tor out-apiaries with a trailer when neces- 

 sary. I move only the extraetor and cap- 

 ping-melter from apiary to apiary. This 

 year I expect to take a light one-horse 

 wagon-gear, put on a flat top, bolt a foiu'- 

 frame extractor on one end, and the cap- 

 ping melter on the >.ther. I shall remove 



tlic shaft and put on a draw-bar; then when 

 I move from one apiary to another, all I 

 shall have to do is to trail the extraeting- 

 wagon behind the auto, run it right into the 

 honey-house, and get busy. When the ex- 

 tracting is over I will wash up and go to 

 the next apiary. 

 Arlington, Cal. 



AS GLIMPSED THRU THE CAMERA 

 Some Common and Uncommon Sights Among the Bees 



BY H. H. HOOT 



That bees prefer the edge of a comb for 

 building queen-cells is a well-known fact. 

 That some bees, at least, refuse to build 

 them anywhere else we discovered last sum- 

 mer, for the bees of one colony see-ued de- 

 termined to have their own way. 



Wishing to observe and photograph the 

 beginning of natural queen-cell construc- 

 tion we dequeeni'd a colony, making sure 



that the combs contained young worker 

 brood in all stages. We kept careful watch 

 of all the combs, beginning the next day, 

 but found no sign of queen-cells until the 

 fourth day, when we found a cluster of 

 them started on the lower edge of one of 

 the central combs. In each case the cells 

 were constructed over drone-cells, and from 

 all appearances the bees were innocently 

 ])roceeding to rear a 

 queen from those 

 drone larvae. Of 

 course, it is entirely 

 jiossible that they had 

 removed the drone 

 larva! and had put 

 worker larvae in their 

 places. We watched 

 the result carefully ; 

 but before the cells 

 were sealed the bee.-; 

 a]>parently abandoned 

 the undertaking in dis- 

 gust. If they forgot 

 to remove the droni- 

 larva! I do not wonder 

 that they gave up tlic- 

 thing as a bad .job. 

 But the weather was 

 very changeable at the 

 ,s drone Iarv<e. time, and the colony 



not overly strong, so that it is possible that 

 the bees were unable to care for the cells, 

 and that the larvae in such an exposed place 

 were chilled. 



We carefully removed all traces of these 

 cells, substituted another comb containing 

 young worker larva, and gave the bees an- 

 other chance; but, as in tlie first instance, 

 they constructed cells again on one of the 

 lower edges of the comb, and, as before, 

 '.died in bringing the cells to completion. 



Bees prefer to build cells on the lower 

 edge of a comb, not because of any desire 

 to get the cells down near the floor of the 

 Iiive, for in case of a double brood-chamber 

 or a sectional hive the cells are just as likely 

 to be on the lower edges of the upper comb. 

 It is probably just because it is easier to 

 build the cells down into an open space 

 where there is no comb near by in the way. 

 The building of queen-cells makes an 

 exceedingly interesting study. How all 

 those bees engaged in the work are enabled 

 lo lig-ure out the architectural problem in 



he building of the cells, caring for the 

 'arvaj, feeding them, keeping them warm, 



u '* '"'^'^^'' '^ mystery. Instinct? Prob- 

 aWy. But IS not instinct really mysterious? 

 in tlie work of bees we are shown wonder- 

 tul results accomplished by a large force 

 M individuals which carry out an intricate 

 Plan, but which work, nevertheless, without 

 supervision. Probably the reason lies in 



le tact that aU the bees share euually in 



le proceeds, and each bee has but one 



"ei est— the mterest of her colony, 

 he second illustration shows the devel- 



I meiit of queen-cells from tlie time the 

 ar fi.Ti n'""*^ ^''-^ "e:rafted" into the 

 nl, ,1 n '■^"-""Ps- 'o the empty cell from 

 'II Uie young virgin queen has emerged, 

 boui-rfi u^''*" ""'^' "'"''" twentv-four 

 srraft; II "^ "'''^''P' "'^ artificial cells and 

 outsll !!"/?■ •""'^ ^^ein fashioning the 

 lavishlv f 1- ""'" '"kiiS-, meanwhile! 



^"^'•I.v feeding the larva and clustering 



over them, making it possible fur them to 

 g;row. From six to eight days from the 

 time the bees took hold of the work the cells 

 are capped over, and, aside from keeping 

 them warm and thinning down the wax wall 

 toward the very last, the work of the nurse 

 bees is over. 



But within the cell the changes taking 

 place are startling. The larva lias been 

 spinning its cocoon. The rapid change that 



About two days 

 ufler hatching 

 from the egg. 



9 





erent stages (enlarged). 



takes place, which may be seen almost hour 

 by hour, is wonderful. The dividing of the 

 segments of the larva into the three main 

 groups that are to form the head, the tho- 

 rax, and the abdomen ; formation of the legs, 

 and the wings; the beautiful tinges of color 

 from the creamy white to the pink, then the 

 red, then the purple, and, lastly, the brown, 



