t>04 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. i 



STINQLESS AND OTHER BEES. 



Some Interesting Facts not hitherto Given; Stings 

 of our Bees vs. the "Bites" of the South Amer- 

 ican Stingless Bees; Can these Bees be 

 Domesticated ? 



BY W. K. MOKRISON. 



Now and then something- appears in 

 Gleanings bearing- on stingless bees, usu- 

 ally referring to a species common to Cuba, 

 Jamaica, Hayti, Porto Rico, the Leeward 

 and Windward Islands, Mexico, Central 

 America, and the Caribbean region gener- 

 ally. Possibly a clever biologist would 

 split up this kind into several species; but 

 the practical bee-keeper will probably al- 

 ways recognize the species as one only. It 

 is usually considered as not worth cultivat- 

 ing, though the generations j'et to come may 

 consider it useful, more particularly as its 

 honey is valuable for its medicinal proper- 

 ties. It is also valuable as showing where 

 other species of stingless bees may be read- 

 ily introduced. 



The moment we leave the Caribbean re- 

 gion and approach the contineatal one of 

 South America, a striking change occurs in 

 the bees; for we no longer have to deal with 

 one species but many, some larger and 

 more prolific than Apis mellifica we know 

 so well. 



Most of the famous writers on South 

 America mention bees either in a wild or a 

 domestic state. Capt. Hall has left us a 

 graphic account of an apiary of stingless 

 Peruvian bees, while Hum- 

 boldt and other writers men- 

 tion them casually. Bates, 

 while on the Amazon, gathered 

 specimens of SO or 60 species, 

 showing what a wide field ex- 

 ists for further observations. 

 Other writers and explorers 

 mention these bees, particu- 

 larly Azara, Geoffrey St. Hi- 

 laire, Wallace, Stedman, and 

 Waterton. Azara describes very 

 clearly the honey-gathering 

 wasp, for which he was ridi- 

 culed by the easy-chair trav- 

 elers in Paris and London. 

 Naturalists have generally as- 

 sumed this wasp was confined 

 to South Brazil and the River 

 Platte countries; but so far as 

 my own experience goes it may 

 be found all over the continent, 

 probably differentiating into 

 several species. I can not 

 term it a wasp. Stedman. in 

 his book, "Travels in Suri- 

 nam," mentions a kind of bee 

 building its nest under the 

 eaves of houses, in verandas, 

 and in sheds. I used to think 

 the bee referred to was simply 

 Apis inellifica run wild; but 

 the guess was very wide of the 

 truth. It is a jet-black bee, 

 buildingj a nest as large as 



Apis mellifica, but. like all South- American 

 bees, building a covering around its nest — 

 a very necessary protection — and stingless 

 bees do this even when they occupy a hol- 

 low tree or decaying log. Some use wax, 

 others cements, others a paper substance. 

 Sometimes several colonies occupj' the same 

 hollow, and the nests will almost touch; 

 but the envelope of wax prevents a contre- 

 temps. 



There is a great difference in the size of 

 nests. Some are the size of the kind in 

 Cuba; some much smaller; others would re- 

 quire a flour-barrel to accommodate their 

 abode. Some of these nests must be the 

 work of j'ears, for nearl}' all the species 

 stick most pertinaciousl}' to their home. No 

 matter if you repeated!}' pull the nest to 

 pieces they at once proceed to reconstruct 

 it. This is a valuable instinct, as it means 

 they can be easily domesticated. 



The stingless feature is not so valuable 

 as it first appears. All these insects bite 

 with energy and vigor — so much so the aver- 

 age individual dislikes to interfere with 

 them. The rapidity of their attack, their 

 eagerness, and the multitudinous numbers 

 of them, all combine to frighten a gi cat 

 many persons. 



Even when a veil is used they attack the 

 hands, and bite with fur}'. Of course, thej' 

 leave no bad effects, and the sensation of 

 their bites soon passes away. Smoke sub- 

 dues them to some extent. They have a 

 queen or queens; but whether they have 

 drones or not I can not say. If the}' have, 



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