BEE 



BEE 



hive. But thefe obnoxious creatures cannot be entirely ex- 

 tirpated without taking away the infeftcd hive, removing 

 ttie bees, and cleanlinfj it, before it is reftored to the former 

 liation. The liee of bees are of a flcnder fhape, or filiform, 

 and of a ferrii;jinous colour, and may be dci^royi. J by ilrew- 

 iiig tobacco over the bees. In a wild ilate the common ho- 

 ney-bee inhabits the cavities of hollow trees, vvliere they 

 are unavoidably expofed to a prodigious hod of enemies, 

 flpecially field and wood-mice of every defcription, rats, 

 i>:id birds. Of tlie bird tribe in particular, lome fpecics are 

 fiippofed to feed exclufivdy on bees, fuch as the honey- 

 buzzard {faJco apivonis), the European bee-eater {mtrops 

 (iplqjlcr), Sec. woodpeckers, the kingfifher, and many others: 

 th.ey do not feed, indeed, exclufively on them, as is ima- 

 gined, but they are formidable enemies to the bees in a wild 

 (late. The animals and birds which prey upon exotic ho- 

 ney-bees are numerous likewife ; of this kind we might in- 

 ftance the various fpecies of ant-eattrs {myrmecopha^^.s), the 

 black bear [urfus arSos), the honey cuckow [cucu/us indica- 

 tor), peacocks, &c. 



Bees, Maladies of. In the fpring the bees are fubjeft to 

 a kind of dyfcntery, which proves often fatal. The mat- 

 ter which they void at this time, when fo affefted, inftead 

 of being of a reddifh yellow colour, is of a muddy black, 

 and has an intolerable fmell. Columella fuppofed this an- 

 nual diltemper to be occafioned by the bees extrafting too 

 freely the juices from the bloflbms of the fpurge and elm 

 trees, or, as others believe, from the lime tree. There are 

 writers who, dilTenting from this opinion, attribute it to 

 the quantity of new honey, of which they are known to eat 

 to excefsat thatfeafon of the year. Again, others imagine 

 that it is caufed only by their long (lay. in the hive during 

 the winter, when they are conftrained to feed on tlie coarfe 

 wax, if their honey fails to afford them a fufficient quantity 

 of food. Madame Vicat, in the " Memoires, &c." of the 

 Berne Society for 1764, afcribes this diftcmper to the honey, 

 which the cold has candied in the hive during winter. The 

 true caufe of this diilempcr feems to be unknown ; but it 

 is certainly contagious and very dellruftive. A good reme- 

 dy for it was long unknown. Ariftomachus recommends the 

 removal of the vitiated combs. For the recovery of the bees 

 affeclcd with this dillemper, a new remedy has been adopted 

 upon the continent : they prepare a fyrup compofed with an 

 equal quantity of good wine and fugar, which is adminiftercd 

 to the bees in every hive, either by pouring it into the cells, 

 fw placing it within the hive in a faucer, or any other (liaU 

 lovv veficl ; this has been found an excellent reftorative. 



About the end of the fpring, another diforder fometimes 

 makes its appearance, which Du CarnedeBlangy calls a "ver- 

 tige," or vertigo. This is fuppofed to be occafioned by the ve- 

 nomous properties of certain plants on which they feed. The 

 fymptoms are manifelled by a dizzy manner of flight, by their 

 involuntary llartings, falls, and other geftures, in attempt- 

 ing to perform their ufual operations, or in approaching the 

 hive, and by the lafiitude that fucceeds thefe fymptoms. 

 This diltemper has been hitherto found incurable. 



Bees are liable to a third diftcmper, the fymptoms of 

 which are a fwelling at the extremity of the antennse, which 

 becomes alfo much inflamed, and of a yellow colour; the head 

 affuming {hortly after the fame tint, the bees lofe their vivacity, 

 and languilh till they die, unlefs a proper remedy be applied. 

 In France, they give tliem Spanilhwine for this diforder. 



There is Hill another diftemper which fometimes makes its 

 appearance among bees, for which the continental agricultu- 

 rahlls adminifter Spanifh wine, as in the former cafes. This 

 is a kind of peftilence by which many bees are cut off. It 

 happens when the queen bee has placed the eggs carclefsly 

 ia the comb, fo that the larvs perilh in the cells, or that 



they are killed by the cold, or bad management in noiiriHi'iig 

 and feeding them ; wlien numbers die, and infcdl the rcll. 

