbs, barely percepti- ble under the microscope, which when once entered into any yielding substance, not only hold the sting so firmly that the bee leaves it sticking in the wound, but cause it, assisted by the momentary nervous vital- ity, to sink its entire length into the flesh. The poison is contained in a reservoir at the base of the sting, and flows into the wound through the THE WORKER. 73 channel formed by the lamina in combination with the piercer : this is shown by the drop of poison not appearing at the end of the piercer, but at the ter- mination of the lamina. This poison is the cause of the pain and swelling usually experienced by persons when stung. It is supposed that the loss of the sting proves fatal to the bee ; such a theory appears reasonable, yet I am not aware of any experiments being tried to prove its correctness. When a bee stings another it does not usually lose its sting, as in the case of stinging other objects. They are natural mechanics, and appear to do their work as perfectly the first day of their labors as the old artizans that have plied their trade for nearly a life-time. Their sight and smell are very keen, enabling them to discover objects and detect the presence of honey when at a considerable distance ; hence, to se- lect the choicest pasturaga and make the most rapid accumulations possible. Their peculiar formation combining strength and activity with their baskets for carrying bread or pollen on their thighs, and an internal sac (separate from their main stomachs) for receiving and carrying honey eminently fits them for their laborious and provident habits. *Each department of labor has its special workmen, such as field laborers, wax producers, builders and nurses, the latter being also the guards. The field laborers collect honey and pollen, and 4 74 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLGY, ETC. store it in the combs, and also collect propolis with which to coat the interior surface of their habitation. It is probable that the field laborers are the princi- pal comb builders. WAX PRODUCED BY THE WORKERS. The wax of which the comb is composed, is an animal secretion, emitted from the folds of the abdo- men in a manner similar to the emission of silk from the silk worm. The wax producers remain in the hive inactive, while elaborating the wax. This consumes several days from the time they commence feeding for the purpose. Their food during this time is mostly honey ; pollen as food is not essential to the elabora- tion of wax. The wax appears in two rows of scales of four each, in sacklets on the under side of the abdomen, as represented in plate i^fig. 8. These are taken away by the builders and converted into combs. When about to lay the foundations of a new comb, the bees cluster in ranks formed into festoons, so that the builders can pass freely at their work ; this arrangement seems designed to create and maintain a sufficiently warm and uniform temperature to enable them to mold the wax into a perfect structure, whieh, when first built, is white, semi-transparent and fragile ; it afterwards changes to a darker color and becomes stronger. These effects are produced by the thick- WAX PRODUCED BY THE WORKERS. 75 ening of the partition walls of the cells, and also by the cocoons left by each emerging young bee. The bees that remain inactive, forming these clus- ters, are mainly wax producers, and are thus con- stantly at hand with a supply of mortar ready for the use of the builders, who by means of relays con- tinue their labors day and night during the time of their harvests. But when this is ended, and no far- ther accumulations of stores can be expected, no more garners are built. It is probable that the wax producers continue their emissions for some time, and then die. Or it may be they produce wax at different periods ; yet they are certainly short-lived. (This subject will be farther investigated at some future time.) This class of bees are non-resistant, and never volunteer an attack. The nurses attend to the wants of the young from the egg until they emerge from the comb, protecting the brood with great constancy. They are also the water carriers and guards. Their care and attention to the wants of the queen are of the most devoted kind. Sometimes when swarming she falls to the ground near the hive, when she is soon surrounded with her faithful attendants, who remain till death parts them. Their ability to determine the course and locality of their hives, after passing from flower to flower in all directions, and for a long time, is truly won- derful. On the approach of a storm, they take the 76 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. alarm and seek their homes for safety. If overtaken and blown down, they usually crawl under leaves and other places of shelter, where they remain in safety till the storm has passed over. Yet numbers are frequently caught out and perish from cold and wet. Their disposition is mild and peaceful, while rap- idly acquiring riches ; but as soon as pasturage fails they become irritable, and will not permit intrusion without resisting it sharply. THEIR INDUSTRY. " Industry belongs to their nature. When the flowers yield honey, and the weather is fine, they need no impulse from man w to perform their part. When their tenement is supplied with all things nec- essary to reach another spring, or their store-house full, and no necessity or room for an addition, and we supply them with more space, they assiduously toil to fill it up. Rather than to waste time in idleness dur- ing a bounteous yield of honey, they have been known to deposit their surplus in combs outside the hive, or under the stand. This naturally industrious habit lies at the foundation of all the advantages in bee-keeping; consequently, our hives must be con- structed with this end in view, and at the same time, not interfere with other points of their nature." Quinby. OF THK UNIVERSITY 78 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. a fertile worker. I lifted out the comb in which all the eggs were deposited ; there was a thin cluster of bees on it. I soon discovered a bee inserting her abdomen in a cell, and then withdrawing it, in the same manner as done by a queen when laying eggs. This was repeated four times. I then, with a pair of scissors, clipped a small point off each wing, in order to be able to again identify her. I examined this hive daily for some time, but only detected her in the act of laying an egg on one other occasion. She remained in the hive for five weeks after I first dis- covered her, by which time the bees had nearly all disappeared. This fertile worker was apparently a young bee, and was of small size and starved appear- ance, the very opposite of what would have been expected. This fact is good evidence that there are different orders of development (or at least a division of labor, probably according to age) amongst the workers, viz: the nursing bees, field laborers, wax producers, and comb builders. The same bee is doubtless capable of performing either of those duties, at different periods of its life, but not indiscriminately at any one time. Since the above was written, other fertile workers have been seen in the act of depositing eggs, as fol- lows : Previous to the first of September, 1860, a small colony had become queenless, and remained so for some time ; on examination, it was found to have one or more fertile workers ; the colony was on the above FERTILE WORKER. 79 date removed into an observatory hive ; in a short time afterwards one worker was seen depositing eggs, and on the third day thereafter (being the third of September) there were three different wofkers seen depositing eggs at the same time. This was witnessed by J. P. Lockey, J. R. Frame, Mr. Lyon, A. Har- bison, and others. ftll CHAPTEE IY. DISEASES. Dysentery. 83 How to Prevent Dysentery 84 Eemedy for Dysentery 85 Foul Brood 86 Seat of Disease in the Brood 91 Microscopic Examinations 94 How to Detect Foul Brood 95 No Cure Sanitary Measures 97 Directions for Driving f ; 99 4* CHAPETR IV. DISEASES. DYSENTERY, OR DIARRHOEA. BEES frequently suffer from this disease, particularly during the winter and early spring. It is caused by unwholesome food, unusual confinement, insufficient ventilation or dampness, cold or heat, either sepa- rately or in combination. " The presence of this disease is indicated by the appearance of the excrement, which, instead of a reddish yellow, exhibits a muddy black color, and has a very offensive smell. Also by its being voided upon the floor, and at the entrance of the hive," and also on the comb, " which bees, in a healthy state are particularly careful to preserve clean." Bevan. When bees are suffering from this disease, they frequently separate from the cluster, (even when the weather is quite cold) and endeavor to fly. When the weather becomes mild, numbers of them may be seen crawling at the entrance of the hive or on the ground, presenting a bloated or bedaubed appearance, and rapidly dying. At this stage of the disease the 84 DISEASES. hive will rapidly depopulate, unless soon relieved by the return of a warm day, to enable the bees to fly out and discharge their filth. HOW TO PREVENT DYSENTERY. FIRST. Reject all hives having unwholesome food, as unfit for wintering. For example : honey gathered during wet weather, which frequently turns slightly sour. This honey will be peculiarly thin, and will contain great numbers of minute air bubbles. Such honey is unfit for bees to feed upon. Honey gathered from " honey-dew " also contains a considerable amount of acid, and will render bees that feed upon it, especially in winter, unhealthy, and should therefore be avoided. If bees are fed late in the fall or during the winter, with sugar or honey of an inferior quality, and much of it remains in the cell unsealed, it will attract moisture, become sour, and debilitate or destroy the bees that feed upon it. SECOND. Avoid confining bees for a long period at any one time, particularly if the weather is warm. THIRD. See that the hives are properly ventilat- ed. FOURTH. Have the apiary located on dry land, and the hives kept dry, and allow the sun to shine on them at all times during the spring, when the temperature is below 75 (Fahr.) in the shade, but as soon as it rises above 75, screen the hives from the direct rays of the sun. REMEDY FOR DYSENTERY. 85 FIFTH. Avoid as much as possible opening or otherwise disturbing the bees after they have ceased to work in the fall until they commence work in the spring, particularly when the temperature is below 60. The hives should, however, be occasionally freed from all dead bees and other impure matter. REMEDY FOR DYSENTERY. FIRST. See that the bees are supplied with an abundance of wholesome food. SECOND. If there is no immediate prospect of a warm day, to allow them to fly out and relieve them- selves, and the case is a bad one, remove the hive to a room or other place having full light and a temper- ature above 60. Attach to the entrance of the hive a box having one or more of its sides made of glass or wire screen, or a net similar to the one recommended for catching swarms, (see plate xxxn, fig. 57,) and allow the bees to fly freely in it. They will usually return into the hive as soon as it is dark. After this exercise and their return, the hive should be kept protected from cold, and no light allowed to enter it. As soon, however, as the weather will admit of their flying with safety, remove them to a suitable stand and give them their liberty. All bees after they have been long confined evince considerable uneasiness to fly, even when the weather is quite cold ; they should be restrained by darkening the hive and admitting more air. There is but little 86 DISEASES. danger of giving the bees too much, provided the wind is not permitted to blow, directly on them. FOUL BROOD. " Foul brood " * is the only contagious disease peculiar to bees with which I am acquainted. Noth- ing is known at present concerning the origin or cause of this disease ; it seems, however, to have been in existence more than two thousand years ago, yet we have no definite information concerning it until comparatively a recent period. There can be but little doubt, however, that it, like small-pox and other contagious diseases, was in existence long ago, and that it has been perpetuated in like manner. If the one is ever spontaneously produced, so too the other may be. This, however, is an open question. Mr. Quinby, many years ago, " made enquiries through the Cultivator, (an agricultural paper) as to a cause and remedy, offering a reward for one that would not fail when thoroughly tested." Mr. Weeks, in answer, said " that cold weather, in spring, chilling the brood was the cause." Another gentleman said, " dead bees and filth that accumu- lated during winter, when suffered to remain in the spring, was the cause." * So called by the Germans. Diseased brood by Quinby, and is probably the same disease as was called Faux Convain by Schirac. According to Langstroth, this disease was probably known to Aristotle, " who was born in Stagyra, Macedon, abont 384 years before Christ." FOUL BROOD. 