ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



95 



My thanks are due to Prof. H. A. 

 Surface (through whose kindly in- 

 fluence I was led into fellowship with 

 you) for my place on your program 

 and for the first use of several of the 

 pieces of art prepared by Mr. W. R. 

 Walton, and here shown, to be used 

 in a pamphlet relative to Bees which 

 is in contemplation. To Mr. Walton 

 my thanks are due for kindly assist- 

 ance and for the use of one plate pre- 

 pared privately and used by him for 

 the first time in conjunction with his 

 address before the Entomological De- 

 partment of the Harrisburg Natural 

 History Association, one week ago. 



The following publications have 

 yielded me helpful information: 



G-uide to the Study of Insects. A. S. 

 Packard. 1874. 



Langstroth on the Honey-Bee. Rev. 

 L. L. Langstroth. 1859. 



A Catalog of the North American 

 Diptera. Aldrich. 1905. 



Bibliography of Economic Entomol- 

 ogy. Henshaw. Papers I, II, and III. 

 1890. 



Noxious Insects of N. Y., Ninth Re- 

 port. Fitch. 1864. 



Missouri Entomological Reports. 

 Riley. 1869. 



Insects Injurious to Vegetation. 

 Harris. 1842. 



American Bee Journal. Vol. IV, V, 

 VI. 1868-71. 



The following are the more impor- 

 tant of the insect enemies of the 

 honey bee. 



1. Bee Moth — Galleria melonella. 

 • 2. The Wax-Moth — Achroea grisel- 

 la Fabr. 



3. Bee Killer, or Wolf-fly — Proma- 

 chus fitchii. O-S. 



4. Bee Louse — Braula caeca. 



5. Oil Beetle — Meloe angusticollis 

 (Packard) European. 



6. Fly — Phora incrassata (?). Pack- 

 ard. 



7. Meal Moth — Plodia interpunc- 

 tella Hbn. ( ?) Sm. N. J. 



8. Butte. Trlchodes Apiarius (Pack- 

 ard European). 



Other insect enemies are chiefly the 

 predaceous wolf-flies, dragon-flies, 

 wasps, hornets, ambush and assassin 

 bugs, ants and sphinx moths (which 

 latter rarely steal honey from the 

 hive.) 



The Bee-Moth (Galleria melonella, 

 described also under the name Tinea 

 cerana, Linn, and T. melonella, Reaum 

 et al.), is mentioned by Aristotle, Vir- 



gil, Columella and other ancient au- 

 thors as one of the most formidable 

 enemies of the honey bee. An article 

 in the Boston Patriot, spring of 1806, 

 indicates that the moth had recently 

 been observed in the vicinity of that 

 city. Dr. J. P. Kirtland, Cleveland, O., 

 reported to Rev. L. L. Langstroth that 

 within two years after the appearance 

 of the article, four-fifths of all the 

 apiaries in the vicinity of Boston were 

 abandoned. The same party reported 

 that the moth was first observed at 

 Mercer, Pa., in 1828, and by 1832 had 

 overrun Ohio. 



At the present time, probably ev- 

 ery apiarian knows the work of the 

 moth, and that it cannot be success- 

 fully controlled in the old-fashioned 

 box hives. The life history may be 

 described thus: 



The moth from head to end of fold- 

 ed wing is five-eighths to three-fourths 

 inch, the expanse is one and one-tenth 

 to one and four-tenths inch. The fe- 

 males average much larger than the 

 males. The palpi of the females 

 form a prominent "beak." The palpi 

 of the male are not so conspicuous. 

 The adults fly normally after dusk and 

 about May for the first brood, August 

 for the second brood. When the moth 

 is at rest, the legs are normally con- 

 cealed. The wings closely overlap on 

 the back, when folded, and are drawn 

 down at the sides. The outer margin 

 thus folded suggests the outline of 

 the tail of a fowl. 



When the moth is disturbed it 

 moves with a jump and fiit, making 

 it hard to catch. The eggs are in- 

 serted by the telescoping ovipositor 

 into any available crevice of the hive, 

 the number sometimes exceeding 200. 



These are spherical and about l-90th 

 of an inch in diameter. They hatch 

 after some days. The larvae imme- 

 diately crowls to the comb and be- 

 gins spinning a tubular casing about 

 itself, and feeds chiefly on wax, but 

 cannot thrive on purified wax. This 

 tube is made larger as the growth of 

 the larvae requires. The excrement 

 has the appearance of gunpowder and 

 gives characteristic evidence of the 

 presence of the moth larvae, when 

 found with the silk tunnel or in bee- 

 bread. The larvae, when full grown, 

 is one inch long, tapering slightly 

 from the 4th segment, each way. A 

 sub-lateral fold, which is slightly 

 lighter in color than the rest of the 

 body, marks each side, above which 



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