EW ENairAMD FAMMER, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHED UY GF.ORGE C. BARRET P, NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warehouse.) — T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



rOL. XIII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 4, 1835. 



NO. 30. 



^t.^'W^i^AiL sss^^^iai^a 



[Fortlie New Kngland Farmer.] 



A PjVRAsite of the hokey bee. 



Thomas G. Fessende.v, Esq.: — The late Gen. 

 Martin Field, of Fayetteville, Vermont, wlio was 

 iistiiiatuisliej for his enlarged and liberal mind, 

 ind (lis love of science, sent to Professor Sillinian 

 he inelosi'd important coramifuication, which was 

 aublishcd in the American Journal of Science 

 ind Arts, Vol. -xxv. No. 1, for October, 1833, 

 aages 113-14. 



Tiie discovery announced in this coramunica- 

 ion is so interesting to the bee-keejier and the 

 laturalist that it deserves to be generally known ; 

 ind, as there are some points in it upon which 

 idditional infornialiun is required, you will do 

 ne a favor by giving to it, with the remarks here 

 idded, a place in both your Horticultural and 

 Agricultural Journals. 



" For a few years past, many of those people in 

 his vicinity, who have apiaries, have found that 

 n the months of x\pril, May and June, an unusual 

 nortality has prevailed among their bees. This 

 ;ircumstancc has led to a thorough investigation 

 )f the cause, by tliose who felt a particular int( r- 

 'st ui the products of this valuable insect; ajid 

 he result has proved, that t^is mortality lias beea 

 iroduced entifel^y a parasite. 



" More than tnw years since, one of my neigh- 

 )ors suggested to me his conjectures that there 

 vas a parasitic fly that was injurious to the honey 

 (ee ; since which time we have fully ascertained 

 he fact, I have a bo.x, now before me, contain- 

 ng a great number of dead bees, in which may 

 )e found the parasites, in both the pupa and the 

 )erfect state. Usually the bees become sickly 

 ind unable to fly, when the parasites are in the 

 arva state ; but they sometimes live till the per- 

 fect insect emerges from the pupa. The larva is 

 ixed at the inosculations of the dorsal segments of 

 he abdomen of the bee, and is hardly discov- 

 Table by the eye unless the abdomen be dissected. 

 Phe larva is white, nearly two lines in length, and 

 rery much resembles a small worm or maggot, 

 riie pupa is nearly the size of the larva, and of a 

 eddish brown color. The perfect insect is a non- 

 iescri|)t, and bears very little resemblance to the 

 ?tylops or Xcnos, or any other insect that has 

 )een found to be a parasite of the bee or wasp. 

 It is of the order Diptera of Linnteus, is little 

 arger than the Hessian fly, but, in color and form 

 s very unlike that insect. 



"Mr Kirby, many years since, discovered that 

 he insect, Stylops, was a parasite in the black- 

 ironzfc bee, Andrena nigro-'jenea, in England, and 

 'rofessor Peck afterwards found tliat the Xenos. 

 fvas a parasite in wasps, in America ; but I am 

 lot aware that a parasite of the honey bee has 

 ner been discovered till of late, and in this 

 iicinity. 



" In conclusion, I would most sincerely request 

 hose who have apiaries, to examine their hives 

 luring the spring and summer months, and if this 



parasite be discovered, to investigate the history 

 of the insect, and, if possible, to find a remedy 

 for the injury it may produce. Martin Field. 

 " Fayetteville, Vt., May 15, 1833." 



REMARKS. 



The discovery of an intestine enemy in the bee, 

 hitherto unknown and unsuspected, and its exis- 

 tence to such an extent as to cause an unusual 

 mortality among these useful and industrious in- 

 sects during their busiest season, were facts which 

 on their first publication strongly excited my cu- 

 riosity ; while the very brief description, which 

 was given of the parasitic insect in its perfect or 

 winged state, was not sufiicient to enable me to 

 make out the genus, or the rank which it held in 

 a systematic arrangement. In answer to my in- 

 quiries on this subject and request for specimens, 

 Mr R. M. Field, tJie son of the above named gen- 

 tleman, informed me that his father had sent the 

 parasitic insects, twenty or thirty in number, to a 

 lady, jn order to have drawings made from them, 

 and that all of them were lost through careless- 

 ness. This accident may account for the very 

 imperfect description of the fly wliich was drawn 

 up by Gen. Field. During the last summer Mr 

 Field obligingly sent to me some insects, which 

 were given to him, by a person who, from some 

 circumstances, was led to suppose that the}' were 

 instrumental in producing the mortality among 

 the bees. They proved, however, to be a kind of 

 wild bee, (andrana fnigalis,) at least half as large 

 as the honey bee itscli', and were furnished with 

 four wings, in all which respects.they differ essen- 

 tially from the parasitic flies as described by Gen. 

