BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
If a Queen Bee be dissected, in her abdominal cavity will be found, in juxtaposition, a pair of organs called "the Ovaries;" these are composed of a multitude of tubes styled "the Ovigorous Tubes," all full of eggs in every stage of growth, from the full-sized egg just ready to lay, to those that are yet very minute. All these tubes lead to a channel called "the Oviduct," each ovary having its own duct;but these soon unite into one common channel; just below this junction is a little globular sac called "the Spermat," about 1-39rd of an inch in diameter, covered with a beautiful white network of trachea, or air tubes, and communicating by a small open duct with the main oviduct, before the mouth of which every egg must pass on its passage to the cell. Like the females of all insects, the Queen Bee has sexual intercourse but once in her life, and in the act of union with the Drone this little sac is filled with the seminal fluid by an infinitesimal portion of which each egg destined to produce a Worker or Queen becomes fertilized by the penetration of the egg's substance by one or more spermatozoa; every egg that does not become so fertilized is not barren or added, but produces a Drone, and the Queen seems to have the power to prevent the fertilization of her eggs at her will, although how this is accomplished has not been satisfactorily determined. It has been suggested that the extrusion of the seminal fluid from the spermatheca requires abdominal pressure, which the construction of Worker cells affords, and the larger size of the Drone cells does not; this theory has been combatted by saying, the Queen will often lay eggs on the floor of cells whose walls are not yet built; but I do not know that it has been proved that these eggs were allowed by the Bees to hatch; and it is well known where eggs are dropped or placed in undesirable places they will eat them.
To demonstrate that unfertilized eggs will hatch and produce Drones, and Drones only, is easy. Observation has proved that unless a young Queen becomes impregnated during the first three weeks of her life, she becomes incapable of receiving impregnation; and though she continues laying, all her eggs produce but Drones; a Drone-breeding Queen is a common occurrence in an apiary of any extent, and is of course a misfortune, as no Workers being forthcoming to replace the dead, the colony will become extinct. And, again, if for the sake of experiment the Apiarian late in the autumn causes the Bees of a hive to rear Queens, which I have shown can be easily done, there being no Drones about, impregnation becomes impossible, and the Queen becomes a Drone breeder. These facts are taken advantage of by breeders of Ligurian Queens, who contrive to keep Queens in their apiaries who breed nothing but Drones, and so they have abundance ready to fertilize late-bred Queens when they would otherwise naturally be unable to meet with a mate.
To dissect out the spermatheca of a Queen is an easy task to any one who has a moderately delicate sense of touch and a microscope. It is only necessary with a couple of needles to separate the last two or three segments of the abdomen, and with the needles turn out the contents on a slip of glass. With a magnifying glass may now be found the little sac of a whitish-yellow colour; and with the assistance of a microscope this should be placed on a small drop of warm water previously put on a clean glass slip, crushed with a needle and immediately covered with a thin glass cover, now under a quarter of an inch objective; if the Queen was impregnated the characteristic contorted movements of the spermatozoa may be seen in countless thousands forming a strange and wonderful sight. The spermatheca of a virgin Queen contains only a transparent fluid. I have verified the impregnation of a Queen
See months after her decease by simply soaking her abdomen in water for a few hours, when the spermatozoa may be easily found. My illustrious namesake, John Hunter, the great anatomist, in conjunction with Sir Everard Home, performed a series of experiments in attempting to impregnate the eggs of Bees and other insects after they had been deposited by the female; he succeeded with the Silkworm Moth but failed with the Bee. The facilities we have now for such experiments are many times greater than he had; and I believe it possible that if eggs freshly laid in Drone cells be removed to Worker cells and then touched with a small camel-hair pencil, previously dipped in _diluteal_ seminal fluid obtained from the spermathecea of a Queen, the sex of the future young would be changed from male to female; and if so, Queens or Workers could be reared from them. Since I first broached this subject, I have read that Dr. Donhoff, of Germany, in 1855, reared a Worker larva from a Drone egg which he had artificially impregnated, and Langstroth tried the same experiment and failed, but he appears to have left the eggs in the Drone cells contrary to the plan of removal I suggest. Professor Siebold dissected a number of Worker eggs, and found in each from one to three spermatozoa, while he found none in Drone eggs.
