BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Both the original nuclei, \(I\) and \(II\), and those made from their sealed queens; may be formed by bringing from another Apiracy, in a small box, the few adhering bees which are wanted (p. 162) ; and us many may be returned in it, to be used for a similar purpose. The expert will also be able to catch up adhering bees, by _slightly_ moving! the parent-stocks (p. 161), and in various other ways, which will readily suggest themselves.
One queen can be made to supply several hives with brood, while they are constantly engaged in raising spare queens. Deprive two colonies, 1 and 2, at intervals of a week, each of its queen, using these queens for artificial swarms. As soon as the royal cells in 1 are old enough for use, remove them, and give 1 a queen from another hive, 3. When the royal cells in 2 are removed, this queen may be taken from 1--where she will have laid abundantly--and given to 2. By this time, the queen-cells in 3 being scaled over, may be removed, and the queen restored to her own stock. She has thus made one circuit, and supplied 1 and 2 with eggs; and after replenishing her own hive, she may be sent again on her per-ambulating mission. By this device, I can obtain, from a few stocks, a large number of queens.
A few days after a nucleus is formed, it should be examined, and if royal cells are not begun, or there are no larvae in them, the bees must be shaken from the comb, which should then be exchanged for another.
Bees sometimes commence queen-cells, which, in a few ditittention. Anatomical observations prove that the stomach is not the same: experiments have ascertained that one of the species cannot fulfill all the functions shared among the workers of a hive. We painted those of each case with different colors, in order to study their proceedings; and these were not interchanged. In another experiment, after supplying a hive, deprived of a queen, with brood and pollen, we saw the small bean quickly occupied in nutrition of the larva, while those of the wax-working class neglected them. Small bean also produce wax, but in a very inferior quantity to what is elaborated by the real wax workers."
Now, as Huber's statements have proved to be uncommonly reliable, perhaps when bee refuted to cluster on the brood-comb, to rear a new queen, it is because some of the conditions necessary for success are wasting. Either there may not be enough wax-workers to enlarge the cells, or nurses to take charge of the larva.
If Huber had possessed the same facilities for observation with Dr. Donhoff (see page 194), he would, probably, have come to the same conclusions.
If any imagine that the careful experiments required to establish facts upon the solid basis of demonstration, are easily made, let them attempt to prove or disprove the truth of either of these conjectures; and, they will probably find the task, once difficult than to cover whole reams of paper with selection assertions.
days, are found to be untenanted. At the second attempt they usually start a larger number, and seldom fail of success. Does practice make them more perfect? or were some of the necessary conditions wanting at first?
The following able communication, from the pen of Dr. Donhoff, may throw some light on this subject :-"Dzierzon states it as a fact, that worker-bees attend more exclusively to the domestic concerns of the colony in the early period of life; assuming the discharge of the more active out-door duties only during the later periods of their existence. The Italian bees furnished me with suitable means to test the correctness of this opinion.
"On the 18th of April, 1855, I introduced an Italian queen into a colony of common bees; and on the 10th of May following, the first Italian workers emerged from the cells. On the ensuing day, they emerged in great numbers, as the colony had been kept in good condition by regular and plentiful feeding. I will arrange my observations under the following heads:
"1. On the 10th of May the first Italian workers emerged; and on the 17th they made their first appearance outside of the hive. On the next day, and then dally till the 29th, they came forth about noon, disporting in front of the hive, in the rays of the sun. They, however, manifestly, did not issue for the purpose of gathering honey or pollen, for during that time none were noticed returning with pellets; none were seen alighting on any of the flowers in my garden; and I found no honey in the stomachs of such as I caught and killed for examination. The gathering was done exclusively by the old bees of the original stock, until the 29th of May, when the Italian bees began to labor in that voaction also--being then 19 days old.
" 2. On the feeding troughs placed in my garden, and which were constantly crowded with common bees, I saw no Italian bees till the 27th of May, seventeen days after the first had emerged from the cells.
"From the 10th of May on, I daily presented to Italian bees, in the hive, a stick dipped in honey. The younger ones never attempted to lick any of it; the older occasionally seemed to sip a little, but immediately left it and moved away. The common bees always eagerly licked it up, never leaving it till they had filled their honey-bags. Not till the 25th of May did I see any Italian bee lick up honey eagerly, as the common bees did from the beginning.
"These repeated observations force me to conclude that, during the first two weeks of the worker-bee's life, the impulse for gathering honey and pollen does not exist, or at least is not developed; and that the development of this impulse proceeds slowly and gradually. At first the young bee will not even touch the honey presented to her; some days later she will simply taste it, and only after a further lapse of time will she consume it eagerly. Two weeks elapse before she readily cats honey, and nearly three weeks pass, before the _gathering_ impulse is sufficiently developed to impel her to fly abroad, and seek for honey and pollen among the flowers.