 Field. 



In order to avoid any mistake in searching 

 into the history of the little parasitic enemies of 

 the honey bee, it will be well to keep in mind 

 the following facts derived from the information 

 given by Gen. Field. 



These insects infest the bees during the months 

 of April, May and June, and they are found in 

 three different forms. 



At first they are maggots, of a white color, 

 nearly one fifth of an inch long, and live between 

 the joints of the backs of the bees. 



Second. After a time they cease eating, their 

 bodies shorten, and their skins become of a 

 brownish color. They are now entirely quiet, 

 and are in, what may be called, a state of transition 

 (pitpa) intermediate between maggots and flics. 



Third. At length the insects burst the brown- 

 ish skins which cover them, and come forth in 

 the form of little two-ioinged flies, rather larger 

 than the Hessian fly, probably, about the size of 

 a musquito. They are then like all other winged 

 insects in a state of maturity, and, consequently, 

 in a condition to lay their eggs. 



To complete the history of these little parasites, 

 information is wanted upon a number of points, 

 which, it is hoped, will receive the attention of 

 persons who have the leisure and opportunity to 

 make to the necessary investigations. 



If, during the proper season, a considerable 



number of sick, dying and dead bees are procur- 

 ed and confined under tumblers, (those of them 

 which are still alive being daily fed with a drop 

 or two of sugar syrup or honey,) the little para- 

 sitic insects, with which they are infested, may bi' 

 observed during their changes of forjii, and will 

 probably, in due time, be found flying about be- 

 neath the tumblers. 



Bee-kecjjers, and especially those who reside in 

 that part of the country where these ihsects have 

 been discovered, are most earnestlj- requested to 

 endeavor to ascertain, 1st. When, liow, and w here 

 do the flies lay their eggs ; 2d. How long do their 

 young remain in the maggot state ; 3d. ilovt 

 long are they in what is called the pupa state, or 

 state of transition. When, in addition to these 

 facts the means are furnished for drawing up a 

 full, correct, scientific description of the insects 

 in their last or winged state, their history will be 

 nearly completed, and the way to successful ex- 

 periment against their insidious attacks will be 

 fairly opened. 



The writer of these remarks at one time thought 

 of offering a reward to any person who would 

 apprehend a gang of these marauders, lodge them 

 ifiicc of the New England Farmer, in Bos- 

 furnish such evidence of their identity 

 ulJ ( liable him to try them by the laws of 

 science, and jirououuce judgment upon them in 

 their true characters. But, as he is not more 

 interested in the subject than many other per- 

 sons, he feels that he has discharged his duty 

 in respectfully and urgently recommending the 

 measure, and oftering, whenever they are wanted 

 for the purpose above named, the services of 

 .T. W. HARRIS. 



Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 9, 1835. 



^^^aS'^swjLis'w^^a 



[For tile New England Farmer.] 

 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICUIiTTjRAL. SOCIETY. 



At a meeting of the board of Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture, 

 held 13th December, 1834, 



Voted, That the thanks of the board be pre- 

 sented to Messrs Livermore & Kendall for the 

 ready and liberal permission given to tlie com- 

 mittee to award premiums on butter and cheese, 

 to occupy the Rotunda, for the examination, ex- 

 hibition and sale of the articles oflered on the 

 second, third, and fourth days of the present 

 month, and that a copy be sent by the Secretary 

 to those gentlemen. 



A Copy of the Record. 



BENJAMIN GUILD, 



Sec. of M. S. for P. A. 



NEW VARIETY OF TURNIP. 



At a meeting of the board of Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture, 

 held on Saturday, 10th of January, 1835, 



A letter was rend from Martin Brimmer, Esq. 



