82 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Pel. 10. 



ImprovemeHts iu the Rearing of Bees. 



BY ADBIAN 6ETAZ. 



Can It be done? That is, can we by judicious selection 

 create a race of bees far superior to those we possess now ? 



Certainly we can. See what has been done in the line of 

 other domestic animals — cattle, horses, dogs, chickens, pig- 

 eons, etc. And in the line of bees themselves a careful selec- 

 tion has brought the 5-banded and the Albinos out of the 

 common Italians. 



What are the qualities to besought? Well, hardiness to 

 stand the winter ; prolificness of the queens; activity; lon- 

 gevity; beauty; and other minor points. 



THE SIZE or BEES. 



In connection with the above-named qualities, the length 

 of the bee's tongue has an important bearing. There is no 

 possible doubt that bees with longer tongues than those our 

 actual strains of bees possess, would be able to gather nectar 

 out of many flowers which are too deep for them under pres- 

 ent conditions. One of these flowers is the common red clover. 

 And if we consider that with the progress of agriculture, the 

 white clover, forest trees, and wild plants, are disappearing, 

 while the red clover will hold its own, and even increase in 

 area, the importance of having bees able to gather the nectar 

 from it is incontestable. 



It is evident that a larger-sized bee would have a longer 

 tongue, so in that respect an increase of size is desirable. The 

 question whether it would be otherwise an advantage has been 

 very much discust. For my part, I say unhesitatingly yes, 

 and a big yes at that. 



We may presume that a larger bee would fly as fast, if 

 not faster than a smaller one. It is said that large insects 

 are sluggish compared to small ones; and that is often true in 

 comparing different species, because there is a difference of 

 constitution, shape, etc., besides the difference of size; and 

 even then it is not always true. A fly and a mosquito are 

 much smaller than a bee, and certainly do not fly any faster. 



Supposing that the larger bee does not fly any faster, and 

 does not gather the nectar any quicker than the smaller one, 

 there would be yet a considerable saving of time in going and 

 coming. For instance, if the large bee can take in one load 

 twice as much as the small one, the time to make one trip to 

 the flelds and back would be saved each time, and this would 

 be a considerable item, especially during a heavy flow. 



Among the different kinds of wild bees of our country, 

 only the largest (bumble-bees) gather honey in anything like a 

 Quantity. In India, there are quite a number of different 

 kinds of bees similar to ours, some not larger than ordinary 

 flies, but only the large kinds store more honey than they 

 need, and the largest kind, the famous Apis dorsata, build 

 combs several feet in length, and produce more honey than 

 any other wild bee known. 



INFLUENCE OP FOUNDATION ON BEES. 



The first step to take would be to use a larger size of 

 foundation cells. The size of the cells limits the size of the 

 bees, as any one who has had drones reared in worker-cells 

 knows. Before the foundation was in general use, there was 

 a considerable difference in the size of the different strains of 

 bees, as can be ascertained by consulting the old text-books. 

 Now, we do not hear any more of it, because the general use 

 of a uniform foundation has brought all the strains of. bees to 

 a uniform size. 



A difficulty to avoid would be an over-production of 

 drones. The only prevention that I can see would be to in- 

 crease the size of cells only of a small proportion at first, say 

 one-fifth, and when the new strain of bees should be well es- 

 tablisht, make another increase, and repeat the process if 

 found practicable. 



SELECTION FOR BREEDING. 



But the increase of the size of the cells is not the only 

 requisite to obtain larger sized bees. Besides that, other 

 qualities have to be considered. So it will be necessary to 

 select the queens producing the largest and best bees, all con- 

 sidered. Here we meet with serious difficulties. In improv- 

 ing cattle and other large animals-, every Individual can be 



examined, all its qualities and defects considered and tabu- 

 lated, and a proper selection as to mating can be made. 

 With bees the case is altogether different. We cannot 

 examine each bee and put down in a book her quali- 

 ties and defects, and the length of time she may live. 

