266 -MANUAL OF THE Al'IARY. 



severe winter, crowded with moth pupaa or chrysalids the' 

 succeeding summer. I have subjected both larvaa 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 unbanned, even outside 

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

 winter in any one of the various stages. 



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. Dr. Kirtland, the able scientist, the first Pres- 

 ident of our American Bee Convention, whose decease we 

 have just had to mourn, once said in a letter to Mr. Lang- 

 stroth, that the moth was first introduced into America in 

 1805, though bees had 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, unquestionably, bees do grow in wisdom. — 

 In fact, may not the whole of instinct be inherited knowl- 

 edge, 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 knowledge and their acquired habits to their offspring, 

 as illustrated by setter and pointer dogs. In time, may not 

 this account for all those varied actions, usually ascribed to 

 instinct ? At least, I believe the bee to be a creature of no 

 small intelligence. 



REMEDIES. 



In Europe, late writers give very little space to this moth. 

 Once a serious pest, it has now ceased to alarm, or even dis- 

 quiet the intelligent apiarist. In fact, we may almost call it 

 a blessed evil, as it will destroy the bees ot the heedless, and 

 thus prevent injury to the markets by their unsalable honey, 

 while to the attentive bee-keeper it will work no injury at 

 all. Neglect and ignorance are the moth breeders. 



As already stated, Italian bees are rarely injured by 

 moths, and strong colonies never. As the enterprising apia- 

 rist will only possess these, it is clear that he is free from 