87 " A few years after, another correspondent appeared in the Cultivator, giving particulars of his experience, proving very conclusively to himself and many others that cold was the cause." Mr. Quinby says : " Had I no experience further than this, I should, perhaps, rest satisfied as to the cause, and should endeavor to apply the remedy." Several other writers have appeared in different papers on this subject, and nearly all who assign a cause have given this one as the most probable. " Now I have known the chrysalis in a few stocks to be chilled and destroyed by a sudden turning of cold weather, yet these were removed by the bees soon after, and the stocks remained healthy. To me the cause assigned appears inadequate to produce all the results with the larvae. After close, patient observation of fifteen years, I have never yet been wholly satisfied that any one instance among my bees was thus produced." It is a singular fact that Mr. Quinby and Mr. Dzierzon, both of whom recommend and practice the wintering of bees in large numbers in dark reposito- ries or cellars, have been the greatest sufferers from this disease, and the first (as far as I know) to defi- nitely describe and publish its character. Mr. Dzierzon attributed the origin of the disease, in his case, to feeding bees on American honey, but is not sure that such was the fact. Whether they had discovered its existence in their apiaries previous to practicing the above method of 88 DISEASES. wintering bees, does not appear. Information con- cerning it, from either of them, would doubtless throw important light on the subject. There can be no doubt, however, that in wintering bees in the above mariner, if a single hive in the lot has the disease, the vitiated air arising from it would infect many of the adjoining hives, with as much certainty as if they had obtained infected honey. It has been supposed by some that foul brood was caused by shipping bees across the Isthmus to Califor- nia. Having made two shipments myself, I am prob- ably as well qualified to judge of this matter as any other person. And I can safely say, that I have never seen anything to indicate such a result. Neither have I found it to exist in any bees when brought into this State from healthy districts in the East. Consequently, I am forced to the conclusion that every hive having the disease when landed in Cali- fornia, had it previously to being shipped from the Atlantic States, and that it has been spread from those, to large numbers of hives previously healthy. " In the year 1848, a fatal pestilence, known by the name of ' foul brood/ prevailed among his (Dzier- zon's) bees, and destroyed nearly all his colonies before it could be subdued, only about ten having escaped the malady, which attacked alike the old stocks and his artificial swarms. He estimates his entire loss that year at over five hundred colonies. Nevertheless, he succeeded so well in multiplying by artificial swarms the few that remained healthy, that FOUL BROOD. 89 ' w' in the fall of 1851 his stock consisted of nearly four hundred colonies." " Mr. Quinby informs me that he has lost as many as one hundred colonies in a year from this pesti- lence. It has never made its appearance in my apiaries, and I should regard its general dissemina- tion through our country as the greatest possible calamity to bee-keepers." -Langstroth. Mr. Quinby says, in the " Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained," that this disease is probably of recent origin ; that Mr. Miner knew nothing of it until he moved from Long Island to Ontario county, New York. Mr. Weeks, in a communication to the N. E. Farmer, says : " Since the potato rot commenced, I have lost one-fourth of my stocks annually by this disease ;" at the same time adding his fear that this race of insects will become extinct from this cause, if not arrested. He says " it attacks the chrysalis (pupa) instead of the larva." He (Quinby) claims that his experience " goes back to a date beyond many others ; it is almost twenty years since the first case was noticed." (" Mys- teries of Bee-keeping Explained" was copy-righted in 1853 ; hence we infer the above was written about that time.) " I had kept bees but four or five years, when I discovered it in one of my best stocks." " A post-mortem examination revealed the follow- ing circumstances: Nine-tenths of the breeding cells were found to contain young bees in the larva state, stretched out at full length, sealed over, dead, 90 DEBASES. black, putrid and emitting a disagreeable stench. I learned why there was a scarcity of bees in the hive ; what should have constituted their increase had died in the cells ; none of them were removed, consequently but few cells where any bees could be matured were left." He further says that the cause is uncertain, but attributes its spread to contagion ; that honey carried from infected stocks will impart the disease to the hive receiving it. As a check to the spread of this disease, he recommends that no stock be permitted to dwindle away until plundered by others ; by persevering in this course, he thinks the disease would soon disappear. Mr. Quinby supposed this disease of recent origin, hence it would appear that his was one of the first cases noticed in the United States. At present this disease exists to some extent in New York, New Jersey, in some portions of the New England States, and in the northeast corner of Penn- sylvania. From the above places it has been intro- duced to California and Oregon, along with bees imported during the last three or four years, and is now almost as widely spread on the Pacific slope as the bees themselves. The fact that the disease had been introduced to California was furnished by me to the agricultural jurnals, and was published in March, I860.* It seems, however, to have been known to * Previous to July, 1859, I had never seen a case of foul brood, and was skeptical as to its existence, attributing the death of the brood to hunger and cold. But at the above time some diseased STATE OF DISEASE IN THE BROOD. 91 some persons years previous, but w^as not by them made public. SEAT OF DISEASE IN THE BROOD. The disease attacks the young bees while in embryo, and at the stage of growth denominated pupa, which they attain soon after being sealed over by the workers. At this juncture, and while in the act of spinning their cocoons, they are suddenly seized with the disease and die within their cells, and comb was shown to me, although it was entirely different from anything I had ever seen, yet I attributed it wholly to bad man- agement, not doubting but it would disappear with different treat- ment. I paid no more attention to the matter till in the latter part of January, 1860, at which time I was called on to examine some hives of bees that had been purchased from the same party that had exhibited the diseased comb to me the previous season. I found that the bees of some of the hives had swarmed out ; on examining the combs I found them to agree so exactly with the description of " diseased brood " given by Quinby, that I no longer had any doubts as to the existence of foul brood. From information which I received from the East about the same time, I was made aware that large numbers of diseased hives had arrived and were on the way to this State. I then notified a number of persons who had purchased bees of us, to beware of certain bees ; not to permit any of them to be placed near their stocks, as there was danger of the disease being communicated, etc. A portion took warning, while others made purchases of diseased stock, many of which swarmed out on the first warm days of spring and were lost. In most instances they left honey, which, as is always the case, was soon carried off by neighboring bees. Thus many stocks previously healthy became diseased, and were totallv lost. 92 DISEASES. are suffered by the bees to remain and rot', thus gen- erating a most offensive effluvia, which affects the general health of the bees in the hive where it exists.* After the effluvia subsides, the cells, being nearly empty, are cleaned out by the bees and again used for breeding, (this however is only while a numerous swarm remains) and what seems most singular is, that a portion of the next generation of brood reared in the same cells come to maturity, while in adjoining cells that previously produced mature bees, increased numbers of dead are found. During cold, moist weather, the disease increases rapidly, but as soon as it changes to warm and dry, the disease frequently abates, exhibiting an intermittent character. It is generally about three months from the time the virus is introduced into a hive before the disease appears, * Having advanced the idea that the health of the adult bees was affected by this disease, I instituted the following experiment to prove it : On a clean white paper I dissected twelve bees taken at random out of a hive that was badly affected, over half the brood being dead, and emitting an intolerable stench. The intes- tines of seven were found to contain excrementitious matter of a dark color and offensive smell, being evidently the result of dis- ease. The other five were found to contain matter of a yellow color, comparing exactly with that of bees taken from healthy hives, dissected on the same paper. This was satisfactory evi- dence to my mind, that a proportion of the adult bees in hives having foul brood are diseased, and reproduce it in hives to which they may be driven, unless repeated a number of times, during which a portion of them die, and the balance, by being compelled to fly, discharge their filth. STATE OF DISEASE IN THE BROOD. 93 and from six months to two years more before it terminates fatally.* Mr. Quinby says that hives " in which the disease has not advanced too far will generally swarm." I have had no experience in this particular, but think it unlikely that many swarms or much surplus honey will ever be obtained after the disease is once seated. Mr. Langstroth says : " There are two species of foul brood, one of which the Germans call , the dry and the other the moist or foetid. The dry appears to be only partial in its effects and not contagious, the brood simply dying and drying up in certain parts of the combs." From numerous examinations which I have made of diseased hives imported into California during the * This opinion was founded on the following experiment : In the month of February, 1860, upwards of one hundred hives of newly jmported bees, most of them diseased, were placed within one hundred rods of a stock of thirteen full and" healthy hives. Honey from the dead and weak hives of the former being exposed within the reach of the latter, they immediately appropriated it to their own use, thereby planting the seeds of disease, which, however, did not develop itself so as to be discernable till in May, being about three months from the time they obtained the infected honey. Several other instances of the disease being contracted in like manner have also come under my own observation, each tending to confirm the above idea of the time between the infec- tion and the development of the disease. Since the above was written, a case has come to my knowledge where infected honey was said to have been obtained and the disease developed within six weeks ; this occurred during July and August, 1860, yet it is possible that the disease in this case was communicated at an earlier date. 94 DISEASES. fall of 1859 and spring of 1860, I have arrived at the conclusion that what has been called the dry foul brood is but a condition of the moist, or is chilled brood simply left remaining in the cells, and becom- ing mummied, which is a thing of common occur- rence in hives that are not strong. MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATIONS. I am indebted to Dr. Harkness, of Sacramento City, for his kindness in making numerous micro- scopic examinations of specimens of brood combs, submitted to him at different times during the months of March, April, and May, 1860. The following in- teresting letter gives the result of his examinations : MR. J. S. HARBISON Dear Sir : Having made careful microsopic examination of the samples of healthy and diseased brood combs placed in my hands by you, I find the following conditions to exist ? First, in all the samples of healthy brood, I find the cocoon surround- ing each pupa or young bee, whether finished or only partly so, to be constructed with great regularity, the threads of each being arranged in the same relative position, forming a regular system of delicate net-work. Second, in the samples containing diseased brood, I find, in most cases, that death has occurred while the pupa was in the act of forming its cocoon, as I find them constructed with great irregularity, and in an unfinished state. In some of the samples, however, I find cells interspersed in which the larva has entirely disappeared, leaving a residiuum of dark, inorganic matter, emitting a foul and disagreeable odor. Upon examining the cocoon of such under the microscope, I find that it is complete in texture and finish, showing that HOW TO DETECT FOUL BROOD. 95 the pupa was ready to change to a more perfect state of exist- ence at the time of its death, giving rise to a doubt as to the cause producing it. Being apparently the first case to occiir in the hive, may it not have resulted from chill in the winter ? If such is the fact, the effluvia arising from these decaying bodies, in my opinion would, under certain circumstances, poi- son the young larvae in adjoining cells before being sealed up ; the disease thus engendered proving fatal after the larva has reached the pupa state, and while in the act of forming its cocoon. H. W. HABKNESS. SACRAMENTO, June 12th, 1860. Chilled brood may be a cause, amongst a combina- tion, to produce the disease, yet I have never seen a case (although I have had chilled brood under almost every conceivable circumstance) that would go to prove such a result. HOW TO DETECT FOUL BROOD. To detect foul brood, observe the capping of the cells : while those containing healthy brood are of a yellow color and appear regular, those containing dead are of a dark color and are slightly sunken ; (chilled brood has the capping of the cells raised almost invariably) on opening them, their condition is easily seen. The living pupa is nearly white, till it attains the form of the perfect bee ; it then gradu- ally turns to a brown or grayish color. When death has resulted from disease, and is recent, the pupa will be found discolored, being a dull brown color ; but if dead some time, a portion of ropy matter will yb DISEASES. be found. While if death occurred several weeks or months previously, the capping of the cell will be found entirely black ; on opening it, only a small por- tion of dry animal fiber will be found at the bottom of the cell. If the disease has caused death several months previously, occasional cells are found of a dark color, and so coated over with wax or propolis as to make them quite oval, and bees do not like to cluster on them. On opening these cells, they are found to contain a small portion of inorganic matter, and to emit a disagreeable small, somewhat resembling that from carrion. This, to a person familiar with it, is sufficient evi- dence of the presence of the disease. It is possible that where a limited number of the pupa die from disease, and the bees discovering the same at once seal them densely with wax or propolis, the spread of the disease may be prevented for a time. Even the virus contained in honey may be carried in and sealed up, to remain for a considerable length of time, and then fed to brood, causing their death, as well as a farther spread of the disease. Chilled brood, as has before been stated, will most- ly have the capping of the cells raised ; on opening them, the young bee is found to be dead, but will show the head and other members nearly developed. Pupa, if dead from chill, at first has a dark streak through its center ; when decayed, it turns of a gray color, arid watery, with sediment not usually ropy. Chilled larva turns nearly black soon after death. NO CURE SANITARY MEASURES. 