70 
BEES VS. FRUIT. 
I have, according to your instructions, repeated my experiments of 
last year for testing the capacity of bees, under exceptional cireum- 
stances, to injure fruit; adding such other tests and observations as 
the very severe and protracted drought permitted. The house used last 
season, 10 feet by 16 feet in size, having sides partly covered with wire 
cloth and large screen doors in each end, was used again this year. 
Two colonies of Italian bees, two of hybrids, one of Caucasians, and 
two of Syrians were confined in this house. 
These colonies were without food in their hives and at intervals of 
three or four days were fed a little sirup for the purpose of keeping up 
their vigor and to prevent dying from starvation. A wood-stove was 
placed in the house and a high temperature was maintained for a num- 
ber of hours each day. 
The conditions incident to an unusually severe and protracted drought 
were present within and without. The bees were repeatedly brought to 
the stages of hunger, thirst, and starvation, the test continuing for 40 
days. 
Through the favor of Mr. T. T. Lyon, president of the Michigan State 
Horticultural Society, I obtained thirteen varieties of choice grapes 
from A. G. Gulley, of South Haven. Every inducement and oppor- 
tunity was afforded the bees to appease their hunger and thirst by 
attacking the fruit which was placed before them. Some of the bunches 
of grapes were dipped in sirup and hung in the hives between the 
the combs, some placed before the hives on plates, and grapes were 
suspended in clusters from the posts and rafters. The bees lapped and 
sucked all the sirup from the skins, leaving the berries smooth. 
They daily visited the grapes in great numbers and took advantage of 
every crack in the epidermis or opening at the stem, appropriating to 
their use every drop of juice exuding therefrom, but they made no at- 
tempt to grasp the cuticle with their mandibles or claws. I removed the 
epidermis carefully from dozens of grapes of various kinds and placed 
them on plates before the hives. The bees lapped up all the juice on the 
outside of the film surrounding the segments of the grape, leaving this 
delicate film dry and shining, but through and beyond this film they 
were not able to penetrate. I punctured the skins of grapes of all 
kinds by passing needles of various sizes through the grape and placed 
these before the bees. The needles used were in size from a fine cam- 
bric needle to a packing needle. The amount of juice appropriated 
was in proportion to the size of the opening in the skins and the num- 
ber of segments of the grape broken. The same was true in the case 
of grapes burst from over-ripeness. Bees are not only unable to pene- 
trate the epidermis of the grape, but they also appear to be unable, 
even when impelled by the direst necessity, to penetrate the film sur- 
