584 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ing a hive composed of a long box 

 with a tremendous population. 



The job of transportation concluded, 

 next thing was to get to work and 

 transfer to bar-frame hives. When I 

 came to transfer that long box the 

 siglit was splendid, as on getting a 

 side off, combs 39 inches long and as 

 straight as an arrow were disclosed. 

 The Dees dislodged, and the comb 

 required cut out and inserted in the 

 frames, I proceeded to cut out the re- 

 mainder. As I reached the floor 

 board and laid it bare, my attention 

 was drawn to a number of little mov- 

 ing things, yellow, and just like crabs. 

 Of these I killed 18, and many es- 

 caped. I was informed that these 

 ■were young scorpions, and that I had 

 had a lucky escape the night previous 

 in not getting stung. I watched other 

 Arab hives after that, and found them 

 again and again, so I could come to 

 no other conclusion, than that scor- 



fions do frequent bee hives if allowed, 

 n no case had these small scorpions 

 the tail, and I would much like to 

 know if the young of the scorpion is 

 always minus a tail, and at what 

 period that interesting appendage 

 shows itself. The adult scorpion is 

 no stranger in the neighborhood of 

 hives, as was amply proven by my own 

 observation. 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



•-^•-«-» 



Orange Bulletin. 



The Development of the Honey Bee. 



J. M. niCKS. 



The digestive organs are the most 

 prominent, but even these consist 

 chiefly of a large intestine and they 

 do their work so efficiently that an im- 

 mense quantity of fat is stored up in 

 the body of the little larvae as raw 

 material of which the more compli- 

 cated organs of the imago are built 

 up. 



The worm usually lies curled up in 

 a half circle in its cell, and the only 

 symptom of life that it exhibits is by 

 scratching with its mandibles against 

 the cell wall, as an intimation that it 

 requires nourishment. It, however, 

 becomes the tenderest object of solici- 

 tude on tlie part of tlie workers, they 

 clean and rub it, endeavor by their 

 sonorous lium to cheer it in its soli- 

 tary conlinenient, and constantly sup- 

 ply it with infant food (bee bread), 

 which tliey manufacture from honey 

 and pollen, and offer to the little 

 nursling at the point of their ligula or 

 tongue. The whole arrangement of 

 the attendance resembles that in the 

 foundling hospital; the watchful 

 nurses wander from crib to crib, from 

 cell to cell, offering food to the little 

 inmates, striking them with their 

 antenna;, and • fondling them witli 

 their delicate organs of nutrition. 

 After they have been tlms treated for 

 a few days, the nurses discontinue the 

 supply of food, and close up the orifice 

 of the cell with wax. This operation 

 they perform by applying a series of 

 concentric rings of gradually decreas- 

 ing circumference,one within anotlier 

 until there is nothing left but a small 

 hole in the center, which is then 



blocked np with a particle of wax. 

 As soon as the cell is closed the in- 

 mate sets to work and spins a cocoon 

 of silk (which the queen larviB ac- 

 complishes in about 24 hours, the 

 worker in thirty- six), and then rests 

 for two or three days. At the end of 

 this time it assumes the pupa form, 

 undergoing the metamorphosis from 

 the worm structure to the insect 

 already described; and when this is 

 complete the imago, orfully developed 

 insect first frees itself from its silken 

 envelope, and then, forcing open the 

 lid of its prison house by means of its 

 head and mandibles, makes its escape 

 a perfect bee. 



Tlie time occupied from the deposit- 

 ing of the egg in the cell to the final 

 appearance of the insect is, for the 

 queen sixteen days, for the worker 

 about twenty-one, and for the drone 

 twenty-four days. 



But the labors of the worker in re- 

 gard to the working of the brood, do 

 not end here. After the young insect, 

 be it worker, drone, or queen, has 

 effected its escape, a number of busy 

 nurses at once set to work and pre- 

 pare the vacated cells for the reception 

 of another egg. First one enters, 

 and searching for the pupa-case drags 

 it forth and carries it away to the en- 

 trance of the hive; a second follows 

 and brings away the exuvial from tiie 

 larva ; and then other succeeding 

 bees clear off the refuse, leaving only 

 a portion of the silken cocoon, which 

 gives additional strength to the cell. 



