THE ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF BEES. 67 



stand in your garden, a quarter whence other reasons should ne- 

 cessarily exclude poultry. 



Mice. — While the bees are vigorous, the field-mouse, does not 

 dare attack the hive ; but as the cold approaches, and the bees 

 become less active, he enters, and commencing with the lower 

 comb, ascends by degrees as the bees become torpid, until he 

 either clears all away, or by the smell of the honey he has wast- 

 ed on the board, induces other bees to come and plunder. As 

 soon as the warm weather returns, the surviving bees will leave 

 the hive in disgust. The remedy is easy. By having your straw 

 hives, if you use such, coated on the exterior with Roman ce- 

 ment, you will prevent mice from nestling in the straw, whence 

 otherwise they would speedily eat their way into the interior, and 

 by narrowing the entrance of the hive in the manner already de- 

 scribed, you will effectually keep out these little intruders. If 

 your stands be placed on a sina'le foot, or if the feet are so 

 placed under the foot board as to leave a wide, projecting ledge, 

 no mice can arrive at the hive. 



Toads will kill bees occasionally, but not in sufficient numbers 

 to excite our alarm ; but is rather to be regarded as a friend to 

 the bees, one of their enemies, the spider, being his favorite food. 



Frogs may be classed with Toads. 



Snails and Slugs. — These creatures are not absolutely enemies 

 of bees, as they have no design upon them or their honey in en- 

 tering the hi^e, but merely do so from accident. The mischief 

 done by them consists in the alarm and confusion they occasion. 

 The bees first attack the unfortunate intruder and kill him with 

 their stings, after which they carefully encase him in propolis, 

 effectually preventing putrefaction or the production of maggots. 



Caterpillars. — The most dreaded is the caterpillar of the 

 Wax-moth, so called from the ravages it makes amongst the 

 combs as soon as it obtains entrance. By having the legs of the 

 stand placed as I have already described, no caterpillar can climb 

 up to the hive ; but this will not prevent the Moth herself from 

 entering and depositing eggs in the hive ; and so prolific are 

 these moths, that a single brood would suffice to destroy a 

 whole' stock. Periodical fumigation, and cutting away such 

 combs as contain the grubs, is the remedy to be adopted. Moths 

 are only nocturnal enemies. During the day you have nothing 

 to fear from their attacks. Let the entrance to the hive, there- 



