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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



was built, a sight of the combs was obtained. 

 They proved to be arranged horizontally, with 

 the mouth of tlie cells downwards, as in the 

 combs of wasps. The arrangement of the 

 combs, however, cannot l)e compared, in regu- 

 larity and beauty, with that of the wasp. 



No sign of honey in, or of there having been 

 any in, the cells could be traced. All appeared 

 to be appropriated to the rearing of brood. 

 Such I also found to be the case in a large mass 

 of comb from Panama. 



Much still remains to be learned respecting 

 the economy of these bees. The nest from 

 Brisbane has thrown much additional light 

 upon the subject ; and will, I trust, stimulate 

 entomologists, who visit countries where the 

 genus Trigona is found, to investigate thorough- 

 ly the ecoLiomjr of these bees. AH that is at 

 present known amounts to little that is satisfac- 

 tory, being principally grounded upon conjec- 

 ture. 



The nest of the Trigona from Brisbane can- 

 not be looked upon as a perfect example of the 

 structure usually built by tliat species. It was 

 constructed in a situation forced upon the bees ; 

 consequently they had to contend with the 

 difficulties of the situation. 



The form of that part of the nest which con- 

 tains the combs, is that of half a fir-cone ; the 

 flat side being placed against the back of the 

 box. The external surface is verj' irregular, 

 and consists of a multitude of flat overlapping 

 layers, some of the larger ones being upheld in 

 their position by upright supports or columns. 

 Branching ofl' in various directions from the 

 external plates is an intricate ramification, 

 closely resembling the roots of shrubs or plants; 

 or perhaps most like the beautilul blanching of 

 corals. As the nest is increased in bulk in tlie 

 process of building, the flat layers described 

 serve as tlie foundation whereupon to construct 

 cells. Some of the hone}' pots previously men- 

 tioned are suspended on the branches above the 

 nest; but the majority are constructed in lieaps, 

 frequenfly.over each other, at the base and out- 

 side of the proper nest ; others in niore regular 

 order, side by side. An orifice is always to be 

 found on one side, enabling the bees to obtain 

 the honey stored in each. The general color of 

 the nest is a reddish-brown. A portion of the 

 old nest, taken with the bees and placed in the 

 box, is nearly black. 



The Trigona carbonaria is a small bee, 

 smaller than the house-fly. It is coal-black and 

 shining ; it has on its face, on the thorax, and 

 beneath and on its sides, a covering of very 

 short down or pile. The tips of its jaws are 

 obscurely reddish, tbe wings are clear and 

 transparent, and the abdomen is glossy black. 

 F. Smith. 



In arts and manufactures, practice almost in- 

 variably iirecedes and moves in advance of 

 theory. The latter comes limping along in the 

 rear, scrutinizing facts, comparing observations, 

 elucidating processes, and explaining results, in 

 accordance with the existing state of science. — 

 Dr. Jahne. 



a^Those of our readers who have Inquired about the 

 temper of the East Indian hees—Apis dorsata^yrill obtain 

 the desired information faom the subjoined article. 



[From the London Gardeners' Chronicle.] 



Ferocity of East Indian Bees. 



Many stories have already been related by 

 " our Journal,'''' illustrative of the ferocity of 

 the lart^e Indian honey bee, Apis dorsata. To 

 these I now add the following : 



The first is extracted from a note just received 

 from an Indian officer, at present residing in 

 my neighborhood: "In my last letter from 

 India I hear that an officer of my regiment has 

 just arrived in Cashmere, after a fearful march 

 through Cliumba, Avhere he was attacked by a 

 swarm of bees. He took off his coat, and tried 

 to defend himself with it as long as he could ; 

 but the venomous brutes got around him, and 

 he had to execute a retrograde stragetic move- 

 ment, followed by the infuriated insects for four 

 miles and a half, when his powers of running 

 drill being exhausted, he had to give in and let 

 them have their wicked will of him, the natural 

 consequence of which was that he got fever 

 very badly, and had to be carried into Islama- 

 bad in a jampan, constructed of branches of 

 trees and grass rope. Not a bad story this of 

 the gorgeous Himalayas ! Sweet things, our 

 Indian bees, are they not ?" 



Another Indian letter says : — " The wild bees 

 of India are very dangerous customers, as they 

 attack any animal that happens to disturb them; 

 and it is even said elephants have died 

 from the inflammation caused by their stings. 



Two years ago, in Agra, the R 's lost both 



their carriage horses at the church door on 

 Sunday morning, and the coachman was very 

 nearly killed too. Fortunately the other people 

 bad all left, or it would have been much more 

 serious. Something disturbed one of the nests 

 in the church steeple, and the bees all settled 

 on horses and carriage." 



General Sir Andrew 6. Waugh, late Surveyor 

 General of India, who was on the Committee 

 of the Geographical Section of the British Asso- 

 ciation during its recent visit to our ancient and 

 loyal city, also informed me that these bees 

 were the great enemies of tiger-shooters, for if 

 by any chance, during their progress through 

 the forest, the elephant happened to shake a 

 tree in which was one of their nests, down 

 would come the bees, and off would go the ele- 

 phant crashing through the jungle in uncon- 

 trolable terror, whilst the overhanging branches 

 swept everything and everybody from his liack. 

 On mentioning this to the writer of the note 

 first quoted, he fully confirmed it, and described 

 how on one occasion a gentleman, weighing at 

 least fourteen stone, and therefore as remarkable 

 for his bulk as his bravery, was discovered in a 

 most unenviable predicament, clinging for dear 

 life, with the wind knocked out of him, to a 

 branch of a tree, some dozen feet from the 

 ground, and from which he was afraid to drop, 

 as much out of regard for his limbs as from 

 dread of certain imaginary tigers, which he fan- 



