BEES.
[Illustration]
Any humane person must be unwilling to keep what may be termed "pets,"
when, as is very often the case, they are taken from the freedom which
nature has given them, to be pent up in cages, hutches, and round-about
boxes. It is not a part of good moral training to encourage children to
deprive anything of liberty, and the keeping of rabbits, guinea-pigs,
birds, gold and silver fish, white mice, pigeons and squirrels, is not
only attended with a vast deal of trouble and expense, but with a great
many bad smells, filth, and dirt. Such matters, have, therefore, been
excluded from this volume, as being by no means calculated to improve
either the minds or morals of young persons, but rather to have a
contrary tendency.
These objections do not, however, lie against the keeping of _bees_,
which afford at all times lessons of industry, of order, of contrivance,
of perseverance, and of many other virtues, which are great ornaments to
little boys and girls, as well as to grown men and women. We shall,
therefore, give as copious an account of this interesting insect as we
can, and, at the same time, show the best methods of managing it with
advantage to its possessor.
Bee is the English name for an extensive _genera_ of insects,--_apis_ or
the section _anthophla_ or _mellifera_ of modern classification. The
common domestic bee, of which it is now our business to treat, is the
_apis mellifica_ of Linnaeus; and it may be as well to state, for the
guidance of the young reader, that the Hive-bee is distinguished from
all other species of bees,--by having the shanks of the hind legs
furnished with a smooth and concave pollen-plate on the outer surface,
and destitute of spines at the extremity,--by the basal joint of the
_torsi_ in the working bees, of an oblong form, with its inner surface
clothed with fine hairs, disposed in transverse layers,--by the oblong
shape of its body,--and by the feelers at the sheath of the tongue being
almost obsolete and formed of a single point.
The Hive-bee may be regarded as one of the most perfectly social species
of insects, and one whose economy is regulated by the possession of a
more remarkable degree of instinct than is perhaps possessed by any
other insect. Another peculiarity regarding bees is, that there are not
simply males and females among them, but mules or workers, or female
non-breeders, as they have been termed, which constitute the great mass
of the population of a hive. They are smaller, as regards size, than the
males or the female bees, and it is to them that the internal economy of
the hive is committed, and upon them the whole labour of the community
devolves. Moreover, it is their duty to guard and protect the hive and
the queen, to feed the young, and to kill the drones at the appointed
time.
In a single hive there are sometimes not fewer than thirty thousand of
these individuals. They are distinguished from the breeding females by
having a longer lip, the jaws not notched at the tip, and the sting
straight. The male bees, of which there are several hundreds, sometimes
even two thousand in a full hive, are idle creatures, doing no work.
They are generally termed _drones_, and they are of a more bulky size
than the other bees, and they are not armed with a sting.
Such are the inhabitants of the hive; the chief products of which are
bees-wax and honey. The former is secreted by the worker-bees, by a
peculiar apparatus on the under side of the belly, as occasion requires,
and is employed for constructing the combs in which the family provision
and the young brood are deposited.
Honey is obtained by bees from the _nectaries_ of flowers, which, it is
well known, are constantly secreting a sweet thick fluid. This is sucked
up by the tongue of the insect, and a portion of it is consumed at once
for its support, but the greater part of the supply, although taken into
the stomach of the bee, is again brought up (regurgitated, to use a hard
word), and poured into the cells of the hives for the food of the grubs
and the use of the community through the winter.
[Illustration: QUEEN BEE.]
[Illustration: DRONE.]
The cells into which the honey is poured for store are placed in the
most inaccessible parts of the hive, and are fitted with waxen lids, but
the honey destined for the use of the _nurses_, _workers_, and _drones_,
is deposited in unclosed cells. In each honey-cell there is a cream-like
layer or covering of a thicker consistency than the honey itself. This
layer is perforated by the bee with its fore-legs, and is closed before
the bee flies away.
Having thus noticed the inhabitants of the hive, we will now turn our
attention to the hive itself. The most profound philosopher, as well as
the most incurious observer, is struck with astonishment on inspecting
the interior of a bee-hive. He beholds a city in miniature. He sees this
city divided into regular streets; and these streets composed of houses
constructed on the most exact geometrical principles and the most
symmetrical plan; some serving as store-houses for food, others for the
habitations of the citizens, and a few, much more extensive than the
rest, destined for the palace of their sovereign. He perceives that the
substance of which the city is built, is one which man with all his
skill is unable to fabricate, and that the edifices in which it is
employed are such as the most expert architect would find himself
incompetent to erect.
