THE BEE. 



The bee-louse, an insect about the size of a flea, often infests 

 populous hives, so as greatly to annoy the bees by fixing itself 

 upon them. Sometimes two or more attach themselves to a single 

 bee, making it restless and indisposed for its usual industry. 



A magnified view of one of these parasites is shown in fig. 92, 

 as seen from above ; and in fig. 93, as seen from below. 



Fig. 92. Bee Louse, Fig. 93. Bee-Louse, 



seen from above. seen from below. 



That universal plunderer the wasp, and his formidable congener 

 the hornet, often seize and devour them ; sometimes ripping open 

 their body to come at the honey, and at others carrying off that 

 part in which it is situated. Wasps frequently take possession 

 of a hive, having either destroyed or driven away its inhabitants, 

 and consume all the honey it contains. Nay, there are certain 

 idlers of their own species, called by apiarists, corsair bees, which 

 plunder the hives of the industrious. 



210. Examples have been already cited, in which bees have 

 manifested peculiar personal antipathies, which have been 

 ascribed, in the cases mentioned, to some odour, offensive to 

 the insect, proceeding from the obnoxious individuals. Inde- 

 pendently, however, of such general causes of hostility, the 

 insects are sometimes provoked against even their best friends 

 and most familiar acquaintances, by occasional circumstances. 

 Kirby relates, that although he was generally exempt from their 

 hostility, he could not venture with impunity to put them out 

 of humour. Thus happening one day, during the season when 

 asparagus was in blossom, to pass among the beds, which were 

 crowded with bees, he discomposed them so much that he was 

 obliged to make a hasty retreat, pursued by a swarm of his 

 offended friends. 



211. In Mungo Park's last mission to Africa, he was much 

 annoyed by bees. His people, searching for honey, having dis- 

 turbed a large colony of them, the insects sallied forth by myriads, 

 and attacking men and beasts indiscriminately, put them all to 

 the rout. One horse and six asses were killed or missing in con- 

 sequence of their attack, and for half an hour the bees seem to 

 have completely put an end to their journey. Isaacs, upon 



110 



