582 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



July 



low to form that wax into cells. If we give empty 

 combs only to a swarm, this secreted wax is formed 

 into brace-combs and wax lumps. The proportion 

 of field-bees to the brood and house-bees is impor- 

 tant too, and I hope to write about it in another 

 article. L. Stachelhausen. 



Selma, Texas. 



Your suggestions are much in the line 

 with those of our friend Hasty and Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, although you have carried them a 

 little further. I have often noticed the 

 waste of wax by way of droppings on the 

 bottom-board, brace- combs, and little lumps 

 scattered about the combs where they were 

 not needed, and extra cappings to the cells ; 

 sometimes extra thickness to the walls of 

 the cells ; and I have many times been im- 

 pressed by the fact that these bees, were an 

 opportunity given them, would build combs 

 at no expense to the bee-keeper. It is along 

 in this line of reasoning that friends Doo- 

 little and Hutchinson conclude that bees 

 will produce more honey, where they are 

 obliged to build a certain amount of comb, 

 than where the combs are furnished them. 

 Other experiments, however (but they may 

 be under different circumstances), indicate 

 exactly to the contrary. See page 337. 



BILL-BEETLES. 



THE OREGON BEE-KILLER. 



T HAVE received from Mr. J. J. McGowan, Swan 

 M Quarter, several of these weevils. They were 

 W all packed in a strong- wooden box, with cotton, 

 ■^ and every one reached me in good order. The 

 number and excellent condition delighted me. 

 Mr. M. wishes me to discourse upon the natural 

 history of these insects. 



These are known in the South as bill-bugs; but 

 bill-beetles would be a more correct term. They 

 feed upon the corn, and often do great damage. 

 They insert their beaks and often destroy the 

 young plants. This is a species of Sphenophorous. 

 1 send a drawing which shows 

 ^> its natural size, form and gen- 

 eral appearance. As will be 

 , scon, these beetles have a pro- 

 boscis, or snout, and so are 

 weevils. A species of spheno- 

 phorous (S. rabv,8tu8) is said to 

 destroy corn in South Carolina and Alabama. It is 

 also stated that this weevil breeds in the corn. It 

 is black, and a little larger than this one. The spe- 

 cies sent by Mr. M. is six-tenths of an inch long, and 

 of a rusty gray color. The entire back is punctur- 

 ed. 1 can hardly suggest a remedy for these pests, 

 as I have never had opportunity to study them. 



OREGON liEE-KIIXKIt. 



Mr. R. W. Keeney, Pilot Rock, Oregon, sends me 

 an asilus fly which much resembles the Missouri 

 bee-killer, except that it is only about two-thirds as 

 large. Mr. K. says, " These flies destroy my bees. 

 They can kill any thing that flies. He often 

 launches on hoppers three times his own size, 

 which he can easily bear away. He does not eat 

 but sucks the blood from his victims. As soon as 

 he has sucked one dry he drops it and is ready for 

 another." 



Mr. K. thinks this fly about half grown. This is 

 a very common error. Insects, after they have 



A BILL-BEK'IXE. 



wings, do not grow. The growth takes place while 

 yet larva. All bee-keepers know that bees do not 

 grow after they are mature. Of course, a full bee 

 is larger than an empty one. Female insects, like 

 queen-bees, may enlarge a little when in the height 

 of laying, and shrink a little as the ovaries rest 

 from egg-production. I presume this asilus is a 

 new species. If so I will name him Asilus Orrgomis, 

 or Oregon bee-killer, alias Oregon robber-fly. The 

 fly is gray, and about one inch long. See my Manu- 

 al on " Robber-flies." These Hies were somewhat 

 broken. I hope Mr. K. can send me more in good 

 shape. A little cotton prevents breakage. 

 Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



NOTES FROM THE KEYSTONE BEE- 

 FARM. 



NON-SWAKMERS NOT NON-SW ARMKRS AT ALL. 



'E have (I mean my wife and I) an Italian 

 queen that I bought of Mr. Frank Booru- 

 hower two years ago, that had never 

 swarmed. Our other queens have swarm- 

 ed excessively. Last season I reared a 

 flue lot of queens from her brood, and these also 

 preserved the traits of their mother during the sea- 

 son. Thinking we had a big bonanza in the line of 

 non-swarmers, we concluded to advertise through 

 Gleanings, " Warranted non-swarming queens at 

 regular prices," and I had actually written out 

 what I thought was an attractive advertisement to 

 forward for the June 1st issue, when our non- 

 swarmers began to swarm, and now, June 17th, they 

 have all swarmed. Even the original Boomhower 

 queen has followed the example of her beautiful 

 daughters. We have not tried to check swarming, 

 because our strongest stocks are not storing any 

 surplus, on account of the extremely wet and cold 

 weather. 



We have a Carniolan queen that I bought of Dr. 

 Morrison last June. Sept. 1st she led out a large 

 swarm. On the evening of the 8th, as I was makiug 

 ray usual round through the apiary I found, at the 

 entrance of her old stand, seven young queens. 

 They paid no attention to each other, but were de- 

 termined to get back inside of the hive, which the 

 workers would not allow, but would gently lead 

 them out again. We had at that time a few queen- 

 less nuclei, where I ran the outcasts in, and five of 

 them are to-day among our best laying queens. 



From present indications we shall not secure any 

 surplus until buckwheat and fall flowers, because 

 the weather will not permit our bees to more than 

 live and keep up brood-rearing from clover, and we 

 are out of the range of basswood, which is four 

 miles away. By way of experiment I think we will 

 move a few colonies up to the basswood. 



The Ignotum tomato seeds came all right, for 

 which accept our thanks. We succeeded in getting 

 83 plants from the 25 seeds which the packet con- 

 tained. S. W. Taylor. 

 Harveyville, Luz. Co., Pa., June 17, 1889. 



You have given us some very valuable 

 facts. I have several times been told that 

 certain colonies never swarmed. In fact, 

 many have writteu that they had certain 

 queens whose bets never sent out a swarm, 

 and that young queens followed this peculi- 

 arity. I have invariably told such people to 

 be slow in drawing conclusions ; for my im- 



