Amador ledger., 1904-05-06
HONEYBEE QUEENS.
THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE
FED BY THE WORKERS.

There Are Numerous Safeguards In
Administration of Poison Honey-It
Is Different With Wasps.
The safeguards provided against the
administration of poison to the despotic
oriental rulers are rudimentary COM
pared with those which stand between
queens of the honeybee and such a
risk. Curiously enough, this is a phase
of the internal economy of the bee
hive which appears to have escaped
observation.
In the British isles no poisonous
honey is collected. If it exists the bees
have learned to avoid it. Probably
there is none, as the honey from at
least one dangerous plant, the deadly
nightshade, is harmless. Ivy honey
would be the most suspicious of any
gathered on large scale, and it only
exerts, so far as observation goes, q
slightly laxative effect on the digestive
organs. Although in this country no
poisonous honey is known, it is met
with in other places, notably in Asiatic
Turkey. 1t was in this region that
XenOphon's soldiers were poisoned
2,300 years ago by honey from the
Azelia pontica, a plant which still
f1ouriSheS in Armenia. Some centuries
later Roman army suffered similarly,
but less severely, there being no
deaths
The precaution of compelling the
cook to eat a portion of every dish,
which is the usual safeguard of des-
potic rulers, or the still more primitive
plan Of giving the first helping to
little dog, can be eluded by a clever
Borgia by having only one-half of a
bird or pastry poisoned. In a wasps'
nest each forager on returning pro-
ceeds directly to the queen and offers
refreshment. Consequently the queen
is sometimes destroyed by slowly act
ing poison. Further as regards wasps,
it is observed that when any larve
not recently fed perceive the queen re-
ceiving food they become restless. If
nearly grown they wag their heads in
a suggestive way, which plainly con-
veys q demand for a share. Each
forager after feeding the queen gives
the balance of his load direct to the
nurses.
In the case of the honeybee one pos
sible reason why no virulently poison
GUS honey reaches the hive NAV be
that the insect foolish enough to col
lect any would probably die, as the so
called honey sack is really q stomach
In which a preliminary digestive proc
ess proceeds. This is proved by the
polariscope, which shows that, while
the nectar of the flowers is pure cane
sugar, or levulose, the substance in the
hive cells is sacrometrically half dex-
trose and half cane sugar. Dextrose is
invert sugar, coarse variety of which
is the glucose of commerce. Forager
bees returning to the beehive place the
half digested product known as honey
in their storeroom with other honey.
This mixing would have the effect of
alternating a poisoned load should
such be brought in.
FOraging bees never feed the queen
or young larvae, but they give a mouth
ful or two to drones in passing. Just
before sealing for the metamorphosis
workers and drOnes are fed with honey
mixed with pollen. Not so the young
queens, who only get further supply
of the redigested milky substance
known as chyle, which Is the susie
nance of all larvae indiscriminately dur
n ha ArGf of hot ;of
ence. During the chrysalis stage there
is no feeding. 1t Is the business of
gang distinct for the time being, to ca
ter for the queen and young. They
bring the food from the stores and sub
NIT it to the digestive process referred
to, after which 1t is regurgltated to
supply the needs of the queen and
young larvR. The attendants are nu-
merous, and each supplies only mi
mute quantity. The queen bee is so
constituted that her digestive system is
capable of assimilating only the pre-
pared food of chyle. She will die in a
few hours ON a comb containing honey,
although kept at the temperature of
the hive.
Thus it would appear that the safe
guards are:
First.-A bee collecting poisonous
honey would probably die before
reaching the hive.
Second.-If one succeeded in deposit
ing poisoned honey, the circumstance
that it did so would prove the poison
to be not virulent, and its mixture
with other honey in the storeroom
would still further attenuate the poi
son and render it harmless. This is
the stage at which the product be-
comes human food. 1t has, as stated
above, occurred that poisoned honey
has passed both these lines of defense.
Third.-Should the honey be still del
eterious the alimentary attendants of
the queen would first suffer, and only
those bringing wholesome food would
reach her. as q struggle for the privi-
lege of feeding her majesty is cOntinu-
ally In progress.
Fourth.-Should the stores pass the
three safeguards before mentioned
there is still another-viz, that each
one of the queens attendants feeds
her only for second at time, and
thus she would never get a sufficient
quantity to affect her seriously. The
queen is always on the move and the
competition to feed her so great that
she is continually bringing fresh bees
in front of her, from which position
alone food can be administered. No
| worker bee would think of joStling;
| every one gives way to the queen.