Jonas de Gélieu

“ But when the whole of a new swarm, suddenly displaced, ascends precipitately into a hive, peaceably occupied by another, the bees of each colony cannot recognize each other, and having no field to fight after their own fashion, they pass the night together, and, doubtless, acquiring the same smell, live happily together. ”

“ When a hive has lost its queen, a general agitation takes place, that cannot escape the notice of the most ordinary observer. They seek about for her on all sides, and, if she cannot be found, they set to work to supply her place. For this purpose, a great cell must be constructed, to serve her for a cradle: a single working bee cannot manufacture it. There must absolutely be a concerted plan,—to choose the place to do the work—to transport the newly hatched maggot—to nurse it suitably—and properly to close the cell when it is to undergo the metamorphosis. ”

“ If a hive is expected to swarm, it should be allowed a quarter more in the autumn, that is, twenty pounds of honey: or it may be supplied after another manner, which I shall point out. But let there be no higgling with bees; better that they have too much than too little: more prudent than man, they never waste or abuse their superfluity.
In estimating the quantity of provisions that a hive contains, its age should be considered; and it is to be taken into account, that the black combs of old hives weigh ten times more than the white combs of a young one. ”

“ Moths destroy whole colonies: birds do not entirely destroy, but they diminish the population; the queens, especially, become an easy prey to them, their flight being heavy, from the great length of their bodies and shortness of their wings; and the queen, being the very soul of the hive, when she dies the whole will infallibly perish, if there is not some of the proper brood ready to fill her place; and, even in the latter case, the population is retarded in the fine weather, and the hive becomes languid. ”

“ When they have made a few hundred excursions, they set off without examining the locality, and, returning in full flight, will know their own hive in the midst of a hundred others. But if you change its place you perplex them, much the same as you would be if, during a short absence, some one lifted your house and placed it a mile off. The poor bees return loaded, and, seeking in vain for their habitation, either fall down and perish with fatigue, or throw themselves into the neighbouring hives, where they are speedily put to death. ”

“ I have not recommended any one kind in particular, not even those that bear my name, as I consider them all equally profitable when skilfully taken care of. Every one may make use of such as he likes best, or such as he can most easily procure. I wish not to lead the apiarian into any expence, but to point out to him clearly those principles and rules that he should not lose sight of, if he wishes to preserve his bees and to profit by them. ”

“ It is to avoid these two inconveniences that, in autumn, I empty an old hive which has not sufficient provision, and, in the evening of the same day, I introduce the bees into one of its neighbours on the right hand or on the left, proceeding in the same manner as with the swarms; with this single difference, that the sprinkling of honey should be more liberal to the old hive than to the swarm.
If the hive of which I have doubled the population is well enough furnished with provision for the winter, I give it nothing. ”

“ Bees have no real disease. Dysentery, about which so much noise has been made, and for which so many remedies are prescribed, never attacks the bees of a well-stocked hive, that is left open at all seasons, but only those that are too long and too closely confined. They are always in good health as long as they are at liberty,- 107 - when they are warm enough, and have plenty of food. All their pretended diseases are the result of hunger, cold, or the infection produced by a too close and long confinement during the winter. ”

“ I have often been astonished that so important a discovery should not have been made sooner by some of the superior minds that have taken an interest in this branch of rural economy; and that, in the course of their researches, not one of them should have thought of uniting two or three weak swarms, before winter, to compare them with single swarms, in order to ascertain how much honey was necessary, according to both plans, till the end of the winter season. ”

“ But the fact exists in regard to the bees; any one may have it in his power to convince himself of it; the cause is to me unknown, and must be left to wiser heads than mine to explain. Does the increase of heat supply, to a certain extent, the place of nourishment? Does the greater and more uniform heat, in a well-stocked hive, make the food more nourishing? ”

“ Is the hive to be cleaned? A general assessment is commanded, and the people instantly obey. A throng of labourers remove the dead, carry out the little bits of wax that are on the board, which would otherwise serve to feed the moths. Each of these crumbs costs them a journey; and that toil is spared them when care is taken to scrape and sweep the board from time to time.
Another scheme of agreement that indicates a language, is where a bee finds honey, whether in a room, where it may have been deposited without shutting the windows, or in a stranger hive, where it has gained entrance. ”

