=Bees: Their Habits and Products=
=Swarming.=--As already explained (pp. 7, 8) a hive will "swarm" when
an old queen finds that other queens are being nurtured in the hive.
In such a case she calls forth as many of her adherents as will follow
her and goes out to found a new community. Oftentimes the site of the
new home is definitely settled beforehand in some unoccupied hive,
and in such cases scout workers will have prepared and cleansed the
hive some days in advance. The passing to and fro of these pioneers
will sometimes give the owner of the empty hive the idea that he has
bees working there. Generally, however, the swarm issues from the hive
without any definite objective and flies on until the queen settles,
when her retinue of workers form a cluster around her.
As a rule it is an easy matter to tell when the bees are swarming,
for they rush pell-mell in a tumultuous stream from the hive, and fly
round and round, and in and out, hundreds being on the wing together,
taking the appearance of a living cloud. They are perfectly docile and
will allow the spectator to stand among them provided they are not
provoked. Of course this is easily done: the mere getting entangled
in the hair of the onlooker is sufficient to rouse their anger. Any
symptoms of nervousness, too, seem to become apparent at once to the
bees, and perspiration, again, is objectionable to them. But an expert
bee-handler may lift a swarm with his hands and suffer no ill, for so
long as they are not crushed the bees will not resent the handling.
It is seldom that a first swarm issues from the hive other than when
the weather is warm and the sun shining. Generally it is between 9 a.m.
and 4 p.m. that swarming takes place. First swarms are usually the
largest, for when the joyful hum of the rising swarm sounds forth many
of the bees from adjoining hives will be drawn to join the swarm and
are received in a friendly manner.
_Virgin Swarms._--The bees of a swarm will often follow a virgin queen
when she goes out to seek a mate, the bees apparently thinking that if
she is lost they will die. It is therefore advisable that a hive which
is known to contain a virgin swarm should have the entrance blocked up
so that only one or two bees can pass in or out at a time. This may be
widened after the queen has been mated.
_The Treatment of Swarms_ will be found explained on page 68.
=The Scent of the Bee.=--Every novice in bee-keeping should make a
point of acquiring knowledge by practical experience on this wonderful
point in connection with bees, for it plays a most important part
in the success of bee-keeping. Not only does each hive diffuse a
different scent from that of its neighbour--even though the nectar
may be gathered by the bees from the same source--but the scent of
each hive may vary according to the work that is going on within it.
Each individual bee, too, can diffuse a varying scent to suit its
circumstances. An expert bee-keeper can generally tell from the scent
immediately he opens his hive what reception he is likely to meet with,
for even our native bees are seldom found to be docile in the midst or
towards the end of a honey-flow.
When bees are swarming they emit quite a distinct scent, which probably
accounts for the friendly reception accorded at that time to bees
from other hives. When a stranger approaches a hive, or if the bees
are disturbed, it will be noticed that those on the alighting board
elevate their abdomens and fan vigorously with their wings--with the
result that other members of the hive rush to the scene. It is true
that the sound of their wing movements is different from that caused by
the ventilating fanning, but there is no question that an alarm scent
is emitted from the abdomen and diffused by the vigorous movement of
the wings. In the same manner the sting of the bee when discharged
emits a peculiar scent which has the effect of rousing other bees to
anger, as though to avenge the death of their fellow-worker. The expert
bee-keeper well knows the scent of the sting even though he may be
immune from its effect. It is well to note, by the way, that cross-bred
bees as a rule are very quarrelsome and extremely sensitive, and are
often dangerous on this account, for they are very free with their
sting.
It seems evident that when a bee is frightened she loses her
distinctive scent, for driven bees, when they have nothing to fight
for, will unite peacefully. And I have known bees of the same hive
fight among themselves in a moment of panic, thus affording evidence
that the scent of the community has been destroyed for the time,
precluding the members of it from recognising their fellows under the
stress of the fright.
The scent of the queen is different from that of the workers. This can
be noticed especially in the case of a swarm, for workers will often
be seen "retrieving" the place over which the queen has passed, even
though the trail may be broken: should they fail to find her they will
often cluster and die. Because of this it is never advisable to handle
a queen, for the bees will notice the change of scent caused thereby
and often will kill a queen they do not own; to stranger drones,
however, they raise no objection during a honey-flow.
