268 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



these stocks the first of each month 

 giving the amount of honey con- 

 sumed by each. During these ex- 

 periments I shall be glad if your 

 readers are enough interested to 

 ask questions which may aid me 

 in making the experiments of in- 

 terest to all. 

 Mohawk, N. F., Nov. 15, 1884. 



POISON OF THE HYMEN- 



OPTEROUS INSECTS, AND 



SECRETORY ORGANS.^ 



By Arthur Todd. 



It has been believed, until late- 

 ly, that the secretory organs of the 

 poison among hymenopterous in- 

 sects formed a single glandular 

 system opening into a vesicular 

 reservoir whence the poison is 

 forced into the wound produced by 

 the sting. The researches just made 

 by Monsieur G. Carlet enable us 

 to affirm that the poison apparatus 

 of the Hymenoptera is always 

 made up of two distinct glandular 

 systems, the one secreting a strong 

 acid, and the other a feebly alka- 

 line secretion. 



The first of these systems has 

 been known a long time and accord- 

 ing to chemists produces formic 

 acid ; the second, on the contrar}', 

 secretes an alkaline liquid, and is 

 made up of a large glandular tube 

 terminated in a "cul-de-sac." 



These two systems open out at 



'Translation from the French " L' Union 

 Pharmaceutique." 



the base of the sting, and the liquid 

 which results from the mixture of 

 their secretions, that is to say, the 

 poison itself, is always acid. 



According to the experiments 

 made upon the poison of the xylo- 

 scope, Mr. P. Bert had been led to 

 conclude that the poison is acid, 

 owes its acidity to a fixed acid and 

 appears to contain besides, an or- 

 ganic base. The result that Mr. 

 Carlet makes known confirms the 

 conclusion. Mr. Carlet undertook 

 experiments upon the poison of 

 different hymenopterous insects, 

 bees, wasps, hornets, etc., etc., and 

 after having many animals such 

 as rabbits, toads, etc., innoculated, 

 which he found but slightly sensi- 

 ble to its action, he experimented 

 on the domestic fly and the meat fl}"- 

 which presented to the action of 

 the poison an extreme sensitive- 

 ness. 



The results obtained are as fol- 

 lows : (A) The stinging of a fly 

 by any hymenopterous insect, such 

 as a bee, brings immediate death 

 the victim falling as if struck dead 

 by lightning. 



(B) The innoculation upon a fly 

 of the product of any one of the 

 two venomous glands of an hymen- 

 optera does not involve the death 

 of the fly or only leads to its death 

 a long time after innoculation, even 

 though the artificial innoculation 

 has necessitated a more consider- 

 able mutilation than that which re- 

 sults from an actual sting. 



(C) The successive innoculation 

 upon the same fly of the product 

 of the acid gland and of that of 

 the alkaline gland leads to the 



