THE YOUNG NATUKALIST. 



39 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



The Bee's Sting a useful Tool. — From lengthened observations, Mr. 

 W. F. Clarke, a Canadian, has come to the conclusion that the most impor- 

 tant function of the bee's sting is not stinging, but its use by that wonderful 

 creature as a tool. Mr. Clarke says he is convinced that the important office 

 of the bee's sting is that which is performed in doing the artistic cell work, 

 capping the comb, and infusing the formic acid, by means of which honey 

 receives its keeping qualities. The sting is really a skilfully contrived little 

 trowel, with which the bee finishes off and caps the cells when they are filled 

 brimful of honey. This explains why honey extracted before it is capped 

 over does not keep well. The formic acid has not been injected into it. 

 This is done in the very act of putting the last touches on the cell work. 

 A.s the little pliant trowel is worked to and fro with such dexterity, the darts, 

 of which there are two, pierce the plastic cell surface, and leave the nectar 

 beneath its tiny drops of the fluid which makes it keep well. This is the 

 art preservative " of honey. Herein we see, says Mr. Clarke, that the sting 

 and the poison -bag, with which so many of us would like to dispense, are 

 essential to the storage of the luscious product, and that without them the 

 beautiful comb-honey of commerce would be a thing unknown. This is cer- 

 tainly a most wonderful provision of nature. — From Iron, 



Gryptokhyncus Lapathi. — During last summer, I noticed in one of my 

 rambles, a sallow bust that looked very sickly. On examination it proved to 

 be infested with the larvae of a beetle. I left it until last month, when 1 

 went and cut it down, it having died in the meantime, and brought it home, 

 on cutting it up I found it to be infested with Cryplorhyncus lajoathi in the 

 perfect state. It had undergone all its changes and lay dormant in its burrows, 

 from which I conclude it must pass from the larval state to the perfect insect 

 during the autumn months, and then lie dormant all the winter, making its 

 escape in the spring. I noticed in the thin branches the burrows which 

 extended from two to three inches in length were made straight up the branch, 

 but in the thicker branches, after going straight up for about an inch and 

 a half doubled back again a short distance from the other, so that they 

 usually finished near to its commencement, the burrows were not made into 

 the centre of the thick branches, but were made in the wood with a thin space 

 from the bark. Another thing I noticed, they had not made any preparation 

 for escaping the same as Rhagium bifasciatum does, the latter makes its 

 burrow wider at the end, and and leaves a very thin portion of wood, so that 

 it has not much difficulty in making its escape, whereas C. lapathi lie and 

 seem as though they had not made any preparation whatever. I got about 



