1498 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



one kind of pollen in the same mass. It is true 

 I believe that the honey-bee gathers only one kind 

 for each load; but it is not true, as I have some- 

 times heard it stated, that all the bees of the hive 

 work at one time upon one kind of flower. The 

 conditions in regard to pollen-gathering make 

 this self-evident; and since many bees were com- 

 ing in laden with nectar, it seems probable to me 

 that there was as much diversity in the variety of 

 nectar as there was in the variety of pollen. 



Here is a wide field for further experiment, and 

 I intend to work in it extensively next summer. 

 I am wondering what materials will be accepted 

 by honey-bees as a substitute for pollen. One of 

 the most interesting communications that has 

 come to me along that line is from a child who 

 wrote me that her mother scattered red pepper on 

 a certain flower-bed in early spring to keep the 

 dogs from digging it up. To the great surpiise 

 of my correspondent and of her mother, the bed 

 was immediately covered by honey-bees, and, so 

 far as could be observed, they were carrying off 

 the tiny grains of red pepper, picking them out 



EGG OF THE QUEEN. 

 This was photographed in position (on end) at the bottom of the 



from among the particles of earth. If honey- 

 bees like that kind of food they will surely main- 

 tain their reputation for " hotness " in more senses 

 than one. 



THE EGG OF THE QUEEN-BEE IN POSITION. 



All who have had any experience with honey- 

 bees have observed the workers cleaning out the 

 cells, after which the queen hovers over them, 

 and, after a little hesitation, backs with her curv- 

 ed abdomen into one of these renovated apart- 

 ments and there deposits her crescentric egg. I 

 have always been desirous of seeing in micro- 

 scopic detail exactly what happens at the bottom 

 of that cell, and how the egg is held in position. 

 It appears that there is a tiny particle of a sticky 

 material in the bottom of the cell, and I am dis- 

 posed to think it is placed there by the worker 

 bee, and that it is of the same material as the 

 royal jelly, or of some very similar substance. 

 Perhaps the royal jelly has been made a trifle 



thicker than usual, jet it seems to be something 

 more than jelly, being more like a very thin wax. 

 It surely does not appear to be material on the 

 egg, for a careful examination shows that there is 

 nothing adhesive on either end of them. I must 

 confess that the process is not yet clear to me, 

 but it is indeed interesting to have a side view of 

 the bottom of a cell, and to see the egg standing 

 erect on the tiny "teeing" mass of supporting 

 material. The egg is curved, and a curious thing 

 is that it seems to develop unevenly throughout 

 its length, doing so more rapidly at one end than 

 at the other. As this development continues, the 

 egg from above downward becomes limp, and 

 gradually turns down in a way that is somewhat 

 similar to that of a wilting plant which bends 

 first at its tender tip, the withering gradually ex- 

 tending down the stronger stalk. This bending, 

 although the resemblance is remote, reminds me 

 of the skunk-cabbage fruit which slowly bends 

 downward as winter approaches. 



This is a wide field for investigation, and one 

 that is fascinating. I show herewith by a photo- 

 micrograph a curved egg in position at 

 the bottom of the cell. It required a 

 great amount of time and much careful 

 manipulation to produce this, and, not- 

 withstanding my pride in it as an ex- 

 cellent specimen of photomicrography, 

 I must admit that it is far from doing 

 justice to the subject. When magnified 

 under a strong reflected light, eggs are 

 beautiful objects, as they are apparently 

 enveloped in filmy lace, which can not 

 be shown in a photograph, as I have 

 not been able, after repeated attempts, 

 to picture these reticulations. It is, in- 

 deed, not shown to advantage on the 

 ground glass, and, of course, if it does 

 not appear well there it can not be trans- 

 ferred to the sensitive plate. A view of 

 it under the compound microscope 

 shows it to be a superb object. 



I often wonder why so many collect- 

 ors of birds' eggs rave over the wonder- 

 ful beauty of those objects, and become 

 so interested in collecting them. No 

 birds' eggs with which I am familiar are 

 so interesting as the eggs of insects; 

 and among these, so beautiful in form 

 and in ornamentation, none seem to me quite 

 equal in attractiveness to the eggs of the queen 

 honey-bee. 



Stamford, Conn. 



[In regard to the manner in which eggs are at- 

 tached to the base of the cell, it is interesting to 

 note what some of our standard authors have to 

 say. Cowan, in "The Honey-bee," says: "She 



deposits at the base of the cell, to 



which it is attached by a glutinous secretion, a 

 little bluish-white oblong egg." Cheshire, in 

 "Bees and Bee-keeping," Vol. I., makes the def- 

 inite statement that "The oviducts are provided 

 with secretion cells, which coat the egg with an 

 aggultinative body, so that, as it leaves the queen, 

 it adheres by its smaller end, as before pointed 

 out." 



These opinions indicate that the adhesive sub- 

 stance is on the egg and not on the base of the 

 cell. It seems probable that this is the case, since 



