.PKIL 1. 1916 



A. I. Root 



OUR HOMES 



Editor 



EVOLUTION AND THE HONEYBEE; SOMETHING 

 FROM ONE WHO IS NOT A BEEKEEPER. 



As a rule I do not think it best to give 

 very much space to theories in place of 

 practice; but the following kind letter from 

 one who has never kept bees commends it- 

 self, as it bring's before us once more mat- 

 ters so much discussed j-ears ago Avhen the 

 Dzierzon theory first came out. 



The writer is nearly 55 years young:, and has 

 preached the gospel 36 years. Early in life he heard 

 in New Zealand a course of lectures on " World- 

 making," by a noted scientist. He saw them ably 

 reviewed. I have ever kept an open mind, adopting 

 the following as a principle of action in life: 



Listen, read — not to contradict or confute, nor to 

 believe and take for granted, but to weigh and con- 

 sider. 



I have occasionally seen Gleanings. Yesterday 

 T ate with a beeman. Of course we talked bees, 

 read some after you, and, as usual, liked you for 

 your writings. I decided to write to you. You can 

 set me right if I am wrong. Assure me in my 

 belief if I am right. I am interested in my problem 

 because of its far-reaching meaning, as it touches the 

 problem of the universe, of man and destiny. 



I put it in the following form as the plainest and 

 simplest one I know. 



1. Bees are of three kinds — ^father bees, mother 

 Lees, and worker bees. (I do not pretend this to be 

 accurate, but only for the purpose of this problem.) 



2. Neither parent bee ever makes cells or gathers 

 honey. (Is this quite true?) 



3. Those which make cells and gather honey never 

 become parents of young bees. 



4. As those who have had experience in the work 

 of making cells and honey never become parents, 

 whatever experience they may acquire is lost in their 

 death. It is never transmitted, there being no off- 

 spring from them. 



5. Father bees, mother bees, parent bees, having 

 no experience in making cells and gathering honey 

 cannot transmit to their offspring what they have not 

 got. What they do transmit is natural, not acquired. 



6. The first bees that ever were must have had 

 just as much ability as the present generations. 



7. The first bees must have been created, and so 

 the evolution of bees is impossible. 



8. If these premises are correct, then this is a 

 clear fact in nature, unaccounted for by the hypoth- 

 esis of evolution; for then the bee must have been a 

 direct creation. 



My question now addressed to you as an expert 

 beeman is to know whether it is true that the parent 

 bees never work, never make cells, and never gather 

 honey. 



In other words, is it true that the transmission of 

 acquired tendencies is impossible? 



In asking you for a reply I am not looking for an 

 extended letter. I know you are busy ; but a few 

 words from you will be very gratefully received. 

 This T ask in a private letter rather than in your 

 paper. I see Gleanings but rarely, not being my- 

 self a beeman. H. Goodacre. 



Wolcott, Ind., July 26. 



After reading the letter I submitted it to 

 Ernest, who advised sending it to Dr. Miller, 

 and asking for his reply. Below is Dr. 

 Miller's answer : 



The drones do no work of any kind in the hive, 

 neither do they gather anything outside. The same 



is true of the queen, except that she lays eggs. That 

 is lier sole function. So it is quite true that " the 

 parent bees never woriv, never make cells, nor gath- 

 er honey," with one slight exception. It happens 

 in rare cases that a worker la^ s eggs, which never 

 produce anything but drones, in which case that 

 parent does all the work that any worker does. Yet 

 tliat can hardly be said to have any bearing on the 

 case, since practically that laying worker has no 

 progeny, and so can transmit nothing. 



So, on the face of it it would seem according to 

 reason to conclude that the parent bees, having no 

 experience in the work of the hive, can transmit 

 nothing different from what they received from their 

 parents, ar.d that "the first bees that ever were must 

 have had just as much ability as the present genera- 

 tion," or, in other words, that all honeybees to-day 

 are exactly the same as the first bees, and that all 

 are exactly alike. 



Against any such reasoning, however, stands the 

 very troublesome fact that bees are not by any 

 means alike, and that there is just as much differ- 

 ence among bees as among folks. They differ in 

 temper, in color, in liabits, in diligence — in fact, 

 name any difference that may be between two mem- 

 bers of the human family, and it is likely that a 

 difference in the same respect may be found among 

 bees. Moreover, that difference is transmitted. Rear 

 queens from the queen of a very cross colony, and 

 you will have cross colonies resulting. So with 

 other traits. 



So against the iheory that a queen cannot trans- 

 mit, we have the fact that she does transmit. 



Not being a scientist, but only a practical beekeep- 

 er, it might seem presumptuous in me to attempt to 

 explain how a parent can transmit something that 

 apparently is possessed only by her children. Bat 

 there is no law against giving my guess. Take the 

 one matter of temper. A colony may be so irritated 

 by rough treatment or in some other way as to be- 

 come very cross. Is it beyond belief that the queen 

 may share that same irritable feeling, and transmit 

 it not only to her worker progeny but also to her 

 royal offspring? If that be true, then it may also 

 be true that if any change takes place among the 

 workers, that change may in some subtle way have 

 such an influence upon the queen that a trait ac- 

 quired by the workers of her colony may be trans- 

 mitted by her to her royal offspring. 



I am inclined to the belief that the first colony 

 of bees was a direct creation, but it can hardly be 

 proven in the manner suggested. 



Is any of this of practical importance? Surely — 

 of vast importance to the practical beekeeper. The 

 beekeeper v/ho believes no acquired trait can be 

 transmitted by the queen will make no effort to im- 

 prove his stock, although, strangely enough, he may 

 thoroughly believe tliat bees will "run out." The one 

 who believes that the queen can transmit acquired 

 as well as inherited traits, good as well as bad, 

 will be making constant improvement in Jiis bees, and 

 his slogan will be, " Breed from the best." 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



I am not sure that I entirely agree with 

 my good friend Dr. Miller — for instance, 

 in regard to cross bees. A colony that is 

 handled almost every day, and properly 

 handled, will, T feel sure, become so accus- 

 tomed to it that they take it as a matter of 

 course, and after awhile they will hardly 

 stop work. In fact, the queen will keep 

 right Qn laying. But take an apiary that 