97 In all cases of death from chill, the skin remains whole, or shows a separate texture from the body ; (at least for some time) while in foul brood the skin decomposes as soon as any other part of it, the whole melting into a jelly-like substance. NO CURE SANITARY MEASURES. No cure has as yet been discovered for this dis- ease, although it has existed for so long a period ; neither is it likely that there will be, other than by a constant watching for and destruction of every ves- tige of every hive, together with all their contents, whenever found to contain the disease.* This plan has been found to be the only safe one, as every delay and every effort made to cure it by driving the bees, is liable to result in communicating it to healthy stocks. This may be done by remov- ing the infected honey, or by the bees from diseased * " Three weeks from the first swarm will be the time to examine them. It is easily done now, as about all the healthy brood (except drones) should be mature in that time. Again, after the breeding season is over, in the fall, every stock should be thoroughly inspected, and all diseased ones condemned. It is better to do it, even if it should take the last one. It would pay much better to procure others instead, that are healthy." Quiriby. In addition to making the special examinations as above, I would recommend that at any time when a hive is noticed to be in a weak or despondent condition, it be immediately examined as to the cause. 98 DISEASES. hives swarming out and entering other hives that are healthy. The transferring of any combs, (whether empty or containing stores or brood) queen cells, honey, bees, or any other thing whatever from a diseased hive, or any one that may be suspected of disease, into healthy hives, should be strictly avoided. Neither should any hive be again used that has once been occupied by diseased bees. In any apiary where the disease makes its appear- ance, or the bees have been exposed to contagion, the formation of colonies, forcing of swarms, and all interchange of combs should at once be discontin- ued, for by either of these processes the disease is certain to be extended. NATURAL SWARMS ALONE SHOULD BE DEPENDED ON FOR INCREASE, and they should be removed the same evening that they are hived to a distance of at least two miles from any stock having the disease. Thus, by persevering in the destruction of all that are diseased, and the con- stant separation of all new swarms as above directed, the disease can be annihilated ; but probably never will be by any other method. Driving the bees from diseased hives and placing them in new ones, has been practiced to some extent, but has been attended by various results. Some have become apparently healthy under this treat- ment, while isi a majority of cases the disease has reappeared. In fact, the greatest good thus far accomplished by DIRECTIONS FOR DRIVING. 99 it has been to hasten the destruction of diseased bees, which but few persons not knowing their true inter- est would do directly. In short, I believe that the time and money spent in diving bees, (particularly if badly affected) will in most cases be worth more than the bees, even if successfully cured. It is both safer and cheaper to establish an apiary with one or two healthy hives at one hundred dollars each, than to start with any number of diseased hives, even if received as a gift. DIRECTIONS FOR DRIVING. To bee-keepers who may wish to try driving, I would recommend the following plan. FIRST. Have ready a common cheap box, well ventilated, into which to drive and confine the bees. SECOND. The hive containing the bees to be driven is to be gently opened, if it is a frame hive, at the top, but if not, invert it. THIRD. Have ready some well sweetened water, and sprinkle over the bees, continuing to supply them till they are effectually gorged (this is to pre- vent their filling themselves with tainted honey). All the bees are then to be driven into the box, as directed in Chapter on Transferring. But no combs or stores of any kind are to be given to them at this time. As soon as the bees are driven into the box and confined, all the combs and 100 DISEASES. stores should at once be so disposed of as to prevent any bees from ever having access to them. FOURTH. This driving should positively be done AFTER DARK ; it can either be done out of doors, on a mild, calm evening, or removed inside of a*build- ing, to allow of a light to see to work by. This precaution is doubly important ; first, to pre- vent any other bees from getting honey ; second, to prevent the straggling bees from the diseased hive entering others in the vicinity. FIFTH. The driven bees are to be confined in the box till one hour before sunset on the following afternoon, when they are to be placed on their orig- inal stand, and the box opened to permit them to fly. After dark, place as much feed within the box (dis- solved sugar is best) as they can consume the fol- lowing day, and again confine them till the following afternoon as before. Now have ready a second box, similar in appearance to the one the bees are in, which is to be put in its place with an aperture open for the bees to enter. The box containing the bees is now to be turned bottom up, a few feet in front of its former position, and the bees allowed to take wing and return into the second box. They should be disturbed to compel them to fly, and if possible the queen should be found and put in the box. The compelling the bees to fly is to allow them to discharge their filth, which doubtless helps to free them from the virus contained in their bodies. DIRECTIONS FOR DRIVING. 101 SIXTH. Early on the following morning, place in a new, clean hive, one or more combs containing not less than four or five pounds of stores from any healthy hive ; then drive the bees into it, and place upon the permanent stand, and give them their lib- erty. Giving them stores prevents the tendency to swarm out, which will prevail if not so supplied. The process of redriving may be carried still fur- ther. I would recommend, however, that driving be only done at a time when pasturage is abundant. OF THK UNIVERSITY CHAPTER V. ENEMIES. Bears 105 Skunks 105 Rats , 106 Mice 106 Toads 107 Birds of California 107 Woodpecker 107 King Bird 108 Pewitt 108 Bee Moth 108 Indications of Moth Worms 114 Moths should he Exterminated 114 No Moth-proof Hive 115 Ants 116 To drive Ants away 117 Wasps and Yellow-Jackets 118 Spiders 118 1/051 CHAPTER V. ENEMIES. The enemies of bees are certain animals, birds and insects. BEARS. Among animals, bears are known to be such lovers of honey as frequently to search out a bee-tree in the forest, gnaw a hole into the cavity occupied by the bees, and devour the honey. In some instances they have visited apiaries, over- turned the hives, and helped themselves to the con- tents, honey, comb and bees. SKUNKS. Skunks, or polecats, are also formidable enemies of the bee family. They search for and dig up the nests of wasps and hornets, humble bees, &c., eat the brood and mature insects and honey, if any is found. They also frequently visit apiaries, and if they find bees clustered on the outside of the hive, they will devour large numbers of them. If none are on the 106 ENEMIES. outside they scratch at the entrance, which causes the bees to run out, when they are devoured. If they can reach it, they will also devour the comb con- taining the brood and honey also. To prevent their ravages, elevate the hives two or three feet from the ground, so that they cannot reach them. A good dog, or the use of strychnine, will keep them away or give them their quietus. KATS. Eats will also devour large quantities of honey, and destroy the comb, whenever they can gain access to it. I am not aware that they eat bees. MICE. The white-bellied wood mouse is a formidable ene- my. Entering the hive during cold weather, they mutilate the combs and build their nests, and not only create a noisome stench, but eat both bees and honey. It might reasonably be supposed that the bees would sting them. This I suspect seldom happens, as they only take up their abode within the hive dur- ing the continuance of cool weather, and then are only in motion during the night. They should be excluded from the hive by a timely contraction of the entrance. When they are found to have made a lodgment, the hive should be WOODPECKER. 107 carefully cleansed from all impurities, otherwise the bees are liable to desert it on the return of warm weather. The common house mouse is also an enemy. TOADS. The toad will frequently visit a hive in the dusk of the evening, and either catch the bees as they cluster on the outside, or catch those that accident- ally drop on the ground ; to prevent which, have the hive elevated one or two feet, and in such a manner that they cannot climb up to it ; or they may be forc- ibly ejected from the premises, and placed where their services are more particularly needed. BIRDS OP CALIFORNIA. I have not noticed any kind of birds whatever catching bees in California, yet there may be some that do. WOODPECKER. The red-headed woodpecker of the Atlantic States is an inveterate bee-catcher, and is perhaps the only one of the bird tribe that should be exe- cuted for this offense, as I doubt whether they destroy enough of other insects to compensate for what b3es they kill. 108 ENEMIES. KING BIRD. The king bird frequently catches bees, and I am always tempted to shoot at them when I see them depredating. Mr. Qumby thinks they only catch drones. I will " guess" that they prefer a dainty drop of honey to the gross carcass of the drone. PEWITT. The pewitt, and a few other varieties of birds, occasionally catch bees ; but as they render valuable services to man, in destroying other insects, I think they should be protected. BEE MOTH. (GALLERIA CEREANA.) The bee moth has been known and described by various ancient authors, amongst whom are " Aris- totle, Virgil and Columella." It seems to have been as destructive to the bees then as now. This insect is a distinct variety of the moth tribe, and is so dependent on honey bees for its subsist- ence, that no instance is known of its being found apart from them. Hence there is but little doubt that it has, at some period, been brought to this continent with the bees. We have no definite account of their depredations amongst the older settlements, but may it not have been that they were so well known as to excite no remark ? BEE MOTH. 109 It must be borne in mind, that at this early period, vegetation was luxuriant, and uncropped to a great extent by domestic animals, so that the bee had almost an uninterrupted harvest. This, it is well known, would give the worms less chance to increase than if a dearth of pasturage prevailed; for when bees are prosperous they subdue the worms with ease, but when not adding to existing stores they decrease, and thus afford the worms a season of peace and plenty which enables them to increase more rapidly. Owing to the peculiar habit of the honey bee in swarming and flying long distances before locating, they were enabled to leave the moths far in the rear ; they thus advanced westward without the aid of man, and being found by the settlers in the wilderness, who captured and cultivated them, no worms troubled them for many years. Hence it is not strange that when they did come they were mistaken for a new enemy. It has been about forty years since the moth was first known west of the Alleghany mountains ; they crossed the Mississippi at a still later period. There are still places in the so-called " far west," where it is said no worms exist. Of all the bees that have been brought to Cali- fornia few have been free from worms, and frequently there have been more of them than bees. Great carelessness has been shown by some im- porters and purchasers in not destroying them. Hence a number of hives (even of those bred in this BEE MOTH. Ill steal in and deposit their eggs on the combs, which they accomplish* unless prevented by the vigilant sentinels that are usually on guard. They are not often baffled in their purpose ; and having effected an entrance, they at once make their way to the upper portion of the hive, where they encounter less bees than at or near the mouth. Hav- ing thus gained an entrance, they deposit their eggs on the brood comb. Great sagacity is displayed in thus depositing their eggs where they will be hatched by the heat naturally ascending from the bees below, and also remaining above to obtain ample food with- out molestation during the first stage of their exist- ence. Should they fail to effect an entrance, they seek to deposit their eggs in cracks or at the entrance of the hive, where they will be likely to come in contact with, adhere to, and be borne into the hive by the pollen and propolis with which the entering bees are loaded. By whatever means they are carried to the center of the hive, they become attached to the comb, where they soon hatch out and burrow under the cappings of the sealed brood. They at once commence to form galleries at first so small as scarcely to be perceptible ; in fact, their presence is only detected by a fine, thread-like filament, with