376 ROBBING, AND HOW PREVENTED. 



blossoms, than for any other sweet on earth. In a day of 

 abundant harvest, honey may be left exposed where bees can 

 reach it, without being touched, or even approached, by a 

 single bee, for hours; while, if placed in the very same spot 

 during a dearth of honey, it will be covered with bees in very 

 few minutes. 



If the bee-keeper would not have his bees so demoralized 

 that their value will be seriously diminished, he will be ex- 

 ceedingly careful in time of scarcity to prevent them from 

 robbing each other. If the bees of a strong colony once get 

 a taste of forbidden sweets, they will seldom stop until they 

 have tested the strength of every hive. Even if all the colonies 

 are able to defend themselves, many bees will be lost in these 

 encounters, and much time wasted. 



667. An experienced bee-keeper readily perceives when 

 any robbing is going on in his apiary. Bees are flying va- 

 grantly about, hunting in nooks and corners, and at all the 

 hive-crevices. Extensive robbing causes a general uproar, and 

 the bees of all the hives are much more disposed to sting. 

 The robbers sally out with the first peep of light, and often 

 continue there depredations until it is so late that they cannot 

 find the entrance to their hive. Some even pass the night in 

 the plundered colony. 



The cloud of robbers arriving and departing need never be 

 mistaken for honest laborers (l'i'3-l'S'4) carrying, with un- 

 wieldy flight, their heavy burdens to the hive. These bold 

 plunderers, as they enter a hive, are almost as hungry-looking 

 as Pharaoh's lean kine, while, on coming out, they show by 

 their burly looks that, like aldermen who have dined at the 

 expense of the city, they are stuffed to their utmost capacity. 



668. When robbing-bees have fairly overcome a colony, 

 the attempt to stop them— by shutting up the hive, or by 

 moving it to a new stand— if improperly conducted, is often 

 far more disastrous than allowing them to flinish their work. 

 The air will be quickly filled with greedy bees, who, unable 

 to bear their disappointment, will assail, with almost frantic 



