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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 6, 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, 



974 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL. 



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CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 6, 1881. 



" The Coming Bee.' 



torily demonstrated in a single season, 

 nor by an exceptional result. The 

 National and various District Socie- 

 ties have done much in elevationg 

 and advancing scientific apiculture, 

 but the results of the past are but a 

 meager index of the future. We can- 

 not well imagine how any bee-keeper 

 can regard with indifference the du- 

 ties devolved upon him to sustain and 

 encourage Local, District, State and 

 National Societies, and especially 

 should every person attend the Con- 

 ventions and contribute of his wis- 

 dom and experience to the general 

 good. We hope Mr. Tadlock will be 

 present, with all his Southern friends. 

 at the next National Convention, to 

 urge his proposition, which will un- 

 doutedly receive a hearty support from 

 the Northern bee-keepers present. 



We cannot refrain from giving the 

 following letter from Mr. J. S.Tadlock, 

 Kingsbury, Texas, a prominent place 

 in our columns, and hope all progress- 

 ive apiarists will give the proposition 

 the consideration its importance de- 

 serves : 



I had 22 colonies this spring to com- 

 mence with, but had to use all except 

 one in queen-rearing ; that one I de- 

 termined to let alone, to see, for my 

 own satisfaction, what one colony 

 would do during the season. It gave 

 me 107 lbs. of honey (extracted) up to 

 June 15, also one large swarm. I 

 managed them on the Doolittle plan 

 of side and top storing combined. I 

 send you a few of the workers of this 

 colony ; please examine them and see 

 what you think of my Texas bees; 

 they are the third generation from an 

 imported queen. I want to make a 

 proposition to the bee-keepers of the 

 United States. Let every bee-keeper 

 who feels so inclined send to you the 

 sum of 2 r > cents to be put in one corn- 

 coin purse, and be awarded to the man 

 that will send to the National Asso- 

 ciation for exhibition the largest and 

 longest worker bees. I like fine 

 queens, but it is the workers that 

 gather the honey. Would this not be 

 the best plan to find and catch the 

 coming bee ? 



Here bees are doing nothing now. 

 We have had aline flow of honey from 

 horsemint (the best of all honey plants) 

 but a drouth of 2 months' duration has 

 dried it all up. The bees have plenty 

 of honey in the hives and are getting 

 sufficient pollen to keep up breeding. 



The bees sent us are large and fine, 

 but very dark. We cannot say, how- 

 ever, that they appear in any way su- 

 perior to many others we have seen ; 

 they were badly bloated with feces 

 when examined, and somewhat be- 

 daubed with honey, which would de- 

 tract much from their natural appear- 

 ance as seen generally around the 

 hive. Mr. Tadlock has, we think, 

 suggested the right course to lind the 

 "coming bee." It might be well for the 

 National Society tooffera gold medal, 

 or set aside a percentage of net re- 

 ceipts, or in some other way adopt 

 measures to stimulate a general com- 

 petition for the production of the 

 •• 6es( bee " for all purposes; also for 

 the best honey plants for cultivation, 

 the best hive for winter and summer 

 use, and perhaps other progressive 

 steps which might be suggested. 

 These questions should not be hastily 

 decided, as they cannot be satisfao- 



Development of Queens and Bees. 



Mr. H. Hance, Bryan, O., asks for 

 an answer to the following questions 

 in the Bee Journal : " How long 

 does it take to rear a queen from the 

 egg— that is, till she is ready to fly 1 

 How long is it, after she emerges from 

 the cell, before she will take her wed- 

 ding flight ? " 



Having passed 3 days in the egg and 

 .5 in the larval state, the workers close 



her mandibles, and then makes a cir- 

 cular cut along its periphery. Being 

 nearly detatched from the cell walls. 

 the cap drops, opening a circular pas- 

 sage, through which the young queen 

 emerges. 



From the egg to the queen emerg- 

 ing from the cell, takes 16 days. She 

 is then a virgin queen, and for .5 or 6 



w 



Larva of Bee. 



the cell, and the future queen com- 

 mences to spin her cocoon, which oc- 

 cupies about a day. Then, apparently 

 exhausted by her labors, for 3 days 

 she obtains complete repose, and on 

 the 16th day, as a perfect queen, she 

 emerges from the cell. The strength 

 of the colony and the character of the 

 season may vary it a day or so. 



When the embryo queen is nearly 

 mature, within 12to 16 hours of emerg- 



Eggs and Brood. 



a, convex cap ; b, b, the extension of the cell. 



Finished Queen Cell, sealed over. 



ing, the bees begin to demolish the ex- 

 terior compartment, or extension of 

 the top of the cell, reducing it to a 

 level with the outer edge of the cap 

 of the cell proper. The convex cap 

 being then very prominent, is very 



, ti nvi'x cap. 



Ripe Queen Cell, inlli tin uleritir corn- 

 ptirtmi ill ri nuntd. 



liable to be injured, and to protect it 

 from injury the bees coat it witli a 

 fresh layer of wax, making it nearly 

 as thick as the walls of the cell. 