 Worse than that, we cannot select the drone even if we could 

 ascertain beyond doubt which individual drone is the best. 

 Practically, the only way is to rear the queens and drones 

 from the colonies having given the best results, and destroy 

 the drones from the other colonies by cutting the drone-comb 

 or using the queen-trap. 



CONCERNING THE PERFORATED ZINC. 



Perforated zinc to control the production of drones and 

 prevent swarming is an old invention, but never came into 

 general use until the use of a uniform foundation produced 

 uniform-sized bees, for perforations entirely too small for the 

 workers of large size would have permitted the queens of 

 small strains to go through. As to preventing the drones, the 

 case is much easier. The difference of size between queens 

 and workers, so far as the thorax is concerned, is very small, 

 while between workers and drones it is considerable. The 

 small drones reared in worker-cells cannot pass through the 

 zinc. With larger bees we would have to adopt larger per- 

 forations. Probable the increase in size of the perforations 

 would have to equal the increase in size of the cells. If the 

 zinc were to retain the queens, it would be necessary, in select- 

 ing, to choose not only the queens producing the largest work- 

 ers, but the largest queens themselves, which is entirely 

 another thing. 



Perhaps I should add that larger bees and larger founda- 

 tion cells would also require a larger hive, or, rather, a larger 

 brood-nest. 



APIS DORSATA. 



An increase of size in bees is necessarily connected with 

 the introduction of Apis dorsata. As to its desirability we 

 find as much divergence of opinions as concerning an increase 

 of size in our common bees. I think these bees would likely 

 be a valuable acquisition. They undoubtedly produce a larger 

 quantity of honey in their native country than all the other 

 kinds of bees. They are as manageable as our bees, accord- 

 ing to Frauk Benton, who is unquestionably a competent bee- 

 keeper. The fact that the natives climb the trees almost 

 naked, and cut off the combs to take the honey, shows that 

 they can be handled as well as common bees. 



It is not likely that they could stand much cold weather, 

 so it would be well to introduce them at first only in the most 

 southern States. 



The fact that they build their combs in the open air is not 

 an objection. It is merely a question of climate. All kinds 

 of bees build in the open air in the tropical countries. 



One objection exists : Their 'drones and workers are said 

 to be reared in cells of the same size. If it is really so, the 

 control of the over-production of drones by cutting the drone- 

 combs could not be resorted to, which would certainly be a 

 disadvantage. 



INFLUENCE OF THE NUKSE-BEES. 



Some incidental questions merit consideration. One is 

 the influence of the nurses, that is, the bees nursing the 

 brood. It has been claimed by some superficial writers that 

 the characteristics of the nurse-bees were transmitted to the 

 young bees through their feed. It would take quite a long 

 article to show the error of his opinion, however I may state 

 here that the food taken by the brood is so completely trans- 

 formed through the chemical processes accompanying the 

 digestion, that whatever " moral " or " intellectual " qualities 

 it might have before being eaten by the young bees, have cer- 

 tainly disappeared by the time the process of digestion and 

 assimilation is completed. 



The influence of the nurses or the adult bees is one of 

 example. If the old bees are cross or inclined to rob, the 

 young ones will more or less follow their example, and this is 

 why these characteristics will sometime persist after the 

 queen has been chauged. 



It has also been said that the ability to stand bad winters 

 must be transmitted by the nurses, for how can the queen, 

 which is always in the hive, transmit to her workers the 

 faculty of resisting the cold when she does not possess it her- 

 self ? This seems a strong argument at first, but it Is none at 

 all, after all. 



Here are two queens. No. 1 and No. 2. No. 1 produces 

 workers able to resist the coid weather, while the workers of 

 No. 2 cannot. Well, when the winter comes, the workers of 

 No. 2 will die out; so will the queen, necessarily ; so by the 

 next summer only queen No. 1 will remain, and produce not 

 only workers but young queens, which, like herself, will have 



