The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

One Chose q Mans Bcard-Another tho
heck oeper's Hands.

weokoeperrs Hands.
Perhaps the ~strangest settling place ever
chosen by swarming bees was q Mans
beard. Among several interesting photo
graphs OF bee swarms shown in the Strdnd
ono Of q bald headed man with a board
Of bees reaching to the middle OF his breast
In the most extraordinary.
The next in interest. at least to the bee
man himself. shows that individuals hands
covered with what looks like great thick
rough mittens. As these gloves were COM
posed Of hundreds OF live bees. they could
at least be counted upon az warm.
Often when in dealing with the hive the
beekeeper takes the queen into his hands
the other bees, attracted by the queen
odor, settle IN the mans hands or arms.
unless they find the queen herself.
This popularity was responsible for the
predicament in which a clerical beekeeper
found himself. His swarm had settled on
an apple tree. but from the behavior of the
bees 1t was clear the queen wa not with
them. After looking for her she was found
some little distance ava with a few other
bees around her.
On raising her from the ground the bees
that had been with her clustered on the
bOChoOpVt @uo o MUMMY JothoN Wy bhO
swarm, which was now breaking up. The
bees.
They not only covered the outside OF his
coat, but crawled up under it's long skirts,
which they amply lined with their bodies.
They also completely covered one trouser
leg from the knee to the waist, 90 that the
worthy clergyman presented a most ex-
traordinary appearance. The swarm, it
may be added, was successfully hived.
When bees are about to swarm they I'll
their honey bags with a large quantity Of
honey and then take their flight. Whittier
are they bound? None of them can tell
exactly. They swarm up into the sky,
forming a great cloud. and then settle down
to rest wherever their fancy takes them,
for the warns rarely decide to make a
home at the spot where they first alight.
This is but a halt in their journey, and in
the meantime they send out emissaries in
search Of q new domicile, which 10 usually
selected In some cavity, such as a hollow
tree trunk, a hole in a wall, or a chimney.
The swarms which settle thus often as
sumo the most unexpected and grotesque
shapes. The shape OF a'swarm forming a
pendant TO a branch OF a tree is well known.
but more eccentric alightings are not I'M
common.
There is an old custom, still followed by
some people, of making a fearful noise by
striking against old pots and pans or by
firing on guns in order to induce the swarms
to settle and thereby prevent them from
going far afield. But it was proved long
ago that this noise did not trouble the bees
in the least or make them settle where they
did not want to go. II has also been alleged
hat all this noise carried with it a sort of
proporietorship in the swarm. This expla-
nation may have some truth in It.
As regards the swarms, the only thing
that can force them to settle is a jet OF
water from a syringe or pump or a spray
OF sand or fine dust. Some say that the bees
can bebrought to alight or can even be hived
by means OF mirrors collecting the rays of
the sun. which are then concentrated on
the bees, imparting to them a continuous
motion. This may be ~eficacious, but no
matter how much noise Is made the bees
are not troubled by it.