364 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Xclling It to the Bees. 



Out of the house where the slumberei' lay- 

 Grandfather came one Summer day, 

 And under the pleasant orchard trees 

 He spake this wise to the murmuring bees : 

 "The clover bloom that kissed her feet 



And the posie bed where she used to play 

 Have honey store, but none so sweet 



As ere our little one went away. 

 O bees, sing soft, and bees, sing low, 

 For she is gone who loved you so !" 



O gentle bees, I have come to say 

 That grandfather fell asleep to-day, 

 And we know by the smile on grandfather's 

 face. 



He has found his dear one's hiding place. 

 So bees, sing soft, and bees, sing low. 



As over the honey fields you sweep ; 

 To the trees a-bloom and the flowers a-blow. 

 Sing of grandfather fast asleep. 

 And ever beneath these orchard trees 

 Find cheer and shelter, gentle bees. 



Topics of Ijitgrest. 



PecnliarltlesofAMoraalBees, 



'EOF. A. J. COOK. 



Monstrosities among plants or animals 

 possess a greater interest now than 

 formerly. Since the theory of Progres- 

 sive Development has become the work- 

 ing theory in every biological labora- 

 tory, abnormal characteristics like those 

 to be herein described, are viewed with 

 exceeding interest. They may be cases 

 of arrested development, or possibly of 

 acceleration, where organs, usually 

 abortive, have attained a larger growth. 

 A's if by extreme ativism we had a 

 glimpse of an earlier condition before 

 the organ was whittled away, before the 

 agency of non-use or ill-adaptation had 

 weakened or destroyed them. We now 

 look at any case of abnormality among 

 any group of organisms, as possibly a 

 key to some important organic solution, 

 and so very worthy of study and record. 



Bees offer excellent opportunity for 

 such observation and study, as the 

 observant bee-keeper has opportunity 

 to study thousands of specimens in a 

 short space of time. Thus we should 

 not be surprised that curious malforma- 

 tions are not infrequently discovered. 



*Kead before the Biological Section of the 

 American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, at Washington, D. C, Aug. 21, 1891. 



It is my purpose at this time to describe 

 several malformed bees which I have 

 examined, and which are now in the 

 collections at the Michigan Agricultural 

 College. 



During the past season, I received 

 from Iowa, and a little later from Wis- 

 consin, some Cyclopean bees, in so far 

 that they had but one eye and no ocelli. 

 These bees in the conformation of the 

 head, mouth-organs, antennae, legs and 

 abdomen, are normal workers, but 

 instead of two eyes on the sides of the 

 head, and three ocelli on the vertex, 

 there is but one eye. This is crescentic 

 in form, and is situated symmetrically 

 and centrally high upon the epicranium. 

 The highest or central portion of this 

 eye is about as wide as is the vertex back 

 of it. The horns of the crescent are 

 quite acute, and reach down on the sides 

 of the head, to a point opposite the 

 attachment of the antennse. The eye is 

 normal in respect to its dense covering 

 of hairs. In most cases, this single eye 

 is uniformly rounded behind, though in 

 one specimen from Wisconsin, and two 

 from Iowa, there is a sharp angular 

 projection high up, behind, which fits 

 into a corresponding emargination in 

 the central anterior border of the vertex. 

 In one or two others there is. a slight 

 central posterior projection, but not a 

 sharp angle, as in the cases just re- 

 ferred to. 



I received eight such bees from Wis- 

 consin, and six from Iowa. All in each 

 case were from one hive, and so the 

 progeny of the same queen. 



Another peculiarity which I have 

 studied, also relates to eyes, but here it 

 is confined to the drones. These male 

 bees were from Florida, and all from a 

 single hive, and so had a common 

 mother. I think all the drones of this 

 hive were alike abnormal. In these 

 drones, the eyes were entirely destitute 

 of pigment. Not only the eyes, but the 

 hairs borne upon them, are entirely 

 white. The three ocelli are likewise 

 without color. The hairs on the face 

 are also lighter than we commonly find 

 them, though I could not see that the 

 remaining hairs of the body were thus 

 marked. We thus see that these drones 

 in respect to eyes are albinos. It is 

 interesting to note that they were from 

 one queen. I think cases are not rare, 

 where two or more offspring of a single 

 parent, among higher animals — even 

 among children of the human kind — are 

 albinos. 



Albino insects are not common, though 

 I have seen albino crickets, Gryllus 

 luctuosus, and have in our collection au 



