1022 MR. A. LOVERIUGE : NOTES OK 



bees had fled out of the pipe-hole like a cloud of smohe and he 

 had not received a single sting. He said that to the best of his 

 knowledge he had neA'er been stung in his life, but a few days 

 later this wns no longer the ca>e, for he donned a cap in which 

 was one of his homeless bees, and he was stung on the head. 

 Within the next few days he received several more stings. 



The bees aie dependent on water, and if they get into a room 

 from which there is no escape they soon die. They are veiy fond 

 of sisal flowers, and clouds may be observed round the tops of the 

 poles when the flowers are in bloom. The blossoms of the rubber- 

 trees are another favourite source of nectar, but the resultant 

 honey which I have tasted is bitter and unpalatable to the 

 European, though the natives devour it readily. xV strange thing 

 that I noticed at Morogoro was their liking for commercial rubber. 

 Some boxes of this stood in tlie svni just outside my quarters, and 

 the heat melted the lubber which leaked out from the damaged 

 boxes ; the bees might be seen crawling over this at all hours of 

 the day. Urine also seems to have a great attraction for them. 

 When the rubber blossoms are in bloom the presence of the vast 

 numbers of bees attracted to the plantations causes numbei-s of 

 Jiee-eaters {Meroj)s cqyiaster and nuhicus) to congregate. 



They have few enemies I imagine. When swarming in the oflice 

 roof numbeis of them got into the web of a spider, which after 

 wrapping them up very effectually in silk, cut them loose, so that 

 they were constantly landing on my table. A robber- fly settled' 

 on my wife's arm one day with a bee in its grasp ; a leg of the 

 bee had got entangled in her sleeve, and some movement caused 

 the insect to fly ofl:'; but returning, and failing after several 

 attempts to disentangle its prey, it settled down and sucked the 

 juices in situ. (Kilosa, 18.i.22.) A mantis was seen to take one 

 from the window one day, as is mentioned elsewhere, 

 ■ At Kilosa on 14. ii. 21 a comb measuring some six inches 

 in length and three-and-a-half across Avas formed in the store. 

 This was the work of four days, the swarm being small — a large 

 swarm will make an astonishing quantity of cond)in a short time. 

 One swarm, Avhich had been established for fully a week in the- 

 oflice roof and had a huge comb with quantities of honey, suddenly 

 left at 10 a.m. in the morning without any apparent i-eason ; 

 I watched them go, and then examined the cnmb and found but 

 two bees left. 



On 12. ii. 22 I recorded that there had been four swarms in 

 the oflice and three in my store-room during the past month. 

 This swarming generally takes place during the earlier part of 

 the year, synclironising wit]\ the greater rains and tlie abundance 

 of food fui-nished by the rubber blossoms, which doubtless assists 

 multiplication and the necessity for SAvarming. 

 , Mr. C. F. M. SAvynnerton devised a most efTective way_of 

 dealing Avith them. A small quantity of cyanide was crushed and 

 dissolved in hot water and squirted over the swarm Avith a syringe 

 after dark, Avith the result that they fell like a shower of r»>i}> 



