900 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Dec. 28, 190S 



The Transformation. 



. There is no doubt that a part of the water contained 

 in the nectar is separated and rejected by the bees at once, 

 during the gathering and the time of going back to the 

 hive. Some analyses of the nectar gathered during the 

 day have shown such a large loss of water that there is 

 no doubt that a part of it must have disappeared before 

 reaching the hive. A few years ago a French apiculturist 

 undertook to feed his bees out-of-doors. He made a syrup 

 of sugar and water in about the same proportions as found 

 ill the nectar of the flowers, and placed the feeder at a 

 distance of about a hundred yards from the hives. The 

 ground and the grass over which the bees were flying was 

 wet all the time with the water ejected by the bees. That 

 water was tasteless, showing that a complete separati.in 

 had taken place. A report of the experiment is found in 

 the American Bee-Beeper for August, 1905, page 162 In 

 the early editions of the "A B C of Bee Culture," A. I. 

 Root states that when the bees were gathering nectar 

 heavily from a patch of honey-plants near by, he could 

 see, m the morning, by placing himself on the path they 

 were followmg, the ejected water as a kind of mist from 

 their bodies. Other cases have been observed. 



During the following night the nectar is handled by 

 the bees; that is, they take it in their honey-sacs, and out 

 and in again, and finally deposit it in the cells. During 

 the process more water is eliminated, and formic acid and 

 probably other substances contained in the bees' saliva 

 are added. The honey is not ripe yet. Gradual changes 

 occur slowly under the influence of the heat of the hive, 

 and after some weeks, more or less, the nectar has become 

 honey. Its composition has changed completely; it now 

 contains only about one-fourth water, and nearly all the 

 sugar has been inverted. The consistency has become like 

 a syrup, while the original nectar was nearly as limpid 

 as water. The taste has become rich, sweet, and de- 

 lightful. 



The Honey-Flow. 



Important questions are, What are the atmospheric 

 conditions which produce a honey-fiow? What may be 

 the influence of the nature of the ground on the honey- 

 plants? or what other cause may exist? 



There is no doubt that the richer the ground, and the 

 better adapted to the honey-producing plants, the more 

 nectar will be produced. The European writers sav that 

 more nectar is produced on limestone ground than on 

 others, excepting a few plants that do not prosper on 

 limestone land. 



The temperature has a marked effect. Buckwheat, for 

 instance, will not yield nectar unless the nights are cool 

 On the other hand, the tropical plants require a very high 

 temperature. Each plant seems to do the best at a certain 

 temperature. 



The most important condition for a heavy honey-flow 

 IS an abundant moisture in the ground. The plants are 

 constantly pumping water from the ground, most of it 

 having been absorbed through the leaves, some helping 

 to form the leaves, branches, fruits, etc., and the nectar. 

 When the supply of water begins to run short, the growth 

 of the plant is retarded, and soon the flow of nectar ceases. 

 Later the leaves begin to wilt during the day, but recover 

 during the night. If the drouth continues they fail to 

 recover, and finally the plant may die entirely, or at least 

 the portion above the ground. 



When the effects of the drouth begin, the flow of 

 nectar occurs in the morning only, some time before 

 ceasing entirely. During the night no absorption of 

 moisture takes place, but the water contained" in the 

 ground continues to ascend. This, helped by what the 

 dews furnish, enables the plants to produce nectar for a 

 few hours in the morning. I have often seen the hives 

 almost empty of bees in the early part of the day and then 

 at perhaps 9 or 10 o'clock, or later, all the bees come back 

 and hang at the entrances in big bunches until night. 



Some of the plants blossom only in the morning, and 

 their blossoms last in some cases only a few hours. Such, 

 of course, necessarily yield only in the morning. 



• A cause of mistake is that the bees work in preference 

 on the flowers or other sources of sweet substances that 

 yield the most. Very often we read that such or such 

 plant yields nectar in a certain locality but not in another. 

