726 



THE AMERICA2J BEE JOURNAL. 



For the robbers to gain access to 

 the honey, they were obliged to pass 

 into the hive through an entrance % 

 by 1 inch, and (the entrances to mv 

 hives being at the side of the combs) 

 travel through the brood-chamber and 

 enter the feed apartment through a 

 J^-inch hole which is bored in the 

 centre of the division-board. From 

 this it may be seen that the robbers 

 must not iiave been considered very 

 objectionable to have secured the 

 honey by so hazardous aroute through 

 the brood-chambers. How easily 

 might those colonies have been 

 starved so as to have destroyed tlieir 

 brood, and consequently turned out 

 to be unprolitable for this season. 

 The robbing was stopped by returning 

 to the cellar for a few days the 

 colonies which were being robbed. 



I find no use for entrance -blocks or 

 division-boards in my apiary, and I 

 have never known of robbing except 

 in the way described above. 



I would congratulate Mr. Wm. 

 Malone on his "big" honey-yield as 

 reported on page 619. From past 

 experience he should have allowed 

 the bees more honey for winter than 

 from 1 to 6 pounds per colony, as he 

 did those of which he reported on 

 page 717 of the Bee Jouknal for 

 1884. If he allows each colony 25 

 ponnds of honey, the requisite amount 

 tor winter, perhaps his yield will not 

 seem so large for this poor season. 

 There is a vast difference between the 

 amount of honey I extract and the 

 amount which I sell. The taking and 

 reporting of all the honey g;ithered, 

 and then feeding syrup for winter 

 stores, sometimes figures largely in 

 the big reports, I suspect. 



Bradford, (^ Iowa. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-Enclosure— ftueenless Colony. 



L. C. ROOT. 



The following questions were sent 

 me by the Bee Journal, with the 

 request for answers to them : 



On page fil8 Mr. L. C. Boot describes 

 a tight enclosure for a bee-yard ; will 

 he please state the height of the 

 fence and the distance from the hivesV 

 Also, I would like to know the best 

 ■wav to tell when a colony is queen- 

 less.— T. .1. Tiffany, Brooklyn, <$ Pa. 



In reply I would say that the fence 

 around my yard is 8 feet high, and 

 close to the rear row of hives. If the 

 fence is in front of the hives it should 

 be several feet from the Iront row. 

 If the location is in a very bleak 

 place. I would have it higher. It 

 should be made of matched boards, or 

 battened to make it tight. 



If a queen is suddenly destroyed in 

 a hive, or removed from it, llie bees 

 may be noticed running about on the 

 front of the liive and entrance-board 

 as if in search of the lost nueen. If 

 the hive has been long queenless, it 

 may be often detected by the bees 

 becoming very cross. While there 

 are outward indications, the only 

 sure way of ascertaining is to open 

 the hive and examine it. If queen- 



cells are found it is an indica- 

 tion that they are queenless, or that 

 they are preparing to swarm or to 

 supersede their queen, depending of 

 course somewhat upon the season in 

 which the examination is made. 



If no eggs are found in the combs 

 during the season when honey is being 

 gathered, it is evidence that the 

 colony is either queenless or has a 

 virgin queen not yet laying. If the 

 latter, a cell may usually be found 

 from which she has hatched. 



If but few eggs are found, or if 

 brood is sealed over, the capping of 

 which extends out beyond the sur- 

 face of the viorker comb, it is evidence 

 that the colony has a drone-laying 

 queen, a spent queen, or a laying 

 worker. 



During the season when honey is 

 not being gathered, and the queen is 

 not laying, there is no way to tell the 

 absence of a queen to a certainty. An 

 expert would satisfy himself to a rea- 

 sonable degree by making a thorough 

 effort to lind tlie queen. 



Mohawk. 5 N. Y. 



Touth's Companion. 



The Honey-Ants. 



The honey-ants are found from 

 southern JNIexico as far north as 

 Colorado, and are easily recognized 

 by the tall, mound-like structures or 

 nests that they erect. 



