1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



475 



times tliousands, are called drones j and the re- 

 mainder are denominated wo-r^-ers, or Jiet/^ers, from 

 being supposed to belong to neiiiier sex. Tliey 

 are the operative part of the community; lor, 

 while ihe lemaie give.? birth to the whole young, 

 and the males perTorm no lunclions but perpetua- 

 ting their race, the workers collect the honey, form 

 the wax, build the combs, watch over the growth 

 of the young, and supply their necessities. 



We shall not dwell on the anatomy of the bee, 

 concerning Avhich Swammerdam and Reaumur 

 have so largely written; but the use to which the 

 animal can convert some of its organs, requires a 

 brief explanation of their structure. A bee has 

 four wings and six legs: its abdomen consists of 

 several scaly circular rings, connected by mem- 

 branes; the last is armed with a sting: and the 

 Jiead is provided with a proboscis, and two man- 

 dibles, in addition to a real moulh, which the ani- 

 mal has lilcewise. The body is totally covered 

 wiih hair, v/hich is not to be considered an indif- 

 ferent character; for each separate hair, viewed 

 with a microscope, appears a [)!ant in miniature, 

 witli a stem and branches; and the small particles 

 of pollen, shaken off by the motion of a bee in a 

 flower, are arrested by the hairs, and then collect- 

 ed into pellets with its limbs. In the third pair of 

 these limbs is a small hollow, to which the pellets 

 are fixed; and part of the second pair is provided 

 with what resemble brushes, for brushing otT the 

 pollen. The proboscis is the principal organ em- 

 ployed in collecting the honey; when inactive, it is 

 folded under the iiead, and defended by a scaly 

 sheath, or covering. When employed, it is ex- 

 tended, and the animal apparently licks the honey 

 from the flower into its mouth, which ia of consi- 

 derable size, and (hence transmits it to the sto- 

 mach. All the honey which we see in com.bs is a 

 vegetable product. Alter being swallowed by the 

 bees, it is disgorged into their cells: but its scanty 

 quantities in the natural state prevent us from as- 

 certaining what change is undergone in the sto- 

 mach. Until very Iaiel3', it was bei.eved that the 

 bees also swallowed the wax, and disgorged it to 

 construct the cells; and, when so disgorged, that 

 it had the property of indurating, like the sub- 

 stance forming eiik, immediately on exfiosure to 

 the air; and that the mandibles were used in mouid- 

 ing the parts to their proper size and thickness. 

 It is now proved, that wnx is made out of honey, 

 which is swallowed by the bees indeed, but there 

 is great reason to believe that it tlien transudes 

 through the. membranes connecting the rings of 

 the body in the form of wax. The females and 

 workers have a siing, of which the males are des- 

 titute. This is not a simple sharp-pointed wea- 

 pon, as apparent to the eye of a superficial obser- 

 ver; it consists of two separate portions, applied 

 longitudinally against each other. The external 

 side of each is provided with several barbs, like 

 those of a dart, which prevents the retraction of 

 the sting from the wound il has inflicted, until the 

 purpose of its penelration, the discharge of poison, 

 be iiilfilled. These barbs, it is said, mav be ele- 



oval bag, or reservoir, in the body of the animal, 

 connected with the sting; and its virulence is such, 

 as even to accasion death, if the stings be nume- 

 rous. In experiments where a small portion of 

 the poison was introduced into a slight puncture 

 with the point of a pin, acute pain followed ; and, 

 on laying the smallest quantitj^ on the tonirue, a 

 sweetish tase first was sensible, which became 

 burning and acrid, and continued so several hours. 

 The efi'ect of the poison is various on different 

 people; in some, a single sting occasions violent 

 swelling and inflammation; others suffer little in- 

 convenience from if. If the sting be left in the 

 wound, its vital powers will force it still deeper; 

 therefore it is cautiously to be extracted, and the 

 part sucked and washed with vinegar, or some li- 

 quid fit to allay inflammation, that being probably 

 the only effectual mode of cure. We cannot rea- 

 dily ascertain the real use of the sting to bees. 

 It is vain to aflirm, that it is an organ of defence 

 against enemies; that the treasurers of a hive are 

 particularly exposed to depredation, and require 

 great protection. Many other insects, in similar 

 circumstances, have no defensive weapon; many 

 possess it which we can hardly say have any thing 

 to guard; and some, exposed to numerous acci- 

 dents, are entirely unprovided with the means of 

 averting them. The sole purposes to which we 

 see the sting applied, independent of the resistance 

 of injuiy, are massacreing the drones of the hive; 

 and by queens, to effect their mutual destruction. 

 Queens are more pacific than the common bees, 

 and less inclined to sting the person that handles 

 them. 



The tliree kinds of bees inhabiting a hive are 

 all of different size and appearance, and may ea- 

 sily be recognized. Thecomm.on bees and males 

 are familiar to every one; the latter being much 

 larger, and of duller flight. But the queen resem- 

 bles neither in structure; she is about eight lines 

 and a half in length, while the males are sevon, 

 and the workers six. Her abdomen is greatly 

 longer in proportion, and increases much when 

 filled with eg!is ; her wings are so short as scarce- 

 ly to reach past the third ring, and her color tends 

 lueens, and also males, are 



vated and depressed at (he will of the animal. 

 Having satisfied its vengeance, the sting is with- 

 drawn ; but if the bee is suddenly forced away, 

 the barbs remain elevated, and retain the sting in 

 the wound. The extraordinary pain attending so 

 small a puncture, arises from a liquid, which is 

 genuine poison, flowing into the wound from an 



to a deeper yellow 



occasionally seen of snaaller size than usual; 

 which naturalists have supposed is owing to acci- 

 dental circumstances. Il is not yet known, how- 

 ever, whether all the bees preserved in hives, in 

 different countries, are exactly ol (he same species; 

 or, whether there are varieties preseiving their 

 peculiar characteristics of size and color. 



Long ago it was ascertained, that i lie welfare 

 of the queen is indispensable to the wellare of the 

 hive, and that any accident befallins' h;^r, is fatal 

 to the whole colosiy. As sl.e is fhe'parent of the 

 hive, il is from her alone tirti a comi)!eie swarm, 

 composed of qtieens, drones, and workers, can 

 proceed; and without all these diflercnt members 

 of the community, it cannot either lay up stores, 

 or be preserved in existence. That bees are pro- 

 pagated by means of eggs, wdiich are liatched 

 inio worms, could not be unknown fi^om times 

 of the most retnoie an(i(]uity; Imt no point in the 

 natural history of animals has been more keenly 

 contested, than their precise mode of generation. 

 It was concluded, from finding males and females 

 together in the same hive, that their sexule union 

 gave birth to the young; yet no one had beheld 

 their concourse. Those provided with the means 



