114 BEES—DO THEY ATTACK FRUIT? 
is only by careful watching' at intervals 
that they can be seen at their work. 
In order to determine their presence the 
observer should go away from the grape¬ 
vine about 50 or perhaps 100 feet. The 
early morning hours are the most favor¬ 
able for catching the miscreant at work. 
The Cape May warbler is a shj^ little fel¬ 
low, and he will not usually show himself if 
any one is near the vines. It is for that 
reason that the bird is seen on the grapes 
only at brief intervals; and the bees, work¬ 
ing on the bunches all day, get the blame 
for all the damage. 
CRACKED. AND PUNCTURED SKINS OP FRUIT. 
Bees will not attack or bite thru the skin 
of sound fruit. From a physiological 
standpoint they are unable to do this, and 
they never do; but bees will suck the juices 
out of overripe grapes and other fruits, 
which, after a brief period of hot weather 
and frequent rains; develop so rapidly that 
their skins crack. Such fruit is already 
damaged* and would not keep very long. 
In the case of overripe grapes where the 
skins have cracked; bees will do damage. 
Such overripe fruit has a market value 
if sold at once. Before it is picked, the 
bees will visit the bunches and leave noth¬ 
ing but shriveled skins. In this particular 
case bees ruin the sale of fruit already 
damaged but having a market value if sold 
imm'ediately. 
Bees are often wrongly blamed on ac¬ 
count of the work done by other insects 
equipped with cutting jaws, and by cer¬ 
tain varieties of birds. When the skin of 
any fruit is broken from any cause, the 
bees will suck out the juices, provided no 
honey is coming from the blossoms. 
Yellow-jackets are well equipped with 
cutting jaws. They are very fond of fruit. 
They will cut thru the skins, suck what 
juice they want, and, later on, the bees 
will visit the same punctures. The bees 
are, of course; more numerous; look like 
yellow-jackets; and are by the uninitiated 
given blame for all of the mischief—punc¬ 
turing as well as sucking the skin dry. 
Yellow-jackets are particularly numer¬ 
ous in the fall after a frost. They cut 
thru the skins of fruit unpicked; and the 
bees, because the frost has killed natural 
sources of nectar, will help themselves to 
fruit juice made available by the previous 
act of the yellow-jackets. 
For further information regarding 
grape-puncturing birds, refer to bulletins 
by Dr. Merriam of the United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, Washington, 
D. C. 
WHEN BEES MAY DAMAGE FRUIT. 
But there are times when bees are a nui¬ 
sance, and it is then that their owner should 
compromise; or, better still, seek means to 
avoid trouble in the first place. In the 
fruit-drying ranches of California, apri¬ 
cots and peaches are cut up into small 
pieces and laid upon trays exposed to the 
sun’s rays. If there is a dearth of honey at 
this time, and a large number of bees in 
the locality, this fruit may be attacked. The 
bees may visit it in such large numbers 
that they suck out the juices, leaving noth¬ 
ing but the shriveled form of the fruit. 
The property is, of course, damaged, and 
its sale ruined. Before anything of this 
kind can happen, the beekeeper should 
move his whole yard to a point three or 
four miles distant from any fruit-drying 
operations. Failing to do so the fruit¬ 
grower, if the bees caused trouble, might 
enter suit for damages, and possibly re¬ 
cover the value of his crop. 
Years ago we had trouble with a cider- 
maker. He claimed that our bees would 
lick up the cider from the press as fast as 
he could make it. We easily adjusted this 
difficulty by screening his building with 
mosquito netting. 
In every case of this sort the owner of 
bees should avoid trouble. In the case of 
the fruit-drying ranches and the cider 
mills, the beekeeper had better err on the 
safe side by avoiding suit for damages, be¬ 
cause no lawyers would be able to give 
much assistance where it was clearly proven 
that the bees were doing an actual damage. 
BEES EXONERATED BY A JURY. 
In 1900, trouble arose at Amity, N. Y., 
between two brothers named Utter. One 
was a beekeeper and the other a fruit¬ 
grower. The latter averred that the for¬ 
mer’s bees punctured his peaches, and, in 
consequence of the alleged damage, he 
claimed he was unable to raise any fruit. 
There ha4 not been very good feeling be- 
