THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



97 



1818, when Nitzsch changed it to its present 

 name — Braula cccca. Braula, Greelc, 

 means louse, and ccecn, Latin, means blind. 

 This insect is eyeless." 



I will not give here the description in full 

 of the insect, for it would be tedious to 

 those who are not scientific men. I will 

 only say that this louse is of reddish brown, 

 and sometimes pale yellow color. Its body 

 is globular, convex, and thickly covered 

 with hairs; its length is about J^ or K of a 

 line. This parasite is generally found 

 around the thorax, where the bee cannot 

 reach it. It is admitted that it cannot suck 

 through the scales of bees, and that it in- 

 serts its proboscis into the joints of the 

 body. 



Prof. Cornalia was not at the time ac- 

 quainted with the mode of reproduction of 

 the bee louse. To find it, I have in vain 

 perused the European bee papers; but in 

 " Packard's Guide to the Study of Insects," 

 page 419, 1 find the following: " The larva 

 of the Braula caica is headless, oval, eleven 

 jointed and white in color. On the day it 

 hatches from the egg it sheds its skin and 

 changes to an oval puparium of a dark 

 brown color." 



From this I infer that the eggs of bee lice 

 are deposited in some corners of the hive, 

 where the larvse develop themselves by 

 subsisting on waste matter. The larvae of 

 flies and fleas, who are of the same genus, 

 have similar habits. Therefore, if hives 

 become infected with bee lice, their owner 

 can easily get rid of them by carefully 

 cleansing the bottom-board and corners of 

 the hives, and by washing them with diluted 

 carbolic acid. The lice on the bodies of 

 bees will thus be prevented from reproduc- 

 ing themselves, and the bees will be freed 

 from them by the natural death of all of 

 them. 



It is generally admitted in Europe that 

 this pest is prevalent in unclean apiaries, 

 where hives are for years carelessly left to 

 themselves. 



Now I will translate an article, on this 

 insect, from Le Rucher chi Sud- Quest 

 (French), Sept., 1876, page 199: 



"-La Ferme Suisse, in the Sept. number, 

 publishes an article from M. C. De Kibean- 

 court, on the influence of drought on the 

 scarcity of brood, and on the prevalence of 

 bee lice on the body of queens. 



"The observations of M. De Ribeancourt 

 on lousy queens, are interesting, on account 

 of his having found a way to free the 

 queens of these parasites, by the help of 

 tobacco smoke. One should be tliankful if 

 the remedy is effectual; tor to this day no 

 sure remedy was known. 



"We think that it would be interesting if 

 the observations of M. De Ribeaiicomt were 

 introduced by a remark that we ourselves 

 have had the opportunity to make. 



"On the 6th of this month, in a very 

 populous hive, full with brood and honey, 

 the queen, who is 1 year old and seems 

 active, was covered with lice; some pale 

 yellow, others reddish brown. The latter 

 being numerous. We were unable to count 

 them; about 30. The hive is exposed at the 

 north. It is raised about 2 ft. from the 

 ground, which is dry and sandy. What 

 seemed most remarkable in this observa- 

 tion, which was made in the presence of 

 several persons, is that according to several 

 authors, the yellow louse is rather scarce, 

 and the spreading of the reddish brown one 



is favored by moisture. Yet God knows 

 that we have had enough drought in Bor- 

 deaux this year." 



Mr. T. Sourbe, the writer of the foregoing, 

 is the able editor of the Rucher. I wish he 

 would try the means that I have indicated. 

 Below is the translation of the article of M. 

 De Ribeancourt. 



"A fact which struck us this year while 

 visiting several apiaries, is that in the 

 mountains, on the Aug. 25, we found nearly 

 every hive broodless, no matter what their 

 strength; except those whose queens were 

 raised in July. This fact, the only one of 

 its kind. in many years, must be attributed 

 to the lack of honey, in consequence of the 

 drought. 



" We have found very few larvse of the 

 bee moth, while on the other hand we have 

 found several queens covered with lice. We 

 have counted as many as 70, which covered 

 the body of a single queen; yet the hive of 

 this queen seemed to be perfectly prosper- 

 ous, although it had not a single bee larva. 



"When the queen was freed from the 

 parasites, she was observed brushing her 

 head with her anterior legs, and seemed to 

 enjoy a comfort to which she was not ac- 

 customed. Two days after she had lice 

 again, but in less numbers, and we noticed 

 that when tobacco smoke reached her, the 

 lice left while she was making her way 

 through the workers. 



"We consider the life of this queen in 

 danger, and we doubt very much whether 

 she will live over the winter. We will sub- 

 sequently continue our observations." 



I must add that according to several re- 

 ports, the health of a queen is not altered 

 by a few lice, though she seems annoyed 

 and excited. But from 30 to 70 on the same 

 queen would endanger her life. Such a 

 number can be checked by a thorough and 

 oft-repeated cleansing of the hive. If I had 

 a lousy colony I would keep it for experi- 

 ments, and to learn what time it would take 

 to get rid of these parasites. 



Ch. Dadant. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Points for Reporters. 



Until we can so solve the problem of win- 

 tering as to reduce it to a practical certainty 

 the business of bee-keeping will partake 

 nmch of the character of a lottery; the most 

 thoughtful calculations, the most rational 

 expectations may, by a few days of unpro- 

 vided-for severity, be entirely ruined. This 

 problem, like most other practical ques- 

 tions, will not be solved by the cogitations 

 of some theorizer who has no practical a^ 

 quaintance with bees. It will be solved by 

 tlie experience of intelligent bee-keepers. 



Among bee-keepers there is now a large 

 number of men and women to whom the 

 business is greatly Indebted for the results 

 of their experience. They have carefully 

 watched the little workers, attended to all 

 their needs both in summer and winter, and 

 have frankly stated their success or failure, 

 for the help of others. To these careful 

 observers and honest reporters we look now 

 for the solution of the problem of winter- 

 ing. 



The present long and cold winter offers a 

 favorable opportunity for observations un- 

 der the severest conditions as to low tem- 

 perature. For more than two months the 