numerous small particles of wax adhering. But as they gain in size, they extend and enlarge their gal- lery, till it presents the appearance as shown in plate * As soon as the eggs are deposited, the moth dies. 112 ENEMIES. v, fig. 14, (AA is the gallery and B is a break in it) and fig. 15, the gallery separate. The bees, having discovered the presence of the worm, immediately set to work to remove it, together with its silken shroud. If not caught and carried out by the bees, it drops down on the bottom board, and seeks a corner or crevice in which to spin a cocoon to protect itself while undergoing the transformation from the worm to the moth. (See plate vi, fig. 16, showing the worm during its first stage of growth, also after having nearly completed its cocoon ; fig. 17, pupa in the ad- vanced stage, also cocoon from which the moth has emerged.) Each young bee over which the worm extends its gallery, is either killed or mutilated, and is car- ried out of the hive by the bees. . Sometimes the worms penetrate to the center of the comb containing brood, and there form galleries, entangling the young bees so that they cannot get free from it. The worker bees discovering this, imme- diately detach a portion of the comb, together with the young bees and worms, which falls to the bottom of the hive, there, perhaps, to form the nucleus of a web soon to entangle and destroy the whole colony. When enough worms are present to cause the bees to abandon the portion of comb occupied by them, they spin innumerable threads, extending in every direction, enveloping the comb in a thick net-work. This is extended on all sides, and securely attached to the top and walls of the hive it then serves, also PLATE V. FIGURE 14. FIGURE 15. OF THB TJNIVERSITY PLATE VI. FIGURE 16. FIGURE 17. FIGURE 18. OF THK UNIVERSITY BEE MOTH. 113 to support the combs while they, with their contents, are being devoured by the voracious worms. Each worm, as soon as arrived at the requisite age, spins a cocoon separate for itself ; but numbers of these are generally joined together, forming large, compact masses ; (as shown in fig. 18) then the work of destruction progresses, till scarcely a vestige of the handiwork of the bees remains. The worms, like the human, or rather the inhuman, pillagers of cities, abandon the hive as soon as noth- ing remains to live on or to destroy. Queenless colonies and small swarms having newly built combs, are the most liable to their attacks. The new combs are most frequently penetrated to the center, while old comb is more generally traversed at the surface hence the latter is but little injured, while the former is ruined. Young swarms are fre- quently thus destroyed during the first summer ; but an old hive, having a prolific queen, seldom falls a victim to their ravages, particularly if the hives are so constructed as to enable the bees to easily remove all impurities. Queenless hives, suffered to remain so for months, become hot-beds for the propagation of worms. One or two such hives will, if suffered to remain, breed enough moths to effectually pollute a large apiary. It is like permitting a field of Canada this- tles to go to seed, which, by means of their wings, are sure to be carried to adjoining fields. 114 ENEMIES. INDICATIONS OF MOTH WORMS. The first indication of the presence of worms in a hive, is their excrement. It is either dark brown or black, and is in grains resembling gunpowder, and is either small or large, according to the size of the worm voiding it. By raising the hive and carefully examining the droppings on the bottom board, it is easily distinguished from the cuttings of the combs, the latter being of a lighter color and composed of wax. The number of worms will be in proportion to the amount of excrement. "Where hives are provided with inclined bottom boards, it may be seen at the entrance without even removing the slide. This indication is next followed by finding an occasional worm cast down on the bot- tom, dragged or driven outside, or encased in cracks and underneath the hive. Young bees, or portions of them, may next be found in the morning, some of them, perhaps, living, but with mutilated wings, and having a portion of the worm web sticking to them, crawling upon the bench or on the ground near the hive, making vain efforts to fly. MOTHS SHOULD BE EXTERMINATED. The only effectual remedy that will avail the bee- keeper is the extermination of the race. No weak or queenless hives should be allowed to remain so, as they, sooner or later, fall a prey to NO MOTH-PROOF HIVE. 115 worms. Nor should combs or honey be exposed, to afford them food and shelter. Old hives, that have been used for a length of time, but from which the bees have been transferred, are frequently occupied by the worm as a nursery. These should always be burnt. All hives should be frequently and carefully exam- ined, from April to November, and every worm de- stroyed that can be found. A sharp watch should also be kept for the moths, as they can be found during the day sticking on the hive, or other objects near it; or, in the evening, caught flying around the hives; each one found, should be instantly killed. By persevering in the destruction of the worms in all stages, and prevent- ing their propagation, as above directed, no great damage can ever result from them ; but if these ad- monitions are disregarded, vexation and loss are sure to ensue. NO MOTH-PROOF HIVE. There being no such thing as a moth-proof hive in existence, nor any prospect of such a discovery ever being made, we are compelled to be content with that which makes the nearest approach to it viz: one that gives the bee-keeper easy access to the worms. The best yet known is the adjustable frame, or Cali- fornia hive, which gives the control of each comb separately, in combination with the inclined bottom, whereby the bees are enabled to remove any filth 116 ENEMIES. that would otherwise accumulate. The dead space in flat bottomed hives serves to accommodate the moth with a nest and comfortable quarters for her progeny, to the great detriment of the bee. The bee-keeper is only able to remove them by lifting out the frames, and this is quite likely to be neglected, as it is a formidable undertaking to most persons, particularly if it has to be repeated often. ANTS. Some have been of opinion that bees might re- quire to be protected against ants ; but Reaumur says that ants never originate the pillage of a hive, but are ready to join in it after it has been com- menced by others. In this I quite agree with him, having never known an instance to the contrary. When, therefore, ants are seen entering in a preda- tory manner, it may fairly be suspected that gome other enemy has been at work. M. Reaumur was of opinion that ants are not to be reckoned among the enemies of bees ; and he relates an instance of their living as very close neighbors, yet in perfect harmony! " The ants established themselves between the glass panes of this bee-box and the wooden_ shutters which covered them ;" and as a similar circumstance occur- red to Bonnet and in other of Reaumur's hives also, it seems probable that the ants took up their quarters in this situation for the sake of the equable warmth that the bees would impart to their eggs. "Ants TO DRIVE ANTS AWAY. 117 were without the hive," says Reaumur, " and bees within ; a single glass only separating two nations so different in manners, in customs and genius. The bees were abundantly provided with a dainty of which ants are exceedingly fond I mean honey. The ants had just reason to be apprehensive, and the bees would be uneasy and jealous to preserve so precious a treasure ; nevertheless, the utmost harmony and concord prevailed between the two nations. Not a single ant was tempted to enter the hive, how strongly soever she might be invited by the fragrance of the honey ; nor did any bee disturb the ants, though su- perior to them in power ; the several individuals, on each side, went in and out peaceably ; they would meet in the way without teasing or molesting one an- other, respect on one side and complacency on the other, were the foundation of this peace." Natural History of Bees, p. 352. Ants frequently intrude themselves into the cham- bers of a hive that contains honey boxes ; they do so for the sake of the warmth imparted by the bees ; they do no harm, as they seldom have access to the stores. They are, however, seriously in the way when the boxes are to be removed. If any of them chance to get among the bees, the latter are forced to run away, on account of the pungent odor given off by the ants. TO DRIVE ANTS AWAY. Ants may be driven away by sprinkling a liberal 118 ENEMIES. quantity of dry ashes or quick-lime in the spaces around the boxes. Ants are a serious annoyance in getting into honey after it is removed from the bees. I have found no other efficient way to prevent them from doing so, except to place it on a table, the legs of which are set in cans of water. WASPS AND YELLOW-JACKETS. Wasps and yellow-jackets have, by some, been reckoned as enemies, and doubtless are in some places. I have seen them occasionally carrying off honey from weak swarms, but never have seen them make any formidable attacks on strong hives. SPIDERS. There is one species of large black spider (quite common in California) that is a great enemy to bees. They seek a hive that is weak or only partially full, in which to make their abode. They lay their ropes so as to entangle the bees, which they seem to be partial to as food. There are other species, which spread their nets in the vicinity of hives, and occasionally within them ; straggling bees are sometimes caught in these nets, and a portion of th"eir bodies eaten. When their ropes or nets are noticed, they should not only be removed, but the spiders (for there are generally two) searched for and killed. fur? CHAPTEE VI TAMING BEES. How Done 1 22 Means of Protection 123 Remedy for Stings 125 Horses Liable to be Attacked 125 How to Proceed in case of Horses being Attacked 125 CHAPTER VI TAMING BEES. MOST authors have expressed the opinion that the honey bee is capable o being taught submission, thus intimating that it is necessary to tame them before they are of use to man. This opinion obtains so generally, that a usual remark of persons visiting apiaries is: "I suppose your bees know you;" or, " They know you from strangers." I have never been able to discover any signs of recognition from my bees, they being just as apt to sting as those of a hive that I have never before seen. If I am less frequently attacked by them than others, it is because I understand their habits, and treat them accordingly. That some persons are more liable to be stung than others, is owing to one or more of the three following causes. FIRST. Color and texture of dress ; dark clothes or those of a hairy texture particularly a fur hat form a prominent mark, and hence the wearer is liable to receive an occasional dart. SECOND. Any quick motions made in the vicinity 6 122 TAMING BEES. of the hives attract their notice, and cause them to attack the person making such motions. THIRD. The odor from some perfumes and from the insensible perspiration of some persons, and the breath of persons in bad health, are all offensive to bees, and tend to excite their anger and their propen- sity to sting. Bees retain the same unchangeable habits whether they are domiciled in the forest or in the finest flower garden, being even more docile and less liable to sting, when handled for the first time, than at any subsequent time. When a hive has been once opened and their combs disturbed, on returning to repeat the same operation a few hours or days afterwards., they re- member it and resent the injury. This proves that they are naturally vindictive, and but few, if any, can ever be taught submission. The latter can only be done by force or bribery, or the two combined. The season of greatest irritability is when there is least pasturage ; for while rapidly accumulating stores, they are less careful and more easily and safely handled. HOW DONE. Smoke is the principal agent to be used. Various things are used for producing it, such as tobacco and rotten wood ; but the most convenient, as well as the least hurtful to the bees, is dry cotten or linen rags rolled in the shape of a large candle (the size of MEANS OF PROTECTION. 123 which can be varied according to the volume of smoke desired) and tightly wrapped with twine ; by setting one end of this on fire, it continues to burn slowly without flame, the smoke of which, if blown on the bees, is effective in subduing and driving them wherever wanted. Cold water sprinkled on them is also an efficient agent to effect the same purpose. And another way is to suddenly close up the entrance and rap on the hive for a space of five minutes, on opening it they are generally found to be subdued, this excites their fears and causes them to fill their sacs with honey, when they will have no disposition to seek revenge. Sweetened water or diluted honey is recommended to be given by sprinkling it over the bees and comb, and is intended as a peace offering to keep them quiet while their works are being overhauled. This plan succeeds well where there is no danger of robber bees. But it requires more time than can well be afforded, if time is valuable ; hence I much prefer any of the plans previously named. MEANS OF PROTECTION. Protection is sometimes necessary to guard against being stung, while tending the bees or working in the immediate vicinity of those that have been disturbed. A protection for the face and neck should be made of material such as is used for ladies' veils, of a size to go over a hat, the brim keeping it expanded, and 124 TAMING BEES. of a length to be tucked under the coat or vest collar, to prevent the bees from getting underneath it. A pair of gloves for the hands are sometimes necessary. The clothing should be sufficiently thick to prevent the sting of a bee from penetrating through it. Thus protected, any person can go amongst the bees and perform any operation that may be required without being stung. Most persons will, as soon as they become accustomed to working amongst bees, prefer to do so without any protection. A bee must alight before it can sting: conse- quently, if the person attacked has either hand at liberty, he can kill or remove it before being stung ; to do so a little patience and judgment is required, for if struck at before alighting they dodge the blow, and then return and sting before a second one can be made. When attacked while performing any operation with them, use some one of the means heretofore recommended to subdue them. But if not perform- ing any operation, the best plan is to quietly retire, either amongst shrubbery or within some building. Whenever the anger of any hive becomes so aroused as to attack any person or thing that may chance to come near them, they should be immedi- ately treated to a very liberal smoking, or application of cold water, enough to make them desist from wreaking their vengeance. IN CASE HORSES ARE ATTACKED. 