1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



765 



They attempt to drag its great cai'cass from 

 the hive, but, unable to do this, they show 

 their respect for size by proceeding at once 

 to give it decent burial. This is effected by 

 covering it with pi'opolls. or bee-glue. Often 

 I have seen the dead body of a mouse sim- 

 ilarly scaled within the hive. Is not this a 

 kind of sanitation ? 



A species of apathus. which also enters the 

 hlveof the honey-bee without any resistance, is, 

 as I have reason to believe, a worse foe than Is 

 andrenn. as there is considerable evidence that 

 these bees breed in the hive. I have received 

 specimens of these bees fi'om a very intelligent 

 bee-keeper of Indiana, who reports that this 

 cuckoo-bee certainly breeds In the hive. If 

 this is correct, it Is a very interesting case. I 

 hope soon to have positive evidence on this 

 point. The fact that many of the cuckoo-bees 

 were seen jn the hive, and acted entirely at 

 home, seemed to confirm this theory as the 

 correct one. 



In America, wasps are not serious enemies of 

 the honey-bee. I have received from the South 

 the large handsome Stizus siiecinxiis. Drury, 

 with the report that it had caiigiiT and killed a 

 honey-bee. I think such depredations, even In 

 the south of the United States, ai'e much less, 

 frequent than in Europe and Asia. Of the fam- 

 ily Mutilkhr. the cow - killer of the South. 

 Sphcem-iiii}ith(tliinii< oecldenUtlis. Linn., is no 

 mean enemy of the bee. This beautiful insect 

 has no apparent feai' of bees, and is very free to 

 attack them. Probably its densely chltinous 

 body and very powerful sting make it an over- 

 match for the honey-bee. I have this very 

 hairy ant-llke Insect from Kansas, Mississippi, 

 and Florida, In all of which States it has been 

 seen to attack and kill bees. It Is a very pre- 

 daceous Insect, and doubtless Is more our friend 

 than enemy. 



Various species of the family Formlcidiv at- 

 tack bees. In the North, ants do no harm, ex- 

 cept to gather on the top of the inner cover of 

 the bees, seemingly for warmth. Occasionally 

 they annoy or irritate the bees to some slight 

 extent. In the South, ants often kill the worker 

 bees, and occasionally the queens; at least, it 

 is so n^ported. 



Ants are easily poisoned, and may be killed at 

 wholesale by applying bisulphide of carbon to 

 their ant-hills. 



Among dipterous insects we find bee-enemies 

 in three families. Without doubt the robber- 

 flies. As'didiv, are the chlefest offenders. These 

 terribly predaceous insects are well denominat- 

 ed bee-klllei-s. They are most destructive in 

 the South. There are several species that are 

 known to kill bees. These belong chiefly to the 

 following genei'a: Erax. Promach^in. Asilus, 

 and Mdllopliord. These often do serious dam- 

 age — so much so that, in some parts of the 

 South, boys are employed to kill them, which 

 they do by the dextrous use of the wlfip. The 

 habit of these flies reminds us of the king-bird. 

 They pounce upon the bee, grasp Itwiiileon 

 the wing, by use of their fuel, and repair to 

 some resting-place, where they deliberately 

 suck their victim's blood. Scores of bees may 

 be destroyed in a dav by one of these rapacious 

 flies. 



Till' bee-louse, Braula cceca. of the family 

 Brditlinkhr. has been frequently introduced 

 into this country from Italy and Cyprus, on 

 queen-bees; but from the fact that it has giv- 

 en no ti'ouble— indeed, is rarely seen in the 

 Unit(>d States — It would seem that our climate 

 must be inimical to its well-being. It can 

 hardly be called an enemy of bees on this side 

 of the water. 



Among lepidopterous insects, the well-known 

 bee-moth, Galleria f.erenna. Fabr., Is a general- 



ly recognized enemy of the honey-bee: yet it is 

 usually powerless to injure any but weak colo- 

 nies, especially of the yellow races of bees. 

 Though called the wax-moth, it really feeds 

 mostly on pollen, though It cuts the comb in a 

 ruinous fashion, as it tunnels through and 

 through it in search of its feal food. It is not 

 considered a serious enemy by any well-inform- 

 ed bee-keeper, but will often do serious mis- 

 chief to weak colonies of bees by matting, 

 soiling, and tunneling the combs, and in this 

 way exciting and dispiriting the bees. It is 

 also ruinous to exposed combs, and thus makes 

 caution on the part of the bee-keeper an Im- 

 perative necessity to success. A. J. Cook. 

 Ag'l College. Mich. 



Tube continued. 



AKIZONA. 



SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED— SEE P. 628, AUG. 1. 



Notwithstanding my request that all ques- 

 tions relating to my communication on Arizona 

 be sent to Gleanings, I have been fairly del- 

 uged with letters from all parts of the Union— 

 from Maine to California, and from Oregon to 

 Florida, demonstrating the extensive reach of 

 your publication, and its consequent value as 

 an advertising medium. It also shows the en- 

 terprising character of Its readers, and. what is 

 better than either, the sterling worth of the pa- 

 per Itself; for, as I understand, your circulation 

 Is not maintained by the offer of premiums, but 

 rests entirely on the merits of its contents. I 

 think this Is due largely to the fact that you do 

 not conflne yourself to bees alone (for this one 

 subject, with the lapse of time, necessarily be- 

 comes "hashy""), but, on the contrary, you em- 

 brace many live subjects of practical impor- 

 tance to men and women of all stations and 

 callings in life. 



Some of the letters received I have turned 

 over to editors and real-estate agents who have 

 promised to mail papers and pamphlets fully 

 answering the questions propounded; others I 

 have answered by letter, and the rest to date I 

 will endeavor to answer In this letter. 



Right here peimit me to suggest, to all who 

 contemplate emigrating, the wisdom of visiting 

 this country and seeing for themselves before 

 breaking up their homes. If your means will 

 not permit this, and you enjoy good health and 

 reasonable prosjjei'ity, it is often wise to stay 

 where you are. 



To the question. " Which pays the better, bees 

 or fruit?" we unh(>sitatingly ai.swer. fruit pays 

 better than any thing else; but honey, vegeta- 

 bles, etc., pay well enough to maintain you 

 while waiting for your orchards to come into 

 bearing. An oi'ange-grove in full bearing is 

 worth from :?1()()0 to .?3.500 per aci-e, for the net 

 proceeds from the sale of the fruit will pay 10 

 per cent interest on those sums, and this is the 

 general rule in determining the true value of a 

 grove. I have now before me a letter from a 

 nephew residing at Riverside. Cal., who reports 

 an orange-grove. of ten acres just sold for the 

 sum of $2.5,0(X) cash. I have known ten acres of 

 grapes to yield a net profit of !?24()0. Ten acres 

 well cared for is amply sufficient for the main- 

 tenance of a family of ordinary size. For pay- 

 ing crops of oranges one must wait four or five 

 years after setting out the trees, the tinie of 

 waiting depending much on the size of the 

 trees when taken from the nui'sery. and the 

 care bestowed on them afterward. Figs, apri- 

 cots, peaches, nectarines, and other fruits of 

 that class, require about three years to yield 

 really paving crops. Grapes pay well In a year 

 and a half after setting out the rooted vines; 



