Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1898-02-11
Freaks ana EccsntricItle. In Bees.


CIV. Demaree in American Bee Jour
nal. The things that bees do out of the
general order of things as pertains to
tnelr well settled habits, I think are
properly called freaks" Those of US
who have handled bees for years, and
observed closely their habits. know
mat bees some times do things that
cannot be reconciled to the common
laws Of reasoning, or instinct Such
acts are freakish-sudden starts in
action, governed by no laws, reasona-
Bile or instructive.
have seen colony of bees virtually
attempt to commit suicide, by refusing
TO accept queen, OF queen-cell, and
even refuse to nurse young brood.
some people would be glad to say,
Maybe they were too DID," etc. But
this cannot be, for 1 have wintered
many a queenless colony, and made
them rear a queen and nurse brood
until the hive was well stocked with
young brood ready for the main early
honey harvest.
Last summer l was walking through
my apiary and discovered some bees
hopping and crawling on the grass in
front OF one of the hives. l went up
closer, and found the grass for several
feet around the entrance covered with
partially paralyzed bees dragging
themselves aimlessly about. "a case
of paralysisw exclaims the novice. No;
the cause was a "balled queen" Bees
often sting each other in their scramble
to ball queen. yet. strange enough,
they do not sting the queen
l have seen a truant swarm leave |
the apiary and go straight to a hollow
tree, and have seen a swarm of bees
leave the apiary with business airs" I,
and pass over fields and through a |
dense woods straight to a bunch OF |
ironweeds, two miles away. 1 saw one |
swarm of bees pass through the largest |
tract of timbered land in the vicinity 1
of my apiary and settle on fence near /
farm house. and was taken in By
the farmer. l had a swarm of bees
take leave of my apiary-as though it
was Disguised with such quarters, go
a quarter Of mile, settle on a bush, |
then break the cluster, and make a
"bee-line" back to the apiary and set
tie on a tree.
once saw a swarm of bees "hived-
by what may properly be called an &C,
cident CD. The swarm was struggling
in the air against a stiff gale. and D
sudden gust of wind swept them to the
ground near the entrance of an empty
hive, and the hive acting as a Sound.
ing board" in response to the hum CT
their wings, the bees caught the sound |
md hived themselves. Ny observations
have led me to believe that in state
If nature more swarms of bees find Z
homes by the sense of hearing than In
III other ways.
l once saw a swarm Of bees in Its
light pass near the top of a large ep-
lie tree, and the rear part of the swarm c
eemed to catch the sound from hole [
n a dead limb of the tree, and made
ush for the hollow limb, while the {
main part of the swarm was evidently !
ent on going forward, but the loud J.
hum ut the hoIe in the limb pre-
allied, and the whole swarm attempted
o enter cavity in the limb too small ;
D accommodate half of the swarm. :.
moked them out and hived them.
l once had a swarm of bees to refrse
} stay in any hive 1 put them inso 4
heir craze was TO locate and build 2
omb on the limb they first settled ON, !,
nd finally let a part of the swarm n
y the experiment They made q Nv 2
lg until the honey season was oYer. &C
nd then starved out. s,
Bees do some things so wide of thei b.
ark of common sense that their acts b,
e both amusing and astounding to g
reasoning mind. The following IS an II
,ample among many that might be oil
entioned: pl
sometimes leave on the hive a case u
partially filled sections with honey. hi
supplement scant winter stores in N
e breeding department of the hive. u
ell, in some way large grey mouse u
t into one of the cases above the u
God nest, and its escape was cut of ~
a full brood nest Of lively bees be-
". 1t occurred to me that if those
es had stopped to reflect, they might III
We cleared a way down through the II
pod department TO the entrance and is
en- sent a detachment of fierce young De
uck" bees into the super. with in ed
uctions to shrek and yell after that arr
'use until. panic-strieken, he HE'D his De
y-hair and hide-down the cleared sp'
y to the open air, and thus summari- la
eject him as an obstreperous tenant. uu
I they did no such thing. They ma