AIANUAL OF THE APIARY. 269 



most of the lice. It assumes the semi-pupa state almost as 

 soon as tatched, and strangest of all, is, considering the size 

 of the bee on which it lives, and from which it sucks its nour- 

 ishment, enormously large. Two or three, and sometimes even 

 more, (the new Encyclopedia Britanica says 50 or 100), are 

 often found on a single bee. When we consider their great size 

 we cannot wonder that they very soon devitalize the bees. 



These, as yet, have done little damage, except in the south 

 of Continental Europe. The fact that they have not become 

 naturalized in the northern part of the Continent, England 

 or America, would go to show that there is something inimi- 

 cal to their welfare in our climate, especially as they are 

 constantly being introduced, coming as hangers-on to our im- 

 ported bees. Within a year I have received them from no 

 less than three sources — twice from New York and once 

 from Pennsylvania — each time taken from bees just received 

 from Italy. The only way that I could suggest to rid bees 

 of them would be to make the entrance to the hive small, so 

 that as the bees enter, they would be scraped off. 



IMPORTANT SUGGESTION. 



In view of the serious nature of this pest and the difficulty in 

 the way of its extinction, I would urge importers, and people 

 receiving imported queens, to be very careful to see that 

 these lice, which, from their size, are so easily discovered, 

 ' are surely removed before any queen harboring them is intro- 

 duced. This advice is especially important, in view of the 

 similarity in climate of our own beautiful South, to the sunny 

 slopes of France and Italy. Very likely the lice could not 

 flourish in our Southern States, but there would be great 

 cause to fear the results of its introduction into our Eldo- 

 rado, the genial States of the West. In California, they 

 might be even worse than the drouth, as they might come as 

 a. permanent, not a temporary evil. 



BEE HAWK — Libellula. 



This large, fine lace ving is a neuropterous insect. It_ 

 ■works in the Southern States and is called Mosquito-hawk. — 



