Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-10-07
AGRICULTURAL.
The Habits of Bees and wasps.


The Habits OF Bees and WaSps'
Sir John lubbock, in paper on the so
cial Hymenopiera (bces, wasps and anis)
especially with reference to their habits
senses, and power Of communication with
one another, pointed out, with regard &c
the latter, that the observations on RECORD
scarcely justify the conclusions which have
been drawn from them. Thus Me'srs
Kirby and Spencer say that ants have q
LANGUAGE .'not confined merely to giving
Intelligence of the approach or absence oil
danger, but cc.extensive with all their 9th
er occasions for communicating their ideas
I 70 each other" The observations, how
ever. on which this statement is based
scarcely seemed to him to be conclusive.
The two Hubers indeed, had clearly
made one another cogpizant Of their state
of feeling. could communicate anger etc.;
but that was very different from the pos
session of true language.
In support of the opinion that ants and
bees possess true language, 1t is suually
stated that If one bee discovers store Of
honey, the others are soon aware OF the
fact. Thus Huber says: "wasps are also
acquainted with the mode of impartirg
information to their companions. When
siugle wasp discovers stronghold Of
sugar, honey or other article OF food 1t
returns to its nest, and brings of, in a
short tmc. a hundred other wasps; but
we are yet ignorant if 1t be by visible Or
pal pable signs they are mutually informed
Of this discovery"
This, however. does not essarily inn
ply the possession of any POWER of de-
sorting locaitios, or anything that could
correctly DO called language. If the
bees or wasps merely follow their fortu-
rate companions, tbs matter is simple
enough. If, on the contrary, the others
are sent, the case would be very different.
In order to test this, Sir John proposed to
keep honey in given place for some time,
in order to satisfy himself that it would
not readily be found by the bees; and
then, after bringing 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.
In the first place, then, he kept some
honey for some days at an open window in
his sitting-room, and no bees came to it.
He then brought bee up from tho hives
in the garden in his hand, choosing one
which was in the act of leaving the hive.
He found it frightened the bees less to be
brought in the hand than in bottle, prob,
sbly on account OF the darkness. The
bee thus brought up was then fed with
honey, which it sucked with evident en-
ioymcnt for few minutes, and then few
quietly away. But though it had been
given no symptom of alarm or annoyance,
t did not return, nor did any other bee
'ome to the honey. This experiment he
epeated eight times with like result.
lie therefore procured one of Masriott's
observatory hives, which he placed IN his
itting-room The bees had free access to
he open air, but there was also small
ide or postern door, which could be open.
d at pleasure and which led into the
DOM.
This enabled him to feed and mark any
'articular bees, aud he recountcd nun.
YER of experiments, from which ii appear.
ID that comparatively few bees found their
,wn way through tn, postern, while Of
hose which did so the great majority few
20 the window, and scarcely any found the
money for themselves.
Those, on the contrary. which were tax.
On to the honey passed backwards aud
forwards between it and the hive, making
on an average, five journeys in an hour.
In these cases, it is obvious that the bees
which found the honey did not communi.
cate their discovery to the others: and
the postern being small and on Que side
few Of the bees found 1t out for themselves.
If the honey hal been in an open place,
no doubt the sight Of their companions
feasting would have attracted other bees
but in this case the honey was rather out
of sight, being behind the hive entrance.
and was, moreover, only accessible by the
narrow and winding exit through the lit
tie postern-dCor.
Sir John mad also, 10 similar manner,
watched number Of marked wasps, with
very similar results.
No dotbt, when one wasp has discovered
and Is visiting a supply OF syrrp, Others
are apt to come too !; but he believed they
merely follow one another. He argued
that if they communicated the fact, con.
numbers would at once make