1048 



Dec. 27, 1906 



American Ttee Journal 



strength, for though very much smaller 

 than the bee, it is yet able to catch 

 and hold his victim until he lias sucked 

 it bloodless, when he casts aside the 

 carcass, to catch others, until his ap- 

 petite is fully satisfied. I used to see 

 these plying their deadly work very 

 often when I was in Michigan, though 

 they, no doubt, kill many injurious in- 

 sects, and so I have always inclined 

 to the opinion that they were, on the 

 whole, our friends. 



These bugs are interesting from the 

 fact that their front legs are convert- 

 ed into very efficient jaws. The femur 

 opposes the tarsus and both are toothed, 

 and we can understand how, from this 

 jaw-like arrangement, a little bug the 

 size of the house-fly can hold a big 

 bee till it sucks it lifeless. The hard 

 crust of the bug doubtless protects it 

 from the weapon of its victim. With 

 one of these jaw-like legs it can grasp 

 the bee, and with the other it can hold 

 on to the plant. 



This bug illustrates well the fact of 

 mimicry. It is greenish yellow, and 

 usually hides in various plants of the 

 Compositse, like the goldenrod, coreop- 

 sis, etc. We can hardly double that so 

 brainy an insect as the bee would learn 

 the character of this stinging bug, and 

 would steer clear of him, unless in some 

 way the bug could hide from the bee's 

 keen vision. From the color of the 

 bug it can effectually hide from its covet- 

 ed prey, and thus the bee is taken wholly 

 by surprise. This possession of mimi- 

 cry helps many an animal to get its 

 breakfast, that otherwise would needs 

 go hungry through the day. The white 

 polar bear illustrates the same thing, as 

 from his white color he is hid on the 

 snow-fields. It is also the fell destroyer 

 of many another animal that by it is 

 entrapped, which otherwise would es- 

 cape capture and death. Is not this 

 why our weasel is white in winter and- 

 brown in summer? 



Other Stinging Bugs. 



The so-called "kissing bugs" are of 

 the same habits, in a way, as the Phy- 

 mata. They belong to the same order 

 of insects, and have, like the other, a 

 very formidable beak, which enables 

 them to make a stinging wound, even 

 very painful and disturbing to man him- 

 self. There are several of these so- 

 called "kissing bugs," and one of them 

 here in California is quite handsome, as 

 it is decked in bright hues of brown 

 and black, though most of them are 

 black. All of them are possessed of a 

 long, narrow head. They annoy us 

 more, as they occasionally crawl into 

 our beds and thus are ready to give 

 the painful puncture, which so much 

 annoys the person stung. Fortunately, 

 they are not common enough to cause 

 much harm or dread. I have known 

 of three persons being stung since I 

 came to Claremont, u years ago, and 

 these were in places wide apart. I 

 think they are about as common East 

 as West. 



Other Hi i Eni MIES. 



The Mantis — Praying Mantis — is an- 

 other enemy of bees, that is often seen 

 killing bees in Florida and other Gulf 

 States, and so on west to California. 



It also has jaw-like legs like the Phy- 

 niata. It is large and we can not won- 

 der that it is able to kill the bee and 

 even larger insects. It takes the name 

 of "Praying Mantis" from its peculiar 

 attitude, because of its jaw-like front 

 legs. It is often on its knees, and as 

 it raises its legs it reminds one of a 

 man as he raises his arms in supplica- 

 tion. Of course, the name "Preying 

 Mantis" would be equally appropriate. 

 This insect does not suck its victims 

 dry as does the bugs, but has strong, 

 formidable jaws, and eats its victims. 

 1 think these are more friends than 

 enemies, as they kill many of our worst 

 insect pests. 



The Dragon flies are also pests of 

 the bee-keeper. These are large and 

 voracious. They no doubt kill many 

 bees, but they also are enemies of our 

 insect pests, like the others. 



I think the great robber-flies are prob- 

 ably our worst insect pests in the bee- 

 yard. They kill many bees, but when 

 we have bees by the thousands, the few 

 hundreds that these bee-killing insects 

 victimize cuts no very serious figure, 

 especially as they are ever watching 

 to rid us of our insect foes as well. 

 These several insects are described and 

 figured in my "Bee-Keepers' Guide," in 

 a way to enable any one to identify 

 them. 



Nectar-Secretion Erratic. 



