STINGS. 



410 



STINGS. 



of a bee, when it is gathering honey from 

 the heads of clover in the fields, that it has 

 no malice toward any living thing; it is the 

 happy lunn of honest industry and content- 

 ment. People sometimes juni]) when a bee 

 sings harmlessly, whereas they should know 

 better; but it is becanse bees are not in their 

 line of bnsiness, and they don't know '• bee- 

 talk." 



Well, when yon go in front of a hive, or 

 approach colonies that are not accustomed 

 to being worked with, one of the sentinels 

 will frequently take wing, and, by an angry 

 and loud buzz, bid you begone. This note 

 is quite unlike that of a bee upon the flow- 

 ers, or of the ordinary laborer upon the 

 wing; it is in a high key, and the tone, to 

 us, sounds much like that of a scolding wo- 

 man, and one who will be pretty sure to 

 make her threats good if you do not heed 



\ the warning. When one of these bees ap- 

 proaches, you are first to lower your head, or, 



' better still, tip down your hat-brim ; for 

 these fellows almost always instinctively aim 

 for the eyes. It will often be satisfied, and 

 go back into its hive if you move away a lit- 

 tle; but one should be sure not to give it to 

 understand that yoii admit yourself a thief, 

 and that it has frightened you. If it grows 

 very threatening, and you are timid, you had 

 better enter some building. We are in 

 the habit of opening Die door of the honey- 

 house, and asking visitors to go in there, 

 when an angry bee persists in following 

 them. Very many times we can liardly get 

 them to go in as we direct, because they can 

 not see why the bee will not follow them, 

 and thus corner them iip a sure prey. We 

 do not know why it is, but a bee very ,>-eldom 

 ventures to follow one indoors. A single 

 bee seldom does, but a very vicious colony 

 of hybrids, when fully aroused, may do so 



WHAT TO DO WHEN A SIMGLE BEE FOLLOWS 

 YOU ABOUT BY THE HOUR. 



It not unlrequently happens, especially in 

 an apiary where there are many hybrids, 

 that a single bee (of this " cross") will follow 

 you about the apiary for hours, poising itself 

 just before your eyes, making believe to 

 \^ sting. It does not pay to be humane toward 

 such bees. While this offender is holding 

 itself aloft before your face in a menacing 

 manner, smash it between yoiu- hands, or, 

 with a stick, give it a smart rap; but take 

 care that you don't miss it, or it will stop its 

 dallying and deliver its sting. In the use of 

 the stick it is quite useless to strike at indi- 

 vidual bees on the wing. It is onr plan to 



take up two sticks, or any thing that is handy, 

 say an inch or so wide and a foot or two long. 

 With a couple of these, one in each hand, we 

 make rapid back-and-forth motions like an 

 inverted pendulum in front of the face, 

 working the sticks for a full minute or more. 

 This excites the ire of cross bees, causing 

 them to rush right out at the rapidly mov- 

 ing objects, with the result that they get 

 tlieir heads rai)ped right and left. We have 

 had at various times perhaps a hiuidred bees 

 buzzing about tlie head, and killed them all, 

 by the method explained, in less time than it 

 takes to tell it. Such bees, unless killed, will 

 harrass one for perhaps an hour. If there 

 be only a single bee you can kill it by slap- 

 ping the palms of the hands together; but 

 since you may receive a sting in so doing it 

 is i)erh;i]'S better to use a paddle having wire 

 cloth through the center to avoid fanning 

 the bees away. 



HOW TO SAVE YOURSELF FROM A STING. 



Sometimes a bee is noticed in the act of 

 inserting its sting in your hand. When the 

 other hand is not holding a frame, nor other- 

 wise engaged, bring it to the rescue by 

 smashing the bee before it succeeds. But 

 where, as is sometimes the case, the other 

 hand is holding a frame, slap against your 

 person tlie hand which is being attacked. 

 Should you do it aright you both smash the 

 bee and also rub out the sting its owner has 

 succeeded in plunging mto the flesh. Never 

 slap the hand directly against yourself, but 

 give it a sort of sliding motion. You will 

 thus accomplish the double purpose. If a 

 bee strikes you in the back of the neck (when 

 you have no veil), and lodges in your hair, 

 smash it by that half-slap and half-rub- 

 bing motion. We recommend killing bees as 

 above, wlien they have actually begun to in- 

 sert their sting, because they are then, so 

 far as we have been able to observe, deter- 

 mined to accomplish their purpose or die. 

 Whenever possible we prefer to have them 

 do the latter; for a bee if foiled after it has 

 gone so far will carry out the principle most 

 persistently of the little adage, "If at first 

 you don't succeed," etc. See Anger of 

 Bees. 



Where no robbing has been going on, one 

 usually gets warning enough, in ample time 

 to take precautions. When colonies are 

 quietly busy during the working season there 

 is but little danger from bees in the air. 

 While working with a hive, bending right 

 over uncovered frames, you are comi)ara- 

 tively secure from the bees of other stocks; 

 for unless robbing, bees seem to have no dis- 