125 REMEDY FOR STINGS. As the sting of a bee has a different effect on dif- ferent persons, there can be no universal remedy for their cure. The best, however, is to remove the sting as quickly as possible, which will prevent its penetrating deeper, and injecting all the poison it may contain. If a portion of the poison can be squeezed or otherwise extracted from the wound, it will help to prevent pain or swelling. Bathe the wound either with warm or cold water, then apply either spirits of hartshorn, dissolved borax, soda or other alkaline substances. Alcohol, spirits of turpentine, or camphor will, in some cases, afford relief. HORSES LIABLE TO BE ATTACKED. Horses are liable to be attacked, and instances have occurred where they have been stung to death. Consequently they should never be hitched or al- lowed to stand in the vicinity, where bees are kept. Some horses, if stung, will rear and plunge, and either throw themselves or take to flight, while others become sullen and lay down, so that no effort can induce them to move. HOW TO PROCEED IN CASE HORSES ARE ATTACKED. If attacked, at once get them in motion and keep them going until the bees give up the chase. But 126 TAMING BEES. if a horse once gets down, or cannot be removed, cover him with blankets, hay, or any thing that will keep the bees from alighting on him ; in addition, throw cold water, dry ashes, dust, or quick-lime over the horse, and amongst the flying bees ; water may also be thrown amongst the bees in the hive from whence they come. Such attacks are only liable to be made by the bees from hives already established, and but seldom, if ever, by a swarm that has but recently issued. Such attacks generally result from recent disturb- ance, by which the anger of the bees has been aroused. A hive thus enraged should never be left where persons or animals will be likely to approach it, or notice should at once be given of the danger they are in, and measures immediately adopted to subdue them. CHAPTER VII HIVES. Natural 129 Gum 132 Straw 135 Box and Chamber 136 Dividing 139 Palace 139 African 139 Unicomb and Leaf 140 Sevan's Bee-Boxes 145 Munn's Hire 147 Langstroth 149 California 150 Improved Chamber 155 Storifying 156 OF THE > CHAPTEE VII, HIVES. NATURAL. WHERE nature makes the hive, bees are known to thrive in a remarkable degree. On examining the hollow of a tree, such as bees select for their residence, we find it almost invariably deep from top to bottom, in proportion to its width, varying in diameter from ten to fifteen inches, while the height varies from two to five, or more feet. The space at the top commences in a point, and gradually widens downwards till the largest diameter is reached ; this is then continued for some distance, and not unfrequently terminated in a point like the top. The entrance is through a hole caused by the rotting of a limb, or by the bill of the woodpecker. From three to eight gallons of honey are usually obtained from a single bee-tree, indicating a capacity varying from two thousand to four thousand cubic inches. There are instances where as high as fifteen gallons have been obtained, but they are rare ; double 6* 130 HIVES. this amount has been frequently reported as found, but in the absence of proof I will not vouch for its correctness. That so large a quantity of honey as is sometimes found, should ever be stored by a single swarm, and succeeding generations, within the, same habitation, seems at first sight to be in direct opposition to the known law of the honey bee, viz : that but one queen is ever tolerated in a hive, and consequently there being a limit to the number of workers in each. It is however only in a habitation shaped as we find it in a hollow tree that such large accumulations of honey are ever made ; the reason is plain. A swarm of bees when clustered in their hive, whether it is full of comb or not, will always assume a globu- lar form, or as nearly so as the shape of their habi- tation will allow ; this holds good as well while in their winter cluster as when building combs ; conse- quently if the diameter of a cluster is equal to that of their habitation, they are then able not only to better regulate and economise their native heat, but to exclude and guard against the intrusion of ene- mies. Commencing to build combs at the top of the cavity as they invariably do, they work them down- wards, and as fast as any portion is sufficiently advanced, it is immediately occupied either with brood or stores. As each generation of brood emerges from the comb, a portion of the vacancies are reoccupied with NATURAL. 131 stores. Thus, the process of building and filling is continued through each succeeding season of flowers. The bees preferring always to cluster amidst and embracing the lower portions of their combs, they are in a position to guard their accumulated stores with- out any bees clustering on the upper portion of them. Thus an amount of honey is frequently accumu- lated that is utterly impossible to be made in a habi- tation of large diameter, whether it is deep from top to bottom or low and shallow. It is true, that a habitation like the hollow tree, laid on its side, would in some measure compensate for height ; but the increased bottom surface, always difficult to clean, will, wherever moths abound, even- tually preclude their use. Low, shallow hives, which compel the cluster of bees to be flattened, thwart their instinct, and cause a waste of animal heat which often retards their progress and increases the mor- tality. Another advantage possessed by the tree is the lining, composed of dry, decayed wood, which is a non-conductor; this is surrounded by a wall of green wood, covered with bark, under which the life-giving sap flows ; such a combination insures an evenness of temperature not attainable by art. " No heat can ever injure the texture of the comb, neither are the bees liable to be caught in a position to starve while plenty of food remains in the hive, as is frequently the case in the States where cold winters prevail, and the hives are made low and flat. 132 HIVES. THE BEE-GUM Is made by cutting the trunk of a hollow tree in lengths, usually two or three feet long, after removing the rotten wood, either by burning or the use of a gouge ; a piece o board is nailed on one end, holes are bored through the middle, and sticks inserted to sustain the combs while being built ; notches are cut in the lower edge, and -an inch hole bored midway to the top for egress and ingress. After a swarm is hived, it is either set on a board or stand, and gen- erally suffered to remain without further attention till fall. A plan frequently adopted to obtain honey is to remove the lid, smoke the bees downward, and cut out a quantity of honey ; if too much is taken, the bees die of starvation during the winter. The most common plan, however, is to consign the whole swarm to the sulphur pit, and take all their stores. The latter method is also mostly used to obtain the honey from straw hives. The use of the gum has generally been attended with good success, which is attributa- ble to its shape ; many eminent apiarists bear testi- mony to the superiority of deep hives over those that are low and of large diameter Mr. Langstroth amongst the number but while he candidly admits this superiority, as is shown by the following quota- tion from his valuable work on the honey bee, yet he willingly sacrifices it for what he seems to think of more importance, viz : a wider top surface in which to place store honey boxes. Whether this is an abso- lute gain at any time, or will hold good in a majority THE BEE-GUM. 133 of cases, remains unsettled in the minds of most bee- keepers. The only plan will be for each one to de- termine for himself, and practice accordingly. " A hive tall in proportion to its other dimensions, has some obvious advantages ; for as bees are dis- posed to carry their stores as far as possible from the entrance, they will fill its upper part with honey, using the lower part mainly for brood, thus escaping the danger of being caught in cold weather, among empty ranges of comb, while they still have honey unconsumed. If the top of this hive, like that of an old fashioned churn, is made (on the Polish plan) considerably smaller than the bottom, it will be bet- ter adapted to a cold climate, besides being more secure against high winds. Such a hive is deficient in top surface for the storing of honey in boxes, and it would be impossible to use frames in it to any advantage ; but, to those who prefer to keep bees on the old plan, one of this shape, made to hold not less than a bushel and a half, is decidedly the best." Mr. Quinby recommends to make hives, " say, twelve inches square inside, by fourteen deep. I prefer this shape to any other, yet it is not all-im- portant. I have had some ten inches square by twenty in length ; they were awkward looking, but that was all ; I could discover no difference in their prosperity. .Also, I have had them twelve inches deep by thirteen square, with the same result. Hence, if we avoid extremes, and give the required room, the shape can make but little difference." 134 HIVES. Although he (Quinby) says " the shape can make but little difference," yet he directs a particular size and shape as preferable ; he also practices as he teaches, which says more than the mere utterance of theory. The attention of English apiarists has lately been drawn to the bee practice of those countries, (Rus- sia, &c.) by the work of a Pole, which issued from- the press not a year ago. Mr. Dobiogost describes the hive of his country as being three and a half to five feet in height, about eight inches in diameter at top, increasing down- wards gradually to twenty inches or more at bottom, all inside measure ! This is indeed a large hive. It is a fact, however, that such are the dimensions of the hives commonly in use in Poland ; and it is also a fact, that large as they are, they yet contrive to swarm with as much regularity as the hives in use among us, while the parent stock remains vigorous, notwithstanding, for many years together. Mr. Dobiogost assures us that an apiary containing a hundred stocks of this size, will throw off about one hundred and fifty swarms every spring, each of such formidable power that it resembles a small cloud when hovering in the air. It seems to us almost incredible that hives of such dimensions should throw any swarms at all. In opposition to the general belief among us, the author seems to attribute this circumstance to the OF THB UNIVERSITY PLATE VII. FIG. 19. FIG. 20. STRAW HIVES. 135 fact that, on the first establishment of these stocks, four times as many bees are put into them as we are in the habit of hiving together."* STRAW HIVES Have been used from a very remote period, and with less change of style than any other agricultural implement. They are still extensively used in many parts of Europe ; but in the United States they are fast passing away, being supplanted by those made of wood. Plate vn, fig. 19, shows a straw hivef full of comb, cut through the center from top to bot- tom, at right angles with the comb, the edge only being seen. They are shown to be straight and .of remarkably even thickness. The cause of this reg- ularity is at once apparent : commencing to construct comb at the top of the hive, where a space only large enough for the foundation of two combs exists,J they extend them downwards, and as the space *T/ie Cottage and Farm Bee-keeper, by a country curate. fAlso called Skep ; is becoming obsolete in the United States. JAlthough narrow-topped hives have been described as not affording top surface for store honey boxes, I have in many in- stances cut a hole in the top of the conical straw hive, and after adjusting a platform, placed two boxes of the usual size. The bees in all cases filled them as rapidly as those in wooden hives with large top surface. Hence the objection referred to is not so serious as would appear at first sight. This hive has been longer and perhaps more extensively used than any other, and will be perpetuated at least as an emblem of industry. 136 HIVES. widens, the foundations of other combs are laid at each side, and all are carried down uniformly. Thus, straw hives as well as the cavities of trees, terminating in a cone, are found to have remarkably uniform comb, there being but a slight curvature near the edges. Plate vn, fig. 20 represents a cross section of the above straw hive. As the combs ex- tend downwards, the cells near the edge of each are lengthened and filled with honey. This causes the adjoining comb to diverge from a straight line. The cells at the edge of this comb are lengthened in like manner, causing the third comb to diverge still farther but without lessening the breeding capacity. Thus it will be seen that the bees invariably diverge their combs from a straight line, by placing ttrood in one part and stores in another of the same comb. It has been supposed that the reason why bees in straw hives wintered better and increased faster than in those constructed of other materials, was their non-conducting properties. This is doubtless true in part, but quite as much is due to the regularity of the combs, and to concentration of heat, whereby breeding and the building of comb is greatly facili- tated. BOX AND CHAMBER HIVES Are made of boards, the capacity and shape ac- cording to the fancy of the builder. The Box Hive is managed in the same manner as the " bee-gum." Holes may be made in the top of PLATE VIII. FIGURE 21. BOX AND CHAMBER HIVES. 