58 HANDY- BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



WATEE. 



A VERY great deal of ■water is carried into a hive in the height 

 - of the breeding season. It is used with bee-bread in feed- 

 ing young bees. It is collected in dewy mornings, and 

 after showers, from the blades of grass and the leaves of 

 plants. In the absence of showers and dew, bees resort to 

 brooks, rivers, and water-tubs for it. In dry seasons we 

 have often seen them suck it out of the soil that has been 

 artificially watered. It has been a marvel to us how 

 speedily they scented the water falling from the water-can 

 into the soil. Bees do not store it up ; they seem to act 

 on the conviction that " sufficient for the day is the sup- 

 ply of water.'' The sight of bees seeking and sipping 

 water, is a proof that breeding is going on in their hives. 

 During inclement weather, when not a particle of honey 

 can be obtained, bees often venture out for water. 



Mr Quinby thinks that much water is necessary in 

 comb-building. Bees placed in a dark cellar, he says, 

 have been known to raise brood without water. This 

 may be true ; but probably the bees used the moistui-e 

 condensed on the insides of their hives, Mr Quinby's 

 hives being made of wood. If Mr Quinby were to try 

 the experiment, he would find that bees can build combs 

 in great quantity without water, in a dark cellar, more 

 readily than they hatch brood there. In spring months 

 water is extensively used in hives, and long before comb- 

 building commences. 



