174 The Honey-Makers 



cobwebby mass of most disagreeable and dirty appearance, 

 totally destroying the swarm of bees. 



Seen with an unprejudiced eye, the wax-moth is a pretty, 

 silky-gray little creature that darts about with amazing swift- 

 ness, but probably no bee-keeper has ever looked at it dis- 

 passionately, as it is one of the worst pests he has to con- 

 tend with. 



The list of those that relish honey and take it at the ex- 

 pense of the bee would not be complete without adding 

 that according to report the native Mexicans were once 

 fond of taking their honey along with the bee, eating eggs 

 and larvse, and that to this day the Hottentots do the same. 



In the " Curious History of Insects " we read the 

 following : — 



" Bees have also been employed as an article of food. 

 Knox tells us that the natives of Ceylon, when they meet 

 with a swarm of bees hanging on a tree, hold burning torches 

 under them to make them drop ; and so catch and carry 

 them home where they boil and eat them, in their estimation, 

 as excellent food." 



Again, — 



" Peter Martyr, speaking of the Caribbean Islands, says : 

 ' The inhabitants willingly eat the young bees, rawe, roasted, 

 or sodden.' " 



And, — 



" Bancroft tells us that when the negroes of Guiana are 

 stung by bees, they in revenge eat as many as they can 

 catch." 



In White's " Natural History of Selborne " we read of an 

 idiot boy whose only intelligence was shown in skill in bee- 

 catching. He would catch the bees in his fingers and eat 

 them for the honey in their sacs. He would overturn hives 

 for the sake of honey, and like the tomtit would rap at the 

 entrance and catch the sentinels when they came forth. 



