1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



249 



weak colonies often nearly or quite destroy them, 

 changing them by consumption from the nice sym- 

 metrical cells for brood and honey, into a mass of 

 webs and cocoons. However, there are no strong 

 colonies destroyed from this source, especially 

 Italians. In fact, where pure Italian bees are kept 

 exclusively, these pests are rarely ever seen. Still, 

 combs not protected by bees, especially those hav- 

 ing pollen in, are always subject to their ravages, 

 and should be looked after during warm weather. 

 If signs of worms appear, the combs should be 

 placed in a tight barrel or box, and fumigated with 

 burning sulphur, having all fixed so that there can 

 be no possible danger from fire. All combs taken 

 away from the bees during the fall, winter, or early 

 spring, are comparatively safe till swarming time, 

 if hung an inch or so apart, so that the air can cir- 

 culate freely through and about them. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y., Mar. 18, 1889. 



their easy, graceful, and, upon occasion, their rapid 

 flight. Their wings are all falcate. Our common 

 meadow-lark has a labored, awkward, and lazy 

 flight. Its wings are broad and short. Among in- 

 sects the butterfly has a slow flight and broad wing. 



WINGS OF INSECTS. 



PROF. COOK TELLS US SOME WONDERFUL THINGS 

 ABOUT THEM. 



fHERE is something in the very words " wing " 

 and " flight" that stirs the imagination and 

 wakes to life all the poetry and sentiment 

 that there is within us. Even as practical 

 people as are you and I, brother Root, feel a 

 sort of thrill and uplift as there comes to our ears, 

 either upon the wings of memory or song: "Oh 

 had I the wings of a dove, I would fly." Indeed, 

 there are very few of us so stolid and inert that we 

 are not roused, interested— yea, pleased— as we 

 note the swoop of the osprey, the graceful curves 

 of the swift-flying night-hawk, the easy, gentle mo- 

 tion of the listless butterfly, or the quick, arrow- 

 like descent of the industrious bee. All of these 

 are interesting, fascinating, and have claimed a 

 large place in song and story all down the ages. In 

 this article, however, I shall ignore sentiment and 

 poetry, and aim to describe accurately only the in- 

 sect's wing. 



FIG. 1.— AN ENLARGED VIEW OF A HONEY-BEE 



The wing of the honey-bee, Fig. 1, is long, strong, 

 and narrow. Such a wing, called falcate, indicates 

 rapid flight. A bee or fly will rival a fast-running 

 horse In speed. This same fact holds with birds. 

 The hawks, pigeons, and night-hawks are noted for 



fig. 2. 

 The insect-wing consists of a thin membrane 

 spread upon a framework of veins, or nerves. 

 These veins are hollow, and so carry nourishment 

 —blood and air— to the wing. The veins vary great- 

 ly in number and strength. Thus in the higher in- 

 sects the veins are few and strong; in the lower, 

 many and frail. In the lowest order of insects— 

 Neuroptera — the veins are so numerous that they 

 resemble lace, and we have the common name, 

 lace-wings. 



According to our modern philosophy of develop- 

 ment, which now is universally accepted by scien- 

 tists, we should expect much variation in organs as 

 usef ul as are wings, and it is so. Thus the wings 

 are useful in defining orders, and even lower 

 groups down to species. Indeed, the names of the 

 orders come from the character of the wings. 

 Hymenoptera — the highest order, including bees, 

 wasps, ants, etc., have four membraneous wings, 

 hence the name, which means membraneous wings. 

 So the word Lepidoptera, used to designate the 

 order of moths and butterflies, means scaled wings, 

 and was given because of the shingle- 

 like scales which adorn such insects. 

 These scales rub off easily, and so the 

 care required in handling moths, if we 

 would keep our specimens in first-class 

 order. The name Diptera— two wings- 

 refers to the fly order, including mos- 

 quitoes, house-flies, bot-flies, horse- 

 flies, etc. The word is very appropriate, 

 as it means two wings. Thus we have 

 Coleoptera, sheathed wings, for the bee- 

 tles; Hemiptera, half -wings, for the 

 bugs. The wings] of the typical bugs 

 are thick at the base, and appear like 

 half-wings. Thus they are only half- 

 wings in appearance. Orthoptera — 

 I" straight wings — includes the crickets, 



grasshoppers, etc., whose front) wings 

 areilong, slim, and straight. Neuroptera 

 —or nerve wings— is very appropriate 

 for the lowest orders, as is also their 

 common name of lace-wings. Here are found the 

 dragon-flies, day-flies, ant-lions, etQ. 



There are five main veins in the best-developed 

 wings. Thus (see Figs. 1 and 2)> is known as the 

 postal vein, or nerve; b, the sub-costal; c, the medi- 



s WING. 



