The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-10-07
{||f[R|R%ff|ff|.2lIl|I)||l| =
WORKER CELLS OF COMMON HONEY BEES.

The loud buzzing heard at mig int
during the summer time is due to the
wings of workers engaged chiefly in
ripening nectar. Instead of being at
rest, as many suppose, the busy work
ers are caring for the last lot Of
gathered nectar and making room for
more. This may 90 on far into the
night, or even all night, the activity
and loudness being proportionate to
the amount and thinness of the liquid.
Frequently the ripening honey is re.
moved from one set of cells and placed
in oths1s, incidental to the manipula-
ton the bees subject it to. When
fina allythe process has been completed,
tho water constituent is found to have
been reduced to ten or twelve per
cent, and all disagreeable odors and
favors, probably due to volatile oils,
have also been driven off in great
measure by the heat OF the hive,
largely generated by the bees. Dur
ing the manipulation a subtle anti
septic, formic acid, secreted by glands
in the head OF the bee, has been added.
The queen, by natural instinct,
flies out to mate. Should she be lost,
no more fertilized eggs would be de-
posted in the hive, and the old work
ers gradually dying off without being
superseded by young ones, the colony
would become extinct in few months
or meet o speedier fate through in.
truders-wax moths. wasps or robber
bees. The production of many drones
is accordingly provided for, 80 that
young queens flying out to mate will
not incur too many risks from birds
and insect enemies. But the loss OF
queens while flying out to mate is
evidently one of the provisions OF ma.
ture to prevent bees from undue
multiplication, for were there no such
checks they would become pest in
the land. On the other hand, the risk
to the queen is not uselessly increased,
for she usually mates but once during
her life.
Queen bees are transported nova.
days almost invariably by mail, and
sent to all parts OF the United States,
and even to distant foreign countries,
in cage OF diminutite pattern con.
structed for the purpose. The food
usually employed in these cages 6y
queen breeders is q soft candy made
by kneading fine sugar and honey
together until a stiff dough is formed.
The food for the journey having been
placed in the end OF the cage opposite
that containing the ventilating holes,
bit of honeycomb is pressed
down over it to assist in retaining
the moisture. The cover, with q
bit of wire cloth between it and the
bees, for greater security, together
with the address and one-cent stamp,
completes the transportation alrang.
ments for a queen and eight or ten at.
tendant workers for journey OF 5000
miles. A special postal regulation ad-
mits them to the mails at merchandise
rates-one cent per ounce. A recent
estimate by one of the apiarian jour.
nails places the number of queens sold
and thus transported through the
mails annually at 10000.
The different races of hees vary ma
teriallly from each other in individual
qualities, such as temper, spirit, tract.
ability, pugnacity, industry, courage,
honey-getting capacity, endurance oi
cold and character and flavor of pro.
duct. Besides the common or brown
German bee, imported from Europe
to this country some time in the sew
enteenth century and now widely diff
fused from the Atlantic to the Pacifi,
several other races have been brought
in to the United States and acclimated
the Italian in 1860, and later the
Egyptian, the Cyprian from the Island
OF Cyprus, the Syrian, the Palestine,
the Tunisian and the Carniolan from,
Carniola, Austria. Ofthese the brown
or black German, the Italian and the
Carniolan are probably the only races
existing pure in the United States,
the others having become more or lass
mixed. Egyptian bees were tried here
some thirty years ago, and, like the
Syrians and Palestines imported IN
1880, they were condemned as inferior
in temper and wintering qualities to
the other races, despite their greater
fecundity and greater energy in honey