36 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



which refuse the true article, because they 

 don't know it. 



It is consequently of tlie greatest impor- 

 tance that all the Bee Journals inform their 

 readers that the best test for honey is the 

 candying ; that honey candies because it is 

 formed of grape sugar, which granulates 

 and does not crystalize ; that on the other 

 hand, sugar syrup is made from cane sugar, 

 which does not caiidy but crystalizes. That 

 if they find on the market, from December 

 to June, a so called honey in liquid condi- 

 tion, they can, with absolute certainty, de- 

 clare it a sophisticated honey, or at least a 

 honey which, by boiling, or by pure mix- 

 ture, has lost its character as true and pure 

 article. 



If you were in Paris offering for sale your 

 best honey, you could not find a price, not 

 even five cents per ft, if your honey was 

 liquid ; while a good, white granulated 

 honey would sell readily at 15 cents. It is 

 because the French peo'ple are accustomed 

 to eat candied honey, and know that it is 

 granulated. 



Let every one of us write, in all the 

 papers at large, these simple facts ; and 

 without waiting for the millenium, we will 

 see all the amateurs of good honey ask for 

 candied honey, for it is really better than 

 liquid, better even than comb honey. 



Hamilton, 111. Cii. Dauaxt. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee Enemies. 



My article in the September Xo., headed 

 " Spring dwindling," cfoes not seem to have 

 drawn the attention I desired, but I deem 

 the subject to be of such overwhelming im- 

 portance that I dare to dwell on it once 

 more, hoping that this time one of the many 

 experienced bee-keepers, writers or obser- 

 vers may take up the subject and help me 

 to awaken the interest of all bee-keepers to 

 it. 



The enemy in question is a fly, called the 

 bee killer. There are three kinds, all look- 

 ing very similar to each other viz : Asilus 

 Missouriensis, about IJ^ in. long. Asilus 

 Cericeus, about 1 in. long, and Erax Bastar- 

 di, about % in. long. All these three species 

 abound here (central 111.) from June to the 

 end of September, and there is no doubt in 

 my mind that they are the main cause of 

 the sluggishness of the hives, often shown 

 from early June to the middle of August. 

 My hives were quite lively in April and 

 May, increased in honey and brood, so that 

 I already dreamt of a large hom^y yi(»ld and 

 a large increase in June and July. "But alas, 

 how wei'e my hopes (lisapjiointed. In early 

 June my hives became lazy, almost stoppetl 

 flying, shovved no increase in honey nor in 

 numbers, and actual weighing proved that 

 they lost honey. Of course I dro])ped at 

 once all intentions to a further increase of 

 stocks, and tried to study the cause. True, 

 it was a dry season, but there were in June 

 flowers enough for the bees to bring home 

 some honey, but they hung before the flv- 

 hole without attempting to fly. I tlunigiit 

 of toads and watched them ; of hornets, of 

 all birds, said to be enemies, but none could 

 have such a discouraging and decreasing 

 etfect on the bees, as I perceived on all (if 

 my stocks. I investigated the stocks inside, 

 found them clean, combs well built, but 



little honey and brood, and weak in num- 

 bers. None tried to build any queen cells. 

 I almost gave up the search, when one 

 morning while being busy in the apiary, I 

 heard beliind me a peculiar loud and short 

 bee "hum." Turning around I saw a large 

 long fly, hanging on a grass stem, have in 

 its claws a bee and after turning the help- 

 less victim so that the under side of the 

 bee's thorax touched its proboscis, the latter 

 as quick as lightning sunk into the thorax 

 of the bee, at the same time the fly with its 

 victim dropped to a lower place, between 

 the grass, and after a lew minutes dropped 

 the sucked out, and of course dead bee, to 

 look for a new victim. While I was observ- 

 ing the operations it struck me there might 

 be more of these flies, and began to search, 

 when I to my terror found that thousands 

 were around in the field, all watching for 

 the honey bee. The mystery of my bees 

 dwindling down was at once explained. 

 The bees' I saw idle before the fly-hole were 

 ycmng ones. The old ones flying out, but 

 not half of them returning froiii their honey 

 and pollen excursions, of course the hive 

 decreased in honey. Honey and pollen de- 

 creasing, the breeding was nearly stopped 

 and a general discouragement lamed the 

 hive. In July and August I killed a large 

 number of the above named species but not 

 enough to help nie much. From the middle 

 of August they seemed to disappear some- 

 what, and immediately the bees became 

 lively, brougiit in more honey, began to 

 breed again and enabled me to sling out 

 from 40 hives, from Sep. 1st to 15th, 840 lbs. 

 of fine honey. 



The coming year'I intend to apply all the 

 time I can spare to hunting for this worst of 

 the bee enemies. They are easily caught 

 by a butterfly net. Just before smiset they 

 settle mostly on top of a conspicuous weed, 

 where they are easily seen and caught. I 

 am very niuch astonished that none of our 

 many writers on bees ever mentioned this 

 enemy. The Missouri State Entomologist, 

 C.N.Riley in his second annual report, 

 gives a full description of all three species, 

 I refer the reader to his article in that rejiort 

 page 121 — 1'24. What I would pro))ose is, 

 that all and every bee-keeper in the U. S. 

 should from June to September be busy 

 killing this tly. It is plain that this ]iest to 

 the liees must increase, as the number of 

 bees increases, but that a concerted action 

 may thin down its mumbers. 



They are easily recognized by their long, 

 slender comical abdomen, their "transjiarent 

 two wings, their long legs, thick thorax and 

 their deej), drone-like short, loud hum while 

 they fiy. Their color is brownish and yel- 

 lowish. Length of body from % to V4 iiicli 

 long. Wherever bees gather honey you can 

 find this liy. I caught many a hundred on 

 my buckwheat in the morning. On wild 

 land in the afternoon. If it had iu)t been 

 for this blood-thursty savage bee enemy, I 

 verily believe that I would have gained 2000 

 lbs. nu)re lutiu'y and at least 2.5 more new 

 colonies than 1 actually did. I think it 

 worth while for every bee-keeper to give 

 this subject his full attention for 18T.5. 



Sigel, 111. Ch. Sonne. 



We earnestly invite inves.tigation on this 

 ])oint, being convinced that we cannot be 

 too much on our guard against any enemy 

 of the bee. We cut from Colman's Rural 



