BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
That the bees fenced to have had fone fuch reafoning among them, appeared pretty evident from their conduct; for about two hours after the capture of the Queen, they all fell boufly to work, and exerted themselves as amazingly for two days; fone being employed in forming the royal cell, and others in injecting into it a large quantity of thick whitelifi liquid fluff, pretty much refenbling cream. At the end of the 3d day, the royal cell was completely formed; and, in the mean time, the common cells were faled up by the other bees, who all continued boufly employed. On the fifth day, the royal cell was considerably enlarged, and I obferved as much of the aforefaid white ftaff in it, as would have half filled a rhimble almost, with a white maggot lying on the top of it. On the fecund day, the fkee faked it up, and, on the fecund day, the young Queen came forta put at her little pe-H
**6e**: _Account of the System Beta_
**tige of theta. But the young Queen, on the**
**tooth day of her age, began to lay eggs in**
**drone cells, which produced young Drones in**
**the hive about sixteen days thereafter. Having repeated this**
**fall experiment again and a-gain, I can now affirm, with the utmost confidence and certainty, that the common, or working bes, are endowed with the powerful faculty of raifing a Queen bee, from an egg, in a common cell, when their community
**funds in need of one.**
**Their method is this : They make choice of a common cell with an egg in it, and inject some white liquid matter, from their proto-bofis, of a thickifh fubitance. They then begin to build upon the edges of the cell, and enlarge it, On the third day, it appears fairly
**on the outside of the comb, in the form of a royal cell, and may now be properly fo denominated. On the fifth day, the cell being now
**grately enlarged, and a great deal of the white-ifh matter thrown into it, the royal maggot appears in the form of a semicircle, not unlike a new moon, being biggerl in the middle part, and finally at each end. In this form it is to be feen for twp days, fwinming on the top, and**account of the Queen Bee._**
**and in the midfit of the faid matter in the cell ; and on the fecund day it is fealed up.**
**During this period, our young princefs undergoes various metamorphofes. I have opened the royal cell on the tenth day, and have found the maggot fill on the top of the white liquor ; and having taken it into my hand to flow it to any friend, it would have moved for a flort time, although at this period, it had not the finalleft refemblance to a bee, being fill on-ly a maggot. But on the fourteenth or fifteenth day, the metamorphosis is fo complete, that instead of a grofs white worm, forth comes a charming young Queen Bee, \(\uparrow\) arrayed in all her glory. From the whole of thef experiments, therefore, which I have repeated on various occasions, I can pofitively affirm, that the Qeen Bee is capable of becoming a mother, without fo much as seeing a drone ; and that the**
**+ The fame procefs, or nearly fo, is ufed by the common bees, to bring forward both their own fspecies and drones, by throwing the whitifs matter on the eggs, and failing them up, till the maggets undergo the qual changes in the cells, &c. And each egg generally produces a bee in about fourteen or fatrecen days. I have feen them differ two or three days in point of time.**
**where an egg, f should the bees let it alone and injed no matter up-on it, might, nevertheless, keep warm for 8 days, and produce a bee at laf,**
**62**: _Account of the Queen Bee._
the doctrines of almotl all former writers on this
fubject, (Schirach and one or two more
ced,) who affirm that the Queen cannot breed
without the agency of the drones, or males,
as they call them, is founded on a miftake.
For a final piece of comb, with common egg'
in it, may be taken and put into a box along
with 400 common bees, and tranported 1000
miles from a Drone ; and yet the bees will rear
a Queen from one of thofe eggs, and that young
Queen will lay eggs, which in due time will
produce Queens, commons and drones. But
whether every egg in the common cells of the
hive can be worinfhed up to produce a Queen,
dare not poftively fay; although I am much
inclined to think fo, as I can fafely affirm, that
not above one in a dozen of my experiments, in
rearing Queens from what are called _common eggs_, (i. e. eggs that commonly produce working
bees,) has ever yet failed, when I either made
the trial by way of experiment, or adopted the
plan as a matter of economy. Sometimes a
fingle egg has failed in making the experiment;
but this might have happened from some other
accidental caufe. As a proof of this, I offer to
rear 20 Queens, if not 30, out of one hive,
during the courfe of one fummer. For I have,
within_Account of the Queen Bee._ 63
within thefe latf fix years, caufed the bees to rear, from eggs taken from common cells, which the bees would otherwise have reared up for working bees, no fewer than 200 _artificial_ Queens ; and which Queens laid eggs, that came forward to be bees, in the fame manner as other Queens, which may, for difintinction's fake, be failed _natural_ ones.
