438 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. Apr. 1 



ARE BEES REFLEX MACHINES? 



Experimental Contribution to the Natural History of the Honey-bee by 

 H. V. Buttel-Reepen, Ph. D. Translated by Mary H. Geisler. 



Continued from Feb. 1.5th issue. 



THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION IN BEES. 



According to Bethe, there is not "the slightest doubt" that bees recognize each other 

 or hive strangers only by odor (chemical substance), and that no special means, neither 

 a "sound" nor a "definite movement of the antennse," comes into question as possibilities 

 for communication." 



Long-continued and careful observations, however, yield many data which do not 

 coincide with this view. 



INVESTIGATIONS WITH COLONIES FROM WHICH THE QUEENS ARE TAKEN. 



If the queen is taken from a very strong colony of 50,000 to 60,000 bees or 'more, the 

 loss is first noticed sometimes after an hour, sometimes after many hours. This is par- 

 ticularly the case if the removal is made during a rich honey-flow when the bees are 

 busily occupied with bringing in and storing the nectar. A striking change then suddenly 

 takes place; the comfortable humming gives way to a louder, long-drawn-out, lamenting 

 buzz." The guards at the entrance and those providing the ventilation become uneasy; 

 excited bees come out of the hive and run over it as if seeking something; single bees fly 

 away quickly, then back; the whole character of the colony is changed, not only in outward 

 behavior but also in inner disposition. They are very irritable, and inclined to sting. 

 I have sometimes noticed the queenlessness of colonies, which usually were very gentle, 

 by the increased desire to sting. Such notice is, of course, possible only to one who is 

 used to working without veil or gloves. 



If the door" of a queenless colony is opened, the same agitation is seen in the interior, 

 arid smoke blown in only increases the buzzing. This excitement over the loss of a 

 queen often appears very soon after her removal, particularly when there is no forage or 

 if the colony is weak. 



The difficult question now arises, how bees notice the absence of the queen and how 

 they communicate this loss. Is it the sudden absence of her odor? Hardly, at least not 

 in all cases, for we have seen in a previous paragraph that the odor of the queen is 

 exceedingly adherent, and therefore the walls, as well as the bees, must be impregnated 

 with it. But the intensity is gradually becoming less. However, this odor is variable 

 in the customary course of events,^'' and so no uneasiness of any kind arises on this account. 

 Furthermore, how does it happen that the bees suddenly become agitated after the queen 

 has been taken out sometimes for an hour or more? 



If Bethe is right, that the means of communication depend upon the outflow of some 

 chemical, then the above observations would prove at least that the odor of the queen 

 is a very dominant one in the colony. The queen then does not, as Bethe declares, take 

 on the hive substance, but just the opposite happens; the queen influences the hive odor 



" Bethe, 1. c. p. 70. 



*' That "agitated hecs" constantly "buzz" is a misleading expression of Bethe's. Particularly can 

 the humming with raised abdomens and fanning wings upon the flight-board be sharply distinguished 

 by the trained ear fron; what is usually called the "buzzing" of bees, by the pitch. 



** Reference is here made to the German style of hive with a door in the rear. The American 

 style of hive opening at the top is little used in that country. — E. F. P. 



" If the queen gets into the honey-chamber, which is generally separated from the brood-chamber 

 beneath by a strong piece of board with slits in for the passage of workers, and if she there continues 

 to lay eggs, it is clear that her odor must soon be lost to the bees beneath. This is especially true if 

 there is an entrance into the honey-chamber. Under these circumstances, however, excitement at the 

 queen's absence never breaks out; at most the "isolated" bees after a few days occasionally build queen- 

 cells, but more often not. 