Last year there was a fine rain in 

 Southern California, and so the bee- 

 keeper had a right, and reason, to ex- 

 pect a fine honey-year. And so he did 

 in many sections, while in others there 

 was no honey at all. In some there 

 was a fairly good crop. It would seem 

 hard to acount for this erratic condi- 

 tion of nectar-secretion. 



California had a very rainy, cloudy, 

 cold spring. This, no doubt, acts in 

 two ways to lessen the honey crop : 

 It causes the secretion of less nectar, 

 and at the same time keeps the bees in 

 the hives, or from the fields. 



It would seem hard to account for the 

 fact that some get a good crop. May 

 this not come from a peculiar configura- 

 tion of the country, so as to shut off 

 cold winds, that blast the flowers, or 

 dry up the nectar, and at the same time 

 keep the bees from the flowers, were 

 there any nectar to collect? 



It is evident that we must have water 

 in the soil for the plants, warmth to 

 produce the nectar, and genial weather 

 for both flowers and bees, or we can 

 not hope for a full success. Cold rains 

 or fogs are especially inimical to a full 

 honey crop. Mr. Doolittle has been a 

 very close observer all these years, and 

 I am sure we would all appreciate an 

 article from him on this topic. 



German Scientists. 



1 see that our friends "over the sea," 

 criticise my reference to Dadant and 

 Grimm, etc., as exceptional men from 

 Europe. I do think that we in America 

 are far in the lead in practical matters. 

 We are, of course, greatly indebted to 

 such men as Huber and Dzierzon for 

 their great work and discoveries. The 

 German anil French scientists have 

 greatly enriched the world by their bril- 

 liant discoveries, and no country can 



hestitate to acknowledge its indebted- 

 ness to them. I think we are ahead in 

 invention, on the whole ; yet, in dis- 

 covery of scientific principles, we can 

 give them a place among the very first. 

 Claremont, California. 



Overstocking and Location 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



A correspondent wishes me to give, 

 in the American Bee Journal, my views 

 on overstocking a location with bees, 

 and also what kind of a location I 

 would choose for successful bee-keeping. 

 My views on overstocking may not be 

 considered quite orthodox by all, yet 

 I think I can give facts to prove my 

 position. If I had a really good loca- 

 tion I should not fear overstocking it 

 with from 300 to 400 colonies, but I 

 think that from 150 to 200 would be as 

 many as an average location would 

 support to the best advantage, while 

 there are doubtless places that 50 colo- 

 nies would be as many as would give 

 good results to their owner. 



When we take into consideration that 

 bees fly from choice, from 2 to 4 miles 

 from home^ and are led on by receding 

 bloom to 5, 6 and even 7 miles, this 

 matter of overstocking is not so much 

 to be feared as some seem to suppose. 

 I know that we have often been told 

 that bees do not go more than 1 54 

 miles from home, and, if they did, it 

 could not be made profitable, as so much 

 time would be consumed in flying, that 

 it would not pay. But plenty of proof 

 can be given that bees fly more than that 

 distance. Allow me to give some of the 

 experience along this line which has 

 come under my observation. 



When the Italian bee was first intro- 

 duced into these parts, the man who 

 bought them lived fully 3 miles from 

 my home in a "bee-line." That year he 

 Italianized all the colonies he had, so 

 that the next spring his apiary numbered 

 from 40 to 50 colonies of Italians — the 

 only bees of that kind there were with- 

 in 50 miles of this place. I was exceed- 

 ingly interested in these bees, but did 

 not think I would invest in them till 

 I found out what his would do. 



One fine morning during apple-bloom 

 I went into the orchard to see the bees 

 at work on the blossoms, as the orchard 

 was young, and the limbs low, so that 

 the bees were in easy reach of my vis- 

 ion. The second bee which came under 

 my notice was an Italian bee. I now 

 became all interest, and I found by ac- 

 tual count that every 5th bee at work 

 on this bloom was an Italian bee. when 

 an average was taken in counting 100. 

 And this with apple-blossoms in pro- 

 fusion everywhere, and 200 to 300 col- 

 onies of black bees within l x / 2 miles of 

 this orchard. These facts I jotted down 

 in my diary, where I find them today, 

 under the date of May 24, 1S70. This 

 fact influenced me still more favorably 

 toward the Italian bees, and I went to 

 see these bees at work in their own 

 apiary. I found them at work indus- 

 triously, and very pretty to look at, but 

 concluded not to be too hasty in pur- 

 chasing them. 



About this time it was told in the 