Sonetimes, when I have taken the Queen out of a hive, and left none but common bees in it, after looking for the fpace of fourteen or fixteen days, for royal cells, as ufial in fuch cafes, I have obferved, that, infead of Queens being produced, there were three or four royal cells, which contained nothing in them, except that fome of them had a red tough matter, of a hard kind of fubtance, about the fize of a pea, which would tear, but would not break : while others of them would have contained neither egg, maggot, nor chryfalis, but were quite empty. Thefle empty cells I shall, for difinction's fake, call _falfe royal cells._ What was the intention of the bees, in rearing thefe falfe royal cells, I cannot determine. The bees were fierly fengible, that there were no young bees in them : and yet they would have allowed them to to continue in the hive for many months. One circumstance inclines me to think, that the bees intended them to be of fome ufe for rearing Queens, as I never faw thefe falfe royal cells reared, but when the hive wanted a Queen. I am equally certain, however, on the other hand, that I have never once feen an egg or decayed maggot in any of them. I own that fome common cells will fometines be fealed up, as if there were young bees in them, although none would ever appear. All of thefe, however, had eggs in them at firft, which had decayed and rotten, by cold or fome other accident. But this I never found to be the cafe, in thofe falfe royal cells, not one of which appeared to have ever had one in them. Therefore, when we leave a hive without a Queen, we cannot pofitively fay, that the bees will rear one for themselves : yet were the practice eligible in every other reflect, we might draft to it, as farcely one cafe in a'dozen fails. But if a royal cell, on the ad, 3d, or 4th day, after it is eroded, appear to have an egg, or fome of the whitifla matter in it, a Queen may be depended upon, to be produced in due time, if no accident prevent.
That_Account: of the Queen Bee._ _65_.
**That the Queen and the common or working bees are of the fame fex in the egg, and yet, that they can rear up bees of every fpecies between them, appears to me to be no more wonderful than true *. Whether the additional matter thrown into the enlarged cell; along with the egg, is of a generative or nutritive nature, \(\mathbb{I}\) cannot yet pofitively determine, altho' I rather incline to think it is of the former kind.--But there are confiderable difficulties on both fides. For, if we fay the white matter 'is of a generative quality, then we muff fuppofe that the working bees are males ; although it muff appear very unaccountable, that the _fame egg_ should be capable of rearing either a _male_ or a _female_, at the option of the working bees ;--which, however, upon this fuppofiction, I appears
Whether the bees can rear up one of thofe eggs that are laid in drone cells, to become a Queen or a common bee; or whether they can rear eggs that have been laid in common cells, to become drones, is not yet ascertained. This queflion, how-ever, might easily be decided, by putting a piece of comb with drone eggs in it, along with 400 common bees ; and, by repeat. ing the experiment 6 or 8 times, it might foon be discovered, whether the bees could raife one of thofe drone eggs to be a 'Queen bee. I rather incline to think, that the eggs laid in drone cells cannot be raifed to be any other but drone bees, and that thofle laid in common cells can never be reared to b+-come drones.
* 66 Account of the System Bee.
appears clearly proved, by Schirach's experiments and my own. On the other hand, if we hold it to be of a nutritive nature, then we fluppofe the Queen to be a hermaphrodite, or _felf-prolific_, without the affitance of any other creature. It is indeed reported, that the whole genus of fails are hermaphrodites, and that each individual of the fpecies is endued with both faxes.
