CHAPIER I 



OF BEE STINGS 



Everyone knows that the bee possesses a sting, but it is the bee- 

 keeper who is more likely to enjoy intimate contact with her weapon 

 of defence. He should, therefore, endeavour to understand some- 

 thing of its nature, anatomy and its manner of use. More particularly 

 he should learn how to avoid irritating the bee into using her sting. 



However much we may deprecate the presence of a sting it 

 should not be overlooked that in its natural state a bee is often hard 

 put to defend its home. This is usually in the hollow of a tree, or 

 possibly an even more exposed situation where robbers of all kinds, 

 from bears to wasps, can gain comparatively easy access. Even 

 under domestication the bee's right to defend its home, and above 

 all, its hardly -won winter stores upon which the survival of the colony 

 itself depends cannot be disputed. It is, in fact, desirable for 

 otherwise the honey harvest would soon become common property 

 among the denizens of the field were the bee to lose her hereditary 

 weapon of defence. It is, therefore, up to man's superior knowledge 

 and mastery over living creatures to circumvent such comparatively 

 light hazards that he may enjoy the fuits of the bees' industry. 



Painful though the results of a bee sting may be, they are not 

 harmful to human beings, except in a very few cases only, and 

 recovery is usually quite soon. On the other hand, the bite or 

 sucking of some insects, even though scarcely noticed at the time, 

 may entail serious consequences, as for instance, malaria from the 

 bite of a mosquito. 



The sting itself is described and illustrated with great detail 

 in so many of the text books on bees, that the reader who wishes to 

 study its anatomy at greater length should first peruse Cheshire's 

 beautifully written classic ^, followed either by Snodgrass' somewhat 

 scientific treatise ^ or Herrod-Hempsall's popular works ^. 



The beginner can, however, with profit, learn much himself by a 

 careful study of the posterior end of a bee. In the first place, it 

 should be remembered that he is studying Nature at close hand — • 

 with a realisation of the purpose and meaning of this important 

 organ. 



With a little dexterity and practice, a bee may be picked up by 

 its thorax, and the manner of the sting in operation may be observed 

 with safety — try handling drones first, if need be. The outraged 

 creature will not hesitate to use the subject under study and a tiny 

 thin reddish-brown pulsating object will be seen. On closer exami- 



ip. R. Cheshire. ^R. E. Snodgrass. ^W. Herrod-Hempsall . 



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