198 HANDLING BEES. 



If the hands are wet with honey, they will seldom be stung. 



388. All woolen clothes are more objectionable to bees 

 than linen or cotton, for wool resembles the hair of animals, 

 being made of it, while linen or cotton resembles the twigs 

 and leaves of plants, being made of vegetable fibre. Butler 

 says: 



' ' They use their stings against sueh things as have outwardly 

 some offensive excrement, such as hair or feathers, the touch 

 whereof provoketh them to sting. If they alight upon the hair 

 of the head or beard, they will sting if they can reach the 

 skin. When they are angry their aim is most commonly at 

 the face, but the bare hand that is not hairy, they will seldom 

 sting, unless they be much offended." — ("Feminine Monarchy," 

 1609.) 



389. In handling bees, it is not always necessary to com- 

 pel them to fill themselves with honey. With the quiet Italians 

 (551), a few puffs of smoke, at the entrance, when opening 

 the hive, and occasionally on the combs, if they show any dis- 

 position to anger, are quite sufficient to keep them down. 

 Some of our best Apiarists often open their hives and handle 

 the bees without smoke. It takes practice, patience and firm- 

 ness. 



While the timid, if unprotected, are almost sure to be stung, 

 there is something in the fearless movements of a skillful 

 operator, that seems to render a colony submissive to his will. 



390. Some races, however, like the Cyprian (559), can- 

 not be controlled without a cloud of smoke, but they promptly 

 retreat before the overpowering argument of a good smoker. 



391. Bees can be handled at all times ; but they are quietest 

 in the middle of the day. At such a time, the old bees, which 

 are the crossest in the colony, are out in the field. In cold, 

 cloudy, or stormy weather, they are most irritable, especially 

 if there is a scarcity of honey, as the lurking robbers (664) 

 excite the bees. Old bees that come home loaded, are not cross, 

 while those going out empty, are easily angered. During a 

 plentiful honey flow, when the hives are crowded for room. 



