Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-06-29


queen would have no cells to lay her eggs I
10, or, if she had, could not warm them (
into life nor furnish them with the food .
necessary to their development, a. the /
queen and drones are physically inca /
pable Of generating wax, building the /
comb structure, OF collecting honey or
bee bread. Without the assistance Of I
the workers, she and her household |
would starve in few days.
But one queen is necessary, or even |
tolerated in hive, and there are but few /
drones. The workers constitute the great /
mass of the population. A good swarm |
contains from 20, 900 to 10000 bees.
The queen is distinguished from the
workers and drones by her form, being
nearly twice as long. Her wings are
short her legs are long, but haze on
them no bristles or cavities, like the
workers. She has a sting, but never
uses it, except when in conflict with
another queen. She lives four or five
years. Although called " the queen -
She is not known to exercise any control
over the actions of the other Ds6s. The
workers are attached to her by what
might be termed filial affection, which
leads them to protect her and follow her
when she leaves the hive Tor the purpose
of seeking a new home. The govern
ment of bees, although generally con-
sidefed nlonarehical, and by some repub-
lican, more resembles the patriarchial.
The queen seems to have no other fgnc-
tiOns than to generate ami deposit eggs
and act as a head, around which the
other bees rally and are kept together,
and after she is fecundated, whenever
she leaves the hive the most of the bees,
then in the hive, accompany her, which
is called swarming all Of their other
actions are prompted by instinct, and
not Og any regal mandates from SOW
eTsign.
The fertility of the queen is ast0nish-
ing. She has been known to lay over
5000 eggs in a day, and under favorable
circumstances will lay 50, 600 to 80, coo
during a season, Of which 80 to 1000 are
male or drone eggs, and from one TO
twenty are perfect female eggs, intended
for queens all the others are workers.
The queen, once fertilized, remains 50
during her life, and never leaves the
hive afterward, except with a swarm.
| SHOULD she attempt to do so, she would
either be prevented By the bees, or they
would, most of them, accompany her,
i as in swarmiDg.
/ The drones take no part in the labOfs
I of the hive. They never collect honey,
carry water, generate wax, feed the
young, nor do any other work. So flgl
I as producing anything is concerned, theyl
are of as much yGlRe, and only as yuueh, ]
as the staminate howSHs Pha/spert Of
the one and the poI1 ubf the other are
tnecesssrv to the. 1sing of the ovaries
4 of the nIieep.11 I5istils of the plant, 80
heua may produce fertile eggs
Agitalised seeds FOR eontin-
s. ktive species. It is often
p ra-sked why 23ny drones are assigned
!, to so few queenS For the same reason
\ Asbat the staminatR blossoms on the
Nflpn-vine outnUmber the pistilaie, and
for the same reason that where both are
present in tbs same flower the stamens
always outnumber the pistils. It is to
render Justification certain.
sspeeRs are only hatched du-
fFng fba5 t, givepr-Ss; season; 50 t and It is only
neeSey Ion as that is over, and
/ honey is becoming scarce, they are ex-
PEELED by the workers from all the hives
/ having perfect queens, and only tOler-
ated IN those that are queenless.
The workers are females but ,,thejg.
generative organs are so imperftdls. = =
veloped that they are incapable Of produ
cling offspring, like some Of the plants of
the Allen raspberry Rnd s0Rle strawberry
and other plants that reproduce them
selves by runners or suckers which, a.
though they containin their flowers the
productive OrgaEs, sre so imperfect that
fruit nor seeds are produced.
The queen being capable Of multiply
ing the race as rapidly as necessary there
is no need of their assistance. Although
imperfect In this respect, they are no less
admirably adapted In all their parts to
the design of their creation. To them
falls the duty and labor of managing,
taking care of, and providing for the
establishment, and to that end they are
prOvided with a long tongue or proboscls
for reaching and sucking up the honey
from the flower, and a sack INTO which
it is gathered and carried home. They
have on each hind leg cavity studded
with stiff curved hairs, into which they
gather the pollen or bee-bread and the
prOpolis or bee-glue, and carry them 10
the hive. They have two long teeth,
tusks or mandibles, which they use Tor
the purpose of forming and constructing
the comb-cells, cutting away useless
comb, and in carrying out dead bees ana
obnoxious substances from the hlFe. In
these respects they difier from the queens
and drones.
Tbev also differ from the drones in
having sting, with which they pierce
a presumed enemy and eject into the
wound thus made poison which is con-
tained in a sack at the root of the sting
The worker-bees generate the wax,
construct the comb, gather and store the
honey, collect the bee bread for feeding
the Young, and the resin, bee-glue, or
propolis for stopping cracks and holes IN
the hive, and fastening the sheets OF
comb to the cover and walls, and BRING
in water for diluting the honey when too
thick. They, however, warm and hatch
the worms or iarve from the eggs, and
feed them when Matched. They guard /
the hive against enemies, keep it clean
and ventilate It, IN fact do every thing
that is done, except laying eggs.
The queen lays two kinds Of eggs, male /
and female, The former produces drOnes, |
the latter produces queens and workers.
If the eggs are deposited in the smallest |
cells thew hatch out workers if laid in /,
the larger regular cells, they hatch |
drones if laid in a peculiarly formed |
cell which is cOned-shaped, and hangs |
vertically on the edge Of the comb, they |
hatch out queens.
The queens can lay drone or male eggs
without being fecundated.
The workers can rear a queen from an /
egg deposited by the queen in worker
cell, by changing the form OF the CELL or
bv transferring the egg to queen cell.
Upon this fact, Is based the most success
fni methods of artificial swarming. This
can only be done where the bees are ln
son,a of the hives that admit Of the comb
bsino senarated or moved. By taking
mart of the sheets of comb from hive
with bees TO cover them, if there is any
blood in them, not yet capped over
when placed In another hive, the bees
will convert some of the worker brood
inFo oaeens. one OF which will be in
stalled as the head of the colony, and the
swarm will be as perfect as II II mao
swarmed in the natural way
NAHAGESfENT OF THE HONEY BEE.
written for colman's Rural wOrld.l
The Miller is the greatest enemy OF the
honey bee. Queenless colonies and weak
stocks easily fall prey to It the ior-
mer are sure to be destroyed unless you
rescue them, and the latter seiaom
escape. if the moth once gets Ioothoiu.
Where the Larvae Of the oee-moth mas
come to maturity, and once spun its
Son[,on and zone into the chrysalis state,
T., ~ ahort the hive, the probability IS
that. If they be at all numerous, the next
will overpOwer the colony
Their increase is 50 rapid, that they seem
to come ike weeds from the soil. Ifyou
SSoI,ld q save your bees from their ravages,
,,o,s roust commence in early spring.
SRTn1o n the. time to distroy the pest,
+ oah under the edge of your hive, where
!. n, rests sas On its stand, early every morn
~, y raj raise the hive and Kill every worm
.as ra5, can can find. If you have reason to
3te;,,k tIaf the worms have gone up into
the combs, blow little smoke among
he bees. carry the hive away from is
stand. place il on hard. smooth ground,
sl-nul f.s-li -. =. rlIank. and beat IL e /