But although I have not a doubt as to the fact, that an egg in a common cell is capable of being nourified up to produce a Queen, yet I rather doubt, whether any great improvement can be made of this difcovery, fo as to increafe the quantity of honey and wax; as it is not a great number of hives that will produce that effect, but only real good ones. I alfo doubt, whether more hives can be reared by this method, as our bees generally produce more Queens naturally, than they are able to flupply with a sufficient number of common bees to compofe a proper fwarm with; as appears from their killing the fupernumerary ones, which they have no need of.-Often, for inflance, in a garden containing four flock hives in May, they will breed perhaps 24 Queens during the fummer, but will kill two thirds of them, and fend off the the other 8, with as many young fwarms.--It must be allowed, however, that hives will fomet times ly long out; and, therefore, if the owner had a fpare Queen, he might eafily rear new fwarms with them, which he cannot fafely do without them.
## Appendix C H A P. VIII.
**The Drones** are a fpecies of bees, well known to every Bee-mafter, and may eafily be diffinguified from the common or working bees. They are both larger and longer in the body. Their heads are round, their eyes full, and their tongues flort. The form of the belly differs from thofe of both Queen and common bees ; and their colour is darker than either. They have no fing, and they make a much greater noife when flying, than either the Queen or the common bees ;--a peculiarity of itelf sufficient to dithering them.
**The*** 68 Account of the Drone Bae.
The drones are, by almotf all writers reckon-red the males, (See p. 62,) and are:fo filled by
modt authors; but for my part I neither know what to call them, nor of what wife they are;
although I have often thought upon the fidbject, yet I cannot be fatished with any theory
I ever heard of. Various conjectures have been made with refpect to their wife. Although
almotf all agree that they are the males, and
couple with the Queen; yet they acknowledge
that they never flaw an inflance of any one of them
in the act with her. It is furely wonderful, if
the drones are the males, that they flould have
efcaped the prying eyes of philofophers in -all
ages, whereas, almotf every eye has detected
smaller infects in the act.
Swammerdam, fensible of this, to fhelter
himelf, flies to that falfe refuge, that the _fnell_
of the drones anfwers the fame end as copulation.
Others fay, that their heat is necelfary
for hatching the young bees. But this argument has no weight with me; as bee-hives
have moft part of their bees bred, and are well
high fwarning, before any number of drones
appear in the hive.
Befides, by the time that
they become numerous, fo as their heat might
do' good in that refpect, the heat is generally
_Account of the Drone Bee._ 6g
_for_ great, that the bees have too much of it; and, therefore, often_ _ly out in the fore part of their hive to get air. It is therefore plain, that they need not be at the expence of maintaining a parcel of idle gluttons, for the fake of increasing what would do them more harm than good._
_That the Queen_ _stands in no need of their admittance to_ _recundate or impregnate her, has already been obferved, and appears plain, from_ _this confideration, that the lays eggs, which produce young bees, without having had any previous communication with the drones. I will_
_not, however, fuppofe that the drones are of no ufe in the hive; but that the Queen_ _lays eggs which produce young bees, without fo much as feeling a drone; I can with the utmoft. confidence affirm._
_The advocates for the old doctrine, that the drones are males, alledge, that they impregnate the Queen, before their brethren kill them. According to this theory, the fould continue for no lefs a period than fever or eight months, with about 12,000 impregnated eggs in her_ _ovarium, which would certainly make her appear very large during the whole of that period. But it is unneceffary to_ _wate arguments_70 Account of the Drone Bee. arguments in refutation of this doctrine, as I have already flown (pages 56,57,58) that I have repeatedly had Queens breed and lay eggs, and thofe eggs become bees, although thefe Queens were bred fever months after all the drones were dead, and fome weeks before any new ones were hatched. Thefe experiments, I think, are sufficient to filence all the arguments advanced by the advocates for the drone fjftem. Mr Debraw, indeed, creates _little drone_, and gives them power to live all the year, and to impregnate the Queen at pleafure. But as room does not permit me to narrate the experiments whereby i e attempts to prove this, I shall.content myself with flating his fentiments in as few words as pofible. He afferts, that, befides the common large drones, which every perfon, acquainted with bees, knows at firft fight, there is a fsmall kind of drones, which are, to all appearance, like the common bees, there being no vifiable difference, except that they have no fing, which he difcovered by immerfion in water, and prefurte. After relating an experiment on this head, he fays, " I once more " immerfed all the bees" (of a fsmall fwarm) " in water, and when they appeared to be in " a fenglefs fate, I gently prefled every one of " them * _Account of the Drone Bee._ **71**
