70 



BEES VS. FRUIT. 



I have, according to your instructions, repeated my experiments of 

 last year for testing the capacity of bees, under exceptional circum- 

 stances, to injure fruit ; adding such other tests and observations as 

 the very severe and protracted drought permitted. The house used last 

 season, 10 feet by 16 feet in size, having sides partly covered with wire 

 cloth and large screen doors in each end, was used again this year. 

 Two colonies of Italian bees, two of hybrids, one of Caucasians, and 

 two of Syrians were confined in this house. 



These colonies were without food in their hives and at intervals of 

 three or four days were fed a little sirup for the purpose of keeping up 

 their vigor and to prevent dying from starvation. A wood-stove was 

 placed in the house and a high temperature was maintained for a num- 

 ber of hours each day. 



The conditions incident to an unusually severe and protracted drought 

 were present within and without. The bees were repeatedly brought to 

 the stages of hunger, thirst, and starvation, the test continuing for 40 

 days. 



Through the favor of Mr. T. T. Lyon, president of the Michigan State 

 Horticultural Society, I obtained thirteen varieties of choice grapes 

 from A. G-. Gulley, of South Haven. Every inducement and oppor- 

 tunity was afforded the bees to appease their hunger and thirst by 

 attacking the fruit which was placed before them. Some of the bunches 

 of grapes were dipped in sirup and hung in the hives between the 

 the combs, some placed before the hives on plates, and grapes were 

 suspended in clusters from the posts and rafters. The bees lapped and 

 sucked all the sirup from the skins, leaving the berries smooth. 



They daily visited the grapes in great numbers and took advantage of 

 every crack in the epidermis or opening at the stem, appropriating to 

 their use every drop of juice exuding therefrom, but they made no at- 

 tempt to grasp the cuticle with their mandibles or claws. I removed the 

 epidermis carefully from dozens of grapes of various kinds and placed 

 them on plates before the hives. The bees lapped up all the juice on the 

 outside of the film surrounding the segments of the grape, leaving this 

 delicate film dry and shining, but through and beyond this film they 

 were not able to penetrate. I punctured the skins of grapes of all 

 kinds by passing needles of various sizes through the grape and placed 

 these before the bees. The needles used were in size from a fine cam- 

 bric needle to a packing needle. The amount of juice appropriated 

 was in proportion to the size of the opening in the skins and the num- 

 ber of segments of the grape broken. The same was true in the case 

 of grapes burst from over-ripeness. Bees are not only unable to pene- 

 trate the epidermis of the grape, but they also appear to be unable, 

 even when impelled by the direst necessity, to penetrate the film sur* 



