William Hetherington Harris

“ Such a disastrous state of things is sometimes begun by carelessness on the part of the bee-keeper, in allowing pieces of honey-comb to lie about within reach of any of his stocks. The taste of the sweet liquid, for which they have a perfect passion, seems to act like a glass of gin on an abstainer who has formerly been a drunkard. ”

“ Everywhere, also, on earth may be seen at work the grand law of self-sacrifice for others' needs. Very many facts which we have detailed in the natural history of bees, illustrate this most thoroughly. We may, indeed, say that the life of a worker, who will neither have progeny of her own, nor see many of the race for whom she spends her powers, is one continued offering of herself for the welfare of the community. ”

“ We are sure that comparatively few people know what marvellous creatures bees are; what constant pleasure may be found in watching their work; what opportunities for skilful use of brain and hand are afforded by an apiary; what a wide field of study and information is displayed by these domesticated insects: and though we shall not hold out dazzling prospects of a large return of money from the pursuit we are commending, we shall show by facts that, in ordinary seasons, the yield of honey should amply cover the cost of the bees, their homes, and their requirements. ”

“ When the pollen-laden bee has reached the combs, she searches for a cell already containing the same material as that she is carrying, or which is suitable for her purpose. Then, having found what she wants, she inserts her hindmost legs into the cell, and, by a dexterous movement, detaches the little balls, and, on retiring, gives herself some vigorous shakes, as if to clear herself of still adherent flower-dust. Then another worker, whose duty it is to see to the proper storing of the bee-bread, rams it down with her head into a compact mass, and the process goes on till the cell is filled. ”

“ As princess merely, not the slightest respect is paid to her. She is not even fed by the workers, but has to help herself, and in doing so must scramble over the busy crowd in her way, not one of whom will trouble to move out of her path.
Two or three prominent characteristics serve readily to distinguish the queen from the rest of the bees. In the first place, her body is much longer and more tapering towards its lower extremity. Her wings are shorter in comparison with her length. The upper surface of her body is of a darker and more glossy hue than that of her subjects. ”

“ Probably of all the senses of bees none is so acute as that of the perception of odours. Not only do they distinguish the citizens of their own hive from those of other communities; not only do they discriminate between the fragrance of various flowers; not only can they detect the aroma of honey concealed from their sight, though not from their olfactory nerves, but they show a marked antipathy to certain human individuals, which can only be accounted for by supposing that from these persons proceeds an effluvium disagreeable to the bees, though not perceptible by, or unpleasant to, man. ”

“ Living trees offer so many inducements to a swarm on the wing for settling—the benefit of shade above all—that it is not to be wondered at that branches with foliage are, if accessible, almost always chosen by the insects for alighting on. It is just possible that an old and feeble queen may occasionally, when heading a swarm, be unable to fly farther than a very short distance, and, through fatigue, may settle on a post or other leafless wood. Of course such a queen would be likely to die within a few months at most, and thus involve the loss of the colony during the next winter. ”

“ Thus, again, we are struck with the fact that the more closely we examine the organs of any segment of the body of the insect, the more reason do we find to admire the skill, and the care for His creatures, manifested by the infinitely wise and the infinitely good Maker of them all. Beauty, adaptation, perfection, are the words which are continually suggested to our minds by the contemplation of the structure of the bee. ”

“ To it, in fact, the possession of what we call instinct must be entirely referred, though it leaves untouched the actual nature of this endowment.
The definition of instinct is not a very simple matter, but we may consider it as a power, appearing in generation after generation of animals, by which, without instruction, they perform certain actions, or series of actions, tending to the welfare of the individual or of the race. We usually regard the purely intellectual operations as improvable by education. Instinct, on the other hand, neither requires, nor, in general, is aided by teaching. ”

“ We need hardly say that the weather is a most important factor in the success or failure of bee-keeping, in any particular year. Apiculturists, like agriculturists, are subject to many and great alternations of hope and fear. The brightest prospects of a bountiful honey-harvest are often blighted by rainy or ungenial days in May and June; and if these are succeeded by a cloudy, cold July, the bees will not only not store any more honey than they will themselves require, but may very possibly need liberal supplies of syrup in the autumn to carry them through the winter. ”

