1882 



GLEANINGS In Bi:E CtlLTURE. 



597 



the 7th, several cells partly filled with pollen were 

 seen. The honey-flow was not now so good, and 

 they had paid more attention to pollen, undoubted- 

 ly, for that cause. The bees were not much in- 

 clined to sting. The two strips of new comb had 

 been considerably enlarged. The bees had contin- 

 ued to build worker comb in one place and drone 

 comb in the other. Considerable repairing of old 

 comb had been done. There was no apparent 

 change in the queen-cell«. On the 8th, another 

 queen-cell was started. Four were now capped, and 

 three uncapped. On the nth, some of the honey was 

 capped. The two strips of new comb had been con- 

 tinued nearly to the bottom of the frame, and unit- 

 ed half way down —one side was drone comb, the 

 other worlier. On the next adjoining frame, two 

 strips of worker comb were started about four 

 inches apart. Part of the brood was capped over. 

 Sept. 10th all but one of the queen-cells were capped 

 over, and half a frame of honey. Sept. 11th, at 4 

 o'clock p. M., we carefully observed the condition of 

 the hive, to determine what had been done by these 

 infant bees, the oldest hundred or more of which 

 would, during the next 24 hours, reach the age of 

 16 days, when they are said by some of our best au- 

 thorities to commence to work in the tields, if the 

 flow of honey is sufficient to induce them. 



WOBK THEY HAD DONE BEFORE 16 DAYS OLD. 



Two old frames of combs had been cleaned, and 

 nearly filled with honey, a part of which was capped. 

 One whole frame a foot square, and another half- 

 frame had been built with new comb, and nearly 

 filled with honey. The second crop of queen-cells 

 had been built and capped. All the young brood, 

 except one cell at the bottom, had been capped over; 

 and pollen had been gathered. Royal jelly had been 

 prepared; and while it was preparing, many eggs 

 had disappeared, as usually happens at such times. 

 Everything had been done as well as in hives where 

 old bees are plenty, except one single cell which re- 

 mained uncapped, and it was 8 days and 8 hours aft- 

 er the comb containing the egg had been put in the 

 hive. The cell was one of the bottom course of 

 cells in the piece of brood inserted — a worker cell. 

 It now appeared to be prolonged beyond the adjoin- 

 ing cells, which contained capped worker brood. 

 The base was not formed of the bases of these work- 

 er-cells, as is usually the case with queen-cells thus 

 formed; but it contained an unusual amount of food. 

 The upper part of the cell was enlarged, and the 

 general appearance of it was such as to force me to 

 think of Mr. Root's views on the change of sex in 

 the worker egg. The appearance was that of a 

 young drone in a worker-cell two days before cap- 

 ping, except that it was too much enlarged. On the 

 13th, this cell was a half-completed queen-cell, differ- 

 ing from others in having the single base of a work- 

 er-cell. The larva now lay with its head toward the 

 septum of the comb. Three of the queen-cells were 

 partially opened by the workers. On the 13tb, these 

 cells were again closed at 10 o'clock; at 13, a queen 

 hatched. The last-formed cell we removed to an- 

 other hive with some of the bees, hoping to have an 

 18-day queen hatch from it to c<'mpare with the 10- 

 day queen we already had. Wo closed the hive to 

 keep the bees with the cell which was not yet cap- 

 ped. In the morning the larva was not in the cell. 

 Eleven days later, the 10-day queen laid worker eggs. 

 The removal of the worker-bees to another hive ren- 

 dering them queenlpss, had not attracted their at- 

 tention, and they had entered the cell and devoured 



the embryo queen, which had remained in her cell 

 uncapped ten days and eight hours and upward, 

 from the time the brood comb had been first placed 

 in the hive. Possibly a worker egg had been procur- 

 ed elsewhere, and placed in the cell at a later date. 

 One case I have known, 1 am positive the workers 

 carried an egg from combs exposed, when cxtract- 

 I ing, to a queen-cell in a comb of another hive when 

 • queenless; but now there were no eggs cut of the 

 I hivf 8. That it was a case of delayed capping, is a 

 ! fair supposition. In these experiments, the accept- 

 ed views of apiarists do not accord with the facts in 

 I many cases. These are the results reached:— 

 ' Bees work in the hive on the second day after 



hatching. 

 i On the third day they will collect honey into the 

 i comb-cells, and will commence queen-cells when 

 j queenless, and will remove dead bees, and fly from 

 i the hive, and fan themselves at the entrance. 

 j On the fourth day they will leave the hive to col- 

 lect moisture. 

 On the fifth day they are strong enough to fly away 

 j with dead bees. 



On the sixth day they will gather honey in the 

 I fields. 



j On the seventh day, exceptional bees will try to 

 I sting under ordinary treatment. 

 ! On the eighth day thej' will first make new comb. 

 j On the eleventh day they will first collect bee- 

 bread, or propolis. 

 The following facts are also shown: — 

 ! The food prepared for the young worker larvns is 

 not partly composed of pollen, neither is that pre- 

 pared for the queen larvas; though queenless, queen- 

 cells are not started until an interval of a day or 

 more has passed, during which time the proper food 

 is probably undergoing partial digestion, preparatory 

 to feeding the prospective queens. Queenless bees 

 do not always build drone comb; but in this instance 

 they invariably commenced to build worker, and in 

 one place only of four, changed to drone. Three- 

 fourths of the comb built was worker comb. 



PREDESTINATION, MIRACLE. OR UBIQUITOUS LIFE 

 POWER. 



These experiments were made when robbei bees 

 would not take honey when offered them, conse- 

 quently these young bees did not have the experi- 

 ence of old bees to guide them at their work in the 

 hive. Of a certainty they knew of themselves what 

 was necessary for them to do to perpetuate the ex- 

 istence of their race, and just when to do it; for as 

 no bee would visit their hive, under the circum- 

 stances, no knowledge could be acquired from any 

 source. If the worker-bee knows of itself what it 

 does, and the suitable time to do it, Is it reasonable 

 to suppose that a queen-bee does not know what 

 she does, and why she does it? Was It predestined 

 that they should do as they do, and that events 

 should be so shaped that the conditions should be 

 favorable at the required time? Tben matter is not 

 the source of intelligence that forces the work to a 

 successful completion. It is the Ubiquitous Life 

 Power, the God of nature, who applies himself to 

 the work, and forces each to contribixte to the wel- 

 fare of all; and If God applies himself to all things 

 to the end that all shall be done well, are souls saved 

 by prayer, friend Root? are there any miracles, 

 friend Dadant? Jerome Wiltse. 



Falls City, Neb., Oct., 1882. 

 V\'e are much obliged to you, friend W., 

 for your careful report of a valuable experi- 



