ON THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 163, 10 July 1914, Page 11

ON THE LAND.

Agricultural, Pastoral and Dairying Interests

THE HUMBLE BEE.

rrs rxTßomxTiuN and results. 1: i- of very -jreat importance in now count ric-. where, fnr economic purposes, ft is rhoujrht de-irable to introduce exotic |ilant-4 and animal?, thut .1 correct official record -hr>ul<j he kepi of the resu!:- .f mi-h introduction, w-hpther beneficial or otherwise, and \vhet<her nnv notable change in their habit.-, take's ]i]j,p. esp.vially where climatic conditions nnd environment differ largely from the country they c.imr from. This had not been done in a systematic manner »o far as the hiiniblo' bee was concerned; in fart, until Mr. I. Hopkins undertook tin- work of collecting <lata, the IJ<«]iartniPnt erf Agriculture had no rec ird.- to enaYik it-* officers to reply to queries on the subject. This has "now bwn rectified, and tho Department is in possession of -a complete set of farts ivhi.-h have bcpil sot fortli in the newlv-publi.-hed Hull.tin. No. 4ti. h is well known that thp object of introducing humble-bees into New Zealand was to brinj: about the fertilisation iinil sr-pdinp of rod elovpr. The seed grown in Now Zealand is much superior t.» that imported, and while adding another indii-try to agriculture, the .;p.-.l nil bi j.r.•• 1 uooc 1 and sold at. a lower ,-,.-: ih.in it r.in bo imported for. Mr. Hopkins r.-marks that in New Zealand, previous to thp introduction of humbleVis. there were no insects save hivobces Unit cnuld bo regarded as likely ro contribute to the profitable production of clover «epd, yol except on rare occasions, red clover blossoms have no attraction for them. This want of attraction is not due to nny dearth of peetar in flic Mo-soms. as can readily be tested by pulling out the florets aiid sucking the base >if them. 11l far:, they contain much more nectar than blossoms of white clover. upon which 'hive-bees york so freely. The nectnr is secreted at the bus,. <rf thi- tubes of the florets, a.nd to rearii it the proboscis or tonjrue of an msec; must be at least from 0 to 10 millimeters |nn<r. whereas the tongue of the hive bee is only I! millimeters, in length. _Vn attempt wa-s made to import hiijnbie-bc.-s a~ far back as 1872, but wibhom success. The first successful attempt w.is made in lss:i. when a small eonsijrnment. was liberated in the neighbourhood of Tiimiru. Mr. Hopkins liberated iwo queens at Mutamaia in ISS4: the-e were the only two that reached him alive 0111 of about 500. The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society was more successful, for in ISS. , ). Ollt of :>4l queens received. 9:! were alive, and Mere liberated at once on Mr. Dean's estate. Rirrarton, and Mr. ('. Clark's property near the foor of the Turt Tlills. Their progeny spread over tlip country during the first few years ■with remarkable rapidity. Whole nests and queens were sent from Canterbury in various parts of sho North Island, where they also became established and flourished; so that it is correct to say ihc whole of New Zealand was stotked by the progeny of the Burvivors of tin , jbove two consifrmnen;.*. .\s a result of a large number of enquiries and comparisons. Air. Hopkins .i-; satisfied that we have the following specks of humble-bees established at •4he present time in Now Zealand: — ill Pnmfous terTestris. Synonym, \ir2inalis. 12) B. lucorum (probably). This bee i* closely related and very like B. terrestris. |3| B. rilderatus. Synonyms, fiibtcrraneus. ;tnd larrisellus. (4j B. bortorirm. With rpfrard to results, it was only ia-nlve months from the time of liberation before the pood work of t.he bees was apparent, when fields of red clover blossoms were found to be a perfect maps of seed. Since t.heu. thousands of Ton? of red clover and cow-prasa seeds have been harvested in the Canterbury and Marlboroiiph provinces, all due to the work of humble-bees. As much as from £10 to £]:! per acre has been made from t.ho seed. Aβ the nwult nf hU inquiries r\fr. Tlopfcine is convinced tnit 'the prosperity of ynde much upon the rainfall, the temperature hciujj friiita.ble. Within certain lmits i; will prosper, but beyond them it will suffer and 'become scarce. .Juist lv hnf. thnpe limits are cannot be stated, 'hough probably we may get some enlightenment from the ri<nm'is of *.!ie mean annna! rainfall of Vhv extern half "i the South Island, wlwre thp bees have <l<me po well. The {rreater part of the Marlboroujjh. Canterbury and Otapo provincw, according to *.;ie official ■'Mem Annnal Rainfall .Map of New Zealand." repislers under 3Oin.. while portione of Otagn, Southland, a small part of Tanterbury and »lson under 4din. The greater -part of thy North Island under TOin.. and a v<»ry small portion under 4nin. T< may then he -.hat the pane of the Islam] mentioned are better adapted for growinsr red clover rcpJ than any ■other portions of the Dominion. It havmcr been proved that the reeu't ""■' introducing into this conn try hap been of immensp value to UTmr-Tf. I; naturally follows that it is in the lattfr's interest to protect uhese Ih-to .is much as prwrtible from injury ■>ikl destruction. Before, however, we "an devisp efikient means to protect :'nitrr\k ihat are of use to us. we must know srjmot;;;:!!; of their iife-history. "abi-te. naluTal enemies and accidents ttn?v are liahle to. Thoucii the size of thr colonies and mode of testing v.iricv pomewhai in different specie* of the true bonrbiis. the life-hiot.iry of all arc- much the famf. The following refers particularly to the "nflprpronn-l-nestine speciFi». -he same a= we have in New Zealand. The qui?rn. like t'Ac nueen of the hiveOPee, > the mother of the colony, but '•I" , is more than this—she -is the founder or" the colony. The queen of thy l!ivp-hf>rts is |,nrn into a colony r: worker hers and dronm umlci-i already •VtuMWii..!: „',,,. te o: ired fur and fed by the worker*, ml in the usual course fomniencis to l.iy wlipn fmin pight tn t-r ,Uys o|,|.' nn .l t),,.,,-c forward 'ittlc in,.1,. limn a i.iyinjr maohinv. dniuj lOlhinc; eliip. The Illinible-lie.- (]lieen. •>:: iht other !mnd. after waking , up from Jifr bint' w.nli-rf .-:■■.;. * atom-, without ■workeTb. aiil ui:!ioiit a Mf-{ for ill- , 'rged i rorn ;1! -,,, r )|,. r w ,,| tPr hibvrnati m ivaK only .1 temporary otic. usually 011 «Wtaear id,. ,iirf.ii't. fjnwn the previous autumn :o « in:er in. Th<- b:g. liurly. - I natur-vl bee.- t. "f ccci ,ii , ir guriefr- :. i-priiic Hie qi<*emc ?n ■).-■ -;n c • ,0 ! a •!■'.• |.roi u '.'\ ■wnrking hard -\,-n\ a; I ieir u>«-:::ii JJ*MS- S'lonld ,v ~:..-„ .owe i. ros- ~■, '••--;,>-1 ,„.■ >r i-iirr r-.ur.ibli- n-ca-;st>nn .-h» will lake .-narge. and alter Tenir'biKV.'ns v '■ 1 I i 1 -tv , ! ne6t of ***<W .. r r.uble ma-

