Xatural History of the Honeybee. ' 9 



as it doubtless is, the view (mentioned also by Bethe) that the queen takes on the hive 

 odor of the queenless colony in which she is placed in a cage, is not correct in all cases, 

 for the colony is "scented" by the strong odor of the queen, which is distinctly perceptible 

 to our sense of smell. Very rightly, therefore, O. von Rath' 3 says that "the workers 

 first accustom themselves to the odor of the queen.' > The stronger, then, the exhalation 

 from the queen, the more easily must be her acceptance, or scenting of the colony proceed; 

 and consequently the mutual friendliness also. I find from many investigations that a 

 mated queen heavily laden with eggs is more easily accepted than an unfertilized one. The 

 following rules 34 of bee-keeping harmonize with this statement: 1. "An unfertilized queen 

 is not accepted by many colonies if formerly they have* had a fertilized one." 2. "The 

 older a queen is, the more readily is she accepted. " 3. " Weak colonies accept queens more 

 easily than strong ones." 4. "Queens of the same kind are accepted with less difficulty 

 than those of different varieties; as for example, Italians, Caucasians, Cyprians, etc." Here 

 in every case the different odor of each variety plays its part. 



It may seem obvious that it is easier to demonstrate this scenting, whether it be on only 

 cne side or mutual, with a weak colony, but here other instincts come into consideration 

 too, as we shall see further on. 



THE BROOD ODOR. 



It is highly probable that it is not only the odor of the queen at all times which 

 causes a queenless colony to enter a hostile camp (see p. 5), but during the monthsi of 

 greatest increase, from March to June or July, a powerful constituent! of the hive odor 

 is the odor of the brood, a warm characteristic vapor exhaling from the thousands of 

 brood-cells. The chemical processes going on at this time in the cells for the development 

 of the larvae are of so intense a nature that) a temperature of 28 to 32° C. is maintained 

 in the brood-chamber. On spring days this exhalation from the brood, which smells like 

 freshly baked bread, may be perceived some distance away in the direction of the wind. 

 Very probably this strong odor sets free the same reaction in queenless and broodless 

 colonies as the queen odor does; but as such colonies always go over to the queen-right 

 colony, even if there is no brood at all or only a minimum amount, so in spite of this 

 vapor from brood and pabulum (the larva? swim in food), it is very likely the queen odor 

 and the humming of the queen-right colony which are of first importance. 35 



Bat, on the other hand, the attachment of the bees to the brood is very strong, as 

 may be seen from the fact that an unruly swarm, which has already withdrawn from one 

 unaccepted hive, will certainly remain if a frame of brood is hung in it. Again, swarms 

 can often be enticed from an undesirable place for capturing them (the middle of a 

 hedge, for example), by means of a frame of brood. 36 



THE INDIFFERENT ODOR OF YOUNG BEES. 

 Young bees, particularly those just emerging, have an apparently faint and indifferent 

 odor, and they are, therefore, not attacked in a strange colony; the same thing is true 

 of young queens. In cutting out queen-cells, it happens repeatedly that the young queens 

 which are entirely or nearly "ripe" free themselves from their compartments. I: such 

 a queen is immediately allowed to run through the entrance of a queenless colony, the 

 queening is usually successful. This depends, perhaps, upon the fact that, as described, 

 the individual odor is not yet developed, analogous to the similar indifferent "infant odor," 

 and that the common reaction-loosing hive. odor has adhered but little so far. It is curious 

 that there are colonies which will not allow themselves to be requeened;"' 7 then all artifices 

 are in vain. 



■'■ 3 O von Roth, Uel.er abnorme Zustande im Bienenvolk, Beriehte der Naturf Ges Freiburg i Br 

 8. Brl . 1894. - " ' M 



™ Dath-e, 1. c, p. 211. 



'■" The "constancy" of 1 ees to their queen, which is always the dominant instinct, manifests itself 

 ma Mai\irg' colcny Ly the fait that the queen is always the last to die; she is fed to the end l,v the 

 dying bees. In order to confirm this, I put a queen with a few bees and very little food into a box 

 covered with wire gauze. After forty-eight hours the bees were very weak; two days later only four 

 were still alive; the next day but one was living, while the queen was apparently as vigorous as ever 

 The last surviving worker lay on its side unable to crawl; but when the hungry queen' approached demanding 

 food, it tried feebly to join its proboscis to that of the queen in a vain attempt to give her food Fina'ly 

 the queen turned away; and when I looked again, half an hour later, the last worker was dead but the 

 qreen shoved no sign of weakness. I then put her back in the, colony. 



• T! Dathe, 1. c, p. 225 and 230. 



r7 Bienenwirtsch. Centralblatt, Jahrg. 28, Heft 19, p. 298, 1892. 