 The probability is, at least in most cases, that there was 

 some other plant in one of the localities that yielded more 

 than the one considered. 



Some plants require much less moisture than some 

 others to grow and produce nectar. Those with long 

 roots will resist the drouth much longer than those with 

 short roots, being able to reach whatever moisture may 

 remain deep in the ground after the surface has already 

 dried up completely. The trees will, of course, resist the 

 longest, and depend chiefly on the amount of water stored 

 up deep in the ground during the winter, while the plants, 

 especially those with short roots, depend on the summer 

 rainfall. 



Honey-Dew. 



All the honey is not gathered from the flowers. Some 

 of it comes from the juices of broken fruits; some from 

 the cider mills; some from the watermelon rinds thrown 

 away; some from the confectionery shops. Any sweet, 

 anything containing some sugar, inverted or non-inverted, 

 is gathered by the busy bees. 



A _large portion is honey-dew. There are different 

 kinds of honey-dew. Some plants have, besides the nec- 

 taries in the flowers, some in other places, usually at the 

 base of the stems of the leaves. These extra-nectaries 

 produce a real nectar like that of the flowers. The pear- 

 trees, cotton, and cowpeas, are the most conspicuous 

 examples. 



The real honey-dew is seen in drops on the leaves of 

 several kinds of trees, oaks, ashes, hickories, etc. Not 

 only the leaves but the ground around and under the trees 

 is sometimes completely bespattered with it. 



It might be thought at first that the honey-dew is 

 secreted by the leaves themselves, but it is on the upper 

 surface only, and in drops here and there. If it was a 

 secretion it would be all over the leaves, since their 

 structure is the same all over. Again, if it was a secretion 

 it would reappear after the drop is wiped off, but it 

 doesn't, showing, therefore, that the drops have fallen on 

 them. 



If we look at the under side of the leaves we will see 

 here and there some small green insects of the kinds 

 known as plant-lice or aphides. If now we climb the 

 trees we will find them by thousands on the young twigs 

 and new leaves about the top of the tree — enough of them 

 to account for all the honey-dew produced. At least that 

 is the report of all who have done any climbing. 



It is not necessary to climb trees to see how the 

 honey-dew is produced. Plant-lice are found on many 

 plants and bushes. ■ Those on the rose-bushes are the 

 easiest to observe. With a cheap magnifying glass they 

 can easily be examined. They suck the sap of the leaves 

 and twigs with a tongue similar to that of the bees. This 

 sap constitutes their food, and what remains is ejected 

 through two tubes, situated at the other end of the body. 

 The quantity produced is astonishing. Bees of all sorts, 

 wasps and ants are seen helping themselves even to the 

 extent of sucking it from the ejecting-tubes. 



Occasionally, some kinds of scales and other insects 

 are numerous enough to produce some kind of honey-dew. 

 This is usually of the worst quality possible. 



The regular honey-dew from plant-lice is, in my 

 locality, at least, of tolerably fair taste. Its color is like 

 a light amber honey to which some ink might have been 

 added. It is much darker in some years than others. In 

 mountainous districts we get some honey-dew from the 

 firs and spruces. This is very white and has a strong, 

 resinous taste. This resinous flavor disappears in the 

 course of four or five months, in the sealed comb honey 

 as well as in the extracted. 



Honey-dew contains only inverted sugars. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



# 



Work in the Apiary for January 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



THIS is the month when there is the least work in the 

 apiary. Our attention consists only in trying to keep 

 the snow from the alighting-board. Yet in the very 

 coldest weather we allSw it to remain there, even if it 

 obstructs the entrance, because it is a warming blanket 

 which intercepts the wind and permits the air to sift 

 through. I used to think that hives that were snowed 

 under were in danger of smothering. This opinion was 

 changed very materially when I visited the apiary of a 

 bo.x-hive bee-keeper some 25 years ago and found that his 

 hives were entirely lost in the snow. The location of 



