262 THE HONEY-BEE. 



A second notion of this kind is, that if a swarm 

 settles on a dry stick or dead tree, the bees will not 

 long survive. Doubtless, many persons could be found 

 to state that in their own apiaries they had seen 

 instances in which the one event had followed the 

 other. We, indeed, have had one such coincidence 

 a case in which a swarm settled on a stake support- 

 ing an espalier apple-tree, and died during the ensuing 

 winter. Still, we are unable to believe that there is any 

 real connection between the incidents. Living trees 

 offer so many inducements to a swarm on the wing 

 for settling the benefit of shade above all that it is 

 not to be wondered at that branches with foliage are, 

 if accessible, almost always chosen by the insects 

 for alighting on. It is just possible that an old and 

 feeble queen may occasionally, when heading a swarm, 

 be unable to fly farther than a very short distance, 

 and, through fatigue, may settle on a post or other 

 leafless wood. Of course such a queen would be 

 likely to die within a few months at most, and thus 

 involve the loss of the colony during the next winter. 

 Hence the idea we are speaking of may have arisen. 



We come now to a notion more widely prevalent 

 than either of the preceding, and perhaps even more 

 absurd. We allude to the supposed necessity of 

 informing the bees of the death of their owner or of 

 any member of his family. So strongly is this fallacy 

 held, that in many country districts, especially among 

 the cottagers, the question after a decease in the 

 household " Have the bees been told ? " is almost as 

 much a matter of course as an inquiry whether the 

 undertaker has been sent for. Even in the depth of 

 winter, it is thought by believers in this superstition 



