The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-13
QUEEN, DRONE AND WORKER.
Various Stages in Their Growth
and Development.
THE WAY TO DEAL WITH STINdS.
DIR. Lanes Interesting Account of
the Life, Products and Work
of the Bee.

uO 1duC lICo lCCbuIC COul so dL tOOpor
College was opened last evening by DR.. l..
Z. Lane, who addressed large audience
on q subject interesting to all, "The Honey
Bee"
Insects, the third group in the class
'Articulata.' he said. derive their name
from the cleavage Of the body into three
parts-the head. the thoraX and the abdo-
men. To the head are attached the an
tenn@ or feelers; to each part of the chest,
the front, middle and posterior, are fast
ened a pair of legs. The bee has two
wings on each side of the middle part of
the body, of which the anterior pair are
used in flying.
The .perpetuity of the bee depends on
association. In each family there are
three kinds-the queen, the drODes and the
workers. OF the first one, of the second
hundreds. OF the third thousands exist
in hive.
THE queen, the most important person
in the hive, in form is more tapering, and
has shorter wings than the workers and
drOnes. These latter reverence her, at
tend her as guar DIS and serve as Hebes.
If taken away the hive is thrown into con-
fusion; X she cannot be found her sub
jects mourn her. She lays 1000 or 1900
GEES udy sue tAhiLlUeS ehcU cell, dBu
therein carefully deposits an oval egg, of
blush color, with coat of adhesive mat
ter. The egg remains unchanged tor
three days, alter which 1t turns into the
larva. In this form it grows for five or six
days, and Is then covered up In one of the
cells, where II spins silken casing for it
self and enters the nympha or pupa state.
1t undergOes great changes. and on the
twenty-tiTst day energies a perfect bee.
This is the course of the common bee.
The royal bee emergeS in perfect form in
sixteen days, while the drones or males do
not attain perfection until the twenty
fourth or Iwenty-fifth day. Owing 10
scant supplies of food the queen at times
lays her eggs on the comb. In which event
the workers eat them. The males ara use
less. united TO carry bee bread, without
glands 10 secrete wax, and are either
driven forth from the hive StuDg 10 death
or manned. so that they must perish. A
swarm contains 1000 or 5000 workers.
Their tongue is a delicate implement to
extract honey from the flowers and convey
II to the hOney-bag, properly the first
stomach of the bee. The hind legs have
Dasket-shaped holes in which the pollen
gathered from the stamens of the flowers
is carried. The part of the bee best known
10 MS Is the sting. complicated in strument
Of two parts, which can be moved indie
pendenIly. At the base of the sting are
glands OF three or four lnbes con tanning The
poison. The sting with its perfect point
has barbS by which it is retained ia the
wound with some portion of the lntestines
10 the consequent destruction of the bee.
''The life of the queen bee is from three
to four years; that of the drone is not
easily estimated, as he dies from violence,
while the worker lives from three to six
m Onths. Bees have been known TO occupy
one hive for forty-siX successive seasons.
WAX is the most costly produce Of the
hpp IL faEpa frnm tlirtpaO m ftya tu
pounds of honey TO produce one of wax,
which Is secretion from The poeket-like
glands that exist on the abdominal portion
of the worker The comb is built mostly
at night. when the worker ceases collect
ing honey. Wax being a poor conductor
is good protector of the honey. and pre-
serves the bees from rapid changes of tenn
perature. The honey cell has ever been
the admiration Of the naturalist It's form
for strength, economy of space and work
is mathematical lily perfect.
'Pr0pOlis is gathered from the resinous
buds of the poplar or cotton wood. Huber
observed the bees open the buds, extract
the meal and pass Ii 10 the third pair of
legs. Wax and prOpolis together form a
strong adhesive compound and is used to
strenthen attachment of the combs, to
fill cracks and openings. Reaumur says
that snail having crept into hive of
bees was surrounded by wall of DropOlis.
SuperstitiOus people think bees know of
the death of human being and visit the
ccflin. What they come for is the varnsh
Pollen is 4 rich heterogeneous material
and is tie food of the bees. Huber foun
pollen. not honey, in the stomach of the
bee. The manner of its collection is in
terestiDg. On entering the corolla of
flower the numerous hairs on the bees
body catch the pollen from the anthers.
The front legs then work il from the body
into the basket-like hollows of the legs,
pend on the various flowers, each bee on
its journey visiting only one kind of flower.
The ventilation of the hive is carried on
by two different bodies OF bees, one out
side the hive with their heads turned in
ward. the other inside the hive with their
heads turned outward, which move their
wings and generate two different currents
of air, one entering and the other going
out.
THE chief enemies of the bees are the
bee bird and the bee moth. the latter prob
ably the most deadly foe.
There are few of my hearers who are
not familiar with the sting of the bee.
The way to extract il is with the fingers or
a pair of fOrceps, after which diluted am
monia, spirits of camphOr, tincture of
i0diDe or the extract Of hOneysuckle ber-
ries may I've used.
Honey is mostly made from the sweet
juices of flowers, and undergoeS anti-fer-
mentatiOD changes in the stomach, which
prevents its becoming alcohol or vinegar.
hat lessons of industry, economy,
courage, patient work and self-sacrifice we
can all learn from the little 5ee?"