ttriil. The tunnel for inprees and r-sresp to and from thp new may be any li-nglli from a few inches in 2ft or 3ft. but usually about 2ft. The bavinj been started, the (|ur-en colleote eoine pollen, which bhe moulils into a email ball an.l places in the centre of tlie neet. On this she builds the first, evil, in which lays her tirtU ueuallv about a dozen 111 one cell. Later on more cells are built and more eggs laid. The ou-ion now closely on the cells so '-.hat the warniih from her body may niatu;-'- the brood. In a. little ovct ■three »eek.i tiie workers emerov, and when only three or four days old commence t-o take their share of the work in enlarging the nest andi gathering t'ood. The honey, of which there ■« never vptv mtuh. i« in waxen honey-pnte. There is rro need to store largp quantities, as i)\f colony coitjt's to an end at the end of the season, so ihat ip ;i manner of speaking the bees live day by day almost from hand to mouth. Towards the laAter pan of the reason, alter the young queens bejrin to emerge, more honey is ofxen store-d. In a favourable season -.1 populous colony may ":aw all the Viicated cocoons, amounting to over four litindTed. tilled with ■i.bick honey, and sealed over ■with wax. fhe numbt-r of workor-l/pfir in of lapidarius. lerrestris. aud it« nearest relation, lucorum. often roach three hundred, anil this number is largely addvd to when the males and younp quepn* are reckoned, l-'irst of all workers are bred; later on in 'the reason the males: and after IIIIPTO tln» younjj uiieens. for duty in the following eearson. Before the end of ihe Reason the yoting oucens are imprcsnated. and pnon after leave thp parent nest to seek each a temporary nesst in which to take their winter sln>p. -By This time the colony has dwindled riovrn—the com lie grow mouldy, and Ihe old queen dies. The dvFeription of he.r last daye by Mr. Sladen, a weH-known authority, is very interesting. Tie save. "The aged queen often spends the evening of her .life -.cry pleasantly with her little baud of worn-out woricere. They fit togetlivr on two or Three cells on the top of tV niined edifu-e. and make no attempt to rear any more brood. Thy exhaustive work of bearing <lonr. the quern'e body (.brinks to rrs orijriiKtl size, nnd tdie becomeis quite alive and youthful-look-ing again. This woll-earniM resr last? for ;ibou: a week. an>l death, when n: lust ii eomo. brings no discomfort. One night, a liiHe cooler than u&uflT), "-Ciiig the food-supply ex.haiitt-te;i. the qiiei'n grows torpid, as she 'has done many a time before in the early part, of her career: but on thi* oeca_sion. Tver life■vork finished, there is no awa! r-.rm* , .' .