1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



breeds of bees was not intended to injure Mr 

 Dadant in his business. I had my opinions and 

 I wrote them, and I have another opinion, which 

 IS, that comments of the description that char- 

 acterizes young Mr. D.'s communication would 

 have been in better taste from some one who 

 was less interested in the importation of so- 

 called Italian bees, for ill-disposed readers will 

 be very apt to say that those who are looking 

 out for interested motives in others, are very 

 hkely to be prompted by the same kind of 

 motives themselves. 



Now, Mr. Editor, when it comes to such a 

 pass that we cannot discuss questions connected 

 with bees and their culture, on their merits 

 alone, without looking for a dull axe behind 

 every sentence, I~for one— will have nothin^r 

 to do with it. D. L. Adaie. ° 



HawesviUe, Ey., July 27, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Honey Bee. 



QUEEN BEE— HER TREATMENT BY HER SUBJECTS. 



The scene presented by the interior of a bee- 

 hive has seldom failed to interest even the most 

 careless observer, while it fills with astonish- 

 ment the mind of the enlightened and profound 

 philosopher. When the day is fine and the sun 

 shining brightly, the habitation of these mar- 

 vellous little creatures exhibits the aspect of a 

 populous and busy city. The gates are crowded 

 with hundreds of industrious workers— some on 

 the wmg in search of forage; others returning ' 

 from the fields laden with honey and pollen • 

 some busily engaged in building comb ; some 

 in tending the young; others employed in 

 cleansing their hive, while four or five mav be 

 seen dragging out the dead body of a com- 

 panion, and, as it would appear, scrupulously 

 paying the last honor to the dead. It can 

 theretpre, excite no wonder that the habits of 

 these interesting insects should have attracted 

 the_ attention of some of the best observers of 

 ancient and of modern times. History does not 

 inform us who first drew these insects from the 

 wilderness and rendered their industry subser- 

 vient to the purposes of man. 



A community or swarm of bees consists first 

 ot workers; these are undeveloped females- 

 amount generally to many thousands in num- 

 ber and are easily recognized by their industry 

 and by the smallness of their size ; second of 

 males, or drones, of which several hundreds 

 belong to each stock; these are larger than the 

 worker, and live idly; overall presides a queen 

 the most important member of the whole of this 

 little commonwealth. 



A person may keep bees in the common box- 

 hive for years, and never see this insect, about 

 which more extraordinary things have been seen 

 TbT" *^° ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ disposed 



, Reaumur and Huber fully determined the 

 influence which the presence of the queen has 

 upon her subjects. The former divided a swarm 

 and placed them in two glass hives, one of 

 which, therefore, had a queen; the other beinff 

 without one. The account which he gives of 

 the conductof the bees is too curioul to be 

 omitted. I give it here in his words : " After the 

 tumult, excited by their removal into a little 

 glass hive was calmed, and I had looked at it 

 tor ten minutes, for the first time of my life I 

 succeeded in seeing a queen bee, which w'as 

 walking at the bottom of the case. I was 

 recompensed in this instance, for my disap- 

 pointments in the various attempts that I had 

 previously made, for now I could view her as 

 often as I wished. Indeed, I had it in mv 

 power to point her out to a large party who 

 were at my house, not one of whom but evinced 

 the greatest curiosity to see this renowned sov- 

 ereign. For the first few minutes, in which I 

 followed her with my eyes, I was tempted to 

 believe that the stories of the respect paid her 

 by the other bees, the train by which she was 

 attended, were imaginary fables rather than real 

 tacts, bhe was alone, and walking perhaps at 

 a slower pace than the rest. The friends who 

 were with me were pleased to discover in her 

 gait something of gravity and majesty. She 

 advanced, unattended, to one of the squares of 

 the hive, up which she mounted to join a group 

 of her subjects at the top. In a little time she 

 reappeared at the bottom, but still sadly neo-- 

 lected. She ascended a second time, and I lost 

 sight of her for a few minutes; she then ap- 

 peared for the third time at the bottom of tlie 

 hive. Now, however, twelve or fifteen bees 

 were ranged around her and seemed to form 

 her train. 



In spite of my inclination to believe that the 

 first train which I had perceived was the eflFect 

 of chance— in spite ot my disposition to think 

 that a big bee would be followed precisely be- 

 cause it was big— I was forced to acknowledge 

 that there was some other foundation for the 

 homage, the cares, and attentions which the 

 rest paid to her who was destined to be the 

 mother of a numerous progeny. The queen, 

 with her little suite, disappeared for a moment 

 among a cluster of bees. In a short time she 

 reappeared at the bottom of the hive, when a^ 

 dozen others hastened to join the train. A row 

 flanked her on each side as she walked, others 

 met her before, and made way as she advanced; 

 and, in a very short time, she was surrounded 

 by a circle of upwards of thirty bees. Some of 

 these, approaching nearer than others, licked 

 her with their trunks; others extended this 

 organ filled with honey for her to sip ; some- 

 times I saw her stop to partake of the food, at 

 other times she sucked while in motion. 



_" For several hours, consecutively, I observed 

 this insect, and always saw her surrounded by 

 bees who appeared anxious to render her good 



