324 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ai'i:. 15. 



Ix-auliful littlr valvt\ At H its true structure 

 does not appear. It has been likened In api)ear- 

 ance to a bud just alwut to open. It is a st)rt of 

 valve, fringed on the inside with rows of bi'is- 

 tles, or hairs, the object of which seems to be 

 to separate the pollen grains fioni the nectar, 

 the former passing into the stomach L. \Vith- 

 out special engravings which I may yet copy 

 from ^lv. Cowan's book, I can not explain ex- 

 actly the manner in which tlii:> valve per- 

 forins its functions. 



TRUE STOMACH. 



This corresponds to the stomach in our own 

 bodies, and pei'forms the samt^ function in the 

 way of digestion in converting the nutrient 

 particles of the food into blood. The inside 

 walls of the stomach have certain cells which 

 perform certain offices; but without more defi- 

 nite engravings it will be impossible to describe 

 them in detail. 



The next organ is the small intestine, or, as 

 it is sometimes called, the •' ilion."' In the hu- 

 man bodv the small intestines are much more 

 elaborate. It is in this that the food, after its 

 digestion, passes, and where, by absorption, the 

 nutrient particles not already absorbed pass 

 into the blood, and soon throughout the system. 



You will notice, also, at L, some small radiat- 

 ing filaments. These are called the inalphy- 

 gian tubes. It is not certain what their office 

 is, but it is thought that these are the urinary 

 organs. 



At the end of the small intestine, K. you will 

 notice an enlargement, M. This is what is 

 called the colou. Those who have been study- 

 ing the water-cure remedy, as given in Glean- 

 ings lately, will know something what this is 

 in the human body. Although the appearance 

 of the colon in the bee is ditterent from that in 

 the human body, yet its functions are very 

 much the same; and if allowed to become 

 dammed up by excreta (that is, by retention 

 during winter) it is liable to cause disease in 

 the bee, just the same as in the human body. 

 On page 112 Mr. Cowan says: 



From tlie colon, what lemaiiis of the undigested 

 foiKl is expelled by the anal opening- (frontispiece, 

 o). For this purpose strong' muscles exist, l)y which 

 the colon is compre-sed and tlie excreta ejected. 



The quantity of the exci-eta voided, usually of a 

 dark brown color, is regulated by the nature of the 

 food; bad honey, an improper substitute for honey 

 isuch as glucose) producing a larger amount, while 

 good hon^y and good syrup produce less, a larger 

 proportion of it being digested and absorbed. It is, 

 therefore, important that bees should have good 

 food, as, in a healthy condition, worljers never void 

 their fajces in the hive, but on the wing. In the 

 winter it is retained luitil voided on their flrst flight. 



So you see, then, that bad food makes mis- 

 chief, just the same as it does in the human 

 body, and it is in this that the ovei'plus of fteces 

 is stored during winter. 



HOAV THE BEE "MAKES" HONEY. 



After the nectar is gathered, it is then trans- 

 ferred from the tongue to the oesophagus and 

 thence to the honey-stomach. G. It has been 

 shown repeatedly by experiment that there are 

 a great many more pollen grains in the nectar 

 than in honey; hence the little stomach-mouth 

 H comes into play in separating the grains 

 from the mouth. On arrival at the hive, the 

 bee regurgitates — that is, expels the contents of 

 the honey-sac into the cell; but during its stay 

 in the honey-sac the nectar has undergone a 

 change; that is, it has been converted, says 

 Mr. Cowan, from the cane sugar of nectar into 

 the grape sugar of honey, by the agency of a 

 certain gland. This sustains the position held 

 so persistently by Prof. Cook, and his view is 

 doubtless correct; for when two such doctors 

 agree, and cite the authority of almost all of 



the eminent scientists of Eui'ope in its support, 

 th(> i-est of us will have to fall into line. 



Hut the bee may not regurgitate the honey, 

 for it may pass directly into the chyle-stomach. 

 We see. tlierefoi'e. that, when a swarm issues. 

 the bees. ;ifter lilling their honey-sacs to their 

 full cai)acity (a veiy small drop), can caixy 

 with them a supply of food to last thein for sev- 

 eral clays: and even while on the wing, through 

 that little stonuich-mouth. II. they may take 

 nouiishmi'n.t. .So much for the alimentary ca- 

 nal, its office in digestion, and the honey- 

 stomach. 



THE NEIJVOUS SYSTEM. 



Let us now turn our attention to the nervous 

 system. By referring to the engraving you will 

 see parallel and medial lines passing the entire 

 length of the bee, and Hnally communicating 

 with the brain A. Along at iri'egular intervals 

 will be seen thickened masse-; called " ganglia." 

 These are really little brains, and, as in our own 

 bodies, preside over the involuntary muscles. 

 The largest ganglion is the brain, at A, and 

 is the seat of voluntary action and intelligence. 

 One is surpiised in reading through chapters 10 

 and 11 of Mr. Cowan"s work, how thoroughly 

 scientists have studied the structure of the 

 nervous system as found in the bee. Even the 

 tiny brain has been dissected, and its various 

 functions pointed out— that is. what parts com- 

 municate with the antennic. what part with 

 the eyes, etc. I was greatly interested, in look- 

 ing over the sizes of the different brains found 

 in different insects. I quote here a paragraph 

 from page 70: 



It is generally admitted, that the size of the brain 

 is in proportion to tlie development of intelligence; 

 and Dujardin, who made careful measurements, 

 gives the following sizes: In the worker bee the 

 brain is the tU of the body; in the ant, .i^b; the ieli- 

 neumon, jflo; the cockcliafer, sg'so; the dytiseus, or 

 watei'-beetle, tj'oh. 



In man the proportion is 1 to 40, 1 believe; but 

 we all know that he is of the very highest order 

 of intelligence. However, we are not very 

 much siu'prised to learn that the bee has the 

 largest brain of any of the insects, exceeding by 

 far even that of the ant, whose intelligence we 

 have admired over and over again. 



THE RESPIKATOKV SYSTEM. 



It is also interesting to inquire how the bee 

 breathes, and chapter 8 points out to us the 

 wonders of the nervous system in the bee. By 

 referring to the engraving given, we observe a 

 couple of large air-sacs, called the " trachea," 

 and correspond somewhat to the lungs. These 

 are located on either side of the abdomen, as at 

 T. These are divided and subdivided into 

 smaller trachea, and these in turn ramify all 

 through the entire body. Instead of fresh air 

 being received in at the month, as with us. 

 fresh supplies are admitted through 14 little 

 mouths called " si)iracles."" Ten of these are 

 located on the abdomen — live on each side — and 

 are situated just about on the margin of the 

 scales, between the dorsal and ventral seg- 

 ments. Four others are situated on the thorax, 

 or waist, *^^wo on each sid(\ You may, there- 

 fore, decapitate a bee and he will continue 

 breathing as before. If you place a pencil dip- 

 ped in ammonia near his body, th(> headless in- 

 sect will struggle to get away: and if the pen- 

 cil touches his feet, the ganglia already spoken 

 of communicate the sensation to the other gan- 

 glia, and at once all the feet come to the 

 I'escue to i)ush off the offending object, or, it 

 may be, to take a closer hold so the sting may 

 do its work. Besides that, if bees are daubed 

 with honey they will die very soon from stran- 

 gulation, because these little mouths orspiracles 

 are closed. A bee may swim aroiuid in a trough 



