7G 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Fig. 1— nOHEY CELLS OF THE JICOTE, 
Stingless Bees of Central America. 
[Those who chanced to call at the Office of 
the American Agriculturist in August, last, had the 
pleasure of seeing two short logs, say 31- feet 
long and 10 to 12 inches in diameter, from an 
aperture in which there were issuing two kinds 
of bees, somewhat like our common bees in gen¬ 
eral form, but differing in size and color, one of 
the varieties being nearly as large as our bees, 
and the other hardly a fourth the size. From 
what we saw of them and learned of their his¬ 
tory and their habits in their native-country, we 
incline to the opinion that they may yet be in¬ 
troduced into our country, at least into the 
Southern or warmer portions of it, and perhaps 
prove a great acquisition. Aside from their prac¬ 
tical utility, they are interesting at least, and at 
our request, Mr. A. O. Moore, who brought 
these specimens, and who observed them some¬ 
what extensively in their native locality, has 
prepared for the Agriculturist the following notes 
and the accompanying engravings—E d.] 
The sting of the bee has been considered an ad¬ 
mirable contrivance, by which a weak and otherwise 
defenceless creature is enabled to guard from theft 
the sweet stores nature has entrusted to her; but 
there are thousands of persons constitutionally 
nenvous or sensitive to the effects of a sting, who 
would hail with pleasure an improvement in bee- 
cult nre whereby they might enjoy the sweets of the 
hive without its stings, and study its wonders with¬ 
out the danger of the excruciating wounds which 
are so severely 
inflicted, on the 
uninitiated at 
least, by the lit¬ 
tle community 
honored by the 
investigation. — 
Whether or not 
it is among fu¬ 
ture possibili¬ 
ties, that wc of 
this rigorous cli¬ 
mate shall ever 
be able to enjoy 
ihisbeekeoper’s 
millenium, it is 
interesting to 
know that in 
Central Ameri¬ 
ca, the forests 
everywhere, 
from the torrid 
sands of the sea¬ 
shore* to the 
colder mountain 
regions at least 
8,000 feet above 
the sea, abound 
with stingless 
bees of many va¬ 
rieties, which 
have been do¬ 
mesticated by 
the people, and 
produce honey 
of excellent 
quality, and in 
considerable 
quantities. The 
honey produc¬ 
ing bees indige¬ 
nous to that 
country, vary in 
size from the 
small yellow bee 
shown in fig. 8, 
to that in fig. (5, 
which is nearly 
as large as our 
common bee. 
They vary, too, 
in color;'yellow, brown, and black; black, with 
yellow legs, and yellow, with black legs. Some 
have stings too, but generally they are without. 
Some have a deliciously flavored, sweet honey; while 
that of others contains so much acid that, when 
mixed with water, it forms a refreshing drink very 
much like lemonade. In some places I found a 
stingless black variety 
that frequented the 
houses just as our flies 
do—which they closely re¬ 
semble, except that they 
have the good sense to go 
to their own homes when 
they have secured a 
“ pocketful,” and do not 
lodge upon the walls and 
furniture. The quantity 
of honey varies with the 
size of the bee, and the 
number in a colon)'. The 
smallest, produce only a 
teacupful in a year, while 
the largest produce from 
six to fourteen bottles of 
2j4 lbs. each. As far as 
my observations have ex¬ 
tended, however, they all 
resemble each other in 
their general habits and 
method of forming their 
brood cells and honey 
receptacles, and in these particulars differ very 
essentially from pur bees, which, as is well known, 
build their brood cells of wax; what is termed 
the comb, being a double tier of hexagonal tubes. 
The exception to this is in the cells intended for 
rearing the Queens or females. These are some¬ 
what irregularly egg-shaped. In the regular “ comb ” 
there are cells of two sizes, the smaller intended 
for the neuters or workers, the larger for the drones 
or males. The receptacles for honey are not differ¬ 
ent from thq brood cells. The drone cells are gen¬ 
erally elongated and used for the honey. In all 
these particulars the Central American bee is of 
different habits, as will be seen by the accompanying 
drawings, which, excepting Figs. 7, 8, and 0, were 
made from the largest variety I found, and the one 
most valued for the quality and quantity of its 
honey. In Costa Rica and Nicaragua, this variety is 
called Jicote (pronounced hce-co-ty). Passing through 
San Salvador, going northward, this variety was no¬ 
where to be seen; but in Guatemala', it reappeared in 
great abundance, and is 
there called “ Colmena 
grande ,” which merely 
means the large bee. The 
general character of the 
interior arrangements of all these bees is the same, 
the smaller bees having brood cells and honey re¬ 
ceptacles of a correspondingly small size,- so that, 
these drawings and descriptions will give the char¬ 
acteristics of all, at least of those which inhabit the 
cavities of trees. 
First, then, the brood-cells differ from those of 
our bee, in being arranged in single rows (see Fig. 3), 
but in tiers one above the other, having a space be¬ 
tween the'rows for the passage-of the bees. They 
are less distinctly hexagonal, being nearly circular, 
formed in part of a paper like substance, but 
strengthened and supported by wax, and the en¬ 
trance to each cell is closed by a- wax “cap ” dur¬ 
ing the transformation of the chrysalis. Envelop¬ 
ing the entire nursery department, are galleries 
formed of thin sheets of wax, which, in our engrav¬ 
ing, are removed partially to give a peep into their 
domestic arrangements. Two of the cells are open¬ 
ed so as to show the young imperfect bee within. 
The cells intended for rearing the Queens are larger 
than the others, and one is shown attached to a 
piece of brood comb in fig. 2. This, however, was 
taken from the hive of a smaller variety than those 
in fig. 3. I was unable to find any variation in the 
size of the bees, or of the brood cells, which would 
indicate the existence of three classes of bees, 
males, neuters, and females; and I feel convinced 
that the workers of the hive are males, and that 
probably the neuters or undeveloped females are 
wanting. Further investigations may, however, 
decide this question differently. 
The honey receptacles present still greater differ¬ 
ences as compared with those of our bee. Fig. 1, 
represents the interior of a log in which are a num- 
3—BROOD CELLS OF THE JICOTE. 
| her of these honey cells of about the natural size. 
I They are composed of a dark colored wax, somc- 
I what less solid than that of our bees, and are sup- 
OR STINC4LESS BEE. 
Fig. 2. 