“ It would be a good plan to mingle in the apiary strong and weak hives alternately, and to place small and late swarms near each other, in order to unite two and two, or three and three, in autumn, if they have not enough of provision laid up for their winter subsistence.
When a deprived swarm happens not to be near another in the same state, there is nothing to hinder it being united to any old well provisioned hive that may be near it, as it will thrive all the better for such an addition to its population. I have done so oftener than once, and always with success. ”

“ It is not uncommon to see them build combs on the outside; many did so in the year 1791, the finest honey year I have seen since 1753. In the year 1791, I drew from one of my straw-hives that did not swarm, seventy-two pounds of beautiful honey-comb, merely by emptying the capes as they were filled. All years, however, are not like that, nor any thing approaching to it. There are middling seasons, when the bees find little more than merely what is requisite for their own supply. ”

“ For this reason, when people wish a swarm to settle, after it has left the hive, they hasten to cover it; because the shade induces them to rest, while a hot sun annoys them, and inclines them to take flight again. When we wish to disperse a cluster of bees off the front of a hive, we have only to expose it to the rays of the sun in the heat of the day. ”

“ Four soldiers, as I have already said, will more easily guard a narrow pass than thirty or forty would defend a great one. Whenever the bees cluster themselves in front of the hive, it is a proof that the whole of the interior is filled, and there is then no fear of pillage, excepting in a very rare case, when they happen not to observe the thieves, and of which I shall speak presently. In proportion as the cluster increases, the entrance should be widened, even opened entirely, and contracted again in the autumn after the destruction of the drones. ”

“ The bees of a hive have the means of recognition, and of distinguishing their companions from every stranger bee; without which they could not defend their honey. In vain would the Creator have armed each of them with a formidable sting, had they not been also given to know the enemies which that sting was to pierce. Strangers would have gone in and out without risk of detection or punishment, mingled with the workers, and deprived them of treasures industriously collected. ”

“ How long does a queen live? Would she live twenty years and more? Is the term of her existence prolonged beyond that of the working bees? I cannot answer; but I have reason to think that bees live only one year, and that those which have lived over the winter, and have assisted at the work during the spring and summer, - 82 - and which do not perish by accident, die of age in the month of August. ”

“ One of the chief objects of my researches has been, to ascertain what shape of hive is the most profitable; and, with this view, I have tried all the different kinds in my apiary, and I have invariably remarked, that bees thrive better in low hives than in high ones; that, in general, those which are broad and flat, or extended horizontally, amass more honey, thrive better, and give out stronger and earlier swarms, than those which are high, and of several stories, and for the following reasons. ”

“ A few spoonfuls of the bees raised and laid down at the door of the hive, will set the example,—they enter at - 52 - once, and the others follow quickly, flapping their wings and sipping with delight the drops of honey that come in their way, or officiously licking and cleaning those first inhabitants that have received the sprinkling, and with whom they mingle and live henceforth on good terms. One division of the new comers always clusters on the front of the hive, which they enter during the night without disturbance, much pleased to rejoin their companions. ”

“ Most people who have bees allow their swarms to remain till the evening in the place where they have alighted, and do not move them to the apiary till after sunset. This method has many inconveniences, which have been already pointed out by a most judicious and experienced author. As soon as a swarm has congregated in the new hive, and seems to be at ease in it, the most industrious among the bees fly off to the fields, but with a great many precautions. They descend the front of the hive, and turn to every side, to examine it thoroughly ”

“ I have seen whole combs full of eggs do no good, in consequence of the want of heat. This never happens in the low, flat hives, where the heat is more easily concentrated; here, as the young bees come to life, the heat augments, and they assist in taking care of the others that are advancing, and begin to spread out on all sides, and entirely to fill the hive: the republic prospers, and increasing numbers are distinguished. ”

