686 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Nov. 1 



concludes generally with a reference to his 

 "bad luck " 



CONDITIONS GOOD FOR BEE-KEEPING. 



It is remarkable how few evils beset the 

 path of bee-keeping in South Africa. In 

 the first place, there is no known disease to 

 combat; then, again, there is generally suf- 

 ficient flora in the driest districts to ensure 

 at least moderate returns, while in parts 

 South Africans can well challenge the in- 

 habitants of Imperial Valley and other well- 

 known California bee habitats rich in nec- 

 tar-bearing flora. I have known as much 

 as 150 lbs. of honey to be taken from a sin- 

 gle box hive which had not received the 

 slightest attention from its ignorant owner 

 for over twelve months. If he had had to 

 combat foul brood and sundry maladies 

 known to Northerners, doubtless he would 

 have had another story to tell. 



The South African bee is a splendid work- 

 er, fairly docile and amenable to civilization, 

 and seems to work with a will among the 

 more congenial conditions, provided the 

 hive is well sheltered from the sun and 

 winds. I know many will not agree with 

 me in this respect; but I have investigated 

 many cases where bees have persistently de- 

 serted modern hives, and in nearly every 

 case one or the other cause contributed, un- 

 doubtedly, to the absconding persistency 

 complained of. In such cases persons have 

 taken sides with the box hive, and have 

 proved that the bees would remain in these 

 crude structures, in positions where modern 

 hives have proved unsuccessful in this re- 

 spect. But, again, I have pointed out that, 

 by virtue of the size and often favorable 

 ventilation afforded by box hives (accord- 

 ing to the circumstances I have been called 

 upon to explain), the bees have been better 

 catered for with the old than with the new 

 style hive. I need not describe the cere- 

 mony that usually accompanies the "take" 

 at the end of the season from such unde- 

 sirable bee "dwellings," as the same is uni- 

 versal. 



I should be lacking in sentiment indeed 

 were I to pass on without paying a tribute 

 to the alacrity with which our bees pursue 

 their calling. Many times during the hon- 

 ey-flow I have seen my bees working at 3 

 A.M., and as late as 11 p.m., assisted in their 

 quest for nectar, seemingly, by the light of 

 the harvest moon; and, generally speaking, 

 I have no cause to complain of any apathy 

 on the part of the South African bee, either 

 in brood-rearing or storing in supers. In- 

 deed, I have had remarkable success in this 

 respect without making special provision 

 for the same. Another feature of my bee- 

 keeping in South Africa is the phenomenal 

 success which has alw^ays attended my 

 queen-rearing operations. I have frequent- 

 ly taken surplus cells from a hive and 

 placed the same in a match-box and tossed 

 them up on to the top of a shelf near the 

 roof of my house, and, without exception, I 

 have always been ajiprised of the approach- 

 ing hatching of those cells by the inmates 

 themselves. In walking through my house 



I have frequently heard the familiar "pip- 

 ing" of some monarch-to-be, and have 

 promptly attended to her requirements by 

 placing her slender gray form in a cage, 

 and then relegated her to a hive until mat- 

 ing-time. 



In their native state the bees here have to 

 contend with the ravages of the ant-bear — 

 an animal very much like your brown bear, 

 but only about the size of a fox-terrier dog. 

 This animal, as its name implies, lives 

 chiefly on ants, which it attacks in their 

 hills by scraping away a hole at the base of 

 their abode. Once inside it scrapes the in- 

 terior of the hill bare, devouring as many of 

 the inhabitants as it can lay hold on, devot- 

 ing special attention to their eggs. It is 

 following one of these attacks that a swarm 

 of bees takes up its abode. The ant-bear is 

 wise in his day, and suffers the tenants of 

 the scene of his late depredations to fill their 

 larder unmolested — until he wills otherwise. 

 When he thinks there is a sufficient supply 

 of honey in the ant-hill, calculated to ap- 

 pease his desire, he sallies forth. Nothing 

 can withstand his attacks — unless it be iron 

 bars — and inside the ant-hill he goes. Then 

 commences a banquet in wholesale order — 

 bees, brood, honey, and all are devoured 

 ad libitum. Nature has provided him with 

 a hide which the stings of our favorite hy- 

 menoptera can not penetrate; and, having 

 satisfied himself thus, he decamps, leaving 

 the remaining bees to figure out the pros- 

 l^ect of restarting for themselves. 



BEE PIRATES. 



May be it is meet to record that there is a 

 wasp here known as a "bee-pirate" which 

 is alleged to be responsible for the depletion 

 of many a stock, but I "hae me doots " 

 about the actual total of facts in favor of 

 this theory. I can not do better than to 

 outline the modus operandi of this wasp, 

 which certainly does create a certain amount 

 of anxiety with myself, but not from its di- 

 rect operations. The pirate is a yellow in- 

 sect possessing a sting, and is extremely 

 smart in its movements. It usually mani- 

 fests its presence in the apiary about the 

 beginning of November, and remains there 

 until March of the following year. Usually 

 its hours are very regular, and it may be 

 seen between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

 any fine day, on any point of vantage from 

 within 6 ft. up to the alighting-board of the 

 hive it is watching. I have paid special at- 

 tention to this insect, and have not the 

 slightest hesitation in stating that each pi- 

 rate concentrates its attention upon one par- 

 ticular hive. Of course, there may be any 

 number of the pirates up to a dozen watch- 

 ing at the same time. The pirate's mode of 

 attack is as follows: 



Usually it is only returning bees that 

 come in for attention. As soon as the bee 

 is within striking distance the pirate 

 pounces upon its victim, delivers a thrust 

 with its sting, and flies away with its prize 

 to its nest, which is generally made in the 

 ground. There the pirate lays an egg on 