The nest, as constructed by the insects, consists of a continued series
of combs, arranged vertically, each of which consists of a vast number
of cells, forming two ranges backed against each other, and,
consequently, placed in a horizontal position. A sufficient space is
left between each of these double layers of cells to allow a couple of
bees, engaged upon the opposite cells, to work without incommoding each
other. In addition to these spaces, the combs are perforated in various
places, so as to allow the bees a passage from one street to another,
thus saving them much time. But it is in the construction of the cells
themselves that the most admirable instinct is displayed. Geometricians
are aware, that in order to occupy a given space with solid objects of
equal size and similar form, without any useless interstices, three
figures only can be adopted, namely, the equilateral triangle
[Illustration], the square or cube [Illustration], and the regular
hexagon [Illustration]. Of these three geometrical figures, the hexagon
most completely unites.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that in a new colony the design of
every comb is sketched out, and the first rudiments laid, by a single
bee, which having disengaged itself from the swarm, commences the
building of cells, which is then taken up by the other wax-makers, and,
subsequently, by the nurse bees, which give the finishing stroke to the
cells; and so quick are the bees at their work, that a comb,
twenty-seven inches long, by seven or eight inches wide, is built in
four and twenty hours, and in five or six days they will fill the hive.
The combs are attached to the roof and sides of the dwelling,--the
hives or boxes to the floors and roofs.
There are three sorts of cells: the first one for the larvae of workers,
and for containing the honey,--these are of the ordinary form; the
second are for the grubs of the males or drones, being considerably
larger and more substantial,--they usually appear near the bottom of the
combs; the third are the cells for the females, of which there are
usually three or four, and these are generally attached to the ceiling
part of the comb, having very little wax in their composition. One of
these cells considerably exceeds in height the ordinary ones, and they
are not interwoven with them, but suspended perpendicularly, their sizes
being nearly parallel to the mouths of the common cells, several of
which are sacrificed to support them. After the queen bee has quitted
her cell, it is destroyed by the workers, and its place occupied by a
range of common cells. The queen bee deposits her eggs separately at the
bottom of each cell: the egg is of a lengthened oval shape, with a
slight curve, and of a bluish colour. The worker's eggs, which are the
only ones laid by the queen during the first eleven months, hatch in a
few days, and become little white maggots. Each is now fed with bee
bread by the workers, very assiduously, and, at the expiration of six
days, having attained its full size, it is roofed in by the workers,
spins a silken cocoon, which occupies it for thirty-six hours, and then
becomes a nymph or pupa, and, eleven days after this, quits its case,
eats through the roof of the cell, and comes forth a perfect working
bee.
For nearly twelve months, the queen bee deposits only workers' eggs;
after which period, however, she commences laying those of drones. As
soon as this change takes place, the workers begin to construct the
royal cells, in which, without discontinuing to lay male eggs, she
deposits now and then, about once in three days, an egg destined to
produce a future queen. The food of the royal grubs has been termed
"royal jelly." It is a pungent food prepared by the workers for the
express purpose of feeding the grubs that are to be future queens, and
is more stimulating than the food given to the common grubs.
Should it happen, as is sometimes the case, that the queen bee be
killed, or the hive in any manner be deprived during the first eleven
months of her existence, and before she has deposited any royal eggs,
the most extraordinary circumstances occur. After a little while, a
hubbub commences, work is abandoned, the whole hive is in an uproar,
every bee traverses the hive at random, with the most evident want of
purpose. This state of confusion sometimes continues for several days,
then the bees gather in knots and clusters of a dozen or so, as though
engaged in consultation; shortly after which, a resolution appears to
have been taken by the whole population. Some of the workers select
one of the worker-eggs, which had been previously deposited by the lost
sovereign. Three cells are thrown into one for its reception,--the eggs
in the two other cells being destroyed. The grub when hatched is fed
with the royal jelly, and a queen is produced. Even if the grub had been
hatched and partly fed as a worker, and had only received two or three
days' allowance of the royal food, the result would be the same,--they
emerge from the pupa perfect queens whereas, had they remained in the
cells which they originally inhabited, they would have turned out
workers.
We now come to that period of the year when the queen insects, having
undergone the change to the pupa state, are nearly ready to burst into
life. It is now that the old queen mother, losing all her parental
feelings, becomes infuriated: she rushes to the cells wherein are
deposited the future queens, and instantly begins to tear them open. The
guards which surround the cells make way for her approach, and suffer
her to act as she pleases, whereupon she slaughters the inmates with her
sting, without remorse, and, after a short time, a great portion of the
working bees accompanying her, rushes out of the hive, and seeks another
dwelling. This is called "swarming."
Something very like concerted action and foresight seems to belong to
these proceedings. It is always in calm weather, when the sky is serene,
between nine in the morning and four in the afternoon, when they quit
their habitation. After flying about for some time in a cluster, by
degrees they fix themselves on a branch, form a group there by hooking
themselves one to another with their feet, and remain perfectly
tranquil. Then it is that the proprietor may secure them, and form a new
colony.
In this manner several swarmings take place in the course of the summer
between the months of April and August. A good stock of bees usually
produces three swarms in a favourable season: each swarm containing not
only the young bees recently hatched, but also a portion of the old
inhabitants. The duration of life of the different individuals is
various: the male bees only live a few months, the workers only one or
two years, and the queen only four or five. Such is, in brief, the
birth, parentage, education, life, character, and behaviour of the
honey-bee, and it will be only necessary now to say a few words
regarding the management of these insects, with a view to instruction,
amusement, and profit.
