514 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Junk 15 



AN OBJECT-LESSON IN BEES AND GRAPES. 



BY J. B. HAINS. 



I send a photograph of grapes, part of them 

 punctured and part of them sound, which I 

 placed in the upper story of hives, together 

 with other fruits— peaches, pears, etc. — last 

 summer, by request and co-operation of C. A. 

 Ennis, justice of the peace, and ex-mayor of 

 Bedford. We examined them from time to 

 time as long as they would keep without rot- 

 ting, and found all that we punctured entirely 

 consumed except stems and skins; while every 

 specimen not punctured was untouched. We 

 placed them in a portico outside the hive, and 

 in a few minutes we discovered yellow- jackets 

 on them. Then we removed them to the in- 

 side of the hive to protect them from wild 

 bees, and possibly from birds, which we be- 

 lieved to be the really guilty parties. 



Bedford, O. 



es they guess they make the holes, when we 

 have shown over and over again that bees do 

 not make the holes unless the skin is affected 

 by rotten spots at first invisible to the naked 

 eye. 



I wish to call particular attention to the fact 

 that there seems to be one large puncture in 

 each grape of the shriveled specimen, and 

 only one. In one or two specimens it will be 

 seen the large hole is made larger by the con- 

 stant twisting, squirming, and struggling of 

 the bees. In the name of common sense, if 

 bees can do their own puncturing why does 

 not each bee make a hole for itself? But, no; 

 you will see them all struggling at one hole — 

 a hole that has been made previously by some 

 other insect, or, as in this case, by man. 



We shall have some of these struck off so 

 that our friends who are met by the statement 

 that bees puncture fruit will be in a position 

 to give ocular proof that they do not ; for, as 



•tV -"^0^ 



GRAPES HAND-PUNCTURED, AND AFTERWARD SUCKED DRY BY BEES. 



[This is the old, old story. But here is a 

 very good photo, and photos do not lie, show- 

 ing that sound fruit, when placed right in 

 among the bees, will not be molested, while 

 that which has been punctured by outside 

 agencies they will suck dry ; and yet there are 

 some, even among bee-keepers, who insist that 

 bees do puncture peaches. They admit that 

 they have never seen them do it ; but from 

 the fact they see them working on the peach- 



I understand it, the sound specimens shown 

 in the picture were put right among the bees 

 and left there, with the result that they were 

 untouched. Those that were punctured in the 

 first place, and that had been subsequently 

 sucked dry by the bees, would have been of 

 no value, and therefore no financial loss would 

 have been sustained. It is sound fruit in eve- 

 ry case that is of value, and this the bees do 

 not pretend to molest. — Ed.] 



