1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



433 



BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. 



OUR THIRD WAX DESTROYER. 



f HIS is the common mealworm, Tenehrio molir 

 1 tor (Fig. 1), and is very common about mills 

 - and grain bins containing meal, Hour, etc. 

 Many of our bee keepers have seen this beetle and 

 the wire like grubs about their hives and bee 

 houses, and some, like myself, have doubtless 

 seen their comb ruined by these same grubs. 

 The full grown grub (Fig. 1) is smooth, cylin- 

 drical, a little more than one inch long, of a 

 v / yellowish brown color, and resembles 

 cS^f!? very closely the common wire worm, 

 f«B|i which is often so destructive to corn, 

 jKL potatoes, etc. These grubs feed on 

 /|BB|\ meal, Hour, sea biscuit, and the pollen 

 c m 111? which is stored in the combs. 



Cl i Hi Tn< " ,,, ' etl( ' lFi -- -' is 6 - 10 of an inch 



y^U\ long, black, and closely resembles our 

 w ^«^ « common ground beetles, though its 

 ■p-„. o legs are shorter, and its antenna? (see„. 

 * x °- — Fig'. 2) bead like, instead of serrate. b '£• 1 

 Meal put about the combs will attract the insects, 

 when they may be easily destroyed. 



If these grubs could be induced to exercise a little 

 more care, and eat the pollen, without injury to the 

 cells, they might well claim the prize offered by the 

 New York apiarists. I am now trying to educate 

 some of these beetles, so that they may practice 

 this discretion, and, if successful, will report to the 

 bee journals. A. J. Cook. 



Mich. Agricultural College, Aug. 11, 1879. 



ASTER TRADESCANTI. 



W. J. Beal:— Enclosed please find a plant which 

 I have been watching all day. It has been swarm- 

 ing with bees and they were gathering both honey 

 and pollen. It is something I have never noticed in 

 this section of country. It is a very profuse blos- 

 somer, and yields much honey. I will save the seed. 

 Please answer through Gleaninos, and you will 

 confer a favor. D. T. Kimmell. 



Moberly, Mo., Oct. 3, 1879. 



Answer by Prof. W. J. Beal, Michigan 

 Agricultural College. 



This is Aster Tradeseanti, a species very common 

 in many portions of the United States. It is just as 

 good as others, but no better than forty other asters 

 which grow in our country. All are prominent for 

 bees in autumn. 



PRAIRIE CLOVER. 



I send you a few stalks and roots of a bee plant. 

 The plant has from one dozen to three dozen flower 

 stalks to each root, with one half dozen or more lit- 

 tle balls, or clusters, of snow white flowers. The 

 stalks are from 18 inches to 2 feet high, and grow in 

 clay soil entirely, in the very poorest places you can 

 tind. The flowers are very fragrant, and smell like 

 honey, and are in bloom by the first of June, and re- 

 main from 8 to 10 weeks. This and the mesquite arc 

 two of the finest honey plants we have on the 

 prairies. 



We have had no rain to do any good since the 5th 

 of May. Bees are getting some honey; but in places 

 there is no water for man or beast. 



B. F. Carroll. 



Dresden, Texas, Aug. 19, 1879. 



Tnis is a species of Petalostemon. The plant is not 

 in good condition, so it is not possible to decide the 

 species. The common name is prairie clover. There 

 arc live species east of the Mississippi River. They 

 are closely related to tbe clovers ana are all excel- 

 lent bee plants. I have often seen bees working on 

 the flowers for weeks at a time. At the South, per- 

 ennial plants usually remain in flower longer than 

 they do further north. W. J. Beal. 



Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. 



MOLLIE HEATH'S HONEY PLANT, STICK WEED, AND 

 BUTTON WEED. 