They are like tlie owl, almost en- 

 tirely nocturnal, carrying on their 

 out-door woik at night, although 

 their domestic duties underground 

 are probably not negL'cted during the 

 day. As soon as the darkness conies 

 on, they sally out of their subter- 

 ranean cities, and wander about, 

 climbing bushes and trees in search 

 of the iood of their choice, which, 

 curiously enough, is honey. 



This will occur to you as an excep- 

 tional case among ants, as they 

 generally, perhaps, as a rule, feed 

 upon mateiial that can be stored up: 

 but here where the food is liquid you 

 would assume that it could not be 

 laid by for a rainy day. so to speak, 

 for the simple reason that the ants 

 have no tanks, flasks or bottles to 

 hold the sup|il}. nor the ingenuity to 

 make them, tet us not say, however, 

 that they have not suflicient intelli- 

 gence to find a substitute, as they 

 certainly have. 



If we examine one of these ants, 

 we shall lind that the abdomen, or 

 rear larger portion is protected by ten 

 plates or bands that are movable, and 

 as they are connected or underlaid by 

 a very delicate membrane almost like 

 rubber, they can be stretched ajiart 

 to a wonderful degree, allowing the 

 abdomen to assume the appearance of 

 a tiny balloon four or live times its 

 normal size. The ants also have a 

 crop that is capal)le of great disten- 

 sion, and governed by sets of power- 

 ful muscles; in other respects they 

 resemble ordinary ants. 



Now by some arrangement, whether 

 by agreement taking their turn, or by 

 force, is not known, certain ants are 

 selected by the others as living bot- 

 tles ; in other words, they are obliged 



to receive the supply brought in by 

 the rest, and retain it. When tlie 

 foraging ants return, they have their 

 crops lilted with honey, and proceed 

 directly to the bottles. 



Placing their mouths in contact 

 with that of the unfortunate living 

 receptacle, by contraction of the 

 muscles mentioned, the contents of 

 the crop are forced out and into the 

 bottle. Ant after ant unloads in this 

 way, until the elasticity of the recip- 

 ient is tested to the utmost, and it 

 can receive or hold no more. 



The insect is then absolutely help- 

 less. The crop and abdomen have 

 expanded until it resembles an amber- 

 hued sac, as we have seen, the size of 

 a currant, the head and limbs having 

 almost disappeared, hanging upon 

 the side like a stem, while the other 

 organs within the little creature are 

 so pressed out of shape that it is with 

 the greatest difficulty they are traced. 



Loaded down in this way, and sur- 

 feited with sweets, the bottles are 

 naturally powerless, and that this is 

 appreciated by the others is evident 

 from an examination of their nests, 

 when it will be found that the honey- 

 bearers are given a separate room, 

 and there tended with the greatest 

 care. They are, jierhaps, placed there 

 before being filled, or carried in later; 

 but in any case they are found 

 together in a separate apartment, 

 hanging from the roof, to which they 

 cling with their limbs, and appearing 

 like ripe fruit suspended from invisi- 

 ble vines. 



This, then, is the pantry or store- 

 room of the honey-ants, and here is 

 kept what corresponds to the winter 

 store of other animals. When the 

 other ants aie hungry they proceed to 

 this room and lick off the drops of 

 honey that by muscular contraction 

 are forced out by the patient and 

 never hungry living bottle. 



The nests of the honey-ant are 

 eagerly sought after by the native 

 Mexicans, and the store-houses pil- 

 laged of the bottles that are served as 

 delicacies by them. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



"Beaten Tracks" in Wintering. 



J. E. POND, JR. 



Mrs. Mahala B. Chaddock. on page 

 682,asks, while referring to ray answer 

 to Query, No. 12S, "Which beaten 

 track shall we follow in wintering!"' 

 Premising that by the term " beaten 

 track " is meant one that has been 

 used for a long time, I will answer, 

 do not follow eillier of the unsuccess- 

 ful methods of the iirominent apiarists 

 mentioned. For a number of years 

 past they, by their reports, have 

 shown that bees do not winter well 

 with them; in fact we are led to 

 believe that they lose more than they 

 save. 



It is true that Mr. Heddon now 

 claims most positively that he can 

 winter bees without loss, but I prefer 

 to wait awhile and see the results 

 before trusting too much to new 

 theories, I have followed one track 

 that has been " beaten " for 19 years. 



