lO SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 68 



the other experiments, and the results obtained are practically the 

 same. The time of introducing a bee to be tested in the various 

 sets of experiments was so alternated that no error in regard to the 

 sequence of time of introducing could have affected these results. 



The following experiments were performed to determine the 

 gradual change in the hive odor: On May 20 at 11 o'clock, colony 

 No. 2, swarmed, and the swarm was placed in a new hive (No. 26). 

 Twenty-four hours later 20 workers from a frame in hive No. 2a 

 (the old hive) were put into each of the 10 observation cases, then 10 

 workers from a frame in hive No. 2b were tested as usual. Of the 

 10 workers tested, six were received peacefully ; the bees showed 

 signs of attacking one ; and three were attacked slightly. Forty- 

 eight hours after the bees had swarmed, the preceding experiment 

 was repeated. Of the 10 workers tested, three were received peace- 

 fully ; four were attacked slightly ; and three were attacked con- 

 siderably. Seventy-two hours or on the third day after the bees had 

 swarmed, nine of the ten bees tested were received hostilely. 



The foregoing experiments were repeated by using workers on the 

 first, second, and third days after colony No. 82 had been equally 

 divided. On the first day after the colony had been divided, four 

 workers were received hostilely ; on the second day seven were 

 received hostilely ; and on the third day all 10 of the workers tested 

 were attacked. Similar results were also obtained by using bees from 

 seven other colonies which had been divided. 



All the foregoing experiments seem to prove that each colony 

 of bees has its own particular hive odor and when a colony is divided 

 each portion forms a hive odor different from that of the other 

 portion, and also different from the hive odor of any other hive and 

 probably different from that of the original hive, and the new hive 

 odor is formed gradually and is sufficiently different at the end 

 of the third day from that of any other hive to cause total hostility. 

 The hive odor is carried by the workers and disappears in three days 

 when the workers are confined in wire-screen cases. 



The bees in the wire-screen cases described under hive odor, will 

 also be discussed under individual and family odors. 



(a) FUNCTION OF HIVE ODOR 



Concluding from the experiments dealing with the hive odor, the 

 success attained in uniting bees from two or more colonies in order 

 to increase the number of colonies depends upon the formation of a 

 new hive odor. When first united the new colony will contain just 



