lli'J FOOD OF BEES. 



liiiney-bee. Larger insects, such as the bumble-bee, or smaller 

 .ones, as some wasps, enjoy it to the exchision of our favorites. 

 Yet in some seasons, we have seen bees working on red-ciover 

 bliiuni, and have attributed this to the corollas being shorter, 

 owing to drouth, or scant growth. Mr. Bonnier has discovered 

 that, in some such flowers, the nectar is sometimes so abundant 

 that the bees can reach it. It is true that insects, and even 

 bees, can tear the tender corollas of some blossoms, opposite 

 the honey receijtaele, tn reach the nectar, but this is of such 

 rare instance, in the honey-bee, that it cannot be considered 

 of any practical value. 



261. The honey, when harvested, is stored in the rear 

 of the hive, aboAe the brnod, and as near it as possible. 



When just gathered, it is loo watery to be preserved for 

 the use of the bees. To evaporate this water, they force a 

 strong current of all' thi'ough the hive, and the bee-keeper 

 can ascertain the days i>f large honey-yield, by the greater 

 roar of the bees in front of theii^ hive during the night fol- 

 lowing. If a strong colony is put on a platform scale, it will 

 be fdund, during the height of the honey-harve^t. to gain a 

 number of pounds on a p)leasaut day. Much of this weight 

 will be lost in the night, from the evapjoration of the newly- 

 gathered honey. A tliornugh upward ventilation, in hot 

 ^^•eather, will therefore cDutrilaite to increase the ripening of 

 honey (763). 



AVhen the cell is about full, the bees seal it with a flat cover 

 or cap]iing made of wax. This capping is begun at the lower 

 edge of the cell, and is raised gradually, as the honey is de- 

 ]M]sited within, till the cell is entirely sealed. These cappinus 

 being flat, depressed, or uneven, are easily distinguished from 

 the caps of the brood, which are convex and of a darker color. 



262. Are the ca^is of the honey-cells air-tight? 



The ca]is of the brood-cells, made of pollen and wax, are 

 undoubtedly porous enough to allow the air to reach the 

 lar^■a ; and some Apiarists question the imjierviousness of the 

 sealing nf honey-comb. Mr. Cheshire himself, while of npinion 

 that "the bee aims at coinpact coverings for her honey,'' says 

 that "not more than ten per cent of these are absolutely im- 