137 either, and surplus honey boxes placed over them ; a cap or cover may be placed over these, making it, practically, a chamber hive.* The Chamber Hive differs from the box in having a chamber floor placed usually about two-thirds of the distance from the bottom to the top, making a> chamber above in which to place surplus honey boxes. Access is had to the chamber (for the pur- pose of supplying or removing boxes) by means of a shutter or door made to cover one side of it ; holes are made through the chamber floor for the bees to pass into the honey boxes. The principal advantage which the above class of hives possesses is cheapness. There are disadvan- tages, among which are the following : First, the comb is not convenient of access, and is beyond con- trol. Second, the comb is almost always built very irregularly. This irregularity is occasioned by the broad, even surface to which they are compelled to attach their combs. While a majority of swarms build their combs sufficiently regular to insure a reasonable de- gree of thrift, there are others that build them so irregularly as to be totally worthless as stock hives. To illustrate this matter more clearly, the reader is referred to plate vni, fig. 21, which represents a case of this kind. The hive was a common box * This is the plan recommended by Mr. Quinby, in " Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained." 138 HIVES. thirteen by fourteen inches square and twelve inches high, all inside measure. A large, first swarm was hived within in the month of June, being well provided with wax as well as abundance of pasturage ; the bees forming a cluster extending over the whole top of the hive (but with- out guides to direct the course of their combs) com- menced at the same time to build combs in two places, which we will suppose Y and Z. As the queen was unquestionably in that portion of the cluster commencing to build at Y, the bees constructed a number of the first combs of worker cells ; while at Z, store combs only were built. All combs marked A represent worker cell, B drone cell, and C and D store combs, part of the latter being worker and part drone, but having the cells length- ened and considerably curved upwards. The combs being started in two places* and at nearly right angles, with less than one-half of them suitable for rearing brood, they never increase sufficiently in numbers to enable them to swarm, neither will they be likely to fill surplus honey boxes. Such a hive, if left to remain, will frequently live for years with- out affording its owner any profit. The remedy in such case is either to transfer the bees and suitable combs to new hives, or prune out the objectionable combs. * Combs are frequently built in different divisions, and if the combs in each are parallel one with the other and mostly worker cells, there is but little difference in their prosperity. In cold cli- mates such hives generally winter the best. AFRICAN BEE-HIVE. 139 THE DIVIDING HIVE Is made in two equal parts, similar to a common chamber hive divided vertically. Narrow slats are fastened at intervals on the open sides of each of the parts, and are temporarily attached together in the same position by means of hooks. When both of the sides are full of bees and comb they are separated, and empty, parts of the same size attached to each of the full ones. This plan has succeeded in some instances, but much oftener has resulted in failure. PALACE. Palaces and apartments capable of holding hund- reds and even thousands of pounds of combs and honey have often been tried, but owing to causes previously shown, they have mostly resulted in fail- ure. " In these forests (Loanda) we first encountered the artificial bee-hives so commonly met with all the way from this to Angola. They consist of about five feet of the bark of a tree fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter. Two incisions are made right round the tree at points five feet apart, then one longitu- dinal slit from one of these to the other ; the work- * Dr. Livingstone's Travels and Researches in South Africa, January, 1854. 140 HIVES. man next lifts up the bark on each side of this slit, and detaches it from the trunk, taking care not to break it, until the whole comes from the tree. us regions of California. J. P. KlRTLAND. CLEVELAND, Ohio, Sept. 13th, 1860. EXTRACT PROM THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. " We are yet unable to offer any well founded 388 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. opinion as to whether the recently imported Italian bees will prove really superior to our common native bees, or not. They are being rapidly propagated and diffused over the country ; and to secure this result, the main effort is now directed. Another season will be required to determine "their merits. The fact that so many of our oldest apiarians have considerable confidence in them, argues well in their favor. We have watched their multiplication from a single swarm, and if the rate of increase be as great at other points to which the queens are being daily dispatched, it will not take long to fill the country with them if such I a consummation be desirable. Below we give an ex- tract from a letter, dated August 10th, written by Mr. E. A. Brackett, the well known sculptor, who is j an enthusiastic amateur in bees also. His suggestion . in regard to improving bees, by care in selecting breeding queens, is worthy of attention. All kinds of domestic animals have been brought to a much higher standard, by special care in breeding. Why may not our common bees be in like manner improved ? No attention has been given to this subject, so far as we know. Let some one of our bee-keepers try the experiment. " Who knows but that in a few years, we may get a race of bees that shall rival the humble bee in size, and in ability to extract sweets from a large class of , deep-tubed flowers, such as the red clover, and others, ; which are now useless for the common honey bee. We hope those who undertake the enterprise, will re- , EXTRACT FROM AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 389 member to try to breed out their stings. From a honey bee of the size of the humble bee, with the sting developed in proportion, may the fates deliver us. (Speaking of stingless bees, we may mention that our friend A. 0.' Moore, Esq., who recently re- turned from a tour of several months in Central America, brought with him two varieties of stingless bees, which he left in our office for several days. They are quite peculiar and interesting, and we hope to give a further description of them, with engravings of their appearance, mode of depositing honey, etc.) Here is an extract from Mr. Brackett's letter previ- ously referred to : " * * * I think it too soon to form any certain opinion in regard to the Italian bees in this country. We niust, there- fore, still in a great measure, depend on the statements of Ger- man bee-keepers ; and that is universally in favor of their great superiority over the black bee. Dzierzon states, that since he has Italianized his apiaries, his yield of honey has been double that obtained from the same number of common bees. My experience, thus far, satisfies me that they have not been over- rated. The queens are larger and more prolific. The workers, when bred in comb of their own building, are longer, and their honey sacs larger. They are less sensitive to cold, and more industrious. " In all my handling of them and I have done so pretty freely, lifting the combs, and examining them almost daily I have never known one to offer to sting. A queen that I re- ceived in June, and introduced to a strong stock of bees, in eleven days filled thirteen sheets of comb with brood and eggs. There is at present scarcely a black bee in the hive, so rapid has been the change. Although I have taken from it large quantities of worker brood and sealed drones, the hive is still overflowing. 390 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. " Allow me to suggest to you an idea that may be of im- portance. These bees come from the Italian Alps, where they have received no attention. They are in a state of nature, sus- ceptible, in my opinion, of great improvement, at least, as far as form and color goes, by culture and careful breeding. In order to do this, they should be allowed to build their own comb, as soon as may be, and the largest and best colored queens be selected to breed from ; avoiding breeding in-and-in as much as " I have received a letter from a friend, stating that one of his queens is quite dark ; and he seems troubled about it. A little knowledge, if not a dangerous thing, is sometimes an un- comfortable one. Any one at all familiar with common black bees, knows very well that their queens vary much in color, and I see no reason why the Italians should not do the same, within certain limits, and still be true to the race. Those who are anxious to have high-colored queens, must resort to careful breeding."- A. J. BIGLOW'S EXPERIENCE, ETC. SACRAMENTO, December 29th, 1860. Mr. J. S. HARBISON : Dear Sir. At your request, I have much pleasure in giving you what few items I have gathered since my connection with the Italian bees, and my experience with them. Having received an invitation from Mr. S. B. Parsons to become his agent in California and Oregon, through recom- mendation of Eev. L. L. Langstroth, I left Sacramento on the first of September last for the Atlantic States. While there, preparing the bees for shipment, I made many inquiries of dif- ferent apiarists in reference to different importations of Ital- ian bees, my object being to gather facts in relation to them. The following items I find in the Country Gentleman of November 1st, which corresponds with the results of my in- quiries. " Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, and Samuel Wagner, A. J. BIGLOW'S EXPERIENCE. 391 of York, Pennsylvania, have made several attempts to import these bees, but had been unsuccessful until the autumn of 1859, when Mrj"*Colvin succeeded in getting a few stocks through safe ; which, however, did not survive the winter. " Next in order of date, is the importation of Mr. P. J. Mahan, of Philadelphia. " In the spring of 1860, Mr. S. B, Parsons, of Flushing, L. I., succeeded in getting a few stocks alive direct from Italy. " The last successful importation was by Messrs. Colvin & "Wagner, sometime during the past season. Two of these im- portations are from Germany, and one from Italy." The Italians that I have brought out are of Mr. Parsons ' importation ; the queens were nearly all hatched in the month of September ; some, however, as late as October. I prepared one hundred and thirteen packages, with about one-third of a swarm of common bees in each package, and introduced Italian queens as soon as they became settled ; the queens filled the combs with eggs. I engaged passage on the steamer Ariel, which left New York on the first of November, and arrived at Aspinwall on the ninth. I remained on the Isth- mus ten days, and allowed the bees to fly five days. Upon giving them their liberty, they immediatefy commenced work, gathering pollen and honey. During these five days, I examined each package and removed all dead bees. I found the brood had all emerged from their cells, and the queens again depositing eggs in abundance. On the eleventh of November, one of the swarms deserted its hive and entered one of its neighbors, which resulted, as I ascertained the next morning, in the death of the two queens. I divided the double swarm, and returned a part of the bees to the empty package, and gave them both a comb containing eggs, and shut them up, and did not open them again until the thirteenth of December, when I found as perfect a queen to all appearance in each hive as I ever saw, and a large num- ber of queen cells that had been destroyed. I have been thus particular in giving an account of this rear- 392 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. ing of queens at sea, while confined in their hives, as it may be of interest to naturalists. No water was given to my bees during the voyage. I sailed from Panama, on the steamer Uncle Sam, on the twentieth of November, and arrived at San Francisco on the morning of the sixth of December ; shipped that evening on the steamer for Sacramento, where I arrived on the seventh inst., one month and seven days from New York. I overhauled the bees as soon as convenient, and found one hundred and eleven alive, out of the one hundred and thirteen. Many of the swarms had as many bees when I arrived at Sacramento, as when I left New York. I attribute my suc- cess to the rearing of so many young bees on the passage from New York, to San Francisco. On the twenty-first of December, I introduced some twenty Italian queens into native stocks of bees, which I examined before removing the native queen, and did not find a single egg. Two days after I let the Italian queens out of their cages, I found eggs in abundance. It is my firm conviction, from what I have seen and heard of these bees, that they are peculiarly adapted to the Pacific coast, especially the mountainous region of California and Ore- gon, as the climate so nearly resembles that of their native home. Yours, with respect, A. J. BIGLOW. BREEDING OF ITALIAN BEES. Mr. Langstroth says: "The chief obstacle to the rapid diffusion of this valuable variety has been the difficulty experienced by the ablest German apia- rians in preserving the breed pure ; even Berlepsch having failed entirely to do so." " From one Italian queen sent him by Dzierzon, Berlepsch succeeded in BREEDING OF ITALIAN BEES. 393 obtaining, in the ensuing season, one hundred and thirty-nine fertile young queens, of which number about fifty produced pure Italian progeny." " It is a remarkable fact, that an Italian queen im- pregnated by a common drone, and a common queen