1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



947 



ever, as they will generally have a battle royal 

 with the intruder, and by force of numbers kill 

 him at last. 



Speaking of contests of this sort reminds me 

 of a most interesting scene, witnessed some 

 years ago, that would have delighted the very 

 soul of the entomologist. It was a warm day 

 in summer; and when sitting on the gallery I 

 heard something drop in the sandy yard, that 

 attracted attention. A large wasp of a rare 

 species had found in the branches of an oak, 

 an immense spider, with a body as laree as the 

 end of your middle finsfr, and with legs of a 

 spread of three inches. They fell to the ground, 

 locked in a deadly embrace. The fall sepmed to 

 di!=concert the wasp, and it relinquished its 

 hold and flew away. The spider rested a few 

 moments, looking all around for its advpr«ary, 

 and then began to crawl away. Presently the 

 wasp returned to the spot where he had left 

 the spider, and, missing him, alighted on the 

 ground, and with quick nervous movements 

 began to track up the spider, just as a dog 

 would trail a deer. The spider had reached 

 the shelter of some thin grass, and was waiting 

 the advance of its enemy. As soon as it saw 

 the wa<!p it threw itself into an attitude of de- 

 fense, resting on its posterior limbs, and lifting 

 the two pair of front legs high into the air. 

 The wasp darted at him, and the two rolled on 

 the ground in a furious struggle, the wasp try- 

 ing to use its sting and the spider its deadly 

 bite. The contest lasted for a full minute, the 

 two rolling over and over in the dust until the 

 wasp, apparently getting the worst of It, tore 

 loose from the spider and flew away. The look 

 of sullen ferocity worn by the spider as its 

 winged foe retreated was something to be re- 

 membered. It appeared as though the wasp, 

 although not actually bitten, was intimidated, 

 and had abandoned the field. In a few min- 

 utes, however, the wasp returned, apparently 

 with the determination to have that spider or 

 die. It tracked it up again, and the same furi- 

 ous combat was repeated. The insects writhed, 

 and rolled over and over, their motions being so 

 rapid that the eye could not follow. At last 

 the deadly sting was delivered, and the spider 

 instantly paralyzed. Then followed a singular 

 scene. The wasp, after resting a few minutes, 

 lifted the spider and bore it away. Flight with 

 such a burden was impossible. Although the 

 weight of the spider must have been double its 

 own, the wasp carried it out of the fringe of 

 grass, and. selecting an open route, carried it 

 into the path which led to the yard gate. Be- 

 ing interested to know what the wasp was go- 

 ing to do with its prize I followed and watched 

 it pass under the gate, and out until it reached 

 the foot of a large red oak standing at least 

 twenty yards from the scene of the battle. 

 Reaching the tree, without hesitation it began 

 to mount it with its load, and climbed, without 

 rest or pause, until it disappeared within the 



recesses of a large hollow in the oak, and I saw 

 it no more. 



I suppose Prof. Cook would tell u*; that the 

 sting of the wasp, while it did not kill the spi- 

 der, put \t, into a comatose state, unable to move 

 a limb, but still having life, until the egg of the 

 wasp, inserted under its skin, developed into a 

 grub which lived and grew, feeding on the 

 body of the still living and helpless victim un- 

 til it reached its maturity. I wonder if the 

 fable of Prometheus bound to the rock, with the 

 vulture feeding on his vitals, may not have 

 been suggested by such a scene as this. 



EIGHT OR TEN FRAME HIVES. 



HOW AND WHY THE I,ATTER IS BETTER IN A 



POOR SEASON AND IN LOCALITIES OF 



IRREGULAR HONEY FLOWS. 



By J. J. Cosby. 



I see that the size of hives is being discussed 

 yet to a certain extent. My conclusion is, that 

 this is an extreme point, and can be proven 

 only under extreme circumstances. I have 

 always believed that the size of hive to the 

 average queen Is of vital importance. Now, 

 what size shall we adopt to accommodate the 

 average queen, in an extreme case? I am us- 

 ing the ten-frame Dovetailed hive; and during 

 last winter and the summer of 1893 the journals 

 had so much to say in favor of eight-frame 

 hives that I almost regretted I did not adopt 

 them. The ten-frame hives cost more, are 

 heavier to handle, have more pieces to handle, 

 and occupy more space when being transported. 

 Then if an eight-frame hive is just as good, or 

 better, under all circumstances, why not adopt 

 it as my standard, if I can get the same number 

 of pounds of honey from it that I can from a 

 larger hive? 



After reasoning as above I determined to try 

 a part of my colonies on eight frames for 1894, 

 About the first of May, when all had been 

 equalized as to brood, bees, and stores, I put 

 dummies at the sides of ten hives — or, in other 

 words, contracted them to eight- frame hives. 

 I work on the Doolittle contracted expansion 

 plan in the early spring, and at my last round 

 I see that all have about the same amount of 

 stores. 



All the surroundings at this time seemed to be 

 favorable for a good crop of honey, except the 

 weather. March was noted for unusually cold 

 blizzards; April for its unusually cold rains, 

 and with all this the bees increased in numbers 

 rapidly. May came; but in her hurry to dress 

 she neglected to adorn herself with any fruit- 

 bloom or any other flowers except a little dan- 

 delion. Then came June a smiling, and in 

 many places hid God's green earth with her 

 white carpet of extravagance (white clover), 

 but neglected to put in the needful nectar. 