This theory of Pathogenesis, or virgin breeding, in the Honey Bee, was first promulgated by Dzierzon in 1845, and has since been so abundantly verified that there remains not a shadow of a doubt as to its correctness. A Drone-breeding Queen, if unable to find Drone cells sufficient, will lay her eggs in Worker cells; the Bees produced will be perfect Drones but smaller,dwarfed by the size of the cells which could not contain a full-sized Drone.
Considering the multitude of Drones produced in a hive, and the few Queens, speculation naturally arises why this should be. I can only imagine that God in his unfathomable wisdom has so ordained it in order that the impregnation of the Queen, the life and soul of the hive, should be more certainly secured. Six or seven days after the Queen is born, she issues from her hive, takes wing, and after a good look at her home and its surroundings, for after recognition, speeds with rapid pinions on her nuptial excursion far away out of sight. Why should she do this when her own hive teems with Drones? Shortsighted man! Do you forget the law of Nature, that forbids the mingling of kindred blood without due penalty? Did she mate at home, the usual result of breeding in and in would ensue, and in a few generations the breed would perish ; but by flying far away she introduces fresh blood, and her progeny is the more vigorous. Breeders of Ligurian Queens soon find difficulty arise in keeping up the pure breed from the frequent Mesalliances of their Queens. It is said Drones will fly four miles away from home. If Drones were not bred in large numbers, how poor would be the chance of a successful termination to her majesty's excursion. Should the Queen be unsuccessful, she will go out again and again, sometimes, alas! failing to find her way back, or perhaps getting picked up by a bird ; in either case, if the stock has no eggs of sufficiently young larvae, and the state of affairs be not quickly discovered and remedied by the Bee-master, the fate of the colony is settled, it dwindles and dies. If, on the contrary, the Queen returns impregnated, she in two days usually commences her maternal duties, and never more leaves home until she accompanies a swarm and founds a new family. In populous and healthy stocks, young larvae or eggs may be found at least ten months in each year.
The possession of a hive of Bees affords a fund of material by which many instructive and amusing experiments may be carried out, and by which facts in natural history may be brought to light, perhaps small in themselves, but great in the aggregate.
Sir John Lubbock has initiated such experiments in endeavouring to arrive at a knowledge of how far Bees are endowed with power of communicating intelligence one to another--his conclusions are not very favourable to the Bees ; I give the Bees more credit for that power than he does, but have made no special observations to demonstrate the point. In a paper communicated to the Linnen Society, Sir John Lubbock says : "It " will be observed that the current statements with "reference to the language of social insects, depend " much on the fact that when one of them, either by "a accident, or in the course of its rambles, has discovered "a stock of food, in a very short time many others arrive "to profit by the discovery. This, however, does not "necessarily imply any power of describing localities. "If the Bees or ants merely follow their more fortunate "omrade, the matter is simple enough ; if, on the " contrary, others are sent, the case becomes very "different.
