368 Beekeeping 



codling moth and is not advised by entomologists and since 

 it is injurious to bees, several States, at the instigation of 

 the beekeepers, have enacted laws prohibiting such spraying. 

 However, it is difficult to enforce such a law and, through 

 ignorance, carelessness or neglect, serious damage is done to 

 beekeepers at times. It may also be added that spraying 

 in full bloom not only is unnecessary and detrimental to 

 bees but it directly injures the fruit blossoms. 1 It is there- 

 fore evident that in the light of our present knowledge, 

 spraying fruit trees while in full bloom is unwarranted and 

 unwise. 



Bees do not puncture ripe fruit. 



In discussing the relationship existing between beekeeping 

 and fruit-growing, there still remains one source of misunder- 

 standing between men engaged in these branches of agri- 

 culture which should be mentioned. Fruit-growers often 

 make the statement that honeybees puncture ripe fruit to 

 suck the juices, thereby causing considerable financial loss, 

 as well as hindering the picking of the fruit. This claim has 

 been the cause of ill-feeling in certain localities. It has, 

 however, been abundantly demonstrated that honeybees do 

 not puncture the skin of any fruit. To show this, if a colony 

 of bees is confined in a hive without honey and is given spec- 

 imens of sound fruit, the bees will die of starvation without 

 puncturing a single fruit. On the other hand, if an apple, 

 plum or grape is punctured, even slightly, and given to bees 

 in this way they will suck all the juice. If it is maintained 

 that confined bees may act differently from those free to fly, 

 it may be replied that no one has ever seen honeybees punc- 

 ture fruit either by stinging or biting. Furthermore, if 

 there is any nectar available, honeybees will always take 

 that in preference to the juice of injured fruits. If then a 

 fruit-grower sees honeybees sucking his fruit, he may be sure 



1 Cf. Beach, S. A., and Bailey, L. H., 1900. Bui. 196, N. Y. Agric. Exp. 

 Sta., Geneva. 



