768 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



SOLITARY BEES — A RARE SPECIMEN. 



For some time I have been watching- bees 

 — at least I suppose they are bees — working 

 about two feet from one of my hives. They 

 are about the size of a house-fly, and shiny 

 g-lass-green all over. They are great pol- 

 len-gatherers; and as they are working 

 from morning till night on flowers, I sup- 

 pose they must also gather honey. 



The other day the children were carrying 

 water in bottles; and upon investigation I 

 found they were drowning out bees. They 

 claim to have received some stings ; but 

 whether stings or bites, I did not have time 

 to investigate. 



The children gathered a bottleful, and I 

 send you some by mail. The specimens 

 sent are twice the size of the bees (?) I 

 have been watching, and have striped bod- 

 ies, which bees have not, so I decided they 

 must be drones or another kind of insect. 

 E.- N. Francis. 



Uvalde, Texas, July 15, 1903.- 



[This was sent to Prof. Benton, who re- 

 plies:] 



Mr. Root:— I herewith return a letter 

 from Dr. E. N. Francis. The specimens 

 sent by him are known as Agapostenion 

 ineliventris, a rare and beautiful one of the 

 solitary bees. These bees construct pas- 

 sages in the ground several inches in depth. 

 They collect balls of pollen, which they 

 moisten with honej', and in these thej' de- 

 posit their eggs. They are not known to be 

 injurious, and they doubtless assist in the 

 pollination of blossoms of various useful 

 plants, thereby aiding seed and fruit pro- 

 duction. I have taken the liberty of drop- 

 ping a line to Dr. Francis, together with a 

 frank, and have asked him to send us more 

 perfect specimens, if he can obtain them, 

 for our collection in the JSTational Museum. 

 Frank Benton. 



Washington, D. C, July 27, 1903. 



poisoning skunks around bees. 

 Mr. Root: — I will write you my experi- 

 ence with skunks as enemies of bees, as it 

 may be of benefit to some other bee-keeper. 

 I had noticed that some of my colonies that 

 were light were not building up as fast as 

 they ought to do, but could discover no rea- 

 son for it until the evening of July 27. Be- 

 ing out near the hives after dark I heard a 

 noise that at first I thought to be a cat 

 scratching on something. The noise con- 

 tinuing, I went to investigate, and found 

 two skunks working at the bees (just as 

 described in the A B C of Bee Culture). I 

 went and borrowed a gun, and succeeded 

 in shooting a foot off from one (found the 

 foot the next morning). As I was afraid to 

 try the remedy mentioned in the A B C, on 

 account of my neighbors' cats, I put some 

 honey in a pan and put strychnine in it, set 

 it out in the yard among the hives after 

 dusk, and brought it in at daylight. The 

 first night I saw one go to the pan. It did 

 not stay long, and did not get far away un- 

 til it let it be known that it was not feeling 



very well. The next night, July 29, I put 

 the pan out again. The next morning there 

 were three half-grown skunks found scat- 

 tered around the neighborhood. The 30th 

 I put the pan out, but no skunks seen, but 

 a strong smell. The 31st, or last night, I 

 put the pan out. This morning there was 

 one found, and trails leading in several di- 

 rections that were very strongly scented. 



It is very evident now that I have lost a 

 good many bees this summer by skunks. 

 If others would keep closer watch, may be 

 thej' would find the same state of affairs. 

 J. I. Whiting. 



Bolivar, N. Y., Aug. 1. 



serviceable cheap bee-gloves. 



In reference to your request for some sug- 

 gestions about gloves, I send you the fol- 

 lowing: The first few j^ears I had bees I 

 attempted to handle them without gloves; 

 but after being severely punished I decided 

 that discretion is the better part of valor, 

 and I applied to Mr. Selser for a pair of 

 the gloves you advertised; but as the largest 

 pair was too small for me I had to try some- 

 thing else. In one of our large department 

 stores I purchased a pair of laborers' 

 gloves. These are made all in one size 

 (large), of inferior leather, but they are 

 bee-proof. To these I had my wife attach 

 the sleeves of an old white shirt, and in- 

 tended to put rubber in the upper part to 

 keep them in place. I had occasion to use 

 them before being finished, and found the 

 rubber superfluous. The sleeves being full 

 prevented the bees from reaching, even 

 when they attempted to sting. I have used 

 this arrangement all summer with greatest 

 satisfaction. J. J. Leitenberger. 



Ridley Park, Pa. 



A. I. ROOT AND HIS CUBAN LETTERS. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — I have been very much 

 interested in your letters from Cuba. I 

 understand Spanish. I spent some time in 

 a missionary venture in Colombia, South 

 America. Your letters brought back many 

 scenes and events. They are wonderfully 

 true to nature. If you want to see some- 

 thing worth while, just extend your trip 

 next winter to Barranquilla; to Cartage- 

 na, the "Great Unwashed," or to Santa 

 Marta, at the foot of the Sierras. Here 

 take a mule (no bicycle in mountain work), 

 and go up to the coffee- plantations. Wm. 

 Crane's place, Agua Dulce, is 2500 ft. up, 

 17 miles from the sea. He is a Vermont 

 Yankee, and has spent 25 years in that 

 country. Mr. Marshall's place, Bella Vis- 

 ta, is about 3500 ft. up, and you can go up to 

 7000 feet in a little more than a day — all 

 over good (?) paths, and in sight of the sea. 

 Some of the finest scenery on earth is going 

 to waste here. Just wait until some capi- 

 talist finds it; then there will be a great 

 winter resort. It is but a glance from the 

 tropics to the poles; from the great banana- 

 plantations of Rio Frio, the finest on 

 earth, to the eternal snows of the Sierras, 



