NOVEMBER 15, 1915 



927 



CONYEKSATIONS WITH DOOLITTLE 



At Borodino, New York. 



mi^m (iATUEKING pollen; POINTED 



'i|£*^■' QUEEN-CELLS. 



'^^^ "Will you tell us why bees gath- 

 ^^Hl er pollen more plentifully in the 

 ^^^1 early part of the day than later?" 

 J^B I have heard it said that pollen 

 h'laB is always fresh and pliable in the 

 early morning: hours; and as the day ad- 

 vances, the sun getting higher, the pollen 

 gets too dry to gather easily, and so the 

 work is given up. Another reason which has 

 been given is that the flowers secrete nectar 

 more freely in the latter part of the day, so 

 in their eagerness to secure this nectar they 

 give up or forget all about the pollen till 

 another morning. Whatever of truth there 

 may be in these reasons given, I suspect that 

 in many varieties of flowers like corn, soi'rel, 

 narrow-leafed plantain, etc., the pollen is 

 either gathered by the bees or falls off with 

 each rising breeze to do its proper work 

 early in the day, so that the bees have none 

 to gather later. 



It may be that, when honey is abundant, 

 carriers of pollen are scarce; but is it not 

 true that when the hard maple and white 

 clover are yielding nectar abundantly pol- 

 len is also gathered throughout the Avhole 

 day? In times when the hard maple blos- 

 soms freely I have seen the lengthening 

 cells along the tops of the combs sparkling 

 with nectar, and at the same time the combs 

 next the outside of the brood-nest may be so 

 packed with pollen that the cjueen has to 

 go clear around to the opposite side of the 

 comb to get a chance to lay her eggs for 

 the expansion of the brood into the next 

 comb. Then with the clover we have pollen 

 and honey gathered at the same time, to the 

 detriment of many a section of honey. 

 Some claim that bees do not gather pollen 

 from clover, as they never see bees with 

 loads of pollen (in clover bloom) before the 

 bees begin to secure nectar, it being a well- 

 established fact that prior to 7:30 a.m. 

 very little nectar is gathered from any of 

 the clovers, on account of the nectar being 

 too thin from the morning dew for paying 

 work. Such a claim is based on careless 

 obsenation, as clover pollen is not as 

 readily seen as most other kinds, it being a 

 darkish brown. Clover pollen seems to be 

 the only pollen which is covered with honey, 

 and the honey sealed over, thus perfectly 

 preserving it for early spring brooding. 

 " I notice that some queen-cells during 

 the swarming season are more pointed than 

 others. Which are better — the pointed ones 

 or those round and smooth on the end?" 



1 cannot see that the wax put on the cell 

 at the end has anything to do with the 

 value of the inmate of the cell. I am in- 

 clined to think that the shape of the cell 

 when first finislied is due to the peculiarity 

 of tlie bees building the cells. The real 

 length of the cell is determined by the co- 

 coon spun by the royal occupant. I have 

 never noticed any difference in the shape of 

 the points of queen-cells internally; but 

 often, after cells are capped, the bees deco- 

 rate the fx'ee end with a point of wax so as 

 to make it look much longer and sharper. 

 Tliese cells will all be nicely rounded off in 

 a few days, as this wax is generally careful- 

 ly removed before cells are ready to hatch. 



" I see that you have ' started something ' 

 by telling how a queen i^ipes. But I fear 

 some of the discussion is not orthodox." 



Sorry our correspondent does not specify 

 what he considers unorthodox. Dr. Miller, 

 ]). 835, cjuotes Baron Berlepsch, who would 

 have us understand all queens quahk at their 

 maturity. This is certainly a mistake, as all 

 know who have seen a mature queen emerg- 

 ing from her cell. Such queens are as 

 white, weak, and fuzzy, as are the mature 

 workers when they come out of their cells. 

 It is only as either of these partake of food 

 that they begin to assert themselves. I am 

 led to believe that no queen ever pijDed or 

 quahked in less time than 18 hours after 

 she had taken food; and the first of any 

 batch of queens emerging comes out white 

 and fuzzy, as I have often i:)roven by close 

 observation during more than forty years. 



The editor, p. 790, and p. 835, would 

 make a jioor showing, only that he tells us 

 that he does not know very much about this 

 whole jDroposition. He tells us about quahk- 

 ing queens having " less air," and refers to 

 the waxen cells as being nearly air-tight, 

 while all close observers know that no queen 

 ever quahks until she has made an incision 

 through the capping of her cell of sufficient 

 extent to thrust her tongue through and 

 partake of food given her by bees outside. 

 Here is Avhere Arthur C. Miller fell down 

 in his theory that queens are never fed only 

 as they lay hold of the workers and demand 

 food by force. As Dr. Miller says, the 

 piping queen gives the challenge, and then 

 all the queens in their cells which have been 

 fed by the workers for eighteen hours or 

 more go to quahking. A quahking queen 

 is held in the cell by a few bees holding the 

 cell-cover on immediately on her maturity, 

 and the cover is never so held except when 

 another queen has her liberty in the hive. 



