April 5, 1906 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



295 



muscle; could get more of satisfaction in the digging mil 

 would have, other things being equal, a far better chair to 

 dig out a higher realm for my life and energy. 



In the late Ws 1 was first inducted into the fasci- 

 nating field of apiculture. I visited such noted apiari 

 that day as Messrs. J. II. Townley and John Davis, wl 

 leaders among Michigan bee-men. I was no less surprised 

 than gratified to find that these men had made collections of 

 our wild bees. This, of course, gave to them better obsi rva 

 tion. nti. re thoughtful study into the things of nature, anffi 

 indeed, made them broader men. I have no doubt but such 

 stm \\ made them more successful as bee-keepers. 



In this article I wish to call attention to our wild bees. 

 We are perforce interested in them as they are related to our 

 pets hi' the hive; in their study, we arc made more, or better, 

 acquainted with our hive-bees; and, best of all, we shall find 

 much in their life economy and habits that is intensely inter- 

 esting 



In the first place, let us see how we may know the bee- 

 famiU \pnla? — from all others of this great order. All bees 

 feed their young on pollen, raw or digested, and thus must 

 gather this natural flour. This is always gathered on the 

 hind legs, and held by hairs. Thus all bees have broad pos- 

 terior legs covered densely with hairs. Two parts of these 

 legs are very much broadened — the 4th and 5th joints or parts 

 — the tibia and basal tarsus. 



Again, bees can be divided into two great groups on 

 length of the tongue. In one group the tongue is short : in 

 the other, as noted in our honey-bees, and more exaggerated 

 in the Bombus or bumble-bees, the tongue is very long. Smile 

 authors make a separate family of the short-tongue bees — the 

 Andrenida?. 



Once more, bees are "Solitary" — that is. each female is 

 isolated and works by herself; or "Social," where many bees 

 pool their labors, so to speak. The honey-bee is the most 

 wonderful of these social species, though the bumble-bees and 

 the carpenter-bees — Xylocopa — which form their nests by 

 boring in wood — are really quite wonderful in their life habits. 

 While most bees are gray or black, and of sober colors, 

 yet some, like the Italian honey-bees, are beautifully banded. 

 Others, like many species of the Bombus, are resplendent in 

 gold, or often in gold and shining black; while others are 

 brilliant red. green and blue. Thus a fine collection of bees 

 in almost any region will present a most attractive exhibi- 

 tion. 



Again, all bees, in common with wasps and ants, and a 

 few others of the order, have larvre that are utterly helpless, 

 and so. of course, they must have a nest or cradle for them. 

 Some of the solitary bees tunnel in the earth for a nest. 

 Some make mud cells — mason-bees — others cut circular and 

 oblong pieces from leaves of flowers or plants, and glue these 

 into cartridge-like cells where the pollen is stored and the 

 eggs laid. Many use hollow plants for a nest, and. to my 

 sorrow, I have found that some use key-holes as a place for 

 their mud ne^ts. 



As already stated, the carpenter-bees bore in wood for 

 nests. They often mutilate the doors, window-sills and cor- 

 nices of our houses. These bees are large, and resemble bum- 

 ble-bees, but are usually less hairy and more black. One com- 

 mon species in California has black females and light-yellow 

 males. I have found that these can be driven off by use of 

 kerosene and lard. 



The bumble-bees nest in old mice-nests under clods. The 

 queens alone survive the winters. In the spring the queen 

 selects the nest, gathers pollen, and deposits the eggs. As the 

 footless, helpless larva; eat out cavities, these are waxed, and 

 thus we see the big thimble-like cells for honey and young 

 bees. The queens are large, and thus in the early spring we 

 see only the large queens. Later the small workers abound. 

 when the queen remains in the nest and gives herself solely 

 to egg-laying. Later in the summer, queens and drones — 

 male bees— appear. As with the honey-bees, the males come 

 from unimpregnated eggs. I suppose the queens result from 

 a more hearty diet of richer food. The queens and drones 

 fly forth to mate, as do our common bees. I once saw two 

 bumble-bees mate. While yet in copulo they came to the 

 earth, and the act was fatal to the male. 



The value of all bees in pollinating plants is inconceivably 

 great. Of course, the social bees, because of their exceeding 

 numbers, are most in evidence in this important role. The 

 bumble-bees, because of their very long tongues, are the chief 

 pollinators of red clover. As is well known, they had to be 

 taken to Australia and Xew Zealand before the seed of red 

 clover could be produced. 



