220 DISEASES AKD ENEMIES OF BEES. 



these minute pests. I have made them a subject of par- 

 ticular study and observation, with increasing interest. 

 In the course of my investigations at various periods dur- 

 ing the past three years, I have examined hives in some 

 of the leading apiaries of this State, and in every in- 

 stance have found several varieties of parasites present, 

 in greater or less numbers. I have thus far discovered nine 

 distinct forms, but whether they are distinct species, I 

 am unable from lack of entomological knowledge to de- 

 termine. 



The conditions under which I have generally found 

 them to be most troublesome, and annoying to the bees, 

 indicate to my mind, that much of the difficulty encoun- 

 tered in wintering bees, may be due to their presence. 



It has long been claimed by our best writers on the sub- 

 ject of wintering, that one of the prime requisites for 

 success was perfect quiet. It has also been noticed by 

 many that while some swarms remained very quiet, others 

 could be heard buzzing, and would be constantly uneasy. 

 The fact that some were quiet, shows that the uneasi- 

 ness was not due to any external disturbance. It has 

 often been a subject of much perplexity to me why these 

 different conditions should exist. 



Some writers have advised setting such restless swarms 

 upon tlieir summer stands for a purifying flight, and this 

 may be desirable, inasmuch as they have necessarily been 

 stimulated to a large consumption of food by this undue 

 excitement ; but the original cause of this disturbance 

 has not yet been understood. 



I have found such swarms clearing the dust from the 

 bottom boards, and upon examining it as they had 

 thrown it from the entrance, I discovered these par- 

 asites in large numbers which had been ejected from the 

 hive. I find the Italians much more liable to be dis- 

 turbed by them than the natives. Their tendency to de- 

 fend themselves is here majiifest, and they are more 



