1919 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



411 



larvae were kept in a pasteboard box 

 several days and two of them con- 

 structed cocoons attached to the 

 walls of the box. These pupa; failed 

 to emerge. 



When the nest was taken three oid 

 queens were found within. Four 

 others were captured among the 

 field bees. No queens were among 

 the bees in the nest. The nest was 

 taken September 10 and no queens 

 emerged from the captured combs 

 until September 20. From that date 

 until September 30, 52 queens emerged. 

 While these cocoons were given no 

 special care, all the queens that ap- 

 peared were perfect. 



No drones were in the nest when 

 taken, and none among the field bees. 

 September 22nd the first drone 

 emerged and on October 1st the last. 



The workers were nearly as large 

 as the queens and a very few of the 

 dwarfed or undersized workers were 

 in this colony. The last worker ap- 

 peared September 18th. 



No guest bees or moths could be 

 found, but the yellow form of the 

 drone long described as a guest bee 

 was present in about equal number 

 with those which are colored like the 

 workers. All gradations between the 

 two exist. 



The honey found in this nest was 

 water-white and extremely strong, 

 and it appeared as if no evaporation 

 had taken place. Honey was stored 

 in three hundred and twenty-five 

 cells, only a small amount being placed 

 in a cell. In feeding, the newly 

 emerged bee crawls into the cell and 

 does not leave until the honey is ex- 

 hausted and then it moves on to 

 another cell and some field bee re- 

 places the supply of nectar. No cells 

 were sealed or had more than a few 

 drops of honey in them. These cells 

 were of three varieties, first empty 

 cocoons, second empty cocoons that 

 had wax additions around the top and 

 third complete wax cells. 



All of the pollen found was in wax 

 cells, one-hundred and one varying 

 amounts of pollen. Nineteen of these 

 were sealed over. Several of the pol- 

 len masses were as large as a hazel 

 nut. The wax used in the construc- 

 tion of these cells is largely mixed 

 with plant hair and pollen grains. 

 The wax was boiled out and was 

 white. Beside making egg cells and 

 storage cells out of the wax most of 

 the cocoons had more or less of it 

 scattered in lumps and an indication 

 of wax base on which the cocoon had 

 been built. 



Of the facts stated here a number 

 show the relationship between the 

 solitary and social bees and the steps 

 by which the honeybee reached its 

 present state of developement. In 

 the solitary bees there is only the 

 queen to take part in the rearing of 

 the young. In bombus, one to several 

 queens will live in harmony and a 

 force of workers do the field work. 

 Drones are produced only late in the 

 year. The bumblebee secretes a very 

 small amount of the wax while the 

 solitary bees do not secrete any. It 

 would appear that in the egg-laying 

 and brood-rearing habits of the bum- 

 blebee is seen the origin of the double 



comb. The steps by which this came 

 into existence seem to be as follows : 

 The solitary bee lays a single egg in 

 a honey mass, in a dir; or wood cell, 

 rearing but a single individual to the 

 nest. The semi social improve on 

 this and rear many young in separate 

 but adjoining cells. The bumblebees, 

 utilizing larger excavations, like a 

 mouse nest, start as did the solitary 

 bee, but lay a group of eggs in a sin- 

 gle cell composed of wax within the 

 larger opening. As this group of eggs 

 hatches, the cell is extended until 

 it becomes a flat mass on which the 

 larva; are fed. The full fed larva; spin 

 their cocoon in a group, the space be- 

 tween the circles being filled with 

 wax, this gives a rude hexagonal one- 

 sided comb. The later egg cells are 

 located in the cavities between the 

 caps of the first comb. As the eggs 

 hatch the larvae crawl into the neigh- 

 boring cavities and when these lar- 

 vae spin their cocoons a double comb 

 arranged just like the honeybee comb 

 is formed. While this gives only two 

 one-sided combs mismatched, how- 

 ever, it becomes two-sided as the lar- 

 va; seem to choose the thinnest place 

 to cut through in emerging. 



In the bumblebees themselves a 

 gradation is shown toward the habits 

 now exhibited by the honeybee. Ob- 

 servers report that in some species 

 only one queen can exist in a nest and 

 in other species only single eggs are 

 laid in each cell and that cells are used 

 many times for brood rearing. Tc 

 sum up the ^relationship existing as 

 shown by this nest a condition is 

 found about midway between the 

 solitary bee on one side and the hive 

 bee on the other. The several queens 

 living in harmony point toward the 

 solitary bees, and the existence CI 

 a worker cast point to the hive bee. 

 The secretion and use of wax in 

 building cells, the placing of the co- 

 coon to form a rude hexagonal comb, 



and the fact that in the South there 

 seems to be a tendency for a nest to 

 exist throughout a period of years 

 seem to indicate clearly the steps by 

 which the honeybees reached their 

 present state of specialization. 



Data relative to the nest of bum- 

 blebees taken at College Station, 

 Texas, September 10, 1919: 



Number of field force 160 



Number of bees in nest 170 



Number of queens 7 



Number emerged after the nest 



was taken 209 



Number of queens emerged 52 



Number of drones emerged 60 



Number of old cells (1918) 205 



Number of new cells (1919) 742 



Number of cells used for honey 



storage 325 



Number of cells used for pollen 



storage 126 



Amount of honey, estimated 1 oz. 



Total number of bees 539 



Total number of cells 992 



College Station, Texas. 



Bumblebees and Smoke 



In his article "A Bumblebee's Nest" 

 in this issue, Mr. Parks asserts that 

 smoke only provokes the anger of 

 the bumblers. This is contrary to 

 the experience of the associate editor. 

 I have found it possible to control 

 both bumblebees and yellow jackets 

 very nicely with smoke. By blowing 

 the smoke freely into the nest before 

 disturbing the bees, I can open the 

 nest and manipulate the colony much 

 as one would do with a colony of 

 honeybees under similar conditions. 

 While examining such a nest I have 

 had the bumblebees crawl over me 

 quietly and without showing the 

 slightest trace of anger. I would 

 suggest that Mr. Parks try smoke 

 again under more favorable condi- 

 tions and see whether he is not able 

 to control the bumblebees as readily 

 as honeybees. — F. C. P. 



Bumblebees' nest, showing cocoons, honey and pollen cells. 



