1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



687 



the under side of the bee in the region of 

 the neck. The resultant larva from this 

 egg is thus enabled to secure nourishment 

 from the honey-sac of the bee as soon as the 

 egg hatches, and thus the cycle is rejjeated. 

 Now, it will be noted that these pirates mo- 

 lest the bees between the hours of 9 a.m. and 

 4 P.M. during the summer months (remem- 

 ber the seasons are reversed in this part of 

 the world), i. e., when, according to the best 

 authorities on the subject, there is little or 

 no nectar secreted by any flowers in hot cli- 

 mates. The climate of Colorado and most 

 parts of South Africa coincide to a degree. 

 Reverting to the work of destruction credit- 

 ed to the bee-pirates, I strongly uphold the 

 view I have made by deduction, viz., that 

 the evil effect of the pirates on the bees is 

 not direct, but is attributable to a demoraliz- 

 ing influence on the hives in easy range of 

 them. I have frequently noticed hive after 

 hive in which the bees were to be seen shoul- 

 der to shoulder stretched across the entrance 

 from side to side during the period of the 

 day mentioned. It is a striking sight to 

 witness these sentinels strongly entrenched 

 against their solitary enemies, who, from 

 time to time, assert their impatience for at- 

 tack by flitting from point to point, eagerly 

 awaiting a favorable opportunity to seize a 

 straggler. I have actually seen these pi- 

 rates march boldly in (always at right an- 

 gles), and spar with one of the defenders 

 comprising the line of defense; and should 

 the bee — which is not often the case — make 

 bold enough to assail the intruder, the fate 

 of the former is sealed. With a quickness 

 which has to be seen to be appreciated, the 

 bee is seized, and the victor takes to wing 

 in the twinkling of an eye, while another 

 bee in the rear takes up the position vacated 

 by the over-zealous defender. Occasional- 

 ly, however, the defenders effect a capture, 

 and then there is a distinct note of joy 

 struck up which reverberates throughout 

 the hive, and the invader is subjected to 

 "balling," similar to that which befalls a 

 strange queen at times. But, notwithstand- 

 ing that the bees frequently imprison the 

 pirate for hours at a stretch, the chitine 

 covering of the pest proves invulnerable to 

 the attention of all and sundry that from 

 time to time seek to wreak vengeance upon 

 it; and, seizing a favorable moment when 

 the bees are not so numerous, and, conse- 

 quently, the pressure is lesser, the pirate 

 will break away from his would-be captors 

 and once more awaits his chance, which is 

 never long in coming, and is always certain 

 in its result. 



The system in vogue among progressive 

 bee-keepers for exterminating these pests is 

 a simple one: A plate containing kerosene 

 and water is placed slightly to one side of 

 the middle front of the hive, and the pirates 

 (which seem to have a particular liking for 

 white surfaces) are caught very soon, al- 

 though, of course, frequently bees are caught 

 as well. But the great point to keep in 

 mind in this connection is the demoralizing 

 influence which one pirate will impart to a 



whole hive — not so much the value of the 

 bees caught. 



A TWO-LEGGED BEE-PIRATE, THE AFKICAN 

 KAFIR. 



At this juncture I am reminded that I 

 have not been very successful with out-api- 

 aries, owing to the presence of a two-legged 

 "bee-pirate " in the shape of a Kafir. I am 

 afraid my northern confreres would lose 

 heart altogether after putting in a season in 

 South Africa (that is, if they decided to run 

 out-apiaries. It takes a deal of combating, 

 I assure you. The Kafir must and will 

 have both brood and honey. The former 

 he makes into an intoxicating beverage 

 known as "kooroomore;" and with the lat- 

 ter he regales himself full well. It is here 

 that, for the sake of economy, it is better to 

 invest in packing-cases, for the simi)le rea- 

 son that the dusky thief, not content to 

 take brood and honey, takes away to his 

 hut the whole outfit, and lights his fire cold 

 nights, maybe, with the fuel thus obtained, 

 the while gorging himself to profusion with 

 his ill-gotten gains, and listening to the 

 cheery crackling of the hive-boards; for 

 what will burn with greater avidity than 

 the propolis and wax besmeared boards of a 

 time-worn hive? Nor am I alone in my ex- 

 perience of the black miscreants' depreda- 

 tions. I have met several bee-keepers who 

 complain in a similar strain. 



THE SOURCES OF HONEY. 



The markets for honey and wax are al- 

 ways eager for a greater supply than is usu- 

 ally forthcoming, and prices, as a conse- 

 quence, are good, frequently ranging from 

 one shilling to two shillings per i)ound for 

 "strained" (not extracted) honey, while 

 for comb honey as much as 60 cts. per sec- 

 tion has been obtained retail in Johannes- 

 burg. I myself have obtained 54 cts. for 

 comb honey in bulk. 



The chief sources of natural nectar are the 

 mimosa and decoma trees, pink heather; 

 and, of late years, the i)epper-tree and blue 

 and red gum have contributed largely to 

 the supply of nectar obtained from what 

 might well be termed wild sources, and have 

 come to be regarded as valuable adjuncts to 

 indigenous flora, especially as they come 

 into bloom just about the time when jjollen 

 is most needed for building up the brood- 

 chamber in readiness for the fruit-bloom. 



Bee-keeping as a business has not been 

 taken up by many people. In fact, I think 

 I am correct in stating that only about 

 three or four persons have as yet settled 

 down to the industry wholly and solely; 

 and their efforts have not been in promi- 

 nence long enough yet for any definite state- 

 ment to be made regarding the ultimate 

 success of bee-keeping as an independent 

 industry. From a personal point of view, 

 however, I regard the outlook with opti- 

 mism. In Natal, it is stated that bee-keep- 

 ing has not been very successful as a whole, 

 owing to the presence of so many sugar- 

 cane fields. The bees have, apparently, de- 

 veloped the habit of visiting these fields, 



