ENEMIES. 177 



and lick up any bees coming within reach of 

 their long tongue. 



Mice are very destructive ; they will get into 

 a hive and consume everything wholesale 

 combs, bees, honey. 



Wasps bear cold better than bees, so in the 

 autumn, when the bees are drowsy and their 

 sentinels weak and not fit for a fight, the wasps 

 will force their way into the hive and make sad 

 havoc with the store of honey. 



Any wasps that you see flying about in March, 

 April, or the beginning of May, are queen wasps 

 seeking places for their colonies ; so if these 

 queen wasps are killed, their numbers are dim- 

 inished by thousands in the autumn. 



It should, however, be borne in mind that 

 wasps do a vast deal of good in killing flies, 

 insects, and purifying decaying matter. 



It is a serious matter to interfere with nature. 

 Over the long past the natural balance, or order, 

 has been struck so evenly, and man's knowledge 

 of the natural order is so limited that he often 

 does himself more harm than good when he 

 attempts to interfere with the balance. 



The greatest enemy, however, of the bee-keeper, 

 far beyond those that you have read about, is 

 what is called " the honey dew." 



This is a sugary, glistening substance made by 

 that curse of the garden, an insect called the 



M 



