The Honey Bee.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVLI, Issue 13, 27 September 1911, Page 34

The Honey Bee.

ITS INSTINCTS AND LIFE AND HISTORY. FOR THE BENEFIT OF WOULD-BE APIARISTS. When Pope wrote that “The proper study of mankind is man.” we cannot suppose he meant mankind should learn the ways of individual men, for. taken severally, they are usually most uninteresting, and their ways and thoughts being pretty much like those of their associates. He doubtless meant that the proper study of individual men is the form of society of which they are a part, and this is fascinating. It is the same with bees. Collectively they are a wonderland of delight; but individually they are much like men; nevertheless, we must devote a little time to the various kinds found to be in a hive. The Workers. Any clear day when the thermometer registers 48 degrees or above, and on dull days in warm weather, we can see myriads popping out of the hive entran-

ce. or dropping heavily as if laden ar tired on the bottom board, and tin scurrying hastily into the little doo way, as if there was much to do. at very little time in which to do it in. C a fine day we may watch them for hou at a time, but never once will the; seem to be any pause in their High

until the evening shades set in; and so it has been since the earliest dawn. In warm September days one may be able to time them with a watch, say 30 a minute; but towards the end of the month they will be nearer the century mark, and from November until the fall, it will be impossible to count them.

Truly they are hustlers, the very spirit of industry without any pay. In the bee world competition is not necessary as an incentive to work. They are Socialists in the true sense, but for one or two exceptions. They arc great robbers, their motto seems to be, “get it honestly if you can. bu't by any means cet it.” They also allow no maimed and useless ones to remain in the hive; no useless old age or pensions with them, It would seem as if all the bees we saw were the same, but as our eyes become familiar with them we see that many are of a lighter colour and more downy than others —have the bloom of youth ■pon them, while others are faded, dark, nd glossy. Yes. it is youth and old age, •outh with alert ways and fresh looks; age with slow movement and haggard appearance as the result of weeks of incessant toil. With few exceptions, they are workers in true socialistic style, the" producers, and let it be said, equal sharers of the bounty. The Drones. In the month of November and all through the joyous summer time, we uiy see some big. sturdy fellows emerge cmi the hive at more leisurely pace, dying upward with a louder noise—a regular drone —and after soaring around few times, start off as if on most imrtant business. The timid novice who has just gained courage enough to stand near a hive is apt to be startled when this noisy blusterer appears, but there no need to worry in the least, as this bee is harmless—he has no sting. He is the Drone, the possible father of a new generation of bees; useless in gathering nectar, but a necessity in reproduction of workers, but of no value in the defence of the hives. He is a poor male creature and nothing more, tolerated by the workers as a necessity while the possible need exists. The reproductive season past, he is driven from the hive without mercy. His life may be a merry one and free from care, lad his end is always a tragedy. The Queen. Once the beginner attains the cour age of examining the interior' of a hive and holding up frames for inspection,

he will be greatly astonished at the immensity of fits population—thousands, upon thousands of bees on every frame, seemingly all in active commotion—workers every one. But. no! there’s a drone, and there and there. Then if he is lucky he may eateh a glimpse of another kind- —one with the pointed abdomen of a worker, but ever so much larger. Yes. that's the Queen, no. not the ruler of the hive, in fact, so fat as known, there is no ruler of any kind in a beehive. She is the mother of the colony, a wonderful mother, said to be able to deposit from 2000 to 4000 eggs in 24 hours, when necessary, in the height of the season. It is computed she can deposit twice her own weight in eggs every day in the height of the season. She gathers no honey, nurses no babies, she supervises nothing. Her sole business is to deposit eggs where and when the bees want them. They determine the family development, she obeys their behests. All problems of sex seems to be within their control, so they decide the relative proportions of males and females, and the mother comports herself accordingly.

Queens are fertile females: workerbees are of the same sex. but sterile, being incapable of sex relations with the drones or males—the organ, which is an ovary in the queen, is developed into an air sack in the workers, to fit it for carrying loads of honey. The worker bees control from the moment the egg is deposited, the development of the reproductive organs of the females. The Life History of the Bee. Since bees are insects, their life history is the same as that of other members of that great division of the animal kingdom. First there is the egg, from which emerges the larva or grub, which, after voracious feeding passes into the chrysalis stage. In duo time it develops into the perfect insect, making its entry into the bee world in full size, and in almost complete possession of its ultimate capabilities. The worker bees take part in the routine work of the hive in about 24 hours. A young bee’s first duties are nursing the still younger ones, a direct opposite state of affairs to that which exists in the hu-

man family. In the height of ’the season bees don’t seem ever to rest day or night, except in wax making, when they cling together to get up the necessary heat to secret wax scales for comb building. The nights seem to be spent in cell building and ventilating the hive.

The queens and drones need several days before they are sufficiently developed for their special mission. The rate of development from egg to insect is not the same for worker, queen, and drone.

In the case of the workers the neees sary period is 21 days, for the drone 24. but the queen hatches out in about 111 days, brought about by concentrated feeding. When a few days old. weather permitting, she takes her marriage flight and mates with the drone in the air. returns to the hive and never leaves it again except to lead off a swarm, which she accompanies to their new home, where she resumes her duties of reproduction. One meeting with the drone is sufficient for life, which may continue for several years. The most remarkable feature In bee life is the control the queen has over the sex of her progeny. As the egg passes to the exit, she may or may not permit a sperm to enter it. The eggs that are fertilised develop into females, unfertilised eggs into drones, so that drones have no male parent. The progeny of a queen that has not been mated will consist of drones only. The worker bees determine the development of the fertilised eggs. After the eggs hatch out, all are fed for three days alike, ’lhe larvae destined to be mother bees are lavishly fed with concentrated food, Those destined to be workers or imperfect females are fed with less nourishing food, hence hindering the growth of the sex organs. It is held as a pious opinion, but not proven, that the queen has direct control over the sex of her progeny. We have seen that the hive is controlled by the workers, since ownership is vested in them in common; that their power includes determining the perfect female. Is it not possible that the decision is also within their province. We have seen that the government in society is fixed by a natural law that is apparently all

inclusive, therefore one may be pardoned for doubting that sex distinction is beyond their control when the degree of qualification of one sex is within it. All eggs are laid in cells in the comb. Workers' cells are the smallest usually numbering 25 to the square inch, drone cells are larger, averaging lt> to the square inch, both worker ami drone cells are nearly horizontal, rising slightly toward the mouth of the

Queen cells are peculiar in shape an 1 position, being large ami slightly pitied at the base, and as a rule, bang perpendicularly on the comb but sometimes horizontally. The worker and drone larvae spin a cocoon, completely enveloping themselves, the larvae destined to be queens only partially so. leaving the low er part of the body unprotected. The

cell of a queen, owing to its shape and position, is more or less exposed all round. The mother bee sometimes takes advantage of this fact ami stings the young queen in her cell, unless prevented by the workers, a few of which are always on guard at these cells . Both worker and drone cells are used for storing honey ami pollen when occasion demands. It is generally recognised that the sting has other uses than that of defence. When a bee stings, there is an injection of concentrated formic acid; this acid is. to some extent, in honey as a preservative. People that are badly affected after being stung, as a rule can’t eat much honey, being also susceptible to this acid through the stomach. Bee stings have become a recognised help in the relief or cure of rheumatism, although a somewhat painful one. There is, or used to be, quite a trade in bee stings, at so much per 1000 for medicinal purposes, but formic acid tablets can now be had in almost any druggist’s shop.