* **then** between my fingers, in order to diffin
* **guifh** thofe armed with ftings from thofe
* **that had none, which** **laf I might** fhfpect to
* **be males.** **Of thefe I found fifty feven,**
* **exaclly of the** **fize of common bees, yielding**
* **a little whitifh liquor on being prefled**
* **tween the fingers."**
* **He farther alledges, that if there be only a Queen and bees that have ftings in a hive, although the Queen lays eggs, yet if the has no drones to inject the feminal matter upon them, the eggs will fill remain unproductive, and will decay, even although there were** **tooo bees with ftings in the hive.** **In anfwer to this, I shall here narrate an experiment I made feveral years ago.**
**On the firf of Sept. 1788, I took all the bees out of a hive that was breeding very falt, and in which I found only four drones, which I killed. I put the bees into a hive that had nothing in it but empty combs. After waiting ten days, upon looking between the combs, I found maggots newly fealed up, in the cells. I then took out all the bees, and fhook them into a tub full of water, from which immerfion I recovered them gradually, and while doing this, I prefled each bee individually, to try if**
**.**
* [73]**Account of the Drone Bee.** 73 room in my houfe, that not a single bee might**
* [5]**efcape me ; but, after repeating the former experiment of innerfing them in water, recovering, and prefling them one by one, I found that every one of them had a fling.**
* [6]**I think thef experiments may fatisfy any unprejudiced perfon, that there is no fuch creature in exifence as a fsmall drone bee; unlefs it be in Mr Debraw's** _brain._ **But, if Mr Debraw, who fays he can find fifty-feven in a fsmall fwarm of bees, will fend me the odd feven, I will give him one of my belt hives for them, and I think he will not fay that they are ill fold.**
* [7]**I have often had good hives, with few or no drones in them, during the whole year. Mr Keys is wrong, when he fays, a top fwarm will not thrive without drones, for I am certain of the contrary. In fummer 1785, I took off four fwarms of my own in one day, without a fingled drone in one of them ; yet they all throve well, and the bees bred drones in them about four weeks thereafter.**
* [8]**Although I cannot determine of what ufe the drones are to a hive, unlefs it be to help to confume the honey, which they are very well qualified to do, yet it is obfervable that the K beft**
* [9]**
74 Account of the Drone Bee.
belt hives produce them carileft in the year;
as they generally appear in fuch hives about
the beginning of May, and the working bees
put an end to their exifence at Lammas, at
which period I generally affit them as much
as I am able.
After my firft work upon this fubject appeared, I had the honour of a converfation with
two very intelligent gentlemen in my neighbourhood, who declared their satisfaction with
the arguments I had formerly advanced. I
fo repeated, in the preference of one of them,
fome of the ex prments I had made,"to prove
that the common bees are ended with the
power of rearing any egg, from a common cell,
to become a Queen, when the community
fands in need of one; and that a Queen, although fhe never faw a drone, will, at a proper
age, lay eggs in abundance, which, again, by
the affiltance of the common bees, will produce
Queens, commons, and drones, as well as thofe
eggs that are laid by Queens, who are
fouronded with drones in the hives to which
they belong.
After feeing thefe experiments, of which he
expreffed his approach, I had another converfation with both thefe gentlemen, when
they_Account of the Drone Bee._ 73
they.afked me,--What then is the ufe of the "drone i"--In anfwer to this, I candidly aca
knowledged that I could not tell, as any con
jecure, that I could form refpecing their ufe,
appeared to be attended with infurmountable
objections. We all agreed, however, that they
certainly muff be of Rome ufe, as Nature, or,
more properly fpeaking, the God of Nature,
does nothing in vain.