impregnated by an Italian drone, do not produce workers of an uniform intermediate cast, or hybrids ; but some of the workers bred from the eggs of each queen will be purely of the Italian, and others as purely of the common race ; only a few of them, in- deed, being apparently hybrids. Berlepsch also had several bastardized queens, which at first produced Italian workers exclusively, and afterwards common workers as exclusively. Some such queens pro- duce fully three-fourths Italian workers ; others, com- mon workers in the same proportion. Nay ; he states that he had one beautiful orange-yellow bastardized Italian queen, which did hot produce a single Italian worker, but only common workers, perhaps a shade lighter in color. The drones, however, produced by a bastardized Italian queen are uniformly of the Ital- ian race ; and this fact, besides demonstrating the truth of Dzierzon's theory, renders the preservation and perpetuation of the Italian race in its purity, en- tirely feasible in any country where they may be introduced." S. Wagner, page 324, in " Hive and Honey Bee." Mr. Wagner very frankly admits that there are a few bees apparently hybrids. This fact, of itself, is sufficient evidence of the inutility of relying on or 17* 394 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. practicing the theory which he advances. It also proves conclusively to my mind that the theory is not well founded ; or, at least, is of no practical value. Mr. Langstroth says p. 43, " Hive and Honey Bee" that " all the leading facts in the breeding of bees ought to be as familiar to the apiarian, as the same class of facts in the rearing of domestic ani- mals." In this opinion I fully concur. Hence I make the following extract from the same work, for the purpose of correcting what I conceive would be an error in practice, (though not in fact) that ought never to have been recommended to bee-keepers. " Dzierzon found that a queen which had been refrigerated for a long time, after being brought to life by warmth, laid only male eggs, whilst previously she had also laid female eggs. Berlepsch refrigerat- ed three queens by placing them thirty-six hours in an ice house, two of which never revived, and the third laid, as before, thousands of eggs, but /row all of them only males were evolved. In two instances, Mr. Mahan has, at my suggestion, tried similar ex- periments, and with like results. It does not seem to have occurred to the German -apiarians that l>y this refrigerating process, we may secure as many Italian drones as we need. " All that is necessary is to convert by it one or more of the queens of the nuclei into drone layers. The reception of an Italian queen quite late in the season may thus be turned to good account." Exclusively drone laying queens, as well as fer- tile workers, are monstrosities ; then whv seek to CARE REQUIRED IN BREEDING. 395 breed from either of them ? Even admitting that it were practicable to do so, there is no necessity for it, as the number of both queens, drones and workers that may be bred from a small number of perfect queens is almost without limit. So well are " all the leading facts in the breeding of bees " known, that they are now increased with as much certainty as that of any of our domestic animals. CARE REQUIRED IN BREEDING. Great care will be required in propagating the Italian bees, to keep the breed pure, or up to the standard of the imported ones. This can only be done by removing them away a distance of not less than five miles from all of the common kind, for the purpose of having the young queens impregnated by Italian drones. Each person should commence with not less than two Italian queens, in order that the queens bred from one hive may be impregnated by the drones of the other, and vice versa, as hereafter directed. New beginners in Apiarian pursuits will do well to procure full hives, whether of Italian or common bees, with which to commence the business. When queens are procured for the purpose of. uniting with common bees, select thrifty hives for that purpose, being careful to remove all drones and drone brood, and supply them with empty drone and worker comb. The queens are then to be united as directed in Chapter xxvm. 396 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. After the queens become fairly established, with both worker and drone brood sealed up, with the season and pasturage favorable, proceed to make primary divides, and form queen nurseries from the two Italian hives at the same time, as directed in Chapter xvn. When the queen cells are sufficiently advanced to be used in supplying to colonies, bees and comb are to be selected from common hives in the usual man- ner, except that no drones or drone brood are to be taken from them, but in their stead, drones and drone brood are to be taken from one Italian hive and put with the embryo queens taken from the other, making the exchange mutual. All the colonies supplied with embryo queens taken from one hive and drones from the other, are. to be immediately transported to one place, which should be at least five miles from all common bees, as before directed, while all the colonies formed reversely are to be taken to a different place. By this method breeding in-and-in is prevented, and at the same time the breed is kept pure. As fast as the queens become fertile, they are to be taken from the small colonies and supplied to full hives, and the colonies again used to perfect other, queens in like manner. Thus a stock, no odds how extensive, may be quickly and surely Italianized. It will, however, be necessary to Italianize all the bees of a neighborhood, to prevent them crossing with the common bee. CARE REQUIRED IN BREEDING. 397 Parties having apiaries remote from all others, who will at once Italianize all their stock in the manner I have indicated, and constantly select the FINEST QUEENS AND DRONES from which to breed, and avoid breeding in-and-in, will be able, not only to preserve the breed equal in purity to the imported stock, but to improve it. From my own experience, I am satisfied that the common bees are capable of being improved in like manner. In closing this chapter I would remark, that it is by no means certain that the Italian bee will possess all the advantages, and to the extent claimed for them. From the number scattered over the country, and in different hands, a few months will suffice to decide the matter. Let each person who tries them, institute compara- tive experiments, side by side with the common bee, and thus decide their merits. The interest awakened, and the knowledge ob- tained in the business of bee-keeping, by such a course of experiments, will alone more than repay for the trouble, besides advancing an interest that is yet in its infancy. OP THE TTNIVKRS CHAPTEE XXVII. STINGLESS HON^Y BEE. PLATE XLVI. FIGURE 78. CHAPTER XXVII. STINGLESS HONEY BEE. A VARIETY of the honey bee without stings (to which fact their name is owing) has long been known to exist in South America. They also exist in Central America and Mexico. Dr. Bevan, in his " Honey Bee," says : " It was proposed a few years ago to import the stingless bees into this country " (England). " If such bees there be, I very much doubt its ever being attended with success, as the fruits of their labor must very soon become a prey to wasps and bees of the country." The subject of introducing this variety of bees to the United States has also been proposed and dis- cussed, by many of the public journals, within the last few years, but thus far without any practical results. The following extract from Bevan's work is pos- sessed of much interest in this connection : " The stingless bees are said to be inhabitants of Guadaloupe, Guinea, etc. ; but their existence re- quires confirmation, for an indisposition to wound affords no evidence of inability to do so. Queens 402 STINGLESS HONEY BEE. were formerly supposed to have no sting. According to Sir J. G. Dalyell, there are bees in India that con- struct under the boughs of a tree a single comb of very large dimensions" The most interesting account of exotic bees that I have met with, is in Captain Basil Hall's highly in- structive and interesting journal, written on the coast of Chili, Peru and Mexico, in 1820-'21 and '22, of which I shall here give a transcript. " From the Plaza, we went to a house where a bee-hive of the country was opened in our presence. The bees, the honey comb, and the hive dhTer essen- tially from those in England. The hive is generally made out of a log of wood, from two to three feet long and eight or ten inches in diameter, hollowed out and closed at the ends by circular doors cemented closely to the wood, but capable of being removed at pleasure. "Some persons use cylindrical hives, made of earthern-ware, instead of the clumsy apparatus of wood ; these are relieved by raised figures and cir- cular rings, so as to form rather handsome ornaments in the verandah of a house, where they are sus- pended by cords from the roof, in the same manner that wooden ones in the villages are hung to the eaves of the cottages. " On one side of the hive, half way between the ends; there is a small hole made just large enough for a loaded bee to enter, and shaded by a projection to prevent the rain from trickling in. In this hole, STINGLESS HONEY BEE. 403 generally representing the mouth of a man, or some monster, the head of which is moulded in the clay of the hive, a bee is constantly stationed, whose office is no sinecure,* for the hole is so small, he has to draw back every time a bee wishes to enter or leave the hive. A gentleman state'd to me that the experi- ment had been made by marking the sentinel, when it was observed that the same bee continued at his post a whole day. " When it is ascertained, by the weight, that a hive is full, 'the end pieces are removed and the honey withdrawn. The hive we saw opened was only partly filled, which enabled us to see the economy of the interior to more advantage. The honey is not con- tained in the elegant hexagonal cells of our hives, but in wax bags not quite so large as an egg. These bags, or bladders, are hung round the sides of the hive, and appear about half full; the quantity being probably just as great as the strength of the wax will bear without tearing. Those near the bottom, being better supported, are more filled than the upper ones." (Mr. Jesse, in his gleanings upon the au- * If the Mexican bees enter the hives with 1 as much rapidity, and in as great numbers as Reaumur states they do in this part of the world, it would indeed be no sinecure. He observes that the population of a hive amounts to 18,000, and that a hundred enter in a minute ; if as many go out in the same time, I think the sentinel must rather stand on one side of the entrance than within it. Captain Beechey states that it withdraws on one side to a recess adapted for the purpose, and that a Mexican family of bees is not believed to amount to more than one thousand. 404 STINGLESS HONEY BEE. thority of a naturalist residing in Demerara, states that the honey sacs in the lower tier rest on the floor, and resemble the broad-bottomed, long-necked bottles used in Holland.) " In the center of the lower part of the hive we observed an irregular shaped mass of comb furnished with cells, like those of our bees, all containing young ones in such an advanced state, that when we broke the comb and let them out, they flew merrily away. " The naturalist just referred to says, that these breeding-combs are suspended from the roof of the hive, in separate pieces, about two inches in diameter, and that the cells are on one side only. Captain Beechey states that these combs vary in their posi- tion, some being perpendicular, others horizontal ; and the bees being smaller than those of Europe, the brood cells, as might be expected, are smaller also. During the examination of the hive, the comb and the honey were taken out, and the bees disturbed in every way, but they never stung us, though our faces and hands were covered with them. It is said, however, that there is a bee in the country which does sting, but the kind we saw seem to have neithe'r the power nor the inclination, for they^ certainly did not hurt us, and our friends said they were always muy manso, i very tame,' and never stung any one. The honey gave out a rich aromatic perfume, and tasted differently from ours, but possessed an agree- able flavor. This honey does not readily ferment, but has remained perfectly sweet and grateful after its importation to this country." STINGLESS HONEY BEE. 405 Mr. A. J. Biglow, the well-known apiarist of Sac- ramento City, California, while on his return from the Atlantic States, with Italian bees, in November, 1860, procured nests of two varieties of stingless bees while on the Isthmus. He brought them home with him, but, unfortunately, all the bees of both were found dead on his arrival.