DECEMBER 15, 1914 



995 



ideal conditions to a quantity of free honey. 

 In this way exact data can be obtained, 

 which can be used as a basis for further 

 estimates. 



On Sept. 12 one bee was trained to visit 

 honey placed on a glass slide about 100 feet 

 from the apiary. The bee was kept under 

 observation for 2 hours in the forenoon and 

 2Y2 hours in the afternoon. The visits were 

 recorded as follows : 



Bee came Bee returned Minutes Minutes 



to honoy to hive at honey absent 



A. M. A. M. 



10:04 10:09 5 



10:15 10:20 5 6 



10:28 10:33 5 8 



10:45 10:48 3 12 



10:52 10:55 S 4 



11:03 11:06 3 8 



11:14 11:17 3 8 



11:22 11:27 5 5 



11:34 11:37 3 7 



11:42 11:46 4 5 



11:52 11:55 3 6 



12:00 M. 12:04 p. m. 4 .5 



12:13 P. M. 9 



For 30 minutes the hee was not under observation. 



p. M. p. M, 



12:34 12:41 7 



12:46 12:52 6 5 



1:08 1:15 7 15 



1:26 1:33 7 11 



1:44 1:49 5 11 



1:57 2:05 8 8 



2:11 2:20 9 6 



2:27 2:36 9 7 



2:45 2:51 6 9 



3:00 9 



In the forenoon the average length of 12 

 visits to the honey was about 4 minutes 

 each. In the afternoon the average lengih of 

 9 visits was 7 minutes. In the forenoon the 

 average length of the interval during which 

 tiie bee was at the hive was 7 minutes; in 

 the afternoon, 9 minutes. It will be noted 

 that on the average the bee required in the 

 afternoon 3 minutes more to load and 2 

 minutes more to unload than in the fore- 

 noon. The average number of minutes at 

 the honey during the entire 4^/2 hours was 5 

 minutes; and the average number of min- 

 utes at the hive was 8 minutes. In some 



instances the bee flew about a little while 

 before alighting near the honey. The aver- 

 age number of trips per hour was 4 2-3, 

 which would be at the rate of 46 trips for 

 a day 10 hours long. Where the condi- 

 tions were ideal — for example, if the apiary 

 were located near a large buckwheat-field or 

 n basswood-forest — a bee would probably 

 make about the number of trips stated. 



If, however, the honey-plants were dis- 

 tant some two miles, then a much longer 

 time would be required. I doubt if the 

 flight of a bee will average more than 10 

 miles an hour ; and very likely, when loaded, 

 or it is late in the afternoon, or there is a 

 strong wind, it will be much less. Assuming 

 the rate to be 10 miles an hour, then 24 

 minutes would be required to make the 

 round trii3 of 4 miles. Allowing 5 minutes 

 to obtain the load, and 8 minutes to unload, 

 then each trip would require 37 minutes; 

 and there would be only 16 trips in 10 

 hours. 



Again, if the nectar was deeply con- 

 cealed, as in white clover, or was scarce, 

 then the bee would be unable to gather a 

 load in 5 minutes, but 10 or 15, or even a 

 longer time, would be necessary, so that the 

 bee would make but one trip each hour. It 

 is clear that the number of trips a bee makes 

 in a day varies constantly, and depends 

 upon many factors; but under the most 

 favorable conditions it probably very rarely 

 or never exceeds 50 trips in 10 hours, rang- 

 ing downward from this number to a few 

 occasional trips made during the middle of 

 the day. 



Waldoboro, Maine. 



[Is it not possible that, since the bees 

 were working on honey instead of nectar, 

 they became excited and worked more hur- 

 riedly than if they had been visiting flowers, 

 and getting nectar instead of honey? — Ed.] 



PARALYSIS AND ITS VAGARIES 



BY MAJOR SHALLARD 



It seems to me that paralysis has consid- 

 erably altered its nature or its effect upon 

 the bees since it first appeared in Australia. 

 The disease seems to have passed through 

 a steady change, and the symptoms are 

 quite different now from what they were at 

 that time. So different are they that one 

 ivS inclined to think there are two or more 

 diseases. First, there was heat paralysis — 

 a trembling disease which occurred only 

 during very hot weather. The bees in con- 

 siderable numbers would be hopping about 

 in front of the hives and trying to fly, but 



they were not swollen in any waj^ We next 

 got the swollen bloated bees, which crawled 

 to the edge of the flight-board and fell off. 

 This was much more severe ; more bees were 

 affected, and they died in heaps in front of 

 the hives. Their bowels were obviously 

 choked with fermented food, but they did 

 not void any thing. Perhaps if they had 

 they would have recovered. In the last 

 stage, the one we have reached now, the bees 

 are scattered thinly all over the apiary. 

 There will be, say, a bee to every six square 

 yards. They are not of the hopping variety, 