The young queen pierces a hole 

 through the edge of the cover with 



a. empty cell ; b anil c, eses ; d, e, I and a. various 

 stages of the larvae ; h. pupa ; i, pupa of queen 

 in queen cell ; k, k, capB. 



days she moves around in much the 

 same manner as a worker bee, help- 

 ing herself to honey from uncapped 

 cells. 



About the .5th day, if the weather is 

 pleasant, she may be seen crawling 

 about the entrance of the hive, and 

 if the next day is propitious, she may 

 try her wings some from the alighting 

 board. She will appear somewhat ex- 

 cited, but after awhile she will mount 

 up and circle around, increasing the 

 distance each time, to mark the hive, 

 and insure a safe return from her wed- 

 ding flight. 



In the warmest part of the after- 

 noon, when the drones are flying, she 

 will spread her beautiful wings and 

 soar into the air to mate with a drone. 

 If successful, she will bear the marks 

 of it on her return ; if not, she will, 

 after a time on the same day, come 

 out again and again, until it is accom- 

 plished. She will then return, going 

 quietly into the hive, and in a day or 

 two she will commence to lay; so that, 

 generally, from 8 to 9 days after 

 emerging from the cell, the queens 

 are laying. Should the weather be 

 unfavorable, and she fails to meet the 

 drones within about 20 days, she will 

 have failed in the object of her exis- 

 tence, and become only a drone pro- 

 ducer. 



The drone passes 3 days in the egg, 

 about 6H in the larval state, and 

 changes into a perfect drone in 24 or 

 21 days, counting from the egg. 



The worker, after passing about :; 1 ., 

 days in the egg, is hatched— a small 

 white worm, grub or maggot— and is 

 called larva, (a Latin word signifying 

 a mask, for the bee is concealed or hid- 

 den in that state). It remains in this 

 state about 5 days and then the bees 

 seal the cell over ; the larva then spins 

 around itself a silken covering, called 

 a cocoon, which occupies about 36 

 hours. In this third stage it is called 

 a nymph, i. pupa or chrysalis, in which 

 state it remains until the 21st day, 

 counting from the time the egg was 

 laid, when it emerges from the cell a 

 pei feet working bee. and is called an 

 imago. 



The cocoon, left behind, forms a 

 lining to the cell, and fortius reason 

 it is best not to use the same breed- 

 ing comb too long, for each cocoon 

 left behind imperceptibly, but not the 

 less really, diminishes the size of the 

 cell for its future occupant, and pre- 

 vents the bees from attaining their 

 full development of size. 



When the weather is cool or the col- 

 ony weak, the development is retarded 

 to a greater or less extent— the heat 

 should be above 70 Fahr. for the best 

 results. Both the workers and the 

 drones, on emerging from the cells, 

 are rather helpless, and are soft, 

 downy, and light in color. 



The workers and drones spin com- 

 plete cocoons, inclosing themselves 

 perfectly, but queens inclose only the 

 head, thorax, and first ring of the ab- 

 domen—evidently to provide for the 

 means of being destroyed by a rival 

 queen, before emerging from the cell, 

 should it become desirable to do so. 



In the contemplation of thisexceed- 

 ingly interesting subject is found 

 much food for thought and meditation, 

 and for instructive lessons none can 

 rival the marvelous transformations 

 that insect life undergoes in its pro- 

 cesses of development ! The repul- 

 sive maggot of to-day, may to-morrow 

 be the active little fly, visiting leaf 

 and flower, in merry and sportive 

 mood ! The repugnant caterpillar of 

 to-day, may to-morrow, as a chrysalis, 

 be decked with green and gold, await- 

 ing its speedy transformation to the 

 butterfly, of brilliant tints and gor- 

 geous beauty. 



This is not a whit more wonderful 

 than are the transformations from the 

 egg to the tiny larva, from the larva 

 to the pupa, and from the pupa to the 

 fully developed honey bee,with its won- 

 drous instincts, and marvelous habits! 

 The student never ceases to wonder and 

 admire, as he turns over leaf after 

 leaf of the "book of nature," devoted 

 to this interesting insect. Indeed, 

 there is a fascination about the apiary 

 that is truly indescribable ; but even 

 that richly rewards the apiarist for all 

 the time and labor bestowed upon it. 

 Every scientific bee-keeper is an en- 

 thusiast. The wonderful economy of 

 the bee hive, from its very nature, 

 presents to the thoughtful student, 

 both admiration and delight at every 

 step ! 



gg"Mr. Hoot, Editor of Gleanings, 

 has several times very kindly noticed 

 the Weekly BEE JOURNAL, contrast- 

 ing with some other bee papers who 

 have never said a word concerning it. 

 The July number of Gleanings in Bee- 

 Culture says : 



The American Bee Journal has 

 completed its first 6 months as a 

 Weekly, and has proven a success, as 

 it could not well help being, with the 

 able way in which it is gotten up- 

 clean nice print, good paper, and brim 



full of "bee-talk'' that could not all 

 very well lind place in a monthly. 



Thanks! CI, linings stands at the 

 head of the Monthlies, and is filled 

 with interesting reading for bee-keep- 

 ers, especially beginners. The Bee 

 Journal is often obliged to disagree 

 with Gleanings on many things, but 

 we desire always to be on good terms 

 with all co-workers, and wish them 

 abundant success. 



