Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-06-01
Bees.

y writer III tue htCeTStIe lnugIZIflt
gives us these curious facts about that very
common little fellow, the busy bee II
will be more interesting to watch these
little honey makers after reading this:
Look at his eye. Did you ever exam.
inc an insects eye? Many of them art
many sided, and so it is with these of our
little friend, and they enable him to see
objects at very great dis nee. Take
him three miles from his sweet home and
watch him. He flies round aud round in
spiral and increasing scope of flight, up
ward, upward, as if Excelsior were his
motto. But see, his movements change
/ He has reached sufficient height, and
now, with bee line, he strikes directly for
the hive | think he must have seen it.
What is the matter now He has ar
rived at home, but he appears not to see
the door. 1t is small, to be sure, but he
has been there often before, and ought not
to 90 bobbing and buzzing about the side
of the hive, like a man who has been too
long at the club, and who can't make the
latch key fit.
Look again. Notice those long feelers
before his nose. There are twelve Joints
in them if he is a worker, or thirteen if he
is drone. By these he gains his knowl.
edge of objects near at hand, See he is
now feeling all along the face of the hive,
and now he is out of sight to us in the
darkness within. for be has stumbled upon
the door SApce inside. he uses his won
derfally $hfed feelers to great advantage
for working in the dark, he has to feel
things all over TO know what they are, he
has to feel his neighbors, too, to know who
they are.
But we ought to have examined our
wandering friend a little more closely be-
fore he went into darkness All here he
comes again ? Quick let US look at his
fleet. There are six of them, and they
each end in curious hook. Mr.. Bradley
go 10y ose-tSSss 70 hold onto the hive
and to each other with. You have seen
bunch of bees hanging on a branch, and
though but few were able TO cling to it.,
all the thousands below appeared to be
easily sustained. One would think their
tiny legs would be pulled out of joint.
The two hind legs of our little worker.
bee differ from the others. There are
very curious cavities followed in them
which are guarded by thickly set hairs.
In these the pollen is carried, and the red
bee-glue, or propolis, with which the bot
tom of the hive is covered, and the crew.
ces that would admit the air stopped. The
other legs are furnished with hairs by
means of which the pollen is brushed off
from the bees body. Sometimes, in the
Spring, the little fellow must have more
food than the hive affords, and then, if their
are given rye -four, they will roll them
selves in it and when well covered hy away.
Then, posing in the air, or carefully alight-
ing in a convenient place, they will dust
all the -four into the cavities of their hind
legs, with the brushes on their other four
legs.
Now let us look down this fellows throat.
Bees do not make honey, they only gather
it. They suck it up with their proboscis
and then deposit it in their stomach.
There are two of these, of which the
first is only big bag-big for bee-and
just holds large drop of honey. The
second stomach is used for digestion, so
guarded by valve that food, though it
can 90 readily from the first into the sec
end, cannot by any means get back again.
thus the honey can not be mixed with the
food When the first stomach is filled !
with honey, the bee hurries home and de-
postes it in the cells prepared for it.
1t is time for US to look into the hive |
now. 1t is as dark as a pocket, and as
ight a drum. Why, do you ask ? 1t
was long time before any one could guess, /
1ut if you expose little honey to the suns
ays, you will see yourself 4 change
,omes over 1t which makes it unfit for use /
~ the bees. The bees make the hive |
Akeep out dampness, but they take spe-
-AAins to have it we'll ventilated in ali /
a parts. They need pure air. and a
number of workers are delegated to fur
lish it. Some are stationed at the en-
rance who make currents with their wings
I'D others continue the draughts in differ
at parts of the hive until complete cir
ulation has been effected. This causes
ne humming noise heard in the hive.
The colony in hive consists of queen
tho is the mother of all of drones or |
nales; and of workers. The queen is
Arper than the others. Her size varies, |
.ut in the laying season, at the time of
Ter greatest development, she is about an
i,ch in length The drone, who is a tri1e |
smaller, aud the worker is still less in size. |
# we had natural hive of 10000 bees,
al told, we should expect to find in it one |
queen, 500 drones, and 19.499 workers. |
Now 500 is too large a number of lazy
d-ones to support, as they are good for
psthing after the eggs are laid by the
oteen. Therefore careful bee keepers |
have discovered an ingenious method of
decreasing the population by several hun
dred of them, and they are able to avoid |
raising a single drone if they choose to do
50. We cannot now explain the process,
for we must examine our queen more close
She has larger body than her subjects,
her colors are brighter and purer, her alb
dOnen is long, conical, and tapering, and
is crossed with bright yellow bands. Her
head is smaller, her tongue shorter and
more slender, and her jaws are notched.
The drone is lazy fellow, great eater
with short, thick body, blunt at each end
and no sting. He is only tolerated be-
cause the queen must be married, and there