THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



245 



this indistinctness is the light which 

 passes through the comb from be- 

 hind. On dull days the amount of 

 light which falls on the back of the 

 comb is just equal to that which 

 falls on the front. By placing 

 some opaque object, such as a 

 board, a slate, or even the hand, 

 behind the comb, the eggs at once 

 become beautifully distinct. In 

 showing eggs and larvae to visitors 

 I place a blaclc enamel cloth cover 

 behind the comb and the eflfect is 

 very striking. 



Cedar Brae, OcL 14, 1884. 



A GUIDE TO 



THE BEST METHODS OF 



BEEKEEPING. 



By J. L. Christ. 



(Continuecl from p. 22G, Vol. 11.) 



ON THE ORIGIN OF BEES AND 

 THEIR PROCREATION. 



Now begins the second period of 

 its life, which however maj^be bet- 

 ter termed an inward life or sleep. 

 During this period of thirteen days, 

 Nature is busy in developing the 

 future bee, which is now hidden in 

 the worm which lies in the soft 

 mass, and this, no to say,sleepingly, 

 and without any help on the part 

 of the insect. A creative miracle 

 now happens in Nature the same 

 as at the resurrection. The trans- 

 formation of the worm takes place 

 gradually in the course of thirteen 

 to fourteen daj^s, and in warm 

 weather still sooner. It becomes 

 a nymph or cocoon ; that is, by 



degrees we see the parts or mem- 

 bers of the future insect, yet not so 

 far developed as to be of any use 

 to the insect. They lie upon the 

 chest without the slightest motion 

 and covered with a soft, transpar- 

 ent skin which winds itself around 

 the surface of all the parts or mem- 

 bers so tightly that their form is 

 already visible. In this new crea- 

 tion the neck and the head are seen 

 first ; then the middle of the body 

 begins to grow smaller and thinner, 

 and that before we anywhere see a 

 sign of the feet and wings. After 

 that, the eyes follow and lastly the 

 four wings and the six legs. Now 

 a nevv life begins, and the 3'oung 

 bee, the late worm, comes forth as 

 a perfect bee, at the latest the 

 twenty- first day after its birth from 

 the egg. With her head, she will 

 push off the capping of the cell by 

 gnawing and loosening it all around 

 and glide out. If, as sometimes 

 happens, the cover prove to be too 

 hard, we shall see the old bees do 

 the work of making room and help- 

 ing her out. 



In the first instance, the young 

 bee seems to be a little stupefied 

 and the hair covering is wet, so 

 she begins to clean herself forth- 

 with and the old bees lick her. 

 She is then distinguished from the 

 okl bees by the color which, for a 

 length of time is somewhat bluish. 

 At first, they are fed for a day or 

 two by the old bees through the 

 mouth, as the bird feeds her young, 

 until they begin to fly out which 

 happens in about two da^^s ; for, 

 already on the third day, we see 

 them capable of collecting food, 



