History of Bee Moth, ^t i 



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 favorable conditions there may be even three 

 broods a year. It is true that the varied conditions of tem- 

 perature — as the moth larvae may grow in a deserted hive, 

 in one with few bees, or one crowded with bee life — will 

 have much to do with the rapidity of development. Cir- 

 cumstances may so retard growth and development that 

 there may not be more than two, and possibly, 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 th:t a deserted hive is safe; neither of which asser- 

 tions is correct. I have seen hives whose bees were killed 

 by the severe winter, crowded with moth pupae or chrys- 

 alids the succeeding summer. I have subjected both larvae 

 and pupae to the freezing temperature without injuring 

 them. 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 w^inter in any one of the various stages, 

 though they generally 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 terrible pest. The late Dr. Kirtland, the able 

 scientist, and first president of our American bee associa- 

 tion, once said in a letter to Mr. Langstroth that the moth 

 was first introduced into America in 1805, though bees 

 bad been introduced long before. They first seemed to be 

 very destructive. It is quite probable, as has been suggested, 

 that the bees had to learn to fear and repel them; for,- un- 

 questionably, bees do grow in wisdom. In fact, may not 

 the whole of instinct be inherited knowledge, which once 

 had to be acquired by the animal? Surely bees and other 

 animals learn to battle new enemies, and vary their habits 

 with changed conditions, and they also transmit this knowl- 

 edge and their acquired habits to their offspring, as illus- 