HOW TO GET A STOCK OF BEES.
They must be purchased, and the purchaser must take care and procure
them of some one upon whom he may depend. This will save a great deal of
trouble. The hive should be weighed before and after a swarm is placed
in it, and a note kept of its weight, a judgment may then be formed of
the quantity of honey it contains in the autumn.
The hives should be sheltered by a wall, a hedge, or a tuft of trees, in
order that the bees may get to the door of the hives with ease. This
they cannot do if there are gusts of air sweeping round it, in which
case, numbers of them will fall to the ground about the hive, from
which, perhaps, they will not be able to rise before the chill and damp
of the evening comes on and destroys them.
There must be water near the hives, as the working bees drink a great
deal in the spring, and they are very fond of walking along straws which
float in the water and sipping as much as they want. The door of the
hive should look towards the forenoon sun, and the hive should not be
raised above eighteen inches from the ground.
We will now suppose that your bees have laid up their winter store, and
that you wish to share it with them. We say share it, because we do not
suppose you are so cruel and foolish as to wish to kill your bees. You
might as well kill a cow for the purpose of getting milk. The more bees
you have, the more honey,--that is certain.
About the latter end of September, the flowering season is over, and few
flowers remain for the bees to get honey from. This is the best time to
ascertain what honey they can spare; therefore, weigh every hive, and
deduct from it the weight of the hive and the bees, as ascertained when
the swarm entered it at first, as above directed.
To live through the winter, a hive must have at least sixteen pounds of
honey, and if you wish it to swarm early, it ought to have twenty-five
or even thirty pounds.
When you determine on taking away the honey from a hive, either for your
own use or for distributing it to other hives, proceed as follows:--
The first fine calm morning after the honey season is over, go to your
hive provided with a tobacco-pipe in your mouth, a large dish for the
honey in one hand, and a long knife with the point bent, and a goose or
turkey feather in your other. Blow two or three full puffs of smoke in
at the door, then turn the hive upside down on the ground, so as to
stand steadily, and immediately give the bees, who will collect on the
edge of the comb to see what is going on, a little more smoke. This will
stupify them so completely, that not above one or two will be able to
fly out, and they will be so sick, that they will not dream of stinging
you. Begin at one side of the hive, and cut out a comb, having first
sent down a puff of smoke to make the bees go away to the middle and the
other side. Proceed thus,--sweeping the bees off every comb back into
the hive with the feather, till you come to the centre comb. The only
nicety consists in blowing away the bees to prevent any of them being
crushed. If the operation be neatly done, scarcely any bees will be
killed. Take the hive now and replace it on its stand as before.
The next thing to be done is to join the bees, from which the honey has
been so taken, to another hive in which you wish them to be
accommodated, which may be done as follows:--In the evening, if you look
into the hive which has been deprived of its honey, you will find all
the bees hanging in the centre, just like a new swarm. Bring the hive
near the one to which they are to be joined,--get about a table spoonful
of raw honey or syrup, so thin as to pour easily, and have it in a jug
beside the hive which is to receive the strangers,--blow a few whiffs of
tobacco smoke in the door of the hive, then turn it up and give them an
additional puff or two, and pour the honey or syrup from the jug all
over the bees between the combs, so that they may be quite smeared over.
Then spread a clean linen cloth on the ground in front of the hive, with
one edge of it placed on the floor of the hive and secured there by two
stones, to prevent its falling, and which will also serve to keep the
hive a little raised from its floor on that side; now replace the hive
so that the edge of the cloth may be under it while the two stones keep
it raised about an inch; next take the hive containing the bees, hold it
steadily over the cloth, and by one sudden blow, knock out all the bees
upon the cloth in a lump. They will immediately begin to climb up and
enter the new hive. If they were to be united without previously
smearing one of them with honey or syrup, the chance is, that half of
both hives would be killed by fighting.
Hives may be either of straw or wood. Bees thrive equally well in
either. In winter the hives should be placed in a northern exposure, or,
at any rate, the sun should not be allowed to shine too much on them, as
it entices the bees out, who often perish by sudden cold.
You ought to keep at least three hives: Nos. 1, 2 & 3. No. 1 is the
first or old one, say, of last year; Nos. 2 & 3 of this year's swarming,
and these must be so managed as to supply you with honey and the bees
with food. This is well explained in a little book called the "Farmer,"
which those who wish to keep bees ought to study.
Such are the most important facts regarding the bee and its management.
There are many little works on the subject to be obtained, but the few
directions in the work above named will be ample information for the
young bee-breeder, and ensuring him lots of honey, lots of lessons of
economy, and lots of amusement.
THE END.
J. WERTHEIMER AND CO., CIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY CIRCUS.