One of the gentlemen faid, that, perhaps
bees might be like fome other infects, who
males were not necelfary in every act of ge
nerations and that, perhaps, although a Queen
bee, who had never feen a drone, could lay an
egg which would produce a Queen, and that
Queen again do the fame, and thus the production of Queens and bees be continued with
equal fulcefs, for perhaps fix, eight, or ten generations; yet it might perhaps turn out, that
thefe Queens would gradually become more
and more unfruitful, and at latt grow altogether barren, unlefs they fhould cohabit with
the drones. The other gentleman, however,
was of opinion, that if one Queen was fruitful without the agency of the drones, every
other one would be fo likewise, to the end of
ThereThere is one thing, however, that f _Account of the Drone Be._
I muff confcfs, it appears somewhat paradoxical, to fay that females will breed fuccesfully for feveral generations without the affitance of the males ; and yet at left prove barren, and give over breeding altogether, till their prolific powers are renewed by fresh males co-habitating with them. But however paradoxical or unaccountable it may appear, that is not a sufficient reason for us to rerobate the-fupofition ; as there are many of the arena of nature that are equally wonderful and unaccountable, and the elucidation of which has hitherto baffled the investigation of the moft penetrating geniufes, and deepest enquirers in- to the fecrets of natural philofophy.
One of the above-mentioned gentlemen defined me to try an experiment, and endeavour to afcertain the fact, whether the want of drones will occasion a gradual barrenefs to take place in a fucceffion of Queens. My anfwer was, that I had long entertained an idea of a plan, whereby I am perfuaded that I could dive into, and probably difcover this fecret of Nature ; but that the execution would both require time, and be attended with a confiderable degree of expence, by the lofs of many halves, which at prefent I do not find myfelf inclined
**Account of the Working Bee.** 79
**The common bee as well as the other two**
**fpecies of that valuable infect,** **confits of three**
**parts, viz. the head, which is attached by a narrow kind of neck, to the reft of the body;--the breath, or middle part;--and the**
**belly, which is nearly federated from the breath by an infection or divifion, and connected with it by another narrow neck or junction. There**
**are two eyes in the head, of an oblong figure,**
**black, tranfparent, and immovable. The mouth or jaws, like thofe of fome fpecies of fih, open to the right and left, and ferve in-flead of hands, to carry out of the hive whatever encounters or offenus. them. In the mouth**
**there is a long probofcis, or trunk, with which the bees fuck up the fweets from the flowers. They have four wings faltered to their middle part, by which they are not only enabled to fly with heavy loads, but a)fo to make thofe well known founds and hummings, to each other, that are fuppofed to be their only form of fpeech. They have alfo fix legs faltered to their middle. The two foremost of thefe are the fhorteft, and with thefe they unload themselves of their**
**The two**
**in the middle are fomewhat longer; and the two laft are the longeft of all, On the outfide**
**8o**: _Account of the Working Bee._
of the middle joint of thefe latf, there is a final cavity in the form of a marrow fpoon, in which the bees collect, by degrees, thofe loads of wax they carry home to their hives. This hollow grove is peculiar to the working bee. Neither the Queen nor the drones have any refemblance of it.
The belly is ornamented or diftinguifhed with fix rings ; and contains, befides the intestines of the animal, the honey bladder, the venom bladder, and the fling. The honey bladder is a refervoir, into which is depofited the honey that the bee fips from the cups of the flowers, after it has paffed through the pro-bofcis, and through the narrow pipes, that connect the head, breath and belly of the bee. This bladder, when full, is of the fize of a fsmall pea, and is fo tranfparent, that the colour of the honey can be diftinguifhed through it. The fling is fituated at the extremity of the belly, and the head or root of it is placed contiguous to the imall bladder that contains the venom. It is connected to the belly by certain fsmall mufcles, by means of which the bee can dart it out, and draw it in, with great force and quicknefs. In length it is about the 6th part of an inch. It is of a horny fubftance ;_Account of the Working Bee._ 81
is biggeft at the root, and tapers gradually towards the point, which is extremely f
### Directions to guard againf the Sting of a Be.
**C H A P. X.**
**Directions TO GUARD AGAINST THE STING OF A BEE, WITH THE METHOD OF CURE.**
As we muff now proceed to the handling of our induftrous infects, it is neceffary to put our readers on their guard againf their ftings.
**Unlefs they are hurt, provoked, or affronted, bees feldom make ufe of their ftings ; but they are fo extremely irritable, that whoever wifhes to be on a friendly footing with them muff beware of giving them the fmalleft offence. They will hazard their lives, rather than let an affront pafs unrevenged ; and, when exafenerated near their hives, one may as well take a lion by the beard, or a bear by the fneut, and expect to come off unpurified, as to hope to capitulate with them.**