 The only attention requiiite in this cafe is to take away the 

 infefted combs, fcent the hive with the perfume of aromatic 

 plants, and give them tlie wine to lip, as above mentioned, in 

 order to (Irengthen and rcftore them from their ficknefs. 



For the methods of preferving bees in hives and boxei, and 

 for collcfling the produce of their labour, fee Hive, Honey, 

 and Wax. 



Honey-Bees, Varieties and Species of. The cultlvption 

 of tlie common honey-bee, in the wanner countries of Eu- 

 rope, being an objeft of the utmoft confequence to the-far- 

 mer, every means that ingenuity could devife to improve 

 the breed and management of thefe profitable creatures have 

 been adopted, and with fuccefs. They diftinguifh three 

 kinds or varieties of the common bee [apis mellifica). Tlie 

 firfl is large, and of a deep brown colour ; the fecond is 

 fmallerand blackifli; thofeof the third fort called " the little 

 Flemings," or " little Hollanders," are much fnidller than 

 either, and of a fine glofiy yellow colour. It is the latter 

 that is very generally cultivated on the continent at this time. 

 Apis mellifica is an European infeft. Mr. Hunter fuppofes 

 it an inhabitant of Afia and Africa alfo ; its appearance in 

 America may be accounted for on the prefumption that it 

 was originally introduced there from Europe, and in the 

 courfe of time has become completely habituated to tliatv 

 climate. It is faid to have been originally peculiar to the 

 continent of Europe, but this will admit of doubt. In 

 thofe parts of Afia and Africa nearcft to the fouth of Eu- 

 rope, they cultivate the fame kind as ourfclves. There are 

 fome other fpecies of bees domefticated like the common 

 bee with us, in different parts of the world ; and others 

 again, whofe wax and honey are fought after by the na- 

 tives, who do not care to take the charge and trouble of 

 domefticating them. In Cayenne and Surinam, the fpecies 

 called by Olivier amahhea, is an abundant and mod profitable 

 creature. This little bee is of a black colour, with white 

 wings and long pollerior feet. They build their neft, in 

 the ihape of a bag -pipe, upon the tops of the highefl trees. 

 The honey is very fweet and agreeable, and thin, and of a 

 reddifh colour. From the latter the Indians extratl a fpiri- 

 tuous liquor, of which they are paflionately fond ; of the 

 wax they make candles. This is fuppofed to be the fmall 

 black innoxious wood-bee of Barrere, which is called ouano in 

 Cayenne. M. Latreille mentions this fpecies, and alfo ano- 

 ther, which he calls " I'abeille fociale" {apis fociedis),-a.ri^or.g 

 his " apiares domeftiques," an infeft rather fmaller than the 

 common honey-bee {meUifica), that is found in India. Spe- 

 cimens of it, he tells us, were received at the mufeum of 

 natural hiftory in Paris, among a colleftion of other infefts 

 from Bengal. If we are not millaken in the fpecies, the 

 fame kind was likewife introduced into the cabinets of the 

 curious in this country, about twelve months fince by Mr. 

 Fichtell, who found it to be very commonly cultivated by 

 the inhabitants in the vicinity of Bengal. 



Wn.D Bees. Except thofe fpecies of the bee tribe which 

 are fubfervient to the purpofcs of human life, mankind has 

 fhewn a manifeil degree of inattention to this curious race of 

 creatures. Some few naturalifts have regarded them as ob- 

 jedls of amufement : and what the common obfervcr is con- 

 tent to name a wild bee, without further inquiry, is difcrimi- 

 natcd by them as forming many diftinft families ; each of 

 which have their peculiar manners and mode of lift, and dif- 

 play a greater or Icfs proportion of economy, fkill, indullry, 

 &c. by no means unworthy of being more minutely attended 

 to. Of the wild bees there are certain natural families, whofe 

 diftinftive charafters, in a fcientific point of view, have been 

 defcribed already ; they are diftinguifhed alfo by their man- 

 ners 



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