“ Few amateurs understand thoroughly the state and wants of their hives, and generally estimate them by lifting them up to feel their weight; and, as this may be the cause of numerous mistakes, some being three or four times heavier than others, it is of the utmost importance to know the exact weight of each hive, when empty, without either combs or bees. For this purpose, I expressly recommend, that each hive be weighed before putting a swarm into it, and the weight noted down in a memorandum book, as well as on a ticket nailed on the hive, the use of which we shall soon see. ”

“ If the bees have room enough in the interior to dispose of their honey, it is needless to give them capes, for they will not build in them. These capes are commonly placed on the top of the hive, but it is matter of indifference whether they be on the right, on the left, or even underneath, provided there be an accessible way of communication between them. If we wish to attach them to the bottom of the hive, we establish a communication between the hive and the cape, by making a hole in the board on which the hive rests, so as to afford a free passage to the workers. ”

“ If the swarm has taken flight in the morning, the same bees make several excursions during - 17 - the day, and each time with less precaution, as, becoming familiarized with their dwelling, they are less afraid of mistaking it; and thus, next morning, supposing themselves in the same place, they take wing without having observed where they have spent the night, and surprised, at their return, not to find the hive in the same place, they fly about all day in search of it, until they perish with fatigue and despair. ”

“ Moths are little known, and never injurious, in the high valleys, nor on the mountains, but they attack and destroy a vast number of hives in the plains or in the vineyards, where they are a great scourge. As soon as a moth has penetrated a weak hive, it establishes itself in a comb, envelopes itself in a silken web, multiplies rapidly, consuming the wax, and spreading its destructive galleries from side to side, until, arriving at a certain point, the evil has no remedy. ”

“ The working bees must have room enough to go out and in without hindrance; when they begin to crowd together in groups at the entrance, it is a sign of the interior being filled, and they should then have free access, as they will be strong enough to resist pillage. When the cluster becomes very large, which it will do as the drones increase, enlarge the entrance as much as possible. It is even advisable sometimes to open the hive a little at the top, in order to moderate, by a current of air, the excessive heat that forces the bees to the outside ”

“ A third cause of the weakness of an old hive is the blackness of the combs in the centre and front of the hive. These old combs are mostly pierced with holes large enough to hold two or three fingers, or even a whole hand. They are - 75 - not openings which the bees have cut out for themselves, to pass from one comb to another; but are the result of some violent measure to which they have had recourse, for the purpose of defending themselves from the moths, one of which, establishing itself in a comb, will soon destroy the whole hive, if they do not speedily rid themselves of it. ”

“ One then sees many of them, with their wings fringed, which is a sign of decrepitude, similar to the wrinkles of an old person; while the young-bees may be discerned by their grey ashy colour, which becomes darker, approaching to black, as they get older. I do not believe that the queen (on whose existence depends that of the colony) , lives ten, fifteen, or twenty times longer than the working bees. But they have the means of filling her place when she comes to die. ”

“ All those that are well stocked, produce a moisture which, having no vent, collects in drops on the sides, and at the base of the hive, in which the bees are kept close prisoners until the return of fine weather. Many perish during their long captivity, and, oftener than once, I have found large icicles in strong hives. This never happens to those that have capes on the top: the moisture ascending evaporates through the opening, as by a chimney; and then one has the satisfaction of finding the combs healthy and free of mould in the spring. ”

“ Nothing is more prejudicial to bees than ignorant attention. Their most formidable enemies are, perhaps, their possessors, who busy themselves to torment them, and weaken and kill them by too much care. In winter they hurt - 97 - them, by shutting them up for fear of the snow, without considering that many more perish in their unwholesome prison; and that the great humidity, having no outlet, moulds the combs, and sometimes even rots them. Who shuts up the wild bees in the forests of Lithuania, where they thrive so well? Their own instinct suffices; there they have no master to thwart them. ”

“ Our industrious and provident little labourers set the example. Their instinct leads them, during the summer, carefully to close up every crack or joining of their habitation, with a sort of gummy matter called propolis, which cannot be penetrated either by the mice, the moths, or the ants. I have seen an excellent swarm perish, in consequence of a slight bend in the board, which left an interstice on each side, through which a cold north wind sifted, and froze more than three-fourths - 116 - of the bees; and no after care was able to save those that were left. ”