Returning now to the history of the 

 queen : we are told that, during her 

 progress from cell to cell for the pur- 

 pose of oviposition, she is accompanied 

 by from four to twelve workers, wlio 

 provide her witli honey, and, watcliing 

 all her movements, take care that she 

 lays only one egg in eacli cell, or in 

 case she "should deposit more, as some- 

 times happens, they remove all but 

 one, and place tliein elsewhere. She 

 usually lays from two to six eggs in 

 succession, and then rests awliile; 

 and according to Reaumur she will 

 thus deposit about two thousand eggs 

 in one day. The total number laid by 

 a single queen in one season is var- 

 iously estimated at from 50,000 to 100,- 

 000 eggs. 



Let us now suppose the season to be 

 somewhat advanced, and that in the 

 montli of May the queen has deposited 

 about 10,000 to 11,000 worker and drone 

 eggs. At this time the workers con- 

 struct half a dozen royal cells, already 

 described, and her majesty proceeds 

 forthwith to deposit in them the 

 necessary eggs. The usual term of 

 sixteen days having now expired, the 

 guardians of one of the royal cells re- 

 ceive intimation, by the movement 

 within, that a new queen is about to 

 make lier appearance, and immedi- 

 ately the intelligence flies from bee to 

 bee, and tliey crowd around tlie cell 

 in order to welcome the stranger. 

 The queen-mother approaches also, 

 accompanied by lier body guard. 



"Dear me ! how interesting!" we 

 can almost liear you exclaim, reader ; 

 '■to welcome the little stranger, no 

 doubt V' No, not to welcome her off- 

 spring, but, i)icccdt(^j(e i?ic((( r' with the 

 murderous intention of attacking and 



slaughtering her as a rival. In this 

 design, however, she is foiled by the 

 workers that have gathered around 

 the royal cell. These cover its en- 

 trance and keep the young queen a 

 close prisoner; if necessary, blocking, 

 up the opening of the cell with wax 

 until the old queen shall have disap- 

 peared, and fe«ling the young one 

 with honey during her imprisonment. 

 In the hive of bees, as in the hives of 

 men, Ciesars, or rather, in the former 

 case, two Ceesarinas, cannot exist at 

 one time ; and when the old queen 

 finds that her hateful rival is beyond 

 her reach, she ceases to oviposit, and 

 wandering about tlie hive in a state of 

 great excitement, she at length takes 

 her departure in search of a fresh 

 habitation, accompanied in a full 

 hive by about 1,000 drones, (who are 

 said to lead the way) ant ten times 

 that number of workers. 



This new colony, well known to us 

 as the "swarm," is received by bee- 

 keepers in an empty hive, where the 

 workers at once proceed to construct 

 waxen cells and perform their ordi- 

 nary avocations, whilst the queen at 

 once resumes the work of oviposition. 



But let us now return to the old 

 hive, where the young queen holds 

 undisputed possession, and this she 

 renders doubly sure by at once pro- 

 ceeding to the cells that contain her 

 younger sisters, and with her sting 

 mercilessly destroying them before 

 they arrive at maturity. 



Sometimes, however, it happens 

 that two young queens make their 

 exit simultaneously from their re- 

 spective cells, and by a curious in- 

 stinct the old queen is then diverted 

 from lier purpose of infanticide, and 

 at once takes her departure with her 

 attendant swarm. 



For the sequel, we must once more 

 refer to Voigt, for we are sure you 

 will agree with us that the account is 

 graphic, interesting and morally in- 

 structive : " The Tbees that remain 

 after the swarm has taken its depart- 

 ure divide into two parties, wliich 

 marshal themselves around their re- 

 spective queens, and then march 

 against one another within the hive 

 itself." Presently the armies ap- 

 l>roach one another from either side ; 

 they meet face to face ; and what fol- 

 lows y Will the onslaught at once be- 

 gin 'i This would indeed be tlie case 

 if they were human beings, of whom 

 tliousands would rush to their fate, 

 and streamsof blood would be shed for 

 the sake of one ruler. But no ! the 

 bees are wiser; what care they with 

 their constitutional regime, whether 

 tlie reins of power be held by a mem- 

 ber of the house of llapsburg or of 

 IlohenzoUern ! let the ambitious aspi- 

 rants decide tlie struggle for suprem- 

 acy by a single combat! so say the 

 bees, and they look on quietly whilst 

 the duel is being fought, quite con- 

 tent to tender their allegiance to the 

 survivor. The fight for the throne is 

 merely a combat between the i)re- 

 tenders. Would that the human race, 

 which conceives itself to be so wise 

 and perfect, had, under similar cir- 

 cumstances, adopted this principle of 

 action, how much less blood would 

 have been spilt upon this fair earth 



