414 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JrxE 1. 



that perhaps bee-keepers are cranks; but at 

 other times I reach a simpler conckision; name- 

 ly, that, in their business, bee-keepers are the 

 greatest liars on the face of the earth. 



One of Them. 



THE DUDE BEE. 



A BURLESQUE ON ALL DUDES. 



This is not a new race of bees, but only a 

 new name for an old-fashioned bee that may be 

 found in almost any hive at certain times, and 

 in many hives is often found in too great num- 

 bers. The reason I propose to give him this 

 name is because the old name has become such 

 a chestnut, and has been abused, not only by 

 the poet but by the prosaic writers, when the 

 writer or poet wishes to compare some one or 

 some thing to another thing that is extremely 

 indolent and useless, just as the writer who is 

 at a loss for a subject writes about all that he 

 does not know about the busy bee. 



The dude bee, like the dude of the genus 

 homo, seems to be a sort of " necessary evil." 

 The two are in many respects considerably 

 alike, while in other respects they differ. The 

 one wears trousers in which the stripes go up 

 and down: while on the other, if he wears 

 stripes, they go around or across. The dude 

 bee, however, never wears a fancy vest and cut- 

 away coat; but he makes a loud noise, and 

 seems to wish to be noticed by every one when 

 out parading, or conning a damsel bee. 



Many of the text-hoolvs teach us that the dude 

 bee Is a sou of his mother, and is not contami- 

 nated with the blood of his mothers husband; 

 but for my part I am like G. M. Doolittle in my 

 opinion on this matter. We know that a virgin 

 queen may become the mother of dude bees, 

 and in this case they would surely be of the 

 same blood as their mother; but with all this I 

 am inclined to believe (from observation) that 

 an Italian queen mated with a black dude will 

 produce dudes of the same or similar blood as 

 her worker progeny. 



Some dude bees are black, some have a few 

 yellow stripes, and others have nearly the whole 

 waist yellow, or of a reddish hue. The latter 

 are the kind of dude bees to keep if you wish to 

 breed tive-banded, red-clover, golden, platinum- 

 point, ne plus ultra queens. I don't know how 

 the Punic dude bees look; but I suppose they 

 are just about as black as the ink with which 

 this is written. But I don't suppose they fly 

 when the entrance is plugged shut with snow 

 and ice. As a rule, though, the Italian dude 

 bee does not like to venture out except on pleas- 

 ant days. 



A few days ago I noticed the bees running 

 about on the alighting-board of a nucleus, as if 

 they had lost something which they were try- 

 ing to find. As they had a queen about five 

 days old I concluded that she had gone to take 

 a ramble (flight) in search of a dude; so I sat 

 down to watch the proceedings. The day was 

 rather cool and cloudy; and as dude bees are 

 like the dude of the other genus in this respect, 

 not many had ventured out. In a short time I 

 saw the queen near the entrance, and supposed 

 she had returned from a flight. The worker 

 bees would cha>e after h(>r and pull at her 

 while there; but soon she flew away, and was 

 gone four minutes by my watch and chain, 

 when she returned and remained on top of the 

 hive about half a minute by the same watch 

 and chain. Then she flew away, and was gone 

 about one minute. This she repeated two or 

 three times, and finally went into the hive 

 without having met a dude bee. Soon the 

 worker bees all went into the hive, and were as 



quiet as usual. Since then the weather has 

 been cool, cloudy, and rainy, and I fear she has 

 not met her prince dude bee yet. as the dude 

 bees have flown scarcely any; and I fear that, 

 if the weather continues this way many days, 

 there will bo a chance of her becoming an old- 

 maid bee. Here we usually have plenty of dud(^ 

 bees during apple bloom: but most of them are 

 generally killed off during a cool spell that 

 comes between that and white-clover bloom. 

 Such has been the case here this year. 



Many years ago some of the bee-keepers of 

 the old brimstone school thought that the dude 

 bees sat on the eggs that the king laid, and 

 hatched them out; but I can not believe this, 

 as the workers sit down on the dude bees as 

 soon as they have given up the notion of 

 swarming, and yet the eggs in the combs hatch 

 just the same without the dude bees to sit on 

 them. 



To the queens that produce good workers and 

 dude bees with yellow pantaloons, we give 

 plenty of dude comb: but those that produce 

 poor workers and black dudes are deprived of 

 all or nearly all dude comb. In this way we 

 are likely to have real nice dudes. Dude bees 

 sometimes poke their heads through the per- 

 forations in zinc honey-boards, and then turn 

 one-fourth round, and hang themselves; then 

 the workers pull them to pieces and try to get 

 them out of the hive. 



The dude bee is not to be blamed for not 

 working, as he is not able to, even if he were 

 willing: and. altogether, he is a very useful an- 

 imal at tinie.s. even if he does not sit on the eggs 

 and hatch them out. 



This name is not patented: and anyone can 

 call his bees with a broad back and a loud hum, 

 "dudes" if he wants to. S. E. Millek. 



Bluffton, Mo., May 13. 



THE BOYS, THE CHIPMUNK, AND THE 

 HORNETS. 



Two boys, youiifj' and gay. left school one bright daj^ 



To rove ill tlie woods for a wliile; 

 And they jumped witli delight, (or the very first 

 siglit 



Was a munk on tlie old woodpile. 



They thought not of l30oks, nor of still-riuniing' 

 brooks. 



As the sport of tlie day had begun; 

 For all of you know, who weie boys long ago. 



That, in puggUng munks, there is fun. 



But the cliipmunk so bright soon skipped out of 

 sight, 

 In tlie end of au old hollow rail; 

 And the boys, full of tricks, tried witli spllt-eiidfd 

 sticks 

 To pull the munk out by the tail. 



So they puggled and twisted, and long they per- 

 sisted. 



And rubbed up the ears of their dog; 

 But the chipmunk so red had a scheme in his liead. 



So he out, and ran under a log. 



Now, an old hornet she, of her young in this tree 

 Had sought to raise up a good batch; 



And all of you know, that four years ago 

 Was a good one for hornets to hatch. 



But the l)()ys' eyes were full (of Austr;ili;iii wool). 

 And they looked out for iidthing l)ut fi;ime; 



So they puggled llie log, and sicked on tlieii- dog. 

 And this is just where they were lame; 



For each hornet witliin, rushed out with a pin 



To tickle the boys, young and bold; 

 While they jumped over hummocks, rolled heels 

 over stomachs. 

 And the rest of my story is told. 



Chester Ol.mstead. 

 East Bloomfleld. N. Y., Alay 10. 