"I made, further, the following observations respecting the domestic employments of the young Italian bees :
" 1. On the 20th of May, I took out of the hive all the combs it contained, and replaced them after examination. On inspecting them half an hour later, I was surprised to see that the edges of the combs, which had been cut on removal, were covered by Italian bees exclusively. On closer examination, I found that they were busily engaged in re-attaching the combs to the sides of the hive. When I brushed them away, they instantly returned, in eager haste, to resume their labors.
" 2. After making the foregoing observations, I inserted in the hive a bar from which a comb had been cut, to ascertain whether the rebuilding of comb would be undertaken by the Italian bees. I took it out again a few hours subsequently, and found it covered almost exclusively by Italian workers, though the colony, at that time, still contained a large majority of common bees. I saw that they were sedulously engaged in building comb ; and they prosecuted the work unremittingly, whilst I held the bar in my hand.* I repeated this experiment several days in succession, and satisfied myself that the bees engaged in this work were always almost exclusively of the Italian race. Many of them had scales of wax visibly protruding between their abdominal rings. These obaverations show that, in the early stage of their existence, the impulse for comb-building is stronger than later in life.
" 3. Whenever I examined the colony during the first three weeks after the Italian bees emerged, I found the brood-combs covered principally by bees of that race :and it is, hence, probable that the brood* is chiefly attended to and nursed by the younger bees. The evidence, however, is not so conclusive as in the case of combbuilding, inasmuch as they _may_ have congregated on the brood-combs because these are warmer than the others.
"I may add another interesting observation. The feces in the intestines of the young Italian bees was viscid and yellow; that of the common or old bees was thin and limpid, like that of the queen-bee. This is confirmatory of the opinion, that, for the production of wax and jelly, the bees require pollen; but do not need any for their own sustenance."--\(B\); \(Z\); 1855, p. 163. S. Wagner.
If the colonies are to be multiplied rapidly, the nuclei must never be allowed to become too much reduced in numbers, or to be destitute of brood or honey. With these precautions, the oftener their queen is taken from them, the more intent they usually become in supplying her loss.
There is one trait in the character of bees which is worthy of profound respect. Such is their indomitsable energy and perseverance, that under circumstances apparently hopeless, they labor to the utmost to retrieve their losses, and sustain the sinking State. So long as they have a queen, or any prospect of raising one, they struggle vigorously against impending ruin, and never give up until their condition is absolutely desperate. I once knew a colony of bees not large enough to cover a piece of comb four inches square, to attempt to raise a queen. For two whole weeks, they adhered to their forlorlorn hope; until at last, when they had dwindled to less than one half of their original number, their new queen emerged, but with wings so imperfect that she could not fly. Crippled as she was, they treated her with almost as much respect as though she were fertile. In the course of a week more, scarce a dozen workers remained in the hive, and a few days later, the queen was gone, and only a few dis-consolate wretches were left on the comb.
Shame on the faint-hearted of our race, who, when overtaken by calamity, instead of nobly breasting the stormy waters of affliction, meanly resign themselves to an ignoble fate, and perish, where they ought to have lived and triumphed! and double shame upon those who, living in a Christian land, thus " faint in the day of adversity," when if they would only believe the word of God, they might behold, with the eye of faith, his " bow of promise" spanning the still stormy clouds, and hear his voice of love bidding them trust in Him as a "Strong Deliverer!"
In the previous editions of this work, with other methods of artificial swarming, very full directions were furnished for increasing colonies, by giving to the nuclei a second comb with maturing brood, as soon as their queens began to lay eggs, and then, at proper intervals, a third, and a fourth, until they were strong enough to take care of themselves. This mode of increase is laborious, and requires skill and judgment which few possess: it is also peculiarly liable to cause robbing among the bees, requiring the hives to be too frequently opened, to remove the combs needed in the various processes. As a number of nuclei are to be simultaneously strengthened, the Apiarian cannot complete his artificial processes by a single operation, and must always be on hand, or incur the risk of ending the season with a number of starvingcolonics. For these and other reasons, I much prefer the methods which I have devised, for dispensing with so much opening of hives and handling of combs. If, however, any of the new colonies are weak enough to need it, they may be helped to combs from stronger stocks.
_Whatever method of artificial increase is pursued by the Apiralarian, he should never reduce the strength of his another-stocks, so as seriously to cripple the reproductive power of their queues._ This principle should be to him as "the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not " for while a queen, with an abundance of worker-comb and bees, may, in a single season, become the parent of a number of prosperous families, if her colony, at the beginning of the swarming season, is divided into three or four parts, not one of them will ordinarily acquire stores enough to survive the Winter.
