40 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



issues, yet when autumn approaches, and there 

 begins to be a fear of famine in bee-land, _ the 

 ruUiless -worl^ers drive the lazy drones out into 

 the cold, and should they attempt to return, 

 they are mercilessly slaughtered. This is an 

 easy task, for the drones are not provided with 

 stings, as the workers are, and they conse- 

 quently fall an easy prey to their amazonian 

 conquerors. 



The most active members of the community 

 are the workers, who construct the combs, and 

 perform all the labors necessary for the preser- 

 vation of the colony. For this purpose they 

 collect or elaborate the following substances, 

 namely: honey, bee-bread, wax and propolis; and 

 as several of these products are more or less 

 employed by man in art, science, or domestic 

 economy, it will be worth our while to devote 

 a few minutes to their consideration. 



Wax, the material of which the honey combs 

 are constructed, is elaborated from honey in the 

 body of the bee, and secreted in the Avax belts, 

 situated between the rings of the abdomen, 

 from whence the bee draws it forth Avith the aid 

 of its legs and jaws, Avheu required for the for- 

 mation of cells. 



The appearance of common yelloAV beeswax 

 in its original state, is of course familiar to all. 

 It has a sweet, agreeable smell, being to some 

 extent mixed Avith honey, and is then soft and 

 easily moulded by pressure. It is converted 

 into white or virgin wax by bleaching in the 

 sun, combined with a periodical application of 

 moisture, under which influences it becomes 

 white, translucent and brittle. 



Honey is secreted in the nectaries of flowers, 

 whence it is extracted by the bee Avith the aid . 

 of its delicate tongue. A portion at least of the 

 harvest or gathering is retained by the insect 

 in its crop or paunch, and this is ejected into 

 the cells of the honey comb, on the bee's return 

 to the hive, to serve as a store of food in Avin- 

 ter. This substance is so Avell knoAvn that a 

 description of it appears almost superfluous; 

 but Ave may mention that pure honey is am- 

 ber-colored, viscid, granulated, and A'ery sweet. 

 It contains tAvo kinds of sugar, the one analogous 

 to that from the grape, the other to that from the 

 sugar cane. It also contains a yelloAV colored 

 matter, a little Avax, gum, and, according to 

 some authors, an aromatic principle and a slight 

 trace of Avhat appears to be acetic accid. 



Bee-bread is composed of the pollen of floAv- 

 ers moistened with honey. It is collected by 

 the workers on their excursions, and attached 

 to their hinder legs in the form of little pellets 

 Avith the aid of a remarkable apparatus, called 

 the basket, and conveyed home as food for the 

 larvaj as Avell as the mature bees. If you watch 

 the bees on their return to the hive, you Avill 

 perceive that the little masses of bee-bread at- 

 tached to their hind legs vary in color on the 

 diflTerent bees, but not on the same insect. This 

 arises in consecpience of the several bees col- 

 lecting pollen from ditl'erent floAvers; but Ave 

 are toJd that in no case does the same bee visit 

 more than one kind of a lloAver at a time. 



Propolis is the viscid coating Avith which the 

 ends and tAvigs of several plants are coverei':; 



and is collected by the bee from these portions 

 of the pine, fir, and poplar, as Avell as from cer- 

 tain shrubs. It is reddish broAvn, viscid, easily 

 softened by the Avarmth of the hand, has an 

 agreeable odor, readily dissolves in alcohol, and 

 when combined Avith alkali forms a soap. Though 

 it is rarely emploj^ed by man (being occasion- 

 ally used in taking impressions from medal- 

 lions), yet to the bee it is an indispensable ele- 

 ment in the arrangements of the IiIa'c. It is used 

 to fill up all the chinks and crevices, but also in 

 cementing the combs to the ceiling, sides, and 

 cross-sticks, and to some extent enters into the 

 composition of the comb itself, being applied as 

 a kind of varnish to give strength and consis- 

 tency to certain portions of the cells. — 8am- 

 uelson. 



Two Queens in One Hive, 



[The following account of a certainly very 

 rare occurrence is communicated to the Bieuen- 

 zeituug by Mr. Hacker, a Bee-keeper at Zele, in 

 Bohemia. It is only an additional proof that 

 in bee culture there is hardly any rule Avithout 

 an exception:] 



On opening one of my hives in February, to 

 ascertain Avhether the bees needed feeding, I 

 found it excessively damp from condensed per- 

 spiration. I concluded to transfer the combs 

 to another hive; and, Avhile doing so, saAv an 

 old queen Avhich had lost her Avings, together 

 with a small quantity of brood. The bees wJiich 

 remained in the emptied hive, I shook out on a 

 linen sheet placed before the other, that they 

 might join their companions. While they were 

 passing in, 1 and my assistant saw a A'ery ac- 

 tive young queen hastily enter. I Avas aAvare 

 that tAvo queens had, under similar circum- 

 stances been found "dwelling together in ami- 

 ty," but the question still undecided Avas — Avere 

 both fertile, and could each still lay Avorker 

 eggs? In April following I opened the hiA'e. 

 There was a large amount of brood in the 

 combs, and the queens Avere liAiug in apparent 

 harmony. On the 2od of JMay I made another 

 examination; and finding both queens present, 

 I divided the colony, making tAvo independent 

 stocks, and giving each a queen. Eight days 

 after I found young brood in each; and now 

 after the lapse of five Aveeks more, e A'ery thing 

 is in good condition. Two fertile queens had 

 passed the Avinter and spring, together, in peace, 

 in one hive. 



Where a suitable locality is chosen (well shel- 

 tered) I am very much disposed to consider a 

 permanent north or northeast aspect as present- 

 ing the most desirable position for wintering 

 bees; but time and the increasing interest in sci- 

 entific bee management, Avhich is rapidly devel- 

 oping itself, Avill assuredly disclose to us many 

 truths yet only guessed at. — Cottage Bee Keeper. 



An apiary should be so situated as to be in 

 full vicAV from the most frequented part of the 

 house, for the instant discovery and remedy of 

 accidents, and the observation of rising swarms. 