30 Heilbronner Strassc. Berlin. Germany. 



Beeswax— Its Origin, Composition, Adulter- 

 ation Tests, Etc. 



BY MIRIAM CETAZ. 



WE can see by the article on page 211, how one difficulty 

 in detecting adulteration arises from the very com- 

 position of beeswax itself. For instance, a test with 

 an insufficient quantity of alcohol, or at a too-low tempera- 

 ture, would leave a portion of the myricine undissolved, and 

 convej the impression that the wax was not pure. Another 

 and un ne serious difficulty is that the chemical agents em- 

 ployed to test the wax acts on many other substances also. 

 For example, the soda and potash form soaps with nearly 

 all the oils and fatty substances as well as with the wax. 



Home Adulterations. 



We can distinguish two classes of adulterations — those 

 made by the farmers and bee-keepers themselves, and those 

 made by skillful dealers and manufacturers. The first ones 

 are usually very crude and easy to recognize. The substances 

 usually employed are tallow, rosin, paraffin, and any kind of 

 entirely foreign substances like flour, sand, etc. Melting the 

 wax will separate at once such things as flour or sand. 



Pure beeswax has a slight but agreeable taste— a slight 

 aromatic odor. It becomes plastic in the warm hand, with- 

 out oiling or coating the skin, and is, under pressure, de- 

 cidedly adhesive, with the separated parts welding together 

 perfectly. When broken, the surfaces are granular, with a 

 drv, unpolished aspect. When cut. they showa glossy, waxy 

 lustre. When chewed, the wax does not stick to the teeth, 

 hut crumbles in the mouth. A small percentage of adulter- 

 ation will often cause it to clog. Rosin makes the fracture 

 smooth and shining. As cold alcohol dissolves the rosin 

 better than the wax, it is possible to- have the rosin all dis- 

 solved before the wax is much altered. The dissolved rosin 

 can be separated by evaporating the alcohol. 



Tallow gives the wax a soft, dull appearance. It's taste 

 and smell can be recognized when chewing the wax. 



The paraffin is harder to detect. Like the tallow and 

 other hard fats, it causes the wax to melt at a lower temper- 

 ature. It can be detected by the aid of strong sulphuric acid 

 \ piece of the suspected wax is put in the acid. The acicl 

 destroys the wax completely, forming a black, carbonized 

 paste, 'while the paraffin rises on the top untouched. The acid 

 should be as concentrated as possible, as the addition of water 

 prevents its action on the wax. There should be plenty of 

 it, as the resulting black paste should be liquid enough to 

 permit the paraffin to separate. Only about four-fifths of the 

 paraffin is separated by that process even at the best. 



General Tests. 



The first general test that can be applied is that of 

 density. Procure a piece of wax known to be pure, make it in 

 a small ball, and put it in a glass of water. Add gradually 

 some alcohol until the wax barely floats, and when pushed 

 down remains about where it is without going up or down, or 

 very slowly. Try a piece of the suspected wax ; it should 

 behave the same" way. If it does not, it is adulterated and 

 no further test is necessary. If it does, it might be adulter- 

 ated if the substances added are of the same density as the 

 wax. Be sure that no bubble of air is left in the ball, or 

 adheres to the outside. 



The second test is the melting point. Pure wax melts at 

 144 degrees, Fahrenheit, when fresh, and about 2 degrees 

 higher when old. If no apparatus is at hand the test may be 

 made approximately by putting a small piece of pure beeswax 

 and one of suspected wax on a piece of tin, and holding the 

 tin over a lamp. The two pieces should melt at the same 

 time. It is necessary that they should be of the same size 

 and shape, and that the tin should be kept moving over the 

 lamp so that its whole surface is at the same temperature. 



The third and fourth tests are by dissolving the wax in 

 benzine, and also another sample in pure spirits of turpentine. 

 In both cases the wax should dissolve completely, and the 

 solutions should be perfectly clear. Needless to say that these 

 tests, like the preceding, are nut always final, because other 

 substances than wax dissolve in benzine and turpentine 



Mr. Gaille's Test. 



Mr. Gaille, a chemist of Switzerland, gives the following 

 as the best known general process: In the first place the wax 

 should be tested as to its density and solution in pure 

 spirits of turpentine. If neither of these tests detects any 

 adulteration the following is to be done: 



A small piece of the suspected wax is placed in a glass of 



