April, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



of the frames. If tliey move about content- 

 edly, paying but little attention to the be- 

 ginner, there will be no further need of the 

 smoker; but if one notices a row of heads 

 sticking up inquiringly between the frames, 

 each bee apparently alert, just waiting for 

 a signal to dart at the operator, or if one 

 observes quick sudden moves of the bees 

 on top of the frames, and perhaps an upward 

 curving of the abdomen with the point of 

 ^ the sting protrud- 

 ing, then it is full 

 time to resort to 

 the smoker. The 

 bees, however, 

 should not be smok- 

 ed too vigorously. 

 A few gentle puffs 

 is all tha,t is neces- 

 sary. 



Three Kinds of In- 

 dividuals in 

 the Hive. 



As one watches 

 the bees on the 

 frames he will find 

 the individual bees 

 going this way and 

 that, sometimes 

 crawling over each 

 other, but usually 

 crowding their way 

 in between those 

 that happen to 

 block their way. 

 Those thus crowded show no resentment, but 

 quite graciously grant a momentary gang- 

 way, in this respect showing themselves 

 vastly superior to human beings. The great 

 majority of these bees are like those the 

 beginner has frequent!}' noticed on flowers 



Fig. 3. — Third position. 

 Arrows sliow direction 

 from which tlie frame 

 has just been turned. 



Fourth position of frame. 



in his garden. They are the workers, or 

 honey-gatherers, and are undeveloped fe- 

 males. 



Here and there among the workers may be 

 noticed a few blunt thickset bees larger 

 than the workers. These are the drones, or 

 male bees, which are entirely dependent on 

 the workers, since they are unable either to 

 protect or provide for themselves, having no 

 sting, and the tongue being too short to ob- 

 tain nectar from flowers, altho a drone is 

 able to help himself from cells of honey al- 

 ready stored by the workers. 



Perhaps one may be fortunate enough to 

 note on one of the combs a somewhat ir- 

 regular circle of workers mostly facing to- 



ward a large splendid-looking bee not as 

 blunt as the drone, but much longer, and 

 quite regal in bearing. This is the queen, 

 the mother of the entire colony. If one 

 watches her for a time he may notice work- 

 ers softly caressing her with their antennae, 

 if she chances to stand still for any length 

 of time. If the bees have been handled 

 carefully, the beginner may have an oppor- 

 tunity to see the queen deposit in the cells 

 little white eggs one-sixteenth of an inch 

 in length. She progresses busily over the 

 comb, apparently choosing those cells that 

 best please her, and then, while hanging to 

 the edge of the cell with her feet, she in- 

 serts her abdomen, curving it downward 

 into the cell, and deposits her eggs, gluing 

 one in the bottom of each cell. 



Arrangement of Brood. 



Most of these eggs are placed in cells 

 about one-fifth of an inch in diameter, of 

 which cells the combs are almost entirely 

 composed. A few, however, are placed in 

 larger cells about one-fourth of an inch in 

 diameter. • In the smaller cells are developed 

 the workers, and in the larger ones the 

 drones. Near the cells of eggs will be found 

 cells containing pearly-white grubs of vari- 

 ous sizes. These are larvae in different 

 stages of development. When the larvae 

 become large enough they spin cocoons 

 about themselves and pass into the pupa 

 stage. At this stage the cells have light 

 to dark-brown slightly convex cappings 

 made of wax and fibrous material. The cells 

 of eggs, larvae, and pupaj — that is, all the un- 

 hatched bees of the hive — make up what is 

 called the "brood." That part of the 

 combs in which brood is being reared is the 

 brood-nest; and the entire chamber which 

 contains the brood-nest is called the brood- 

 chamber. In the spring, when the queen 

 begins laying, she usually places the eggs 

 toward the center of the hive. She lays 

 quite regularly; and, as the little circle of 

 brood gradually increases, similar smaller 

 circles are started on the adjacent combs, so 

 that, roughly speaking, the general form of 

 the brood-nest is that of a sphere or ball- 

 Placing of Pollen. 



Surrounding the sphere of brood, tho not 

 arranged regularly, may be noticed cells 

 not capped over, but containing a yellow, 

 red, green, or perhaps dark-brown substance. 

 This is pollen mixed with a little honey, the 

 pollen having been gathered by the bees 

 from flowers, and carried home packed in 

 pellets on their rear legs. It is possible 

 that the beginner may catch sight of some 

 bees rushing about on the combs with these 

 variously colored little balls, looking for 

 suitable cells in which to deposit them. 

 Having chosen such a cell the bee backs in, 

 and, holding the rear legs down in the cell, 

 dexterously removes the balls of pollen. The 

 ' ' beebread, ' ' as the pollen moistened with 

 honey is sometimes called, is gathered es- 

 jiecially for fcedii'.g the young larvae. 

 Location of Honey-cells. 



Just outside of the brood and beebread, 



