228 Cleanings in bee culture. fkb. is 



OVERCOMING THE REACTIONS TOWARD HIVE ODOR. 



It is interesting that this powerful reaction toward hive odor, though generally act- 

 ing hostilely, can be subdued and turned in other directions. Thus bees which blunder 

 into the wrong hive, as they return from the fields with filled honey-sacs, are seldom 



attacked. 



The behavior of such "begging" bees is most peculiar. With the abdomen dragging 

 on the flight-board, the proboscis far extended and dealing out the honey to her tor- 

 mcnters, she is trying to insinuate herself into the hive in order to deposit her honey, 

 and in this she often succeeds. (Here and further on I use anthropomorphic terms for 

 better demonstration. It is understood that many of these actions rest upon reflexes 

 and instincts, but it makes the case clearer to use such terms, as "to insinuate" for ex- 

 ample.) 



• The old practice of transposing hives is based on the fact that strange bees, laden 

 with honey, are received in a friendly way. If a weak colony needs improving, it may 

 simply be put in the place of a v-v strong one. the two hives changing places. This 

 transfer will be successful only on d jS in which there is a good honey-flow and all flying 

 bees return heavily laden. If the hives have the same outward appearance, and (most 

 important) have their entrances at the same height, almost all bees will fly in as usual. 

 Thus the weak colony will be strengthened from the strong one, and stinging seldom 



occurs. 



Also, if one wishes to prevent swarming, the flying bees may be drawn off in the 

 same way. I can not at this point go into the many modifications of this practice, and 

 must refer to the manuals of instruction. 



If a strong colony stands next to a weak one during a rich honey-flow, and succeeds 

 in filling its own chamber to overflowing, it happens now and then that the strong colony, 

 having no further room, will help to fill the hive of the weak one in the most peaceful way. 

 So we see that of two colonies which should react hostilely toward each other, either one 

 or both may be put under peculiar conditions in order to handle both in the same way with 

 a peaceful reaction between them. For example, if two colonies are sprinkled with some 

 strong-smelling liquid, or powdered with meal, they may be united without risk. 



If bees are stupefied with saltpeter, chloroform, ether, or puff-ball, the same thing 

 can be done with no danger of mutual stinging, but at the same time the earlier orientation is 

 completely lost. When the bees recover from their stupor they no longer recognize their 

 own colony, and can be united to other colonies at will. What conclusions are to be 

 drawn from this capacity for learning, etc., we shall see later on. 



Incidentally, I might mention here a curious aberration of instinct. The literature 

 of bee economics records some cases in which bees showed unaccountable hostile reaction 

 toward their own hive mates. Thus it has been observed some times that a colony will 

 sting a great number of its own flying bees as if they were intruders. This behaviour ha^ 

 been noticed for a long time, and it finally did lead to the destruction of the colony. Possibly 

 he<"e there is a degeneration of that instinct which causes colonies to place bees at the 

 entrance to control the flying in. Perhaps differences of odor come into account, or perhaps 

 both stimuli act together. 



It is probable, too, that we may be dealing with defective observations, although errors 

 of instinct in bees are not at all uncommon, and frequently in the spring it can be proven 

 that bees, in an inexplicable mistake, even attack their own queen and ball her. The colony 

 is then in wild confusion, and between the combs or on the bottom-board is the poor queen 

 in the middle of a cluster of bees ; she often comes out of the tumult a cripple. Another 

 case of failure in instinct is as follows : As is well known, bees now and then build queen- 

 cells over drone eggs.^ If a queen-cell is of more than ordinary length it is tolerably sure 

 to contain a drone larva." The too invigorating royal jelly" seems to be unwholesome 



22 0. vom Rath, Ueber abnorme Zustande im Bienenvolk. Berichte der Naturf. Ges. Freiburg i. Br., 

 8. Bd., 1894. 



"There is also a prevalent idea that such cells are not as rough as normal cells containing queens; 

 some books on bee-keeping even go so far as to try to figure the difference. — E. F. I'. 



-* Concerning the varied chemical composition of pabulum for the three kinds of bees, see A. von 

 Planta. "Ueber den Futtersaft der Bienen," and "Nochmals iiber den Futtersaft der Eienen," Schweii. 

 Biencnzeitung, 1888'9; further, A. von Planta, Zeitschrift f. phys. Chemie von HoppcScyler, 1888, Bd. 

 12, Heft 4, pp. 327-354, and also Bd. 13, Heft 6, pp. 552-561; further, Dathe 1. c, p. 24. 