I am located on James River, in full view of the 

 celebrated Dutch Gap. I send you three samples of 

 honey producing plants, which grow spontaneously 

 over our fields. The one with the yellow flower 

 and pods belongs to the pea family. The little blue 

 aster now covers entire fields. They are the spon- 

 taneous growth on sandy land, after the oat crop is 

 harvested. They seem to furnish the principal food 



for my bees, at this time. The other sample is 

 known here as the stick weed, which is a pest to 

 farmers, as it is not regarded valuable as a fertilizer 

 or suitable for pasturage. I send you the top only 

 of the bush, for it grows about 4 ft. high. It blooms 

 in September. It grows on stiff clay soil, and pre- 

 sents quite a beautiful sight when in full bloom. 

 Geo. W. Friend, M. D. 

 Chester, Va., Aug. 28, 1879. 



The first specimen is, as you say, of the 

 Leguminosse or Pulse family, and is of the 

 genus Ccesalpina, though of a different spe- 

 cies than the Poinciana, not possessing the 

 long crimson filaments that distinguish the 

 latter. See "Mollie Heath's Honey Plant/' 

 April Gleanings, 1879. The one called 

 "stick weed" is a species of aster, Aster mi- 

 ser. The third, we referred to Prof. Beal, 

 who replies as follows: 



This is Diodia teres (Button weed). It belongs to 

 the Rubiacea? or Madder family with Galium, But- 

 ton bush, Partridge berry, Houstonia, all of which 

 are good bee plants, and some have numerous spe- 

 cies. W. J. Beal. 



EUPATORIUM ALTISSIMUM. 



I send you the top of a plant which is growing in 

 our wet lands, and is also getting on the hills some- 

 what, on my farm. It grows from 3 to 4 feet high, is 

 full of branches, and blooms full of sweet scented 

 flowers which produce a light colored, and pleasant 

 honey in abundance. Will you give me, or us rath- 

 er, the name of it in Gleanings. We call it the bee 

 weed. G. A. Willis. 



Enfield, 111., Aug. 27, 1879. 



This is Eupator in m Altissimum, a plant with no 

 common name. The genus is the same as that to 

 which boneset belongs. There are 25 species east of 

 the Mississippi. I have had live or more species 

 sent me by apiarists, and shall not be surprised to 

 receive any of the rest. W. J . Beal. 



#>P 



at 



STf-^-ON'T you listen to, and answer, a few ques- 

 }$ll tions? One of our hives of bees does not 

 seem to do anything but stay in their gum 

 all day long (and night too, I presume). I have be- 

 gun to fear that not every thing is right with them. 

 1 will give you all the particulars. First, it has giv- 

 en us but one swarm this year; second, we have not 

 "robbed" it yet; third, it is sitting in a cool corner 

 of the fence, and seems to have suffered less from 

 the warm weather than any of the other hives. I 

 also noticed one of those "dun-colored flies" going 

 into it, the other day. What is the matter with 

 them? Our other three hives are at work hard 

 every day, gathering pollen and a little honey. 

 They get the pollen from the bitter weed, and the 

 honey from a little plant that grows down in the 

 broom-straw, and has a tiny blue flower on it. I 

 would like you to tell me what it is. 



Now, Mr. Root, don't laugh at me, for I must tell 

 you,— my hopes are running high just now. I intend 

 to buy a foot-power saw this winter, and then— I'll 

 let you know. Pa has promised me a barrel of syrup 

 this fall, and I am going to invest it in the bee busi- 

 ness. Do you think that will be a good investment ? 

 I will also get something for collecting for pa, which 

 I will put to the same use. D. S. BBTHUNE. 



Snyder, Ark., Sept. 5, 1879. 



Open your hive, my young friend, and see 

 what is" the matter. It will he a deal easier 

 way than writing all the way up here. If it 

 isn't one of the kind that opens, make it so, 

 forthwith; that is, transfer them into a 

 movable comb hive. Don't invest any more 

 in bees, until you have taken better care of 

 what you have got. In fact, I do not know 

 but such advice would be best for all of us, — 

 stop investing, and take better care of what 

 we have got. 



