GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



XI. Enemies of Bees. 



211 



There are many enemies of bees, among them the mosquito hawk, or 



WOKK OF THE LARV^: IN COMB. 



BEK MOTH. 



(.levil's darning-needle, as it is some- 

 times called. The bee-killer (Asil- 

 us) is a two winged fly, which seizes 

 the bee and sucks its fluids. A Ta- 

 china fly has the reputation of laying 

 its eggs ill the l)odies of bees occasionally. Large spiders rarely entangle 

 bees in their nets. Ants sometimes depredate on bees. These, how- 

 ever, may be provided against, as may mice, toads, and the king bird. 

 The worst enemy to bees is the moth, which, if a swarm is not strong, 

 will soon ruin it entirely with the webs and larva. The moth lays its 

 eggs in the miimtest crack, and the young find their way into the hive, 

 where they soon destroy the swarm by filling everything with their webs, 

 as they progress. Tiieir manner of working is shown in the cut en- 

 titled "work of the larvie in comb." 



XII. Foul Brood. 

 This fungous disease of bees, once it gets a foothold in an apiary, gen- 

 erally carries destruction with it. It is quite contagious ; Schonfeld, of 

 Germany, not only infected the healthy larvje of bees Avith the germ, but 

 other insects also. The symptoms are a steady decline in the colony ; 

 llie brood becomes brown and salv}^ and gives off a l)ad smell like that 

 of putrefaction. The spores arc in the honey and the bees eating this and 

 feeding it to the young brood, infect them. A remedy said to be suc- 

 cessful in eradicating the disease is as follows: 



8 Grains salicylic acid, 

 8 Grains soda borax, 

 1 Ounce rain watei-. 



Uncap all the brood 

 <r machine. 



Or in this proportion for the quantity needed, 

 and throw the solution over thecomb with a sprayin 



XIII. Conclusion. 

 Those who wish to go into bee-keeping extensively must educate 1 hem- 

 selves by means of books written particularly on the subject of bees in all 