If the Apiralarian is in the vicinity of _augar-houses, confectioneries_, or other tempting places of bee-resort, he will find his stocks, both old and new, so depopulated by their zeal for ill-gotten gains, as to be in danger of perishing. _In such situations, all attempts at rapid increase are entirely fertile._
_Artificial operations of all kinds are most successful when bee-forage is abundant; when it is scarce they are quite precarious, even if the colonies are well supplied with food._
When bees are not busy in honey-gathering, they have leisure to ascertain the condition of weak stocks, which are almost certain to be robbed, if they are incantiously opened. When forage is scarce, the hives should be opened before sunrise, or after sunset, or when very few bees are flying abroad; and if it is necessary to open then at other times, they must be removed out of the reach of annoyance from other colonies. The Apiralarian who does not guard against robbing, will seriously impair the value of his stocks, and entail upon himself much useless and reexatious labor. _Bewcare of demoxidizing bees, by tempting then to rob each other!_
In an Apiary where hives very _unlike_ in _size_, _shape_, and _color_, are _croaded together_, artificial operations will often be exceedingly hazardous, as the bees will be continually liable to enter the wrong hives. If the stocks must be kept very close together, even if the hives are all of the same color and pattern, it will be best to carry to a second Apiary, either the forced swarms, or the mother-stocks from which they were made.
The bee-keeper has already been reminded that _cavition is needed in giving to bees a stranger-queen._ Huber thus describes the way in which a new queen is usually received by a hive :
"If another queen is introduced into the hive within _steelee_ hours after the removal of the reigning one, they surround, seize, and keep her a very long time captive, in an impenetrable cluster, and she commonly dies either from hunger or want of air. If eighteen hours elapse before the substitution of a stranger-queen, she is treated, at first, in the same way, but the bees leave her sooner, nor is the surrounding cluster so close ; they gradually disperse, and the queen is at last liberated ; she moves languidly, and sometimes expires in a few minutes. Some, however, escape in good health, and afterwards reign in the hive. If _twenty-four_ hours elapse before substituting the stranger-queen, she will be well received, from the moment of her introduction.
"Reaumarr affirms, that, should the original queen be removed, and another introduced, this new one will be perfectly well received from the beginning *** * IIe in duced four or five hundred bees to leave their hive, and enter a glass-box, containing a small piece of comb. At first, they were in great agitation, but from the moment that he presented a new queen the tumult ceased, and the stranger was received with all respect.
"'I do not dispute the truth of this experiment, but Reaumur's bees were too much removed from their natural condition to allow him to judge of their instinets and dispositions. He has himself observed, that their industry and activity are affected by reducing their numbers too much. To render such an experiment truly conclusive, it must be made in a populous hive ; and on removing the native queen, the stranger must be immediately substituted in her place."
It would seem, from his use of the word _immediately_, that IIuber must have been aware of the fact, that if a strange queen is given to a colony, before its agitation is calmed down (p. 158), and before royal cells are begun, she will usually be well received. If the bees of a colony are made to fill themselves with honey, by drumming, smoking, or giving them liquid sweets, and often, if they are removed to a new stand, they will readily accept of any queen offered them, in place of their own.
Bees, in possession of a fertile queen, are often quite reluctant to accept of an unimpregnated one in her stead ; indeed, it requires much experience to be able to give a strange queen to a colony, and yet be sure of securing for her a good reception. In several instances, the workers have stung a strange queen to death, while I was holding her in my fingers, to be able to remove her if she was not kindly welcomed. To prevent accidents, it will be well to confine a queen--when given to a strange colony --in what the Germans call a "queen-eage," which may be made by boring a hole into a block, and covering it with wire-gauge, or any perforated cover. The bees will cultivate an acquaintance with the imprisoned mother, by thrusting their antennae through the openings, and the next day she may be safely given to them. Queens bent on escaping to the woods, may be confined in the same way. A pasteboard box, pierced with holes, answers equally well, or even a match-box, properly scadded.
If the cage is put with its small openings over one of the holes on the spare honey-board, or set inside of the hive, the bees will be as quiet as though the queen had her liberty. Such a cage will be very convenient for any temporary confinement of a queen.
In catching a queen, she should be gently taken, with the fingers, from among the bees, and if none are crushed, there is no risk of being stung. The queen, although she will not sting, even if roughly handled, will sometimes, when closely confined, _bite_ the hand of the operator so as to cause a little uneasiness--her jaws, which are intended for gnsawing into the base of the royal cells, being larger and stronger than those of a common bee. If she is allowed to fly, she may be lost, by attempting to enter a strange hive.