"In order to test this, I proposed to keep honey in "a given place for some time, to satisfy myself that it " would not be readily found by the Bees, and then after " bringing a Bee to the honey, to watch whether it * " brought others, or sent them--the latter of course "implying a much higher order of intelligence and "power of communication. "I therefore placed some honey in a glass, close to an "open window in my sitting room, and watched it for " sixty hours of sunshine, during which no Bees came " to it. "I then, at ten o'clock, a.m., in the month of June, "went to my hives and took a Bee which was just "starting out, brought it in my hand up to my room " (a distance of somewhat less than 200 yards), and " gave it some honey which it sucked with evident "enjoyment. After a few minutes it flew quietly "away, but did not return; nor did any other Bee " make its appearance. "The following morning I repeated the same experiment. At 7:15 I brought up a Bee which sipped "the honey with readiness, and after doing so for about "five minutes, flew away with no appearance of alarm " or annoyance. It did not, however, return, nor did any other Bee come to my honey. "On several other occasions I repeated the same experiments with a like result. Altogether, I tried it more than twenty times; and I am satisfied that these " Bees cannot all have lost themselves or met with " accidents. Indeed, I never found Bees to return if " brought any considerable distance at once. By taking "them, however, some twenty yards each time, they came to the honey. I at length trained them to " come to my room. On the whole, however, I found "it more convenient to procure one of Marriott's observatory hives, both on account of its construction, and also because I could have it in my room," and thus keep the Bces more immediately under my "own eye. My room is square, with two windows " on the south-wcst side, where the hive was placed, " and one on the south-east. Besides the ordinary " entrance from outside, the hive had a small postern " door opening into the room ; this door was provided " with an alighting board and closed by a plug ; as a " general rule, the Bces did not notice it much unless " the passage was very full of them.
" I then placed some honey on a table close to the " hive, and from time to time fed certain Bces on it. " Those which had been fed soon got accustomed to " come for the honey ; but, partly on account of my " frequent absence from home, and partly from their " difficulty in finding their way about, and their ten- " deney to lose themselves, I never could keep any marked " Bee under observation for more than a few days."
A little dab of oil or water-colour, put on with ; pencil on the insect's thorax or abdomen, will be found an efficient mark, and not difficult to apply when the Bee is engaged feeding.
That Bces can see of course does not admit of doubt. When a Bee leaves her hive for the first time, she flies backwards and forwards several times with her head turned towards it--evidently taking its bearings for recognition ; and then, however far she flies, returns straight home ; now if before her return the appearance of the hive be altered, she becomes evidently confused, but eventually enters ; if the hive be moved but a few inches, she gives the same indication of doubt, and will, if possible, alight on the old spot several times before she discovers her old home ; the acuteness of her sight does not, as we should think would be the ease, direct her at once to the hive she has been accustomed to, but **I** should rather say it is instinet that guides her to the old spot. Sir John Lubboek, who has experimented very patiently on the senses of Bees, took considerable trouble to ascertain if Bees can distinguish colour, and he comes to an affirmative conclusion by the following experiments : He placed some honey on slips of glass, resting on black, white, yellow, orange, green, blue and red papers ; a Bee, which was placed on the orange, returned twenty times to that slip of glass, only once or twice visiting the others, although the position and also the honey were moved. The next morning, two or three Bees paid twenty-one visits to the orange and yellow, and only four to all the other slips of glass. The glass was then moved, after which, out of thirty-two visits, twenty-two were to the orange and yellow. That they can distinguish blue was indicated by the following experiment :--
The colours were ranged in a line, with blue at one end. It was a cold morning, and only one Bee came ; she had been several times the preceding day, generally to the honey which was on the blue paper. This day, also, she came to the blue ; the blue was moved gradually along the line, one stage every half hour, during which time she paid fifteen visits to the honey, in every case going to that which was on the blue paper. The experiments seem pretty conclusive ; but how is it that English Black Bees do not kill strange Ligurians when two lots are united, if the characteristic odour of each has been destroyed? slaughter would undoubtedly have taken place, had the strangers been introduced without this precaution. They do not appear to notice the colour of the strangers.
