78 
small animals cannot move reversed, (feet up and back 
down,) it will be sufficient then, to guard against them, 
that the legs of the bench be placed about three inches 
from its border, and about two feet high.* cae ae 
‘The wrens and sparrows give no truce to their depreda- _ 
tions on bees. These birds are infinitely more injurious to _ 
them, than the moles and other animals of that class, be- 
cause their war is continual. In all seasons of the year, 
these birds watch the bees, and seize on them, sometimes — 
in mid air, and sometimes on the very benches of the hives. 
In winter, they may be seen rapping gently with their 
beaks, at the entrance of the hive, and as soon as the sen- 
tinel-bee appears, it is suddenly seized, and immediately 
carried off. The bird very soon devours its prey, and re- 
turns forthwith to watch for another. ) ee 
Another terrible enemy in summer, is the wasp. Itis —— 
continually flying around in front of the hives, skimming 
the ground, very little above the surface, and all bees 
which he meets alone and isolated, whether on the ground ~ 
or on the borders of the bench, become his victims. Hap- _ 
pily the wasp is as timid and cowardly, as he is cruel. He 
is afraid to introduce himself into the boxes, when the bees 
are in force. It is only when he knows the weakness of 
the population, that he dares enter the box. 2 
The more easily to destroy these mischievous wasps, the _ 
apiary should be kept neat and clean, that they may the _ 
more easily be discovered. Some morsels of meat, either 
raw or cooked, should be thrown down before the hive; of 
this they are very greedy, and when they are occupied on _ 
their pillage, they may be easily destroyed, by beating — 
them with a furze bush, or broom. Their retreats in the 
fields should be hunted and burnt. - ae 
Wasps dv. not exist.in winter. ‘They all perish at the 
end of autumn, by cold or famine. But at the end of June, 
or the beginning of July, the eggs of the preceding year, 
hatch, and produce new wasps. This is.a fact well veri- 
_ fied. ee 
Spiders, says M. Rosier, are inimical to. bees, not on 
their provisions, but on the bees. themselves. They are 
carnivorous, and not satisfied by honey, which they des- 
pise. If they can penetrate into the hive, unknown to the 
bees, they fix on some corner to spread their web, to en- 
* See page 90. How does this tally with legs ten inches high? 
