Jllv, 1921. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U L T L" K E 



433 



giis. Tn the abdomen the oesophagus en- 

 larges into the honey-stomach, in which nee- 

 tar is carried. Then comes the true stom- 

 ach, known as the veutriculus, separated 

 from the honey-stomach by a gate-like 

 valve wliich opens only to let the food into 

 the stomach; otherwise it is closed to keep 

 the nectar separate from the stomach i-un- 

 tent. (Unless, indeed, the larval food does 

 come from the stomach instead of from the 

 head glands, in which case this valve, the 

 proventriculus, passes forward unopened 

 tlirn the honey-stomach till it reaches the 

 oesopliagus, where it opens to permit the 

 stomach to send back its partly digested 

 contents.) The other end of the stomach 

 joins the intestine, and just here about a 

 luuidred tiny tubes enter the alimentarj' 

 canal. These carry into the intestine such 

 waste materials from the worn-out tissue 

 cells of the body as cannot ])ass off in gase- 

 ous form. 



Probably the invert sugar of honey, the 

 levulose and dextrose, is immediately ab- 

 sorbed into the blood from the stomach; the 

 further digestive processes required by pol- 

 len and the other elements in honey take 

 j)lace in the intestine, where these foods are 

 finally so changed that they can pass thru 

 the alimentary walls into the blood to be 

 (■.•ini(»d to the body tissues. 

 Circulation. 



The blood of bees, which is colorless, is 

 not confined in blood vessels, but fills up all 

 tlie space in the body between and around 

 the organs. There are diaphragms, how- 

 evei', stretched along in various places, 

 pulsing walls of membrane that hold the 

 blood in somewhat definite channels, and 

 by their rhythmic motions help keep it cir- 

 culating. The heart is a long nniscular tube 



lying along the upper part of the abdomen, 

 with four chambers, and valves that let the 

 blood in and other valves that keep it going 

 the right way. The back end of the heart 

 is closed, but the front opens into a long 

 tube that carries the blood thru the thorax 

 into the liead. From tlie head it returns to 

 the cavities of the thorax and on into those 

 of the abdomen, Hows around the abdominal 

 ingans, takes up the food thru the alimen- 

 tary walls, .•uid goes up into the heart again, 

 carrying iiourishment with it. 



And every cell in every organ in the 

 body chooses from the blood what food ele- 

 ments it needs to rebuild itself, that it may 

 g(i on functioning in its own way. 

 Respiration. 



The air needed by the bee enters the body 

 by side openings called spiracles, two pairs 

 on the outer walls of the thorax and eight 

 pairs on the abdomen. It is pumped thru 

 the body by respiratory movements which, 

 lengthening and shortening the abdomen, 

 open and close the spiracles. These con- 

 nect directly with great air-sacs having deli- 

 cate walls and a great number of branches 

 that go all over the body. Thru these walls, 

 of both sacs and branching tubes, the oxy- 

 gen passes directly into the blood, which 

 gives it to the body tissues. 



And every cell in the body takes from 

 the blood as much oxygen as it needs to 

 burn up its waste materials, sends the heav- 

 ier residue to the intestine thru the hundred 

 little tubes, and gives the rest as water 

 vapor and carbon dioxid back to the blood, 

 where it passes thru the trachean walls into 

 the air-sacs and tubes, and finally, thru the 

 spiracles, out of the body into the outer 

 air. 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California. J" "^"" '''\ 



tral coast 

 counties we have a considerable amount of 

 black sage, which extends inland as far as 

 the San Joaquin Valley. In places there is 

 an abundance of sage right on the water's 

 edge where fogs and cool winds are the rule 

 almost entirely during the blooming period. 

 Sage located thus secretes nectar, but not 

 in as great quantities as that several miles 

 inland. All sage in the immediate coast 

 foothills is visited by considerable fog, es- 

 jiecially during the morning hours, and it is 

 this fog, more than any other factor, that 

 lengthens the life of the plant, thus prolong- 

 ing its blooming period. Apparently fog 

 does not interfere with nectar secretion, and 

 I was glad to learn that A. E. Lusher of 

 Pomona had made the same statement in 

 June Gleanings. In localities visited by fog 



the flow extends over a comparatively long 

 period; but, on territory further inland 

 where fog cloes not reach, the flow is of 

 shorter duration and more intense. May 

 and June rains, of course, prolong and 

 greatly increase the flow of nectar. The 

 sage flow decreases and is finally shut off 

 during May, June, or July, according to lo- 

 cation, owing to lack of moisture. Hot 

 weather during these months causes this 

 lack of moisture, and the decrease in secre- 

 tion is more or less gradual. Our sage is 

 not visited by hot desert winds, drying it 

 out over night, as it were, and perhaps it is 

 for this reason inore than any other that 

 sage crop failure is unheard of in this sec- 

 tion. _ * 

 Last week in one of our plants we tried 

 out the new eight frame Buckeye power ex- 

 tractor, and are more than favorably im- 



