The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-10-07
THE NONEY-BEE..

us cDSufu.
THE NONEY-BEE.
Nowhere in the working OF natural
law in lower orders do we sec moro
wonderful exhibitions of instinct, near
ly approaching intelligence, than in the
common honey-bce. This little creature
is truly ''fearfully and wonderfully
made" Take, for instance, the feet of
the common worling-bcc; they exhibit
at one and the same time 4 brush, and
Il pair of pincers. One of the articles, in
deed, is a brush of extreme iincness, tho
hairs of which, arranged in symmetri
cal rows, axe only to be seen with the
microscope; with this brush, OF fairy
delicacy, the bee continually brushes
its velvet robe to remove the pollen
dust with which it becomes loaded
while ritling tho flowers and sucking up
their nectar. Another article, which is
followed Ikea spoon, receives all the
gleanings which the insects carry to the
hive; it is pannier for povisions. Final
ly by opening them one upon another
by means of Il hinge, these two pieces
become a pair of pinccrs, which render
important service in the construction
ofthe combs, and it is with them that
the bee lays hold of tho scmi-circles of
the wax below its abdomen and car
ries them to its mouth. Tho mcchnn-
ism of the sting is no less extraordinary.
This weapon consists OF ushcath inclOs-
ing two needle shaped darts OF exceed
ing tineness, ,placcd side by side. TO ward
the point they arc armed with
minute teeth like those Of
a saw, whence it happens that
the bee is sometimes unable to with
draw this little javclin from the enemy
it has pierced, Tor so powerful is the
impetus of tho sting that it will pierce
even tho thick human skin the Twelfth
of an inch deep. When the sting
makes the wound, the acrid poison is
sqeezed in from the bag near its base,
the structure and process being nearly
identical with those of tho poison
fangs of scrpcnts. Only the females
and the ncutcrs of working-bees
have these formidable weapons, the
mails or droncs being dcfcnsclcss.
Let us glance ut the exhibitions of
wisdom shown by these little fellows
which make such Il buzzing through
our gardens and hedges, aud stand
among all the insects the nearest
friends and familars of man. When
an enemy little to be dreaded sncalts
into hive of bees, the first scntincls
that see it pcrcc it with their
stings, and in the twinkle of
an eye the corpse is tossed out. The
work is not interrupted for IL moment.
But, if the intruder is Il big, strong
slug or worm, all tho workers are
thrown into agitation. They all rally,
and pierce the enemy with Il hundred
stings. But what is tn be done with
such Il heavy body: The little feet of
all the tribe would not suffice to stir
the corpse, and the narrow door of the
hive would not allow it to pass. Its
putrid OdOrs would, however, soon i'll
feet the colony, and develop the germ
Of some malady. How are they to cs-
cape from this danger: The little re-
publicans take counsel, and come sud-
denly to uSt such resolution as they
would have done if they had thorough
iy known one of the arts OF ancient
Egypt. As under the IharaohS men
cmbalmcu the cOrpSCS Of animals eth
or with a religious view or to preserve
themselves from the effects Of decay, so
all the bees now set to work to cmbulm
the dead animal, the proScncc''Of which
is n menace to them. For this pur-
pose the workers scatter themselves
over the country i'll order to gather the
rcsinous matter which clngs to the
buds, for this is what replaces the cs-
scnccs and alocS used by tho under
takers Oh the Nile. The bees closely
envclop the dead body with this in the
form Of little iillcts, and deposit all
round it thick, Il solid layer which
, preserves it from putrcfaction.-l1
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