The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-09-02
LIVELY INSECTS.
A Good-Natured Man Tells What He
Knows of Bees and Yellow

O6ckcUBs |
"a bee il a very playful and good
natured animal" said a gray-headed
man with a benevolent smile, standing
near the entrance of the bee-hives at
the Zoo. ''The only thing you want to
be careful about when you come any
where neal a bee is never to hit him.
That is, you must never attempt to hit
him, for the chances are just about nine
out of ten that you cawn't do it it you
try.
..Now, the difference between a bee
and a yellow-jacket is Just about this:
A yellow-jacket is the most vile and dis
reputable insect ever created. They
| suffer from a chronic disordered temper.
1t is never safe to pick up a yellow
jacket, and nothing makes a yellow
jacket more happy, and gives rise to a
more general feeling of unhappiness on
the part of human susceptibility than to
have some unreflecting person take hold
of him. 1t is then that the little yellow
jacket soul throbs with fiendish delight,
and misery seizes the unfortunate
victim.
1.-THE habits of these insects are pecu-
liar" continued the benevolent man.
"a bee stings a person o than
once. His apparatus has a barbed point,
and when it enters any substance it
stays there. This finishes up the bee
for good. He lives but a few minutes
after losing his sting"
There need never be any fear OF an
attack from bees" said the lecturer,
'unless you begin the attack by striking
at them. Then they respond with saw
~o orr1eo ehou1I SOW If q Uhn1Q
swarm of bees were to surround a man
and sting him the effect would be fatal.
The venom of the honey bee is very
painful. But when treated kindly they
are harmless. This shows their intelli-
gence. They become accustomed to
persons in the habit of attending them.
"Do you know" said the man, ''that
q hornet is the most singular animal,
and the most unpleasant one to fight
with that people ever knewP A person
who is stung by a hornet feels ready fol-
a-howling war-dance, and it all comes
from not understanding n disagree.
able characteristic of them. If a man
was sharp a hornet could never sting
him. The minute a man strikes OF
throws a stick t him he instantly re
spends by making for him in a line az
straight as the range of a theodolite
And he always gets there. But if the
nan saw him coming and only had sense
enough to dodge him the horne
wouldn't get there. And what is more
peculiar, the hornet would go straigh
!, back to the identical point he started
from aud make another sally for his vic
tim. But just as often as the man KEEP
do.ging he would eve get stung. !
only requires a man with nerve enougl
| to stand his ground and agility enoug
: to dodge quicker than the hornet ca
, fly to make it a very interesting combat
, "But of all the spiteful, wicked an
uncompromising insects. a me fror
either a yellow-jacket or a WASP
L There is no getting away from then
: and when they sting once they sting
" dozen times in different parts of th
l body. They keep right at it, and a ma
: may try to hit them with a stick or b
: hat all day and miss them every time
= Wasps make their nests in the ceilin
!. of room or the roof of a barn. Horne
g are generally found in clumps of frui
trees, shrubbery, or fences. "-Philade
a phiG Press.