1 899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



177 



He says, " I consider the whole idea of travel- 

 stain as a foul slander, . . . and as infa- 

 mous." He goes on to prove that the cause 

 of discoloration is due to some foreign sub- 

 stance which the bees gather and incorporate 

 with — or weld to— the wax as a means of 

 economy, and mentions several substances 

 which may be used by the bees to adulterate 

 their wax. Mr. Crane makes one good point 

 in his argument; and this is in the matter of 

 the blue cloth to which he refers, and which 

 would appear quite conclusive if left where he 

 drops it. He also accuses the bees of mak- 

 ing use of large quantities of propolis as an 

 adulterant. He say^s: " It is used late in the 

 season when ivax is scarce . . . and in 

 such quantities as to be easily seen by the 

 naked eye." 



Now, my observations lead me to believe 

 that bees produce wax in accordance with 

 their requirements, although it would seem 

 that they' dislike to draw upon their already 

 accumulated store for the purpose of pro- 

 ducing wax late in the season, and hence 

 leave some of their work undone. 



My friend Crane asserts that the bees 

 go about the interior of the hive in search of 

 particles of comb, cappings, dirt, propolis, or 

 what not, to weld on to and stretch out their 

 scant supply of wax. This is contrary to my 

 observations, and I am, therefore, not }?et pre- 

 pared to accept that theory; and I believe he 

 accuses the bees wrongfully. That the sur- 

 face of comb honey is sometimes soiled, I ad- 

 mit; but what is the cause of this discolora- 

 tion ? Must we accept the theory that bees 

 purposely make use of foreign substances for 

 the purpose of economy? I can not. 



Mr. Crane makes mention of the under side 

 of the cappings being stained as well as the 

 outside. I would account for this by the fact 

 that, while the bees are " slowly " doing their 

 cappings late in the season, as he says, their 

 feet being more or less soiled, from various 

 causes which I will explain further on, they 

 stain the inside of the cappings as well as the 

 outside while manipulating the wax. To my 

 mind this would account for the " blue stain " 

 that Mr. Crane noticed on some of his cap- 

 pings. 



You are well aware, Mr. Editor, that wax is 

 very susceptible to any stain — so much so that 

 it is difficult to cleanse when once it is stained. 

 My theory is that the blue cloth referred to, 

 being picked at while capping was being 

 done, more or less of the particles of the blu- 

 ing adhered to the hair-covered legs and feet 

 of the bees; and the wax being soft, and in a 

 retentive condition, more or less of the color- 

 ing adhered to the flakes of wax while being 

 manipulated and formed into cappings. Again, 

 it is well known that wax is a natural product 

 of the bee, and, we suppose, produced at will. 

 It is secreted from the under side of the abdo- 

 men, and from this locality the small white 

 flakes are removed to the mouth by the for- 

 ward feet of the bees; and if, perchance, their 

 feet are soiled by any foreign substance, such 

 as bluing, pollen, propolis, or dirt, it seems 

 quite possible that some of this dirt may ad- 

 here to the particles of wax during the trans- 



ference and manipulation, and thereby cause 

 discoloration, both on the under side and top 

 of cappings. Here is where I think Mr. 

 Crane misjudges the bees. The coloring-mat- 

 ter he finds in the cappings I believe to be 

 accidental, and not intentional, as he would 

 have us believe. He intimates that bees make 

 use of propolis in capping their honey, as he 

 has seen large quantities of it on the cappings. 

 Now, I am of the opinion that the cause for 

 its being so very observable on some cappings 

 is due to travel-stain, as I have never noticed 

 it except after there has been an abundance 

 of propolis gathered; and as they use their 

 fore feet to form the pellets on their hind 

 legs, as well as to remove it from the hind 

 legs after reaching the hive, it is very likely 

 that more or less of this sticky substance diusI 

 adhere to their feet; and as bees usually fly 

 home, the feet are not relieved of it before 

 reaching the hive; so that, in walking over 

 the combs, they are relieved of the sticky 

 substance by its adhering to the waxy cap- 

 pings. It is also the same thing over in pol- 

 len-gathering and pollen-stains, commonly 

 called travel -stains. 



Mr. Crane gives the bees great credit for 

 neatness, and justly so; but let us see, Mr. 

 Editor. Did you ever work among your bees 

 30 minutes, handling brood-combs, without 

 soiling your fingers? /never did. Then, if 

 the combs will soil the operator's fingers, why 

 not also the feet of the bees? and they in turn 

 soil our nice white section honey if left on the 

 hive a little too long. Furthermore, what is 

 it that stains our new white separators, edges 

 of sections, and new frames, if not travel- 

 stain ? 



My opinion is that not all discoloration is 

 due to dirty feet, but partially due to their 

 pollenized bodies, as we often see bees pretty 

 well besmeared with pollen, which adheres to 

 them while visiting large flowers, such as 

 pumpkins and squash blossoms; and while 

 passing each other between combs it is not 

 unlikely that occasionally their bodies rub 

 against the cappings, when the pollen will 

 adhere to the same, and thereby cause more 

 or less pollen-stain. 



Bristol, Vt. 



WHAT COLORS THE WAX OF HONEY-COMBS? 



An Interesting Exposition of the Subject. 

 BY THADDEUS SMITH. 



My attention was directed to this question 

 several weeks ago by reading something on 

 the subject by Mr. D. L. Adair, in the old 

 American Bee Journal, Vol. III., page 208; 

 and again the matter has been brought to 

 mind by Mr. Crane's recent very interesting 

 article on so-called travel-stained combs, in 

 Gleanings for Jan. 15. But as the question 

 above has not been fully or satisfactorily ans- 

 wered by Mr. Adair or Mr. Crane, nor by any 

 one else, so far as I know, I propound it to 

 our successful and scientific bee-keepers for 

 an answer. Mr. Crane does not discuss the 

 question in its broadest sense, nor make an at- 



