GUARDING THE TREASURE 53 



being attacked there is a terrific uproar. Bees 

 dash about in all directions. If allowed to go on, 

 the whole apiary will soon be in a perfect turmoil. 

 The dead fall by hundreds, and woe betide any 

 bee-master who dares to go amongst the struggling 

 aerial armies unprotected. The only way to 

 subdue them is to take a garden syringe and 

 persistently pour water upon the combatants. 

 I have had a good half-hour's work with this 

 implement before I could reduce things to 

 anything like quietude. 



Nor are robber bees the only enemies which 

 give trouble at this time. Wasps have become 

 very numerous, and are formidable opponents. 

 Usually they attack only singly, hanging slyly 

 about the entrance in the cool of the evening, and 

 seizing an opportunity to dodge the sentries and 

 get inside and out again before they are discovered. 

 Wasps have a great advantage over bees in that 

 they are much more agile on the wing. Their 

 prey consists to a large extent of flies, which they 

 have to catch in order to feed their grubs, and 

 consequently they can dart here and there with 

 surprising agility. Moreover, they have no diffi- 

 culty, when they sting, in getting the barb out 

 and using it again, whereas a bee can seldom 

 succeed in doing so, but generally leaves it behind, 

 rupturing the abdomen in the process, and dying 

 a lingering death in consequence. Notwithstand- 

 ing these drawbacks, a bee will unhesitatingly hurl 



