Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-07-12
Information About Bees.

A correspondent of foreign paper
writes: Many persons will just now
purchase SWarmS and commence bee
keeping; it is, therefore, essential that
they should know something of the
natural history of bees. We can calcu-
late by the weight of the swarms the
number of bees, as the authorities" al
low five thousand bees to the pound. The
hive will then consists of queen, work
ers, and drones. The queen lays all the
eggs, from which the inhabitants of the
hive are produced. She deposits from
two to three thousand daily for weeks
in succession. The workers perform
the essential duties, such as comb build
ing, brood raising, and honey gathering.
The droneS are the males, and their APP
proach at the swarming season for the
fertilization of young queens Is wise
provision of nature. They gather no
honey, and are driven from the hive
during the month of August, when their
services are no longer required Honey
comb consists of siX-sided cells made
from wax, which is not gathered, but
elaborated from honey by the bees.
Five worker cells measure one inch
across, and in these honey and pollen
are stored and worker bees produced.
The drone cells measure four to the
inch, and in these the drones are raised.
The cells in which the queens are raised
hang like acorns upon the side or end
of the combs, and sometimes as many
as twelve or fourteen may be found in a
hive at swarming time. When hive is
deprived of its queen, previous to the
introduction of foreign sovereign, and
fearing that her majesty may not be
favorably received, the beekeeper must
be careful to cut out all queen cells save
an open one, on which he may cage the
new queen, as, when liberated after
furty-eight hours confinement, the bees
imagine she has Just emerged from the
vacant cell, and acknowledge her author
ity at once. The queen no doubt lays
all the eggs; but they must be kept
warm by the bees until they produce
tiny white gTubs, which hatch out at
the end of three days, and are then fed
by the nurses with a mixture of honey,
pollen and water; when full grown, at
the end of six days, they are sealed over
with brownish cup of wax and pollen
mixed together. In twelve days they
emerge from their incarceration perfect
bees, thus occupying the cell for twenty
one days; first three days in the egg
state, six as an unsealed grub. and
twelve in state of quietude ensconced
within the cell. Drones pass through
like changes, but require twenty-five
days to complete the transformation
from an egg to a perfect drone. The
drone brood may at any time be known
by the size of their cells and their con-
veX cappings. Bees can raise queens
from eggs destined to become worker
bees, provided that drones are abroad
TO mate with the young queens. Should
this occur when no drones are about,
all their efforts would be in vain, as the
eggs deposited by such queen would
produce none but drones, even the
eggs laid in worker cells would produce
miniature drones, and the hive 90 &c
ruin. Although the queen is much
larger and more fully developed than
the worker, she arrives at maturity II
five days less time, and she matches
out in about eight days after being
sealed in. The dose of royal Jelly which
she receives is said to hasten on the
transformation scene. The queen lives
five years, but the workers life in sum
mer does not exceed two months, but
the bees Matched out in autumn live til
the following spring Drones are to be
found in Nav, but are driven out OF the
hive before the end of August, and their
nervous nature prevents them returning
to the hive, hence they die at once. As
we advance in the practice of bee-keep
ing, we must avail ourselves of the In
Ventions of modern science, such as bal
frame hives and comb foundation, aS
much valuable time is saved In shsil
employment.