i7i 



Joitnial of Agriculture . Victoria, [lo March, 1912. 



Handling of Bees. 

 The sting of the bee is an important factor in preventing over produc- 

 tion of honey. There are many persons who have an almost unreasonable 

 fear of bees, or, rather of getting stung, and yet there are very few people 

 to whom a sting causes more than a sharp pain for a short time and some 

 discomfort ihrough swelling of the affected part. Both pain and swelling 

 become less and less after a number of stings have been received and the 

 seasoned beekeeper, while reducing the number of stings he receives to a 

 minimum by observing certain rules, takes little notice of the stings he 

 does receive be}ond removing them proniptlv. There are, however, some 

 individuals to w^hom a sting causes serious pain and protracted discomfort, 

 and to whom bees have a lasting dislike — attackiiig them whenever they 

 come near hives. Such people should have nothing to do with bees. 



Most, however, after being stung 

 a number of times become more or 

 less immune, even though the first 

 few stings caused considerable 

 pain and swelling. With the 

 right strain of bees; an under- 

 standing of their habits ; correct 

 methods of handling ; and a know- 

 ledge of irritatinp; causes the 

 largest apiary can be run without 

 more than an occasional sting 

 being received. 



Of late years bee stings have 

 ? been used by medical men for the 

 M cure of certain forms of rheuma- 

 lism. That the poison of the 

 sting has no lasting injurious effect 

 upon the human system seems evi- 

 dent from the fact that many pro- 

 minent men who have lived 

 amongst bees all their lives have 

 attained to extreme age, e.g., Dr. 

 Dzierszon, Rev. Langstroth, Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, A. T. Root, and 

 others. 



To avoid stings as much as possible one should dress in light coloured 

 clothes, bees have a rooted objection to anything black, and more so 

 when it is rough or fuzzy The odours of such things as camphor, 

 kerosene, turpentine, eucalyptus oil, carbolic acid, lysol, dogs, horses, 

 ants, or meat, on the hands or clothes of the operator, or anywhere near 

 the hive, will cause bees to sting. In their attacks on; trespassers (as in 

 their search of nectar) bees are largely guided by the sense of smell. The 

 odour of flowers attracts them to the spot where the flowers grow, while the 

 sense of sight locates the blossom. 



When approaching a hive one should walk lightly and avoid standing 

 in the line of flight of the bees leaving the hive or returning to it. Before 

 opening the hive blow a whiff of smoke from the smoker in at the entrance, 

 and another one or two over the top of the frames as soon as the hive cover 

 is raised sufficiently. When these precautions are taken there need be little 

 fear of stinging unless the bees are of a vicious strain, in which case the 



