Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-21
GIANT BEES OF INDIA.
The Stock to Be Imported by the Department,
Of Agriculture.


PROSPECTS FOR ISTRopucISS TEEN TO rHr
roREsr OF THE soUrH-BUMBLK BEES FOR
AusrBALIA-wHAr rHKr ARE GOOD FOR
VNHE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Il is about to send an expedition to India for
the purpose Of procuring certain giant bees
which are wild IN that country. They are the
biggest species known in the world. and they
build combs in the forests as large ordinary
house doors. These huge combs hanging from
the limbs Of lofty trees or from projecting
hedges OF rock at a high altitude. give enor-
nous quantities Of wax. Bee hunting is = pro-
fession in India.
The bee hunters wear no clothing save
breechclouts. They have superstitious fear
OF the insects. Though dreading to encounter
them on fair terms they are very skillful in at
lacking their nests by stratagem Their usual
method is to climb the tree from q high limb
Of which the comb depends. swinging below
the hive long stick with bunch Of ignited
leaves on the end Of it, until the bees are driven
out many Of them falling with singed wings
10 the ground, but the majority ascending
into the air above the comb and towering in a
cloud This opportunity is taken by the
seeker after spoil to cut away the great comb,
which he quickly lowers by means OF a rope to
the ground below One gets a notion of the
vast quantities of honey and wax collected in
this manner from the stores of the latter ma
terlai to be seen in the ware houses and shops
OF the cities, tons upon tons of it together 1t
is an article of extensive export from India
TO DoMEsricATE THEM HERE.
The proposition is to fetch these lees to this
country and domesticate them here if possible
If they could spread their swsrms in the semi
tropical forests Of the United States they might
be made to supply considerable crops of the
finest and most valuable wax. Curiousiy
enough, the drones of this species are no lsrger
than ordinary bees, and this fact af-
fords reason for hoping that they will
mate with the females OF stocks already
acciimated here. These wonderful insects
from India have longer tongues than
are possessed by other bees. and the belief is
entertained that they could secure from many
kinds of flowers honey which now goes TO waste.
Dreadful stories are told in the country where
they belong of their extraoI dinnry fer betty and
OF attacks which they have made upon whole
villages Of people with fats- results. but the
fact has been demonstrated that capable bee
keepers can handle them easily and safely.
Considerable numbers of humble be es have
recently been imported from Europe in to Aus
tralia and New Zealand Hitherto growers of
red clover in those countries have been obliged
to obtain seed for planting each wear from
England, because this crop produced no seed,
for lack of humble bees to fertilize the bios
SONS. Bundle bees find in red clover their IA
vorite diet and without their aid in distribut-
ing pollen this plant would soon perish off the
face of the earth. Finding il very expensive
to import their red clover seed annually, the
farmers OF the countries mentioned decided to
procure humble bees for themselves. Accord
ingiy lot were taken while in the alternating
stage during cold weather. packed in moss
in fba ref fnr
compartment of ship. They we're set loose
on arrival and already they have multiplied SO
numerousiy in that part Of the world that it
is feared they will become a nuisance BY con-
Stunning all the flower Juices which the honey
bees require for their own purposes. 1t seems
to be the same way with every sort of animal
that is introduced TO Australia. Invariably the
beast, bird or insect proceeds at once to -four
lsh to such an extent as to upset the normal
balance of creation.
USE OF BUNDLE BEES.
Bundle bees are generally supposed to be Of
no particular use in the world. 1t is not their
fault. They are active and industrious honey
gatherers. but there are never enough Of them
In one colony to make store that is worth
taking. When winter comes the queen humble
bee seeks a place in the ground for hiding
safely during the cold months. She finds such
a spot beneath moss, or perhaps in a heap of
leaves. There she hibernates comfortably, re-
naming fast asleep until spring arrives. The
warm sun of approaching summer awakens her
and she crawls out. Immediately she looks
about her for nest suitable to breed in. An old
nest vacated by field mice serves her pur-
pose admirably. Having settled upon quarters,
she begins collecting pollen from the flowers,
storing it away in two pockets which she carries
on her hind legs. Into the nest chosen she puts
the pollen and goes for more. fetching load
after load until she has formed a ball of pollen
perhaps as much as an inch in diameter. In
the ball of pollen she lays her eggs, and after a
few days they are Matched, bringing forth little
worm-like larv@.
The Larvae Matched in the mass of pollen feed
upon the nutritious material, consuming the
portions nearest at hand, until each one has
cleared a little room. Then it proceeds to spin
cocoon around itself, and after little while
it comes out of this chrsyaIis q ull-fedeed
worker bee Almost Immediately these new
hedged bees begin gathering pollen,
which they continually add to the origi-
nal lump, making it bigger and bigger,
while the queen goes on laying eggs in it as
long as warm weather lasts Perhaps before
winter arrives the mass will have grown to the
size of ones two fists. 1t is literally honey
combed with cells from which the young bees
have made their escape, and these empty cham
bers are used for the storing of honey. Most
of the honey gathered by humble bees is OBJ
tanned from red clover.
EGGS LAID BY THE QUEEN.
up 70 nearly tue euQ OF tue summer the
queen lays only worker eggs-that is to say,
eggs which produce females which are undevel-
oped sexuaily. They are the honey gathering
and contributing class. When autumn is
coming on, however. she produces males
called drones. At the same period also she
lays eggs which give birth to fully de-
veloped females, all of which are des-
tined to be queens the following year. These
females mate with drones and thus are rem
dered able to reproduce their species in the
next season. From six to twelve of the future
queens are turned out by each hive. When cold
weather arrives they crawl into snug places,
where they hibernate during the winter, gath
in it. Thus is completed the cycle of their
species Only the queens survive. all the
workers and drones diving.
Thus it may be said that every humble bee
hive is wiped out each autumn. Here is one of
the reasons why this genus of apide is not use
full to mankind. They do not gather in num-
beers sufficient to accumulate large stores of
honey, notwithstanding their industry Orli-
nariy a single colony will not number more
than thirty or forty individuals. Another cause
for their worthlessness is that their cells being
formed in the manner described, are huddled
together without order, SO that the honey can
not well be obtained from the combs in clear
state.
BEES THAT ARE COUSINS.
The humble bee and the honey making bee
proper are cousins. Scientifically speaking
they are families belonging to the same order
Four species of honey bees are known. Three
of them are indigenous to India and are found
nowhere save in that part of the world. The
M