=Honey.=--It should be clearly understood that, contrary to the
assertion of the poet, bees do not "gather honey all the day, from
every opening flower." Honey is essentially a product of the bee from
the nectar provided by the flowers as an inducement to the visitation
of bees and other insects--not for the benefit of the bee but to serve
the purposes of the flowers themselves of cross-fertilisation. (See
Chapter on "Flowers and Bees," page 53.) The nectar is assimilated by
the bee and regurgitated in the form of honey.
[Illustration: Queen on a patch of Sealed Honey
(This is a diseased frame: notice the irregularity)]
Honeycomb.--The honeycomb is doubtless one of the greatest marvels
of the bee community. In its architecture and workmanship it forms,
indeed, one of the greatest wonders in the whole realm of nature. With
its multitudinous hexagonal cells, a honeycomb presents a continuous
source of delight; it is so constructed that not a single atom of space
is wasted and so designed that the minimum of material is used. Let it
be remembered that the honeycomb, primarily, is intended to serve as a
nest for the offspring of the queen--each cell to be a separate cradle
for the product of the egg placed therein.
As a rule, as we have noted, the cells are six-sided; the exceptions
are the queen cells--which are acorn-shaped--and the intermediate
cells which form buffers as it were between the worker and drone
cells. The latter are always built on the outside edge of the combs.
The worker cells are the smallest, and, although the bees hatched from
new combs are usually larger than those from old ones, the difference
is but slight. The reason for this is that as each bee is hatched it
leaves behind in the cell the cocoon in which its metamorphosis was
accomplished, and thus diminishes to that extent the size of the cell.
=Bees-wax.=--The wax of which the cells are composed is produced
from the body of the bee itself. It forms in thin plates underneath
the abdomen, these plates being kneaded by the jaws into the required
consistency and form. When comb-making is in progress the bees cluster
together in festoons, very similar in appearance to a swarm. It is,
of course, an exceedingly slow process, and the modern bee-keeper, to
expedite matters in this direction, assists the bees by giving them
ready-made foundation on which to build their cells. Fortunately the
bees have proved amenable to this "hustling" process and are thus able
to devote a larger part of their short life to the more remunerative
work--from the bee-keeper's point of view--of honey-producing.
=Chyle Food.=--As before stated, this is the rich substance with which
the queen is fed, and the worker grub indulged in for a short period.
It is regurgitated from the chyle or second stomach of the young or
nurse bees. All authorities agree that the power to produce the food
gradually diminishes after the insect is a fortnight old. It follows,
then, either that the young bees have the power to withhold the supply
during a period of rest, or the power to assimilate it is acquired
by the older bees, in proportion to their age and the ordinary food
they consume, during the period of compulsory-retirement in winter.
This semi-hibernation period varies in length in different parts
of the country, but in some cases it must last for at least three
months, between the date when the last eggs were laid and that when
the queen resumes egg-laying again in earnest. Chyle food has a thick,
milky-white appearance, an acid flavour, and quickly congeals if
exposed to the air. Probably on account of its being fed to the infant
bees one of its popular names is "pap" and another "bee's-milk."
=Propolis.=--This is a substance produced by the bees from the gum
which exudes from buds and trees, or the wax given off by some grasses.
Propolis emits a wholesome smell and is usually bitter to the taste. It
is used by the bees to plug up any holes or cracks in the walls of the
hive and to fasten the supers, lifts, frames, and sections together,
and also forms their natural disinfectant. Although methylated spirit
is violently disliked by bees, yet some forms of spirit varnish are
very attractive to them, probably yielding something towards the
production of propolis.
Some bees produce propolis to excess and it then becomes a nuisance,
for hives in which such a condition exists are always more difficult
to work. The queens from these hives should never be used for rearing
purposes. It will be found that foreign bees as a rule produce more
propolis than the native breeds. Propolis always serves to attract
bees, especially after it has been warmed before a fire for a few
minutes; it then becomes very sticky. It is often used to entice bees
to artificial food in early spring to stimulate brood-rearing before
natural pollen becomes abundant. This is done by scattering artificial
pollen among shavings or chaff, and generally serves its purpose.
Old quilts plastered with propolis are used by unscrupulous bee-keepers
to attract swarms from neighbouring hives.