CHAPTER VIII. 
THE BEE MOTH. 
N some localities the bee moth is said to be very des- 
tructive, yet I regard the depredations of this insect 
as much less to be feared than some bee-keepers sup- 
pose. The bee moth is the agency provided by nature 
for returning back to the earth the contents of any hive 
when left by the bees, in the same manner that the flesh 
fly is the means provided for returning to the earth the 
carcass of any animal. 
I do not believe that a strong, healthy stock of bees 
was ever attacked and destroyed by the bee moth. The 
stock must from some cause become reduced in numbers 
so there are not bees enough to cover all the comb, before 
the moth will make an attack. But when the comb is 
unprotected, the moth follows the instinct of its nature, 
and deposits her eggs in it. The bees from some cause 
keep decreasing, and the moth continues depositing her 
eggs in the vacated comb, until the entire comb of the 
hive is a complete mass of vile worms, the progeny of the 
bee moth. 
About this time the bee keeper notices for the first 
time (for, if he is keeping bees on the old plan, he lets 
