Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-01-08
THE BUSY BEE.
A Statistician ON the Habits Of the
Industrious Hummer.
Developments Of Bee Culture In North
AmcrscE-Iu SwiazerIand.Cu.
rious Ways Of Life
Ia the Hive.
IChicayo TimeS. |

Ir. L. U. NtNN.6D, siatfSliCisiu VI tuo
Northwestern Society Of Beekeepers, said re-
| Gently TO the members OF that organization:
Since the introduction Of the movable
comb hive, twenty years ago, bee culture IN
North America has been developed more
| than il had been in the century previous.
| Today the United States and Canada pro
duce the bulk of the honey consumed in the
I world, and our apiarists are the most skilled
and successful. According TO conservative
estimates we have total Of 100000 col
onies, which annually yield ~, 900
pounds of honey. The value Of the colonies,
| at an average of sll each, would be 81, CO.,,
| 600, and of the annual product, at an aver
age of Is cents per pound, SIS, 06o, 900, max
| ing the total amount Of money involved, ap-
proximately, So. 10000 The compar-
ative showing of all Europe IS less
| than one-tenth Of this amount.
Prom California we supply australia,
and Europe imports largely from our eastern
states. At the London agricultural fair We
recently displayed 80 tons OF honey in the
comb which was awarded the prize over all
the European exhibits. In America honey
ia plentiful and cheap; in Europe il is scarce
and precious While it sells for about IL
cents pound here it brings half crown, or
| G2;l ceItS. at London.
There are very few localities in Europe
where tie honey-bee prospcrs, there being no
staple blo.lI upon which they could depend
| for honey. The most progressive people in
agriculture are the Swiss, who successfully
maintain extensive ai,iaries N great alfi-
tude i'll the Alps. France j. dependent On
| Switzerland for her hon y supply. The tim.
| is not far distant when America viii be ex-
porting luge!y to all tie European nations-
Il
| Mr. Newman. 1t amounts almost 10 a
science Twenty YEAR ago the bee was All
insect Whose n,lastry was little appreciated
and whose conditions and methods OF life a.
well ass Regeneration. We're unly meagerly
| comprehenlel Now. Will. III help Of the
microscop., and after years of study aud
conferences. such a. the one just ended. tn
daintest nIinu,aa "f the bees life Is under
stood. With coupe more wears experience
/ in ventilation. Temperature, an1 the treat
men; OF the dcli,-at. diseases 10 which he'-
| are subiecte.6 in thu winter months. III. IA
dustry Will have been developed almost to a
| perfect STAFF. The success OF tie American
apitr:s,~, rs tell You, i 20 lee attributed rs
much - their rCs arch aS TO the naturally
favorallc conditio:is of our honsy -howins
vegetatjb". | have gwen the matter con
slant STEADY fuI years, AMI have fanIiliarizc
myself with all tie characteristics Of thcs'
| quaint little creature. Their propagation
| is perhaps. one of the most delicate, and at
the same time tn best regulated. OPERATORS
in nature. Although tn" perletuatinn de-
| peuds upon n single female III a colony, IL Is
rarely that the line If IrogenituTe Is broken,
and then it is by accident.
In colony there are two distinct sets of
occupants: the male drunes and mfeci ldatet
females, who are known as tho worker.
The dronss have no stinS>. Th=y aTe shift
less ard worthless being the dudes Of the
hive. They lay around i'll groups, fattening
off the honey which the workers store up,
until within six weeks aftc- having come
into existence they die of Not iufrequeutiy
the workers get inreusci at their lazy, selfish
conduct, and slaughter them by wholesale,
singing them to death. Tie queen is at
tended constantly by a royal retinue whose
heads are invariably pointed toward her, n
ii in obeisance. OF the female eggs which
she deposits the workers select anywhere
from ten to twenty, and building larger cells,
place che in each inclosed in what Is called
the royal jelly. a SALIVA of their own produc
ton. This it is which impar;S t. the female
the pregnable fluid The female larya de
velOpes into animated life, and a young queen
bee breaks forth from the cell
AS her rivals appear subsequently,, she
slaughters them, one after the other She Is
nimble and vigorous at tie expiration Of two
or three days. and the workers, seemingly
believers in the survival of the fittcst, attend
in a body, Will, the old queen and her ado
descent rival engage in royal combat t. the
death At this duel OF sting, from which
the drones are excluded, the spectators main
tain The stricteSt de ,oruin, AMI preserve fair
play Letve,n the contestants. The queen
you know, never USES her sting Oh anything.
except royalty. AMI whel assai.el by the
plebeian workers will not even defend her
self The young one is usually Wet Jrio,is
After havins disposed of her predecessor and
attended the solemn funeral obsequcs when
the body is carried from the hive, she circu-
lates among the drone and entice; the whole
swarm of them into the outer air
The queen then let urns to the hive and
arrangeS the many departments of her
household. Her fertility is perpetual with
her, and She is empowered 10y nature 10 lay
anywhere from 1000 to 1909 eggs in day.
These are Matched ont in frOiI seventeen II
twenty-one days She becomes perfect
mother with power to produce workers OF
droncS a, will or 10 REPRODUCE ker=elf She
the endurance o. the affections which the
worker, entertain for her, when She is de-
throned in the manner narrated In the
winter the oil bees die and in the ,prin; the
queen sends out new swarInS of young work
ers to gather the honey harvest The workers
are arranged AMI cla>sed So that neither dis
cord nor confusion may interrupt Their work.
They are first divided Off into well marshaled
squads each of which attends indust riously
u its own particular assignment
The comb-builders construct tic delicate
comb. II is estimated that they consume
about twenty pounds Of honey 1, cUnstructI
one pound IF comb. The honey "a there's
collect the sweet juices from the flowers and
deposit them in the cells. Water carriers
employ themselves in carrying in the water
required for the support of the Young brood.
The pollen gatherers convey the faIina from
the blossoms TO the cavities formed for it.
reception The nursing bees feed the Young
until they are able to take care of Themselves.
aud the faithful guards. ever mindful
of the Jeace and harmony of the COLONY
jealously watch the entrance 10 the hive
admitting no intruder, neither insect MOI
strange bee. 1t j. amusing 10 notice how
dexterously they pounce upon anything
daring even To approach the entrance II a
new queen daTes 10 enter the hive, she i ir-
stantly killed. We overcome this rebellious
trouble, in supplying a colony with queen. |
by caging her in there until she becomes per
meated with the odor Of the colony. When |
she Is released. at the end of three DAYS. sbs
is cordially entertained and installed .