**Naturalists have many times observed that insects, ants especially, communicate intelligence one to the other by crossing their antennae; and Huber has proved satisfactorily that in Bees these organs have the same use. He wished to ascertain whether, when the Bees had lost a Queen (intelligence of which traverses a whole hire in about an hour), they discovered the sad event by their smell, their touch, or any unknown means. He first divided a hive by a grate which kept the two portions about a quarter of an inch apart, so that they could not come at each other. Though sent would pass in that part in which there was no Queen, the Bees were soon in great agitation, and as they did not discover her where she was confined, in a short time they began Queen cells which quieted them. He next separated them by a partition through which they could pass their antennae but not their heads; in this case the Bees all remained tranquil, neither intermitting the care of the brood, nor abandoning their other employments, nor did they begin any royal cell. The way they assured themselves that their Queen was in the vicinity, and to communicate with her was, to pass their antennae through the openings of the grate. An infinite number of these organs might be seen at once, as it were, seeking in all directions, and the Queen was observed answering these anxious inquiries of her subjects in the most marked manner, for she was always fastened by her feet to the grate, crossing her antennae with those of the inquiers. That the antennae of insects are organs of intelligence is generally admitted, but in what manner intelligence is communicated has never been determined, probably through a sense of which we know nothing, and nevershall, any more than light can be comprehended by those born blind. The olfactory sense is highly developed in Bees ; by it they discover food, and know one another. But the sense of hearing is, probably, not very acute. The piping of an imprisoned Queen appears to be heard by the reigning monarch, as she seems to answer it ; but Sir John Lubbock, in relating his experiments, tells us that with the utmost efforts he could make with tuning-forks, whistles, violin, or shouting close to the head of the Bee, when all around was still, he never could obtain the slightest indication that the sounds were heard.
The visits of insects to flowers are of great importance in transferring the pollen from the stamens to the pistil, which are often situated in different flowers ; and without some such aid, fertile seed could not be produced.
"Go sip the rose's fragrant dew,
The lily's honied cup explore,
From flower to flower the search renew,
And rifle all the woodbine's store."
Darwin, in his _Origin of Species_, says, that red clover is wholly fertilized by Humble Bees, and as in Australia there are none, there they can never raise red clover seed. The Honey Bee plays a conspicuous part in this distribution of pollen, being incessantly engaged in rifling the flowers ; it becomes dusted with pollen which, adhering to the hairs with which the Bee is covered, is carried from flower to flower. Sir John Lubbock in his work _British_ _Wild Flowers in relation to Lissects_,
'says : "To the honey are due the visits of insects ; the " sweet scent and bright colours of the flowers attract " them, the lines and circles on the corolla guide them " to the right spot. While from time immemorial we c 2" have known that flowers are of great importance to " insects, it is only comparatively of late that we have " realised how important, indeed, how necessary insects " are to flowers. For it is not too much to say, that " if on the one hand flowers are in many cases necessary " to insects, insects on the other hand are still more " necessary to the very existence of flowers; that if " insects have been in many cases modified and adapted, " with a view to obtain honey and pollen from flowers, " flowers in their turn owe their scent and colour, their " honey and even their distinctive forms to the actions " of insects. There has thus been an interaction of " insects upon flowers, and of flowers upon insects, " resulting in the gradual modification of both. Though " bright colours and strong odours are sufficient to " attract the attention of insects, something more is " required. Flowers, however sweet-smelling and " beautiful, would not be visited by insects, unless " they had some inducements more substantial to " offer. These advantages are the pollen and the honey. " The honey is secreted sometimes by one part of the " flower, sometimes by another; and great variations " may be found in this respect even within the limits " of a single order. It is a remarkable fact that " in most cases Bees confine themselves in each journey " to a single species of plant." Thus the grand law of Nature forbidding the union of relatives is carried out by Bees, who by their visits from field to field, and flower to flower, give fertility and vigour to vegetable life.
"Oh, Nature kind! oh, labourer wise!
'That roam'st along the summer's ray,
And meet'st prepared thy wintry day,* [15] Go, envied go--to crowded gates, Bear home thy store in triumph gay, The hive thy rieh return awaits To shame each idler of the day."--Smyth.
