MANUAL OP THE APIAKY. 271 



(Fig. 110), that works on J)ees. I have never seen these, 

 though I have repeatedly requested those who have, to send 

 them to me. My friend, Mr. J. L. Davis, put some sick 

 looking bees into a cage, and hatched the flies which he told 

 me looked not unlike a small house fly. It is the habit 

 of these flies, which belong to the same family as our house 

 flies, which they much resemble, to lay their eggs on other 

 insects. Their young, upon hatching, burrow into the insect 

 that is being victimized, and gvoyr by eating it. It would 

 be difficult to cope with this evil, should it become of great 

 magnitude. We may well hope that this habit of eating 

 bees is an exceptional one with it. 



SPIDERS. 



These sometimes spread their nets so as to capture bees. 

 If porticoes — -which are, I think, worse than a useless ex- 

 pense — are omitted, there will very seldom be any cause for 

 complaints against the spiders, which on the whole are friends. 

 As the bee-keeper who would permit spiders to worry his bees 

 would not read books, I will discuss 'this subject no further. 



ANTS. 



These cluster about the hives in spring for warmth, and 

 seldom, if ever, I think, do any harm. Should the apiarist 

 feel nervous, he can very readily brush them away, or destroy 

 them by use of any of the fly poisons which are kept in the 

 markets. As these poisons are made attractive by adding 

 sweets, we must be careful to preclude the bees from gaining 

 access to them. As we should use them in spring, and. as we 

 then need to keep the quilt or honey-board close above the 

 bees, and as the ants cluster above the brood chamber, it is 

 not difficult to practice poisoning. One year I tried Paris- 

 green with perfect success. 



WASPS. 



I have never seen bees injured by wasps. In the South, 

 as in Europe, we hear of such depredations. I have received 

 wasps, sent by our southern brothers, which were caught 

 destroying bees. The wasps are very predacious, and do- 



