The herald. (Big Stone City, Dak. [S.D.]) 1883-1890, 1889-04-19
LIFE IN A BEEHIVE.
An Interesting Description OF the Little
Insects and Their Habits.

Coopcr institute on the little busy bee,
ian its anatomy and physiology, and Illus
=" tra4ed his remarks hy stereopticou
~syiews showing the insect and its work
inrs in all their details, says the New
York Times.
While in its physical makeup the
bee is III many respects the opposite OF
man in his habits and tricks, he very
much resembles the lord OF creation,
and were bees to be transformed into
lllinen some would undoubtedly 90 into
PkhH police force or III the board of al
LLdermen, while there would not be a
VVfuw Successors to Jake Sharp and to
the inexperienced young toughs who
ret dubbed by the police and are then
p sent up to the pententiary for dis
honesty aud general sass. The oc-
.upation Of walking delegate and dude
- masaers are also found III apiarian So
y Setsy. j., j.. -, !. ,na n,u,ou !.
,,, horny skinned child of toll. He is
ncascd in rings and shields Of smooth
%lorn to shield him against attacks Of
lis own species, and he tolls as long as
here is ight He has not got back
JOne like Il man or a mule, but instead
~ le has littlc sting that serves his
lyes to maintain hi, rights. Between
lis tongue aud sting there is Il compli-
A.ated mechanism that is of great use
the farmer and to nature. Aside
\rom his honey that he distils. and
(which Is worth thousands Of dollars
annually to the farmer and to com
nerce, his habit Of poking his head in
% tloWers and covering II with pollen,
rr, which Ac brushes oil in other flowers,
kOl.endeIs him Il b"ncfactor TO nature in
'ertiliziu. lowers. Before the advent
cUS1pf the bee in Australia it was impossi-
dc to get any sccds Of red clover there.
mop )f course, his process Of making honey.
night not suit the most tatldlous
DU TASTE, for honey is partially digested
.ane 81 rar, made SO by the aid OF bee
alvia. butas the bee is Il perfectly
lean little animal that reyeis III nectar
Ill day long these little irregularities
|ER must b. overlooked Besides, lie uses
different mouth for the honey.
The bee is Il good iiler, but Is his
wings are smaltyl IN proportion to his
= Il o)Ody tlan are those ui the eagle to the
lUting OF birds, he mas to flap them more
frequently, ne laps away at the rate
II 446 flaps to the minute. lie has nc
Linus ungs, but system OF tiny ar tubes
extend through al parts Of the body,
md these he packs with air when he
wants to fly. Neither has he Il heart
out dor>al vessel that pumps the
Ia /, G3ood 10 the head. The head. Is mag
Allied on the screen, IS nota beautfu
object and as it is not the center O
;he nervous system lie would not mis-:
{ very much If cut Off if it were no
J, Tor the eyes, two Of which have 4,OJt
tInsxc hn .lr,
afar of, and two others to assist il
1oing the mleloseoplcal work IN th'
hive.
The entrances To the hive are yel,
: carefully guarded by sentinels, an,
/. every bee on arriving at the door i
challenged hy them with their anien
= na. II he can give the countersign h,
is admitted to the sanctuary, but Il h
. can not lie is il danger, for bees ar,
: very nervous insects, and draw sting
on the slightest provocation. The ap
plicant must be 4 thief, aud old thlc;c
= are detected by experienced sentlncls
but the form of challenging must b
gone through first. Ine old thief be
is fat and sleek aud shining and yer.
!. suave. Ii caught by sentinels lie vii
: at once try to make 4 deal and Ollie
the policeman some sugar and whit
they are eating it he either slips in an
fills up at the cells or he retreats an
tries another hive. II the sentinels ar
incorruptiblc the thief humps himself
draws bis horny shields tight a.oun'
him SO that the stngs Of the policeme
may not penetrate and runs. A youn
thief stands up to fight and gets clul
bed. lie learns by experience.
hs The queen bee has not got such
VERY easy time. She has plenty to ca
and eats it, and flies very little; but !.
she has to lay all the eggs OF tn
colony, and often lays more than he
weight OF eggs in one day, the bee
begrudge her nothing, but let her hay
hcr own way everywhere.
The drone is tho dude and walkln
delegate Of the hive. He is not yer
1nNumerous, however. He is fat, an
CURpends his time eating honey. llrtin
With the girls and the queen. and the
l. takes quiet nap in the sun. Nhe
|Ei. hts charms no longer please he
driven out, and if he can not get
berth In another hive he starves. In
uttlo worker, however, according :
llIAko locturer, does not fare much be
Il ID XE&oC. She lives for about six week
u UVWhon she becomes feeble, her wing
got torn and fringcd and she lies dow
20 died in the fields. refusing to retur
70 tho hive and become a burden 9
iac colony.
M