As a fertile queen can lay several thousand eggs a day, it is not strange that she should quickly become exhausted, if taken from the bees. "_Ex nihilo nihil ftt_"--from nothing, nothing comes -- and the arduous duties of maternity compel her to be an enormous eater. After an absence from the bees of only fifteen minutes, she will solicit honey, when returned ; and if kept away for an hour or upwards, she must either be fed by the Aparian, or have a few bees, gorged with honey, given to her to supply her wants. One which I sent by express, in a queen-eage, with a suite of well-fed workers, arrived in safety, at the Apiary of a friend, on the next day.
Great caution is not only requisite in giving a hive a strange queen, but in all attempts _to mine bees belonging to different colonies_. Bees having a fertile queen will almost always quarrel with those having an unimpregnated one; and this is one reason why a furious contest, in which thousands perish, often ensues when new swarms attempt to mingle.
Members of different colonies appear to recognize their hive-companions by the sense of smell, and if there should be a thousand stocks in the Apiary, any one will readily detect a strange bee; just as each mother in a large flock of sheep is able, by the same sense, in the darkest night, to distinguish her own lamb from all the others. It would seem, therefore, that colonies might always be safely mingled, by sprinkling them with sugar-water, scented with peppermint or any other strong odor, which would make them all smell alike.
A few seasons ago, however, I discovered that bees often recognize strangers by their _actions_, even when they have the same scent; for a _frightened bee curls himself up with a cooeed look_, which unmistakably proclaims that he is conscious of being an intruder. If, therefore, the bees of one colony are left on their _oven stand_, and the others are suddenly introduced, the latter, even when both colonies have the same smell, are often so frightened that they are discovered to be strangers, and are instantly killed. If, however, _both_ colonies are removed to a _new stand_, and shaken out together on a sheet, they will peaceably mingle, when scented alike.*If, when two colonies are put together, the bees in the one on the old stand are not gorged with honey, they will often attack the others, which are loaded, and speedily sting them to death, in spite of all their attempts to purchase immunity, by offering their honey. Mr. Wm. W. Cary, of Coleraine, Massachusetts, who has long been an accurate observer of the habits of bees, unites colonies very successfully, by alarming those that are on the old stand; as soon as they show, by their notes, that they are subdued, he gives them the new comers. The alarm which causes them to gorge themselves with honey (p, 27), puts them, doubtless, upon their good behavior, long enough to give the others a fair chance.
It has been stated already, that a queen-bee cannot be induced to sting, by any kind of treatment, however severe. The reason of this strange unwillingness will be obvious, when we consider that the preservation of her life is indispensable to the existence of, the colony, and that, although the loss of her sting would be fatal to herself, it could avail no more for their defense, in case of an attack, than the single sword of a Washington or a Wellington could decide a great battle. While the common bees are ready to sally forth and sacrifice their lives on the slightest provocation, a queen-bee only buries herself more deeply among the clustering thousands, and will never use her sting, except when engaged in mortal combat with another queen. When two rivals meet, they clinch, at once, with every demonstration of the most vindictive hatred. Why, then, are not both often destroyed? We can never sufficiently admire the provision so simple, and yet so effectual, by which such a \(\,\)caliarity is prevented. \(\,\)A queen never stings, unless she has such an advantage that she can curve her body under that of her rival, so as to inflict a deadly wound, without any risk to herself--the moment the position of the two combatants is such that neither has the advantage, but both are liable to perish, they not only refuse to sting, but disengage themselves, and suspend their conflict for a short time!
The following interesting statements were furnished to the _New England Farmer_ (Oct. 1855), by Hon. Simon Brown, Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in 1855.
"On the 17th of July last, we placed in our dining-room window one of Mr. Langstroth's observing bee-hives, constructed of glass, so that all the operations of the bees could be plainly and conveniently seen. \(\,\)A comb about a foot square was placed in it, containing some brood, with plenty of workers and drones, but _eithout a queen._ \(\,\)The hive was then carefully observed by one of the ladies of the family, who has given us the following account of their doings.
"\(\,\)"The first business the bees attended to, was to commence cells for a queen, and they prosecuted it with energy for two days. \(\,\)At the end of that time, a queen was taken from another colony and placed with them, upon which they pulled down the cells they had made, in less than half the time it had required to construct them, and then began to piece out and repair the comb which needed a corner. The queen at once commenced laying, and soon filled the unoecupied cells, when she was again removed, and the bees once more began the construction of queen-cells.
"' The young bees now began to hatch forth, and in two weeks the family increased so fast as to make it necessary for them to prepare to emigrate. They had built six queen-cells, and in about twelve days the first queen was hatched. As soon as she was fairly born, she marched rapidly, and in the most energetic manner, over the comb, and visited the other cells in which were the embryo queens, seeming at times furious to destroy them. The workers, however, surrounded her, and prevented such wholesale murder. But for two days she was intent upon her fell purpose, and kept in almost continuous motion to effect it. On the fourteenth day, the second queen was ready to come out, piping and making various noises to attract attention.