260 



THE AMERICAN APICULTUMIST. 



study their hive and its surround- 

 ings ; every little mark is cognized 

 and remembered. Now, when a 

 bee enters her home, she knows it ; 

 she feels at home and acts accord- 

 ingly. Her sisters know by the 

 way she acts that she is at home. 

 If she goes into a strange iiive, she 

 goes either designedly or by mis- 

 take. 



Novv nature is spontaneous. In 

 whatever form manifested, it wells 

 out as a matter of instinct. A plant 

 or an emotion sjirings up with the 

 same spontaneity. The man or bee 

 that follows his instincts, shows 

 guilt or innocence — caution or 

 fear. It is generally to be supposed 

 that no bee will enter a strange 

 hive except for purposes of plunder. 

 The bee that seeks ingress to a hive, 

 for the pui'pose of robbing, knows 

 that she is a robber ; she seeks to 

 steal her way with fear and dread. 

 The home bees perceive the signs, 

 recognize her as a robber, and treat 

 her accordingly. 



Mr. Schachinger thinks that, after 

 the robber has been successful a 

 few times in entering and leaving 

 a hive, that she can go and come 

 with im})unity, because she has ac- 

 quired the scent of the colony. If 

 so, why do not her sister bees per- 

 ceive the foreign scent, and, if gov- 

 erned by that in recognizing one 

 another, repel her as an intruder? 

 Likewise, how can she succeed 

 that few times until she acquires 

 the scent? Evidently the3^ do not 

 judge by smell alone, if at all. It 

 is easier to assume that the bee 

 that can walk in as though she be- 

 longed there — makes herself at 

 home — can go and come in safety. 

 To attribute so much design to a 

 bee may be assuming a great deal, 

 but bees are certainly creatures of 

 volition. They will, and do. Hence, 

 it is reasonable to conclude since 

 some do enter, load and return, that 

 partly perhaps in obedience to the 

 instinct that prompts her to steal, 



the bee wills to go into the hive she 

 means to rob, with an air of busi- 

 ness and familiarity that disarms 

 the inmates. If there is anything 

 suspicious about her, the home bees 

 simply examine her carefully, she 

 submitting innocently, and if they 

 do not find sufficient evidence of im- 

 posture, she is allowed to pass. 



But if a bee or bees go into a 

 strange hive with no intention to 

 steal, what then? In certain cases 

 they often do, and generally with 

 perfect safety. It is safe to say 

 that bees never fight except in case 

 one part}'^ has reason to regard the 

 other as robbers or trespassers. 

 The entire secret of uniting suc- 

 cessfully is to do it at a time or 

 under circumstances when that will 

 not occur. I never could unite two 

 colonies safely at a time when bees 

 are living. Each part}' takes the 

 other to be intruders, and they will 

 fight to the death. But on a cool 

 or cloudy day, or in early morning 

 or late evening — any time when 

 bees remain quietly at home — I 

 may unite them in any way I may 

 desire. The fact that no bees are 

 flying — that it is no time to be out — 

 seems to preclude the idea that 

 either party can be intruders. If 

 they recognize one another as stran- 

 gers at all in such cases, they can 

 at least do so as readily by actions 

 as by odor. But the following exam- 

 ples indicate, if they do not prove, 

 that bees do not recognize one an- 

 other by scent : 



I can put a new swarm into a 

 hive with another colony generally 

 with perfect safety. They know 

 no home, and they go into the hive 

 with the intention to make it their 

 home — not as enemies. I have 

 often known a swarm that issued 

 and then returned to the same hive, 

 in returning to be joined by another 

 swarm and no fighting be done. 

 Young bees out of the hive for the 

 first time, often by mistake go in- 

 to the wrons hive unmolested. If 



