638 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



years ag^o I caug-ht her between the finger 

 and thumb, and left her on the comb while 

 clipping"; but I found it necessary quite oft- 

 en to wait for her to withdraw a leg from 

 between the scissors; and I found by lifting 

 her from the comb this diificultj' was en- 

 tirely avoided as you so nicely describe. 

 London, Can., June 5. F. J. Miller. 



[But it seems to me your plan is more 

 awkward, and more liable to do injury to 

 the queen, than the one that I described. 

 A beginner (and it was to that class I was 

 writing) could do better work by using his 

 right hand. When one attempts any thing 

 of this kind for Vaejirst time he should use 

 that hand (probably the right) that is the 

 most natural and easy for him. The trans- 

 fer from one hand to the other is but the 

 work of a moment; and, really, time should 

 cut no figure in this. It is a question of 

 safety to the queen. The average person, 

 even if he were a bee-keeper of some years' 

 experience, might do bungling work with 

 his left hand. — Ed.] 



DO BEES COVER OFFENDING OBJECTS WITH 

 WAX OR PROPOLIS? 



While in conversation this morning with 

 several friends, the matter of bees came up 

 for discussion. I was reading Gleanings, 

 and a gentleman to whom you have sent 

 several sample copies was commenting on 

 its merits. It was remarked by one of the 

 part}'^ that bees would cover any foreign ob- 

 ject which might get in the hive — say, for 

 instance, if a mouse got into the hive and 

 died, the bees would cover it with a coating 

 of wax, thus virtually hermetically sealing 

 it in a case from which no odor could arise. 

 I have in my experience had a mouse in 

 the hives several times, but never a dead 

 one (he died soon after I discovered him). 

 Did this matter ever come to your notice? 

 and is it so that the bees will cover an ob- 

 ject with wax as stated? This might be of 

 interest to others. C. L. Sniffen. 



Spring Valley, N. Y., June 11. 



[It is quite true that bees will cover any 

 foreign object which they can not remove, 

 with wax or propolis. They have been 

 known to cover up a thing as large as a 

 beetle; but it is doubtful if they would at- 

 tempt to cover a dead mouse. If his little 

 carcass became too offensive the bees might 

 swarm out. I do not know what they would 

 do. — Ed.] 



plurality of eggs in a cell. 

 I send you by a separate package a small 

 piece of drone comb which, you will notice, 

 has more than its share of eggs. This 

 queen was raised by me, and this is her 

 first work. She laid two frames and a half 

 full, clear to the edge of the frames. 



Flo\'d L. Eddy. 

 Santa Barbara, Cal. 



[The comb was examined, and as you 

 say contained a large number of eggs in 

 each cell. This is probably the work of a 



drone-layer or laying workers. A good 

 queen, however, sometimes when she be- 

 gins laying will lay more than one e.gg in 

 a cell; or sometimes a normal queen that 

 has too small an amount of comb will do 

 the same. But in your case I should say 

 you had either a drone -layer or laying 

 workers, either of which should be destroy- 

 ed.— Ed.] 



queens biting instead of STINGING. 



I noticed a short article on page 550, about 

 queens stinging human beings. It was only 

 a few days ago that I helped a queen out of 

 her cell and allowed her to crawl up my 

 arm. She gave me (what I thought to be) 

 a bite and not a sting as reported by the 

 correspondent. As her movement was very 

 slow, and watching her intently, I feel sure 

 of the source of the pain. W. G. Rice. 



Champaign, 111., June, 18. 



[As before stated, it is only rare that 

 queens sting human beings. They are more 

 apt to bite, under certain provocation. — Ed. J 



THE YELLOW BANDS IN ITALIANS. 



I should like to ask a question of Ernest 

 and call Dr. Miller's attention to it. If the 

 yellow bands we so much admire are yellow 

 because of the fluid back of them, then the 

 fluid in the black bees and the gray Carni- 

 olans must be a difl'erent color. Not being 

 a scientist myself, I should like to have you 

 explain that in Gleanings, if not too much 

 trouble. W. Bowling. 



Stratford, Ont., Canada. 



[The corresponding bands in the blacks 

 are opaque, not transparent, as in Italians. 

 The fluids are the same in both. — Ed.] 



formic acid in HONEY. 



Can you tell me whether catnip honey 

 has more formic acid than alfalfa honey or 

 than other honeys? Roy A. Wilson. 



Kearney, Neb., June 15. 



[I do not know that it has been definite- 

 ly proven, although that seems to be the 

 general assumption, that formic acid does 

 exist in honey. I should not suppose that 

 there was more in one source of honey than 

 in any other. — Ed.] 



canvas leggings for keeping bees out 

 of the trousers. 

 Say to Dr. Miller, try a pair of light can- 

 vas leggings for keeping bees out of the 

 trousers, and note the improvement. 



C. E. Woodward. 

 Punta Brava, Cuba. 



Where is the queen generally located in a 

 cluster of bees after they have swarmed and 

 alighted on a tree or bush? 



Wabuska, Nev. J. G. Young. 



[The queen-bee in a cluster is generally 

 on the outside. — Ed.] 



