8^6 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Dr. Neville's smnnier and -u-iTifrr repositi 



forward. These spiders lurk among flowers, 

 usually in deuse clusters of small flowers 

 like the nieadow-sweet, the sumac, the elder- 

 berry, and viburnums, and pounce upon the 

 unsuspecting insect-visitors. The two com- 

 monest species are Misurnena vatia (shown 

 in tlie photograi^h), and M. aleataria. They 

 not only catch bees and flies, but also wasps 

 and large butterflies and dragonflies, as the 

 illustration shows. The poison is very vir- 

 ulent, or otherwise they would be carried 

 away by such strong-winged insects. These 

 spiders are common, and kill a good many 

 honej'bees. 



On the 16th of July I noticed a bumble- 

 bee gathering pollen on a flower of the wild 

 rose {Eosa lucida). My attention wa.s for 

 a moment diverted, but was again quickly 

 recalled by the loud buzzing of the bee. A 

 white spider had leaped upon its back and 

 grasped it with its mandibles just behind 

 the head. At first the bumblebee struggled 

 violently, but gradually its efforts became 

 more feeble and soon ceased. The spider 

 now dragged it over the edge of the flower 

 to the leaves beneath, there to dine at its 

 leisure. 



Waldoboro, Maine. 



A COMBINED SUMMER AND WINTER SHED FOR CITY USE 



BY DR. R. NEVILLE 



The illustration shows my bee-house 

 \vhieh T use both summer and winter here 

 in town. In the summer the hives are 28 

 inches above the floor where they are placed 

 during the winter. This means that, during 

 the summer time, the entrances ai'e at least 

 four feet from the ground so that the bees 

 are usually above the head by the time tliey 

 are out of my lot. 



The lower part of the shed is of concrete 

 blocks, resting on a foundation wall four 



inches high, through which openings are 

 left for the winter entrances. The shed is 

 40 feet long and 4 feet wide outside mea- 

 surements; 32 inches in the clear on the 

 inside. 



After the hives are placed down on the 

 floor inside for winter, we secure boxes that 

 have been used for shipping panes of glass; 

 till the throe-inch space inside with drj' 

 sti'aw, and place it over the top for a cover- 

 ing — finally putting on the boards used for 