“ Covetousness is also a powerful emotion with these insects. We have already spoken of the dangers of allowing bees a taste of sweets from other hives than their own, and of the almost ineradicable longing for - 232 - the honey stored in other communities, if once pilfering has begun. And yet we can hardly ascribe sheer selfishness as the motive for robbing. We see, in fact, that the life of the worker is one long series of labours on behalf of a progeny not its own, and for a community in which its own existence is of very short duration. ”

“ If, on the other hand, perfect quietness is maintained, it will rarely happen that a buzzing bee will sting. When mischief is really meant, the attack is usually delivered with great speed and directness. Even if stung, it is much the best policy to be as self-possessed as possible, lest violent movements and angry acts should invite other bees to use their weapons; and they are the more likely to do so, if the first offender be crushed; for the smell of the sting poison and of murdered comrades readily stirs the wrath of the insects. ”

“ We know, indeed, so little of the actual connection between mind and body, the senses and the intellect, that it becomes quite unsafe to base upon our knowledge any theories as to the conscious possession of power when the body ceases to live. The discussion of this subject must rest on other and higher grounds altogether, and so will lie outside the limits of our work. But we may well inquire how far true intellectual processes go on in bees. And the best way to do this will be to take some of the strictly intellectual faculties, and see whether they really exist among these insects. ”

“ She mates once in her life, when she is a few days old, with a single drone, and on the wing. That is the only occasion of her leaving the hive, except when she leads forth a swarm. Her grand function is to lay eggs, and every part of her structure and every power she has is more or less related to this all-important duty. She is, as we have implied, freed from every other office. The hatching, the tending, the rearing, the instruction of her progeny, are entirely taken out of her hands, and it is doubtful whether she has any affection for her children. ”

“ In reviewing these various products gathered or elaborated by bees, we cannot fail to be struck with the marvellous adaptation of different materials to the wants of the community, the skill displayed in the application of them to the general purposes of the commonwealth; and, above all, the wondrous suitability of means to ends, shown by the workers of the hive. If we refuse to allow the possession of reason to these extraordinary insects, we must admit the existence in them of some faculty almost more to be admired ”

“ If proper attention has been given to the bees in autumn, they should be left quite undisturbed during the winter; for each time of excitement causes a considerable consumption of honey, to make up for the exertion to which the insects have been aroused. There is, also, the risk of chilling the hive, and lowering the temperature to a point fatal to many of its inhabitants. If, however, it becomes known to the bee-keeper that any stock is in a starving condition, no liquid food must be given, but barley-sugar, or sugar-cake, may be laid on the frames. ”

“ The birth of a fertile worker in a hive is a great misfortune; for, not merely will the population diminish, and at length altogether fail, from the production of drone-brood only, but, as it is impossible to distinguish the offending worker, it is difficult to get rid of her. It has been recommended, on the discovery that she exists, to amalgamate the stock with another having a queen. ”

“ The breeding of queens can only be done with ease and complete success in bar-frame hives. If, on examination of the frames of a stock, queen-cells with brood in them are found, these may be protected by means of little wire cages from the animosity of the mother-bee, and in due course the princesses, as they hatch out, may be transferred to a small box, with a piece of comb and a few bees belonging to the hive. Care must be taken not to let the cage touch the cell over which it is placed, and it should be thrust into the comb only to the base of one set of cells. ”

“ It is also true that, under some circumstances, bees become, like human beings, unaccountably irritable; and then it is better to keep at a safe distance from them, or to approach them clad in bee-dress. It is especially maddening to them to become entangled in the hair of the head or face, and if one of them has unwarily thus ensnared itself, it is advisable to extricate it as speedily as possible, or it will assuredly inflict a wound. ”

“ Nor need we hesitate to assign its working to such comparatively insignificant objects as hives of bees, when we have the emphatic declaration of our Lord that not one sparrow lights upon the ground for its food without the knowledge of God; that He feeds the ravens, clothes the lilies with beauty, and numbers the very hairs of our heads. ”

“ If they be kept asunder a few days by slides with perforations, to let their odours commingle, they may be allowed to join their forces, and the queens will settle the sovereignty by a battle, ending in the death of the weaker. When the stock-boxes have become well filled with bees, admission may be given to the honey-box, and, in a good season, splendid combs of honey may be secured in this way. We have seen supers of great weight and beauty taken from the Stewarton hive. ”