The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27
BEES IN BATTLE.
Their Plans of CHmpaign-AttacIS
ana Defence

y
blights the life of the leaves and flow
ers in woods and garden. the flow OF
honey is checked. and the busy bees find
their labors doubled. A restless activity
seizcs them, and they fly around in an
| unsettled condition Of mind until the ap-
/ preaching cold weather drives them per-
] maueuty into their winter quarters. No
I creature seems 10 regret the change Of
/ season more genuinely tnam the honey
! bees, and one is inspired with sympa-
I my Tor me snlFerlng QraWn-up bodies
1 that hover around the entrances to the
Z hives. or return from their long flights
/ with only speck Of honey I'm their sacs.
bul TINS transition season is one of
+ alarm TO the apiarist, for the bees, tor
/ mented py munger and the lack or work
/ % do, get into mischief in the fail of
/ the year very easily The quietest, most
! n0ustri0us worker of the hive may at
any moment lead "a body of organized
/ robbers against a neighbOring hive to
! steal the stores Of honey that have been
mama Iof foDDery SEXES the colonies, ana
I the weak stand in daily fear of being
/ destroyed by the stronger. An extra
sentinel ISL placed at the entrance of each
hive, and the strictest watch is kept for
1 all intfuders. on some quiet autumn
day. when the buckwheat blossoms are
| slowly closing their petals for the last
I time, the restless bees Of one large hive
I may be seen uylng around in great act
/ witty, accommodating the field for an at
/ TACK upon some weaker colony stand
/ ing in front of the hive that has been
singled out for the premeditated assault,
/ a most interesting sight may be observed.
/ A single bee comes buzzing through the
I air and alights upon the board in front
[ Of the entrance to the hive. one Of the
| two or three bees standing guard at the
/ entrance advances toward the newcomer
and extends its tongue The iutruding
| bee must give the countersign by pass
/ ing some of its honey from its sac, which
sample, if found satisfactory, viii ad-
NIT il to the hive. II the honey is not
/ right or if the bee refuses to offer
mia e no fria n "a fal
upon the intruder and kill it.
When the bee is simply a lonely crea-
ture trying to effect an entrance into
some warm hive. the work Of killing It
and throwing the carcass over the side OF
the board is brief but if the intruder is
the forerunner of an attack by large
colony a very different result follows.
While the scntrics are trying to Kill the
bee, the rest of the attacking party Will
/ try to force an entrance into another part
of the hive. or into the unprotected en-
trance in front. The weak points of the
| hive have been noted by the bees before
! hand, and the whole attack is arranged
/ even to the smallest detail. on the FIRST
/ sights of warfare the whole colony inside
/ rush to the defence and a general alarm
is given.
When war between two colonies is
thus precipitated, the bees viii pay no at
/ tcntion to "A human intruder and one may
| stand close TO the hive and watch the
/ proceedings. The attacking colony has
/ one great object i'm view, and that is to
get inside of the hive, while the home
I
The former generally place themselves
upon the defensive. and the latter on the
offensive. The tactics of the bees in bat
tie are very simple. They 90 upon the
plan of sending two bees TO kill one. When
two of the home bees fall upon the first
intruder. the latter gathers up its abdo-
men i'm as small a space as possible and
tries to avoid being stung, MeanWhne
he forces himself gradually into the hive
to make room for other lntruders. Inc
body of the bee is vulnerable only at its
7 home defenders collar
him and by following him around through
various contortiOns sometimes lind an UNI
protected spot. The intruder is then rap
idly stung TO death, and the two warriors
turn to attack another enemy IN the
hive.
determine the results of such battle.
There are defensive arrangements OF the
bees which often enable an inferior force
to keep twice their number outside. The
defenses are so arranged That the en-
trance is narrowed down to small point
inside, and at this place the best warriors
Of the colony are stationed. AS the IN
truders enter they are seized one by one,
and generally killed. In a properly guard
ed hive ii is difficult for a strong colony
to force an entrance unless there is some
weak point Sometimes the attack Is made
so suddenly that great many bees get
stations. If the attacking party prove
successful, and the bees get inside of the
hive, they then suddenly assume the of
fensive, and fall upon the home bees and
sting them to death The slaughter of the
inhabitants becomes general, and the
bodies of the dead are hauled out and
thrown upon the ground.
But at this point of the conflict the hui
man side of the bees is manifested. Some
of the attacked party will suddenly turn
traitors and the weaker ones viii join
the forces Of the intruders and help TO
kill their former friends. When the battle
is waging hot the strongest defences may
thus be abandoned by the defenders, and
turned over to the enemy. Only a few of
the bravest warriors win fight until the
very last for their homes. When the hive
| is finally captured, the few traitors who
Joined in the fight against the home de-
tenders are admitted into regular fellow
ship with the victorious party. They show
special Vigor in helping to carry away the
stores of the down-fallen colony The
work of carrying all of the honey away
will occupy several days. and the bees will
be kept busy, even though the days are so
emmy that the late flowers refuse to open
several other hives VIII probably join the
others in robbing the hive, and no dispute
over the question is apparently made.
The attacking party, however, is not al
WAYS successful They are frequently de-
feated in their purpose by reason of strong
defensive arrangements, and they finally
retire from the conflict with a good num-
Der of their best worker bees left behind
dead In modern agriculture, the, owner
of the bees is generally on the lookout
for these fall battles, and by observing
the attack early in it's stages he prevents
the destruction of a weak colony. Stand
ing near the hive with flour dredger
.
ing party as they so into the hive. The
bees are too excited TO become frightened
at this. BY removing the top of the hive
he can soon locate the stronghold of the
attacking party by the presence of
! their white badges of flour, and
a few puffs of smoke so brighten them
that they cease to fight. As many as
possible seek exit into the open air. The
entrance to the hive is then protect
ed by a piece of cloth saturated with
carbohc acid. The home bees will
pass this in order to get inside but
the attacking bees will not do it, All
! bees associate the odor with danger, and
nothing but powerful inducements will
make them enter a place saturated with
the acid.
Generally when a honey bee stings a
man his sting is left behind and some
times even the entrails, but one bee is
able to sting another and withdraw the
sting. This enables a strong worker to
kill as many bees as he can penetrate with
his sharp weapon. The sting cannot he
Withdrawn by a direct pull, but by sew
eral motions, which unscrew the sting
without injuring il. When the sting is
driven into the body of the bee up to the
very hilt it is said that nine turns are
required to withdraw it. In the hand-to.
hand encounter, then, the work of killing
a bee is slow and intricate, even after
vulnerable point has been discovered
] 6wnnnG hp M effr os,I