Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-29

| FNH 80, lnaSmQCn as tne
- sting of the bee Is
| the chief obstacle to
| bee culture in the
United States. The idea of producing bees
without stings by selection in breeding has
OFTEN been suggested. but it Is not con-
sidered practicable by scientific apiarists
The tropical insects referred to are cou-
sins to the true honey bees. being grouped
| zoologtcally between the latter and the
| pumble bees. They make excellent honey
winch. though less sweet than that sold
| In northern markets. has an aromatic per
rune and delicious flavor of its own
some OF 1t is said to be poisonous but II
Is not so ordinarily. OF these bees, which
are very small. there are twenty-six spe-
cies in Central and South America, where
, tney nave been kept in hives for cen
,r They belong to the genus "Meliponae."
ahoush lacking stings, they possess other
means or defence. They not only bite
tha rat sharply with their jaws. like ants,
| put tney do their best to crawl into the
ears ana nostrils Of anybody who attacks
o oen. some species are very spiteful, but
others are comparatively amiable-notably
| the "scutellaris." which is the one most
commonly domesticated in Brazil. The
ro 1of s employed DYED are usually hung from
Q. earthenWare. but more often they are
caue OF hollow logs two or three feet long.
wood. Wb .ne ENDS s, with circular plugs OF
weight to be full. the plugs are withdrawn
ana the honey is removed. These bees
the na ogen Kept since prehistoric times by
Their honey is contained not in hexagonal
egns pI. IN wax bags as big as pigeons
SssS. 1neSe are hung around the interior
val matis OF the hive and are usually about
n nan auli. holding as much as the strength
tree or log occupied by the bees is a hole
Just big enough to admit the members of
s sMe Soiony one at time. At this hole a
sllSie pee always stands sentinel, drawinK
PACK out or the way every time that a house,
mate enters or leaves the domicile. BY
marking the sentinel 1t has been ascertain
ed that the same Individual does sentry
GUY Ior whole day. The hole in the side
or or the hive IL the entrance to a long wind
tained from the buds of plants For any
hostile insect or other foe to make its way
passage is SO perilous an unSertakine thai
even the nerce tropical ants never attempt
Birds and lizards are the greatest enc
miles OF these bees, the reptilian robbers
more particularly attacking certain species
Wnich build their hives underground. All
Ina mas peen said as to the habits of the
Menponae" applies in the main to their
near relatives the 'Trigonae." The latter
are are mot fSs,rp peculiar to the New World
found also in the East Indies and in Aus
traiia; They are much smaller. being in
which means "three-cornered." comes from
the circumstance that their abdomens are
triangular in shape. They have no stings.
gather
ing pollen and honey. carrying remarkably
neaVy loads. The workers are black. but
the me queen Is dark yellow and has a huge
enough to lift her into the air when she Is
nlled with eggs. The honey cells. which
are as big as good-sized peas. are grouped
Tho First Record of Hivinp.
The stings Of bees are formidable wean-
ons. When they are hungry nobody can
hahdle them, but they are never cross
when swarming, because on such occa
S suith every one OF them has filled herself
templated journey to another home. Ac-
e cord at such times they can be dealt
record Of a small boys hiving a swarm Of
bees by securing the whole bunch in his
# DISPOSITION to- be 6Gme with them
hearty meal had not been given to these
insects, they could never have been do
still be obtained from clefts OF rocks and
hollows Of trees There is everything in
knowing how to deal with bees. Those who
approaches them in the fields are ignorant
OF the fact that no bee ever volunteers an
attack when at a distance from her hive
The males, called drones. are stingless.
All the feats performed by the celebrated
body who understands bees. He did what
he pleased with them apparently. causing
| swarms of them to obey his orders and
| even to hang in festoons from his chin
such was the spell which round a Wild
mans arm
Bright Ger his breast the glittering le-
Or With a living garland bound his
Whitman managed all this by, simply
because the perpetuation Of their species
depends on the eggs which she lays for the
colony. He hid the queen in his beard,
causing gather there
and likewise made them do whatever else
he wished, meanwhile giving words Of com
mand which were merely intended to de-
ceive the spectator.
The Sting OF Bee
Is composed Of two spears Of polished
horn held in a sheath. One gets a notion
of the sharpness Of the weapon by a very
simple comparison. The edge of very
microscope, appears as broad as the back
of thick knife, rough, uneven and full
OF notches. An exceedingly small and deli
cate needle similarly scrutinized resembles
a rough bar from a smiths forge. The
sting Of a bee, viewed through the same
instrument shows a fawless polish, with
out the least blemish or inequality, ending
in a point too fine to be discerned. In the
act of singing the spears, each Of which
mel for the passage Of the poison, emerge
from the sheath. One of them Is plunged
into the flesh of the victim. the other fol-
lowing, and alternately they penetrate
deeper and deeper. The venom is forced
to the ends of the spears by much the
same process as that which carries the
poison from the tooth of a snake when it
bites.
On one historical occasion a small pirate
vessel, having on board some bees in
earthenware hives which had been cap
tured on an island in the Mediterranean,
was pursued by Turkish galley. The
climbed the mast. from which they threw
down the hives upon the deck when the
galeys crew boarded the vessel The
hives broke into fragments and the bees
attacked the assaiants with such vigor
that the latter retreated and permitted
the pirates to take their own galley almost
without resistance. 1t is related that
Amurat. Sultan of Turkey. when besieg-
Tended by swarms of bees. His Janis
saries, the bravest militia OF the Ottoman
empire, refused to clear the obstacle.
To suck a wound made by bee is not
advisable. Whereas the most deadly snake
poison Is harmless when taken internally,
that of the bee Is quite otherwise. some
times causing severe headaches and other
distressing symptoms. The barbs with
which the spears are armed prevent them
tress Bee is usually obliged to fly away,
leaving behind her sting, together with
a portion of her intestines attached to it.
In such a case she dies. Wasps and hor-
nets, on the other hand. can sting repea ted
ly without endangering their lives. The
sting of a bee with poison sack attached is
capable of singing for days after it has
been removed or torn from the body Of the
Insect. Persons have been badly stung in
the mouth by stngs Of bees In broken hon.
eycombs which have buried bees by falling
haa do ,4t TIA