The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-10-30
nils Of smoke so frightcn> them tia

pulls of smoke so trlghtcn> them that
they cease to fight. A. many rs pos
>iblc seek exit into the open air The
entrance to the hive is then protected
by piece of cloth saturated with car
holic acid The home bees will pass
this 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 place saturated with the acid.
GENERALLY when honey bee Stings
man his sting is left behind, and
sometimes even the cntrailS. but one
bee is able to sting another and with
draw the sting. This enables strong
worker to Kill as many bees as he can
penetrate with his sharp weapon. The
sting cannot be withdrawn by Il direct
pull, but by several motions which
unscrcw the sting without iujuring it.
When the sting is driven into the body
Of the bee up to the very hit, it Is
said that nine turns are required to
withdraw it. In the hand to-hand en-
counters. then. the work Of killing Il
bee is slow and intricate even after 4
vulnerable point has been discovered
The droncs have 10 stin"s, and con
seuucntly are.uscless in fight. Only
the worker bees which gather the
honey protect the home from intrudcrs
or organize together to attack Il weaker
colony. The droncs are not stung to
death as rule when no longer needed
in the hive. Thcirwings are frequent
ly nibblcd by the bees as they carry
the helpless creatures out of the hive.
Driven from its home, the dronc soon
falls exhausted from hunger and cold.
to die on the ground near the hive.
There is no sympathy or feeling OK
pended upon the dronos when no
longer needed. The worker bees are
rclcntlcssly utilitarian, and discharge
all members who perform no function
Of economy in the colony.
The ''battle royal in the hive is
when two queens arc found in one
colony. This occurs oftcncr than one
imagincs, but it does not last long.
The bees will not entertain two queens.
and they must fight it out between
them. When two weak colonies arc
Joined together by the apiarist two
queens are apt to come together, and
one must abandon the throne, and the
other reign over the consolidated col
onics. Sometimes a new queen is
hatchcd out before the old queen is
dead, and similar result of fighting
it out between them occurs.
The strange part of this battle is
that the worker bees assemble in a cir
Gle around the two queens, but offer
no help to either side unless there is
foul play One Of the agreements Of
the battle seems to be that both queens
are not be killed. and if they get into
a position where the lives of the two
are endangered they must draw apart
to begin over again. There is honor
between the queens, and they with
draw by common consent when this
danger threatens the two lives. Pos
Sibly, if they did not, the worker bees
would interfere and settle the conflict
themselves. The survivor Of such a
battle is never known to be injured,
while the other is killed, and the body
is carried out by the worker bees.
The battle is sometimes short and
fierce. and again it is drawn out for Il
long time. 1t never ceases, however,
until one queen is killed. The sur
yivor is then made queen of the colony,
having demonstrated her right to the
position by risking her life in the
deadly conAict.--Ncw lorE Er'ni"g
Past