Natural History of the Honeybee. 15 



numerous bees flying in and out scented the queen, which remained entirely unnoticed 

 while the colony continued agitated. 



HEARING CAPACITY AND SENSATIONS OF SOUND. 



If we now conclude from the foregoing observations in what way the discontent 

 because of the absence of the queen, as well as the content because of her presence, is 

 communicated, and what the means of communication are,. we must conclude that the 

 odor is not the only factor. We have been able, on the one hand, to determine with rea- 

 sonable certainty that, if the odor were sufficient to inform the colony of the presence or 

 absence of the queen, no other special kind of communication need be used; on the other 

 hand, we saw indications of discontent (for example, the building of queen-cells) among 

 bees when a queen was present in a cage. So we see signs of peace or agitation in cases 

 where the influence of odor seems completely excluded. In all observations, when the 

 colony notices the absence of the queen there is always a change in the usual characteristic 

 sound in the hive, the bustle of the colony, if I may so express it. 



There is, therefore, not the slightest doubt in my mind that bees communicate with 

 each other by sound. The tone of " peace' ' attracts hive mates or quiets them; the louder 

 buzzing excites them; it disappears if the queen is given back. At the same time the 

 whole character of the colony changes, 49 the queenless irritable bees become quiet and 

 peaceful, and again take up their work, which was laid aside during the excitement. We 

 must admit the possibility of communication between bees by sound, therefore of hearing 

 capacity and sound sensations. 50 Each bee has the instinct to join in the tone of discon- 

 tent if it hears it; therefore if the absence of the queen is noticed; by one bee the agitation 

 is very quickly propagated throughout the colony. x 



How the first notice of the lack of a queen takes place is naturally, as before stated, 

 very difficult to determine — perhaps there are several possibilities. Often the absence of 

 the queen odor may bring about the result; it may be the absence of the characteristic 

 humming described, which the bees occupied with the queen produce. Further, it is 

 possible that the queen herself makes sounds, the absence of which is noticed. I have 

 never heard such a humming, but it is not impossible that such tones, not perceptible to 

 the human ear, exist. 



EXPERIMENTS ON SWARMS. 

 The following observations will show to what a great extent the means of communi- 

 cation between bees depend upon sound perceptions. The loud buzzing of swarms is 

 readily distinguished from the usual hum by anybody who has been occupied with bees 

 for any length of time. The swarm presses out from the hive in impetuous haste in the 

 peculiar swarm dance; it surges and whirls in " bacchanal delight," as if the bees were 

 really drunk with "joy." The "swarm dizziness, 77 as bee-keepers say, has seized it. In 

 this dizziness it forgets everything connected with the old dwelling, and bees even forget 

 to sting. 



"Swarming bees do not sting" is an old bee-keepers' saying. From this we get the 

 old fable that bees recognize the bee-master, because, generally, outsiders approach a 

 bee-hive only to see the interesting spectacle of a swarm, and then notice the bee-keeper, 

 often quite unprotected, quiet and composed, stand in the middle of the tumult without 

 being stung. 



The "Deutsche Bienenf reund, " 1894, reports the following: "A boy about ten years 

 old was standing near a hive, bare-headed and shirtsleeved, when a swarm issued. After 

 flying here and there, the queen alighted on the boy 's head, and thousands of bees quickly 



46 Careful observation will show that every colony has its particular character, which is determined 

 ln P art by. tne strength of the colony. On the other hand, we often see what are apparently great 

 differences in colonies of like strength. One colony is gentle; another constantly desines to sting. One 

 defends its hive entrance carefully; another almost not at all, although it ia a strong colony. One flies 

 constantly earlier than its neighbor, etc. Lubbock and Herman Muller have shown that individual bees 

 vary also. (Herm. Muller, " Versuche uber Farbenliebhaberei der Honigbiene," Kosmos, Jahrg. 6. Lubbock, 

 ' Ants, Bees, and Wasps," German translation published in Leipzig, 1883, English edition in the Inter- 

 national Scientific Series, New York, 1883.) 



50 In the attraction of a queenless colony into the hive of a queen-right one, then, perhaps, in the 

 first place the hearing capacity comes into question (see p. 5). the sound of the contented humming acts 

 as a powerful stimulus and causes the migration. 



