ENEMIES OF HONEY-BEES 145 



well to provide water close at hand; it saves considerable 

 wear and tear on the wings of the insects, and not much 

 time is lost journeying to and fro. 



ENEMIES OF HONEY-BEES. 



BEE-EATING BIRDS. 



The Australian apiarist often experiences consider- 

 able trouble from various bird visitors. The author 

 places the Sordid Wood Swallow (Fig. 63) {Artamus 

 tenehrosus) at the top of the class for bee-eating. These 

 birds, erroneously known as Summer birds, Martins, etc., 

 frequent the dead timber on the edge of the forests and 

 about the apiary. They are partly migratory and, during 

 summer and autumn — sometimes into winter — their 

 peculiarly graceful flight is a common spectacle. If 

 closely observed, they will be noticed making sudden 

 "swoops" and immediately after alighting, to knock off 

 on a tree limb, the abdominal segment of the bee con- 

 taining the sting. 



The author has often shot "Wood Swallows flying about 

 the apiaries, and opened them to search for traces of 

 bees ; in every instance the hard chitinous ' ' shells ' ' were 

 present. In fact no remains- of other insects were found 

 in the "crops" of a dozen or more examined. Wood 

 Swallows, when once they discover the fine supplies 

 afforded by the apiary, seldom if ever, fare forth in 

 search of other insects. In Fig. 63 the author has depicted 

 the Wood Swallow and its carelessly constructed nest of 

 fine twigs, horse hair, etc. The nest contains two or 

 three spotted eggs about Christmas time. 



Mr. Beuhne — of the Victorian Government service — 

 mentions the Masked Wood Swallow [Artamus 

 personatus) as destructive to bee life, but the majority 



