THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



15 



Do Bees Make Honey? 



Do the bees simply <;-ather the juice or 

 secretion of the flowers and deposit it in 

 the hive unchanged, does it undergo a 

 change in their stomach, or is honey a 

 secretion of the bees resembling that of 

 milk in mammals? 



This (pK'stion was asked me lately by- 

 a reader of the Dollar Monthly. With 

 your permission I will describe my views 

 on this question, subject to the criticism 

 of older heads. 



When the bee visits the flowers it sucks 

 the nectar with its jn'oboscis and swallows 

 it. Thf^ honey passes into what entomol- 

 ogists call the proventriculas, or first 

 stomach, commonh' called "honey sac." 

 If a part of this hone}" is needed for the 

 nourishment of the insect, it passes into 

 the ventriculus, or true stomach, in which 

 it is digested. When the honey-sac is full 

 the bee returns to the hive, unloads him- 

 self by throwing the honej^ into the cells 

 and again starts for the field. It is, therefore, 

 cpiite plain that honey is not a secretion. 

 Now, is honey changed in any way by 

 passing in and out of the honey-sac of the 

 bee? That is the question. 



It has been found by chemical analysis 

 that the nectar of the flowers is cane sugar 

 and that the honey harvested b}" the bees 

 from those flowers is grape sugar. This 

 discovery would be suflicient to prove that 

 the honey gathered by the bees under- 

 goes a certain change in the honey-sac. 

 On the othor hand, W. W. Stoddard said, 

 in a back number of U. B. J., that the 

 hone}' when in the honey-sac conies in 

 contact with an acid, that proved to be 

 identical with formic acid. He says: 

 '• This it is which doubtless causes the pe- 

 culiar tingling sensation at the back of the 

 throat when much honey has been swal- 

 lowed." 



Later we find in the Apicultore of Milan 

 a definite account of the existence of se- 

 creting glands communicating with honey 

 sac, and containing a saliva of a strong, 

 peculiar odor that passes b}^ means of con- 

 traction into the honey-sac. 



These three glands were discovered by 

 Prof. Von Siebold, the well known Ger- 

 man entomologist. He claims the honor of 

 having described them the first, as they 

 had always been thought by others to be 

 respiratory organs. 



If the above discoveries arc real and 

 well understood, we shall have to conclude 

 that honey does undergo a certain change 

 in the stomach of the bee, and, therefore, 

 cannot be made artificially. It dees not 

 exist in a natural state outside of the 

 hive. 



The change efi'ected in the nectar of 

 flowers by the stomach of the bee is not 

 very great, however. The bee gives it a 

 peculiar taste, but it cannot add anything 

 to its quality or diminish it in any way. 



Before I close, permit me to thaidc Mr. 

 M. Quinby for his article on wintering, in 

 the December number. I also wish to 

 tell friend Kretchner that we agree per- 

 fectly together. Bees will not work as 

 well in side boxes as in top boxes, although 

 they ivill work in side boxes if they have 

 no top boxes. But give them their choice 

 and see what they Avill do. 



D. P. Dadant. 



Hamilton, 111, Bee. 15, 1873. 



Shaking Bees. 



James Heddon at the Michigan Bee 

 Keepers' Meeting, said, " I find that shak- 

 ing deep combs to get off the bees, irritates 

 them. Is there a remedy?" 



There are several, a couple of which I 

 will give. First, Use more care in subdu- 

 ing bees in long, deep, or large hives. It 

 is generally best to manage hives of bees, 

 extracting honey, making swarms, &c. 

 during a yield of honey, and before it is 

 sealed with wax, that all the bees may fill 

 their sacs with honey ; which thc}^ will do, 

 if there is enough uncapped, and they are 

 disturbed properly. If the honey is not 

 in a condition, or of suflficient quantity, 

 food may be given, to subdue the most 

 vicious stock. The best brush is one or 

 more grape or plantain leaves rolled loose- 

 ly, sometimes the end trimmed. Weeds, 

 grass, broom, feathers, or brushes may be 

 used ; and if the articles are scarce, or on- 

 ly one at hand, dip occasionalh' in water 

 to wash off the odor which enrages badly 

 managed bees. 



Second, Use the old fashioned, native, or 

 black bees with your deep frames, that 

 drop off the comb like shot off a shingle, 

 at the least handling. The stock is get- 

 ting scarce. It can probably be obtained 

 of our former President, as they are his pets. 



St. Charles, 111. J. M. Marvin. 



