r>IS£.4S£S AND ENEMIES. 171 



fresh supplies, and, tapping at the door to draw the 

 bees out, will seize them as they make their appearance, 

 and carry them off to some neighbouring tree, there 

 to eat them at leisure. 



' These rob the trading citizens, and bear 

 The trembling captives through the liquid air.' 



Virgil. 



Far worse enemies, however, are the wasps, for 

 when once they have obtained a taste of the good 

 honey within, they will, with great perseverance, force 

 their way into the hive, and being active, strong, and 

 resolute, will cause a great deal of mischief. 



But here, again, much can be done in the way of 

 prevention by carefully destroying queen wasps in the 

 spring, and wasp-nests later on ; and also by lessening 

 the entrance to the hive attacked, and so giving the 

 bees more opportunity to defend it. Wasps, however, 

 but seldom attack a strong hive, and thus here, again, 

 we see the importance of the golden rule, ' Keep your 

 hives strong.' 



But even yet worse than wasps are robber bees. 

 The bees of any neighbouring hive, v/hen once they 

 begin a thieving life, are the most desperate thfeves 

 known. 



' They muster all in haste, their pinions flash. 

 Their stings they sharpen, and adjust their claws.' 



Virgil. 



They will without pity attack a weak hive, and when 

 once they begin their depredations are most difficult 

 to subdue or stop. Virgil says — 



' All this commotion, all this deadly fray, 

 The scatterring of a little dust shall quell.' 