Messrs. Kirby and Spence, in their admirable work, thus describes a Bee's operations on a flower when gathering nectar :--
" Observe a Bee that has alighted upon an open " flower. The hum produced by the motion of her " wing ceases, and her employment begins. In an "instant she unfolds her tongue, which was before " rolled up under her head ; with what rapidity does " she dart this organ between the petals and the "stamens!". At one time she extends it to its full " length, then she contracts it ; she moves it about in " all directions, so that it may be applied both to the " concave and convex surface of a petal, and wipe them " both, and thus, by a virtuous theft, robs it of all its " nectar. All the while this is going on, she keeps " herself in a constant vibratory motion. The object " of the industrious insect is not like the more selfish " butterfly, to appropriate this treasure to herself. It "goes into the honey bag as into a laboratory, where it " is transformed into pure honey ; and when she returns " to the hive she regurgates it in this form into one " of the cells appropriated to that purpose, in order " that after tribute is paid from it to the Queen, it " may constitute a supply of food for the rest of the " community."
" How oft, when wandering far and erring long, Man might learn truth and virtue from the Bee."--Bownse.
Virgil asserted, "a Bee is a ray of divinity ;" and when studying with ave the wonders of the Bee-hive, so beautiful in their simplicity, so perfect in their ends,can we fail to acknowledge the presence of that Allguiding Hand, who, by these little insects and all their wondrous works, tacches man a lesson of industry, forethought and order, the contemplation of which inspires such veneration as may induce us to follow more closely the behests of Him, without whom is naught? Shall we not join in the awe-inspiring words of the Poot Derzhazin :--
"In its sublime research, philosophy
May measure out the ocean deep--may count
The sands or the sun's rays--but, God! for Thee
There is no weight, nor measure :--none can mount
Up to Thy mysteries!--Reason's brightest spark,
Though kindled by Thy light, in vain would try
To trace Thy counsels infinite and dark ;
And thought is lost ere thought can soar so high
E'en last moments in eternity!
Thou from primeval nothingness dids't call
First chaos, then existence. Lord, on These
Eternity had its foundation!--All
Spring forth from Thee!--All light, joy, harmony!
Sole Origin!--All life, all beauty, Thine!
Thy word created all, and doth create --
Thy splenour fills all space with rays divine!--
'hou art and wert, and shall be--glorious!--great!
Life-giving, life-sustaining Potentate!"A MANUAL OF BEE-KEEPING.
BEE-KEEPING.
"As each for the good of the whole is bent,
And stores up his treasures for all,
We hope for an evening, with hearts content,
For the winter of life without lament.
That summer is gone with its hours misspent,
And the harvest is past recall!!"--Dr. Aikin.
A Traveller who has much acquaintance with continental rural life, cannot fail to be impressed, when journeying in England, with the small number of
Bee-hives he sees scattered about, amongst either the
cottages of the labouring classes, or the farms and
courts of the gentry, compared with what he sees
abroad; and when, perchance, his eye alights on a hive
or two, he will nine times out of ten find only the
ancient straw skep in use, and that probably badly
made. The rustie mind, although now used to the
innovation of steam ploughs and thrashing machines,
has been quite content to jog on with his Bees in the
same manner that his Saxon forefathers did a thousand
years ago. But what a life, and _what a death_ for the
poor Bees! the hives are probably reeking with moisture,
dirty and decayed, and when the industrious labourers
have, in spite of all such disadvantages and neglect,
filled them with Natures luscious gifts, the fate in store
for them is suffocation, with the horrible fumes of
brinstone ; and this procedure is not practised by the
poor and ignorant only, but in many cases adopted by the educated and opulent if, by chance, they own a few Bces.
"\(\Lambda\)h! see where, robbed and murdered in that pit,
Lies the still-heaving hive at evening snatched,
Beneath the cloud of guilt concealing night,
And fixed o'er sulphur while not dreaming ill,
The happy people in their waxen cells,
Sat tending public cares.
Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends,
And used to milder scents the tender race,
By thousands tumble from their honied dome,
Into a gulf of blue sulphurous flame."-Thomson.
Oh, ye large-hearted Philanthropist, Gentle Lady,
and Reverend Pastor, whose charitable hearts would
faint with horror at the like tortures inflicted on
creatures of a larger growth. Why do you permit this? especially as such practices are, independent of
the eruelty to the Bees, wasteful, costly, and unnecessary.