202 ENEMIES OF BEES. 



or to a chemical process. Mr. St. John's state- 

 ment is within the bounds of credibility : it seems 

 to have been a case of suspended animation of 

 short continuance, not produced by exposure to 

 gas or to any liquid likely to prove deleterious to 

 them ; and it is well known that bees often re- 

 cover even after suffocation with sulphurous gas. 

 Bees may be immersed in water for a long 

 time, without loss of life. Reaumur saw them re- 

 cover after nine hours immersion. Dr. Evans 

 accidentally left some eighteen hours in water ; 

 when laded out with a spoon and placed in the 

 sunshine the majority of them recovered. Other 

 animals, of analogous species, exhibit still more 

 wonderful resurrections. DeGeer has observed 

 one species of mite to live for some time in spirit 

 of wine ; and Mr. Kirby states that being desirous 

 of preserving a very pretty lady-bird, and not 

 knowing how to accomplish it, he immersed it in 

 geneva. " After leaving it," says he, " in this 

 situation a day and a night, and seeing it without 

 motion, I concluded it was dead, and laid it in the 

 sun to dry. It no sooner, however, felt the 

 warmth than it began to move, and afterwards 

 flew away." This circumstance laid the founda- 

 tion of Mr. K.'s study of entomology. 



Of this adherence to life, advantage has been 

 taken at the time of deprivation, recourse having 

 been had to immersion for removing a portion of 