* Plate XLVI, fig. 78, represents a side section view of the nest of the variety alluded to by Be van. aaa&YG horizontal tiers of brood cells, so arranged that the young bees are bred in a perpendicular di- rection with the head upwards, which is the reverse position of wasps, yellow-jackets, etc. b b are honey pots, composed apparently of resin- ous gum or propolis, with a portion of wax intermixed. Whether any of the substance is an animal secretion, is to me unknown. No allusion is made to this par- ticular in any of the accoufc which I have had. The pots vary in size, averaging, however, about one inch in diameter and one and one-half inches in depth ; resembling, somewhat, an egg, with the large end downwards. They are of an irregular shape, but so joined to- gether as to leave no space between them, and are placed so as to surround the brood cells. A portion of the pots are sealed up, while others are shown open at their tops. * I am indebted to Mr. Biglow for his kindness in presenting the nests to me, for the purpose of having drawings taken and engravings prepared for this work. 406 STINGLESS HONEY BEE. The color of the brood cells is light brown, while the honey pots are dark brown. The honey is of a slightly reddish tint and musky flavor ; not as pleas- ant to the taste as common honey. This, however, is doubtless owing to the flowers from which it is gath- ered ; as the honey gathered by the Italian bees dur- ing Mr. Biglow's sojourn on the Isthmus, was of the same character. The stingless bee is much smaller than the com- mon bee, and resembles a fly almost as much as it does a bee. d represents it life size, and e the head separate. They are of a yellowish-gray color, hav- ing the rings of the abdomen striped ; the joints or folds being yellow and the centers of the rings gray. Their bodies are thickly set with fine down-like hair. I have made careful examinations, and find them to be without stings. As a means of defense, they resort to biting with th^l jaws, and darting at their enemy in a menacing manner. This variety of bee doubtless might be made profit- able in most of the warm latitudes. This nest was found within a recess in the wall of a stone building in the city of Panama. The room in which the nest was found, was also occupied by a family of the natives, who, together with the bees, entered by the same door. The space occupied by the nest was of a capacity of about eleven hundred cubic inches ; three-fourths of which was occupied by the honey pots, and the balance by the bees and brood cells. STINGLESS HONEY BEE. 407 The other variety of the stingless bee brought by Mr. Biglow, was about half the size of the forego- ing. It, however, constructs its nest in a somewhat similar manner ; but it is mostly made of mud, in- stead of propolis and wax. This nest was taken from out of the iron railroad bridge spanning the Gatune River. They are mostly found built on trees. OF TI UNIVE] CHAPTER XXVIII MISCELLANEOUS. Precaution in Supplying Queens 411 Uniting Bees of different families .- 412 Fumigator 413 Accidents 414 New Combs should be saved 415 Attaching Combs in Honey-Boxes 415 Further on Feeding . 417 Suggestions to Honey Consumers 417 Terms of letting Bees on Shares 418 Preparing Bees for Transportation 421 Conclusion , 423 18 CHAPTER XXVIII. MISCELLANEOUS. PRECAUTION IN SUPPLYING QUEENS. IT is often necessary to supply queens, either to queenless hives or those made so by division, and exchanging Italian for common ones. And as the bees, in most cases, will attack and kill a stranger queen when first introduced, or when she first attempts to enter the hive, precaution must be taken to pre- vent it. This is effectually done by imprisoning the queen to be supplied in a cage (plate xxix, fig. 52) made of wire cloth, and the ends closed with corks. It is well to put a small amount of honey, or a few well- fed workers, in the cage with her ; the honey should be given by saturating a small piece of sponge with it so as to prevent the queen from getting bedaubed. Then open the hive to which she is to be given and remove their queen, if in possession of one ; this may be done with advantage a few hours previous to supplying the queen, Then place the cage contain- ing the queen within the cluster of bees, in order that they may become acquainted and acquire a sameness of scent before she is allowed her liberty. 412 MISCELLANEOUS. This is best done by removing a frame (if the hive is full) of comb from adjoining the brood and substi- tuting an empty one in its place : the cage is then laid on the center bar of the frame so that the bees will be sure to cluster around her. The door and lid of the hive are then to be closed and kept so for ten or twelve hours. If the bees are fed liberally during this time, it hastens a reconciliation. At the end of the above time open the hive again and set the queen at liberty, and at the same time observe if any bees are disposed to molest her as she mingles among them. If she moves off without being immediately attacked it is a sign that she is received, and the hive may be properly arranged without fear of failure. But if attacked, immediately return her to her cage and keep her confined for some time longer, which, however, need never exceed from eighteen to twenty-four hours from the time she is first imprisoned to ensure a safe reception. UNITING BEES OF DIFFERENT FAMILIES. Bees of different families may frequently be united with advantage. If done during the season of rapid breeding and gathering of honey, they will generally unite peaceably. But if not gathering honey, they are liable to kill one another ; particularly the queen or queens, as the case may be, are liable to be killed by the bees of the opposite swarms. I have had queens of weak swarms killed in this way by uniting bees from other hives with them. OF THB UNIVERSITY PLATE XL VII. tfy.79 FUMIGATOR. 413 A safe plan for uniting bees, is to feed the differ- ent swarms with all the food they will take, for at least one day ; then select the queen to be given to them (all others are to be destroyed) and confine her in a cage. The bees to be united are then brushed or shaken on a sheet or table in a promiscuous mass ; the hive intended to receive them being provided with comb and suitable stores, they are allowed to enter the same as an ordinary swarm. The impris- oned queen is to be placed in a position so that the bees are sure to cluster around her, and after being confined for about ten hours, to be set at liberty. If the bees to be united have occupied the same apiary, it is necessary to either keep them confined for four or five days ; or, what is better, remove them after being united to the distance of about one mile, which will prevent them returning to the familiar spot. A very good way to unite bees would be to confine one part in a box, having one side of wire cloth, and place it in the hive with the ones to which they are to be united, on the same principle that queens are supplied. FUMIGATOR. Plate XLVII, fig. 79, represents a machine for producing and using smoke to conquer bees with, in an easy and efficient manner, and also to guard against the danger of fire. a is a common hand bellows, to which is attached 414 MISCELLANEOUS. tube b. The tube is made of sheet iron, ten inches long and two inches in diameter ; fine wire screen is securely fastened within the tube at the dotted line ueen, Emerging of 51 ueen, First one 49 ueen, Her Office 48 ueen, How Found 263 ueen, Impregnation of ..' 51 ueen, Loss of 65 ueen, Loss of, External Evidence 66 ueen, Loss of, Internal Evidence 67 ueen Nursery, How Built 264 ueen, Old one Accompanies First Swarm 49 ueen often Difficult to Find 263 ueen, Plate of 47 _ueen, Prolific 162 Queen, Second one 49 Queen-Supplying, Precaution in 411 Queen, Unfertile, How Detected 274 Queen, When Bred 48 Rape as Pasture 171 Raspberry as Pasture 172 Rats Destroy Bees 106 Regulating Number of Swarms 242 Remedy for Stings 125 Remedy for Swarming out 42 Remove Damaged Combs 285 Removing Boxes When Full 201 Removing Colonies from Apiary 273 Removing Swarms to the Stand 241 Requisites to Swarming 235 Robbery, Exciting Cause of 314 Robbery, How Detected 314 Robbery, How Prevent, in Feeding 307 Robbery, Preventives of 315 Robbery, Primary Cause of 313 Robbery, Secondary Cause of 313 Rod with Knife for Pruning. 185 Rye Meal a Substitute for Pollen 213 Sacramento Valley, First Bees Brought to, by A. P. Smith 38 Saving a Conquered Colony 316 Saving New Combs 415 Season for Transferring 291 Secondary Cause of Robbery 313 Section Honey Box Invented 34 September Monthly Management for Cold Climate 373 September Monthly Management for Warm Climate 361 Sex of Eggs 55 Shades 182 Shades, How Made 183 Shares, Letting Bees on. .. 418 436 INDEX. Shelton, First Importer to California 37 Signs of After-Swarming 237 Signs Preceding First Swarm : 236 Size of Hive 161 Skunks Destroy Bees 105 Slide, Front J 29 Smith, A. P., Introduced Bees to Sacramento, 1855 39 Smoke, Roll for 185 Smoke Used to Obtain Honey 27 Smoke Used to Tame Bees 122 Spiders Destroy Bees 118 Stands for Hives 184 Stands, When Remove Swarms to 241 Sting, Description of 72 Sting, Remedy for 125 Stingless Bees 401 Stingless Bees Brought to California 405 Stock, Choice of 161 Storifying Hive 156 Straining Honey from Combs 206 Straight Combs Desirable 279 Straight Combs, How to Make 280 Straw Hives 135 Streets Between Combe 278 Substitute for Pollen, Rye Meal 213 Sugar for Food 302 Suggestions to Honey Consumers 417 Sulphur Used to Kill Bees 27 Sumach as Pasture 175 Supplying Queens, Precaution in . 411 Swarms, Difference in 164 Swarms, Time of Emerging Limited 49 Suspended Frames Objectionable 33 Swarm, After-Signs of 237 Swarm-Basket, How Built 247 Swarm, Description of 238 Swarm, Net 248 Swarming, Cause of 233 Swarming, Conditions Requisite to 235 Swarming, Forced, How Effected 253 Swarming, Forced, First Practiced by Germans 253 Swarming, Forced, Formation of Colonies Preferable to 256 Swarming, Forced, When Successful 254 Swarming, How Regulated 196 Swarming, Natural, Period of 235 Swarming Out, Cause of 41 Swarming Out, Remedy for 42 Swarming, Season of, When Past 236 Swarming, Signs Preceding First 236 Swarms, The Number of Regulated 242 Swarms, When to Remove 241 Sycamore as Pasture 170 INDEX. 437 Table of Contents 3 Table of Illustrations 5 Taming Bees - 121 Temperature Necessary for Breeding 282 Temperature Necessary for Brood 61 Temperature Necessary for Transferring 272 Terms of Letting Bees on Shares 418 Time for Colonizing 260 Time of Day for Transferring 292 Toads Eat B~ees 107 Tools and Implements 185 Transferring 289 Transferring Done only when Pasturage is good , 290 Transferring, Hive Sufted to 290 Transferring, Manner of 293 Transferring, Place for 292 Transferring, Prepartions for 291 Transferring, Season for 291 Transferring, Time of Day for. . . 292 Transferring, Temperature Required 292 Transportation 39 Transportation of Bees in Egypt 336 Transportation of Bees in Scouand 337 Transportation of Bees, Preparation for 425 Transportation of Bees, Preparation for 331 Treatment of Young 56 Turnips as Pasture 171 U Unicomb Hive 140 Uniting Bees of Diiferent Families 412 Uses of Wax 226 V Ventilation, System of, Invented 34 Wasps as Enemies of Bees 118 Water not Essential 367 Water Used to Subdue Bees 123 Wax, Analysis of 227 Wax an Article of Commerce 228 Wax, By Whom and How Produced 74* Wax, How Obtained 227 Wax, Its Nature, Color, etc 225 Wax-Producers are Short-Lived 75 Wax, Quantity of, in a Hive 228 Wax, To Test its Quality 225 Wax, Uses of 226 Wax, Where Principally Produced 229 Weeks' Hive 28 Westward, Bees Fly 245 438 INDEX. When Eemo ve to Stand 241 Where Keep Bees in Winter 344 White Clover as Pasture 173 White-Headed Drones 71 White Wax 225 White Wax, How Made, 226 White Wood as Pasture 174 Wild Clover as Pasture 173 Wild Flowers as Pasture 172 Willows as Pasture 170 Wing 185 Wintering Bees 343 Wintering Bees, Conditions Suited to 343 Wintering Bees, Place Suited to 344 Winter Management 346 Wood-Pecker Destructive to Bees 107 Worker 47 Worker, Description of 71 Worker, Fertile : 77 Worker, Fertile, Industry of 76 Worms, Indications of 114 Worms in Honey 203 Worms, Their Process 204 Y Young, Treatment of 56 ADVERTISEMENT. Patent No. 22,500, dated January 4th, 1859, was granted to me for improvements in Bee Hives ; but, owing to defect- ive specifications, I now believe it is inoperative, and have made application to the Commissioner of Patents to be allowed to surrender the same, and ask for new letters patent for the same invention, to be issued for the residue of the period for which the original patent was granted. -The following are the claims of the amended specifications : What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by let- ters patent, is 1st. Adjusting the narrow comb frames to a bee hive, so that they may be removed through the side or door of the hive. Substantially as set forth, 2d. Providing the comb frames with clamps for confining the comb. Substantially as set forth. 3d. A store honey box, made in sections, which are tempo- rarily united, so that one or more sections, or the whole series of sections, may be taken away from the hive at will, and thus the honey sold by the whole box, or narrow sections of a box, at the market, and thus the wants of a purchaser suited, and a frame, or support for him to transport the honey in, is furnished at a slight extra cost. Substantially as set forth. 4th. The combination of an air chamber below the bottom of the hive, ventilating passages, and a curtain for excluding the light from the interior of the hive. Substantially as set forth. J. S. HARBISON. 440 ADVERTISEMENT. The above patent (No. 22,500) covers the improvement in the California Hive. (See Chapter VII.) The price of an individual right, entitling the purchaser to make and use the above Hive, in one and not more than two apiaries, is FIFTEEN DOLLARS. Any additional improvements hereafter made in Bee Hives by me, are hereby guaranteed to the purchaser without additional charge. J. S. HARBISON, Patentee. Patent No. 26,431, dated December 13th, 1859, for improve- ment in Bee Hives. CLAIM. What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is Placing the bee comb, known as worker cells, in a horizontal, or nearly horizontal position, so that the cells shall be vertical, or nearly vertical, instead of horizontal, by the means or thejr equivalents. Substantially as set forth and represented. J. S. HARBISON. The above patent (No. 26,431) covers the Queen Nursery described in Chapter XVII. The price of an individual right to make and use the same, is ONE DOLLAR. J. S. HARBISON, Patentee. For Individual, County or State Eights, to make and to use the California Hive, or the Vertical Queen Nursery, apply to W. C. HARBISON, Chenango, Lawrence County, Pa., or J. S. HARBISON, Sacramento City, California. I hereby tender to all ministers of the gospel, and editors of newspapers throughout the United States, the right of the above patents, for their own personal use, free of cost. J. S. HARBISON, Patentee. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED | LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Z3N!ay'65J D IPF (NT! REC'D U v V ' 1 MftY2b'65'lUl J M QV 9 1978 " , , . . BEC.CIB.OCT3078 MCTDLO 1 4_ 1978 1 'CJ "U LD 21A-60m-3,'65 (F2336slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley YB 12382 I