OR, MANUAL OF THB APIARY. 485 



nearly one and one-fourth inches. The females are darker 

 than the males, possess a longer snout, and are usually a little 

 larger. The wings, when the moths are quiet, are flat on the 

 back for a narrow space, then slope very abruptly. They rest 

 by day, yet, when disturbed, will dart forth with great swift- 

 ness, so Reaumur styled them "nimble-footed." They are 

 active by night, when they essay to enter the hive and deposit 

 their one or two hundred eggs. If the females are held in the 

 hand they will often extrude their eggs ; in fact, they have 

 been known to do this even after the head and thorax were 

 severed from the abdomen, and, still more strange, while the 

 latter was being dissected. 



It is generally stated that these are two-brooded, the first 

 moths occurring in May, the second in August. Yet, as I have 

 seen these moths in every month from May to September, and 

 as I have proved by actual observation that they may pass 

 from egg to moth in less than six weeks, I think under favor- 

 able conditions there may be even three broods a year. It is 

 true that the varied conditions of tetaperature — as the moth- 

 larvse may grow in a deserted Ijive, in one with few bees, or 

 one crowded with bee-life — will have much to do with the 

 rapidity of development. Circumstances may so retard growth 

 and development that there may be, not more than two, and pos- 

 sibly, in extreme cases, not more than one brood in a season. 



It is stated by Mr. Quinby that a freezing temperature 

 will kill these insects in all stages, while Mr. Betsinger thinks 

 that a deserted hive is safe ; neither of which assertions is 

 entirely correct. Still, I believe exposure of combs to cold the 

 winter through would kill most, if not all, of the bee-moth 

 larvae. I believe, in very mild winters, the moth and the 

 chrysalids might be so protected as to escape unharmed, even 

 outside the hive. It is probable, too, that the insects may pass 

 the winter in any one of the various stages, though they gen- 

 erally exist as pupae during the cold season. 



HISTORY. 



These moths were known to writers of antiquity, as even 

 Aristotle tells of their injuries. They are wholly of Oriental 

 origin, and are often referred to by European writers as a 



