California Bee Killer. 431 
brated queen breed.r of New York State sent me these 
same mites last year (1887) with the report that they killed 
his queens while yet in the cell. I found great numbers in 
a cell sent by this gentleman. The strong and prosperous 
colonies were exempt from the annoyance. So small are 
these little pests that a score could take possession of a sin- 
gle bee, and not be near neighbors either. The lady states 
that the bees roll and scratch in their vain attempts to rid 
themselves of these annoying stick-tights, and finally, wor- 
ried out, either fall to the bottom of the hive or go forth to 
die outside. 
The bee mite (Fig 220) is very small, hardly more than 
five mm. (1-50 of aninch) long. The female is slightly 
larger than the male, and somewhat transparent. The color 
is black, though the legs and more transparent areas of the 
females appear yellowish. : 
REMEDIES. 
The fact that what would be poison to the mite would 
probably be death to the bees, makes this question of remedy 
quite a difficult one. I can only suggest what Mrs. Squire 
has tried—frequent changing of the bees from one hive to 
another, after which the hive can be freed from the mites 
by scalding. Of course, the more frequent the transfer 
the more thorough the remedy. 
I would suggest placing pieces of fresh meat, greased 
or sugared paper, etc., in the hives, in hopes to attract the 
pests which when massed on these decoys could easily be 
killed. 
CALIFORNIA BEE KILLER. 
Mr. J. D. Enas, Napa, California, has sent me specimens 
of a curious bee enemy (Fig. 221), which he finds quite a 
serious enemy of bees. 
This is a Datames, possibly D. Californicus, Simon, 
though it does not quite agree with the description of that 
species. It, like the mites just described, belongs to the 
sub-class Arachnida or spiders, and is related to the scorpions. 
The group of animals is known as the family Solpulgidz 
or Galeodides. As will be seen, the head and thorax are 
