BEE
THE bee, from its singular instincts, its active industry, and the useful products resulting from its labours, has, from the remotest times, attracted general attention and interest. No nation upon earth has had so many historians as this remarkable class of insects. The patience and sagacity of the naturalist have had an ample field for exercise in the study of the structure, physiology, and domestic economy of bees ; their preservation and increase have been objects of assiduous care to the agriculturist ; and their reputed perfection of policy and government have long been the theme of admiration, and have supplied copious materials for argument and allusion to the poet and the moralist in every age. It is a subject that has been celebrated by the muse of Virgil, and illustrated by the philosophic genius of Aristotle. Cicero and Pliny record that Aristomachus devoted sixty years to the study of these insects ; and Philiscus is said to have retired into a remote wood, that he might pursue his observations on them without interruption. A very great number of authors have written express treatises on bees ; periodical works have been published relating exclusively to their manage ment and economy ; and learned societies have been established for the sole purpose of conducting researches on this subject.
In so complicated a branch of natural history, correct observation and induction require laborious and long- continued efforts. But, on the subject of bees, the inquirer after truth had, besides, many obstacles to encounter from the very general diffusion of errors, which had been transmitted without due examination from one author to another. The history of the opinions of successive writers sufficiently proves how gradual and slow has been the growth of an accurate knowledge of these insects, what is now known being the result of the persevering labours of ages. The accumulation of curious and interesting facts, indeed, which has accrued from the researches of Swam- merdam, Maraldi, Reaumur, Schirach, Huber, Dzierzon, and Von Siebold. constitutes almost a new science. It will there fore be proper, in this place, to give a connected and sys tematic account of the natural history of the bee ; and the principal features of internal conformation will be described along with the particular functions. Our descriptions will apply, more especially, to the common and best-known species, the Apis mellifica, which is the one particularly prized on account of the rich products it affords.
We shall begin with a brief account of the different sorts of bees inhabiting the hive, and of the respective offices of each; we shall then proceed to consider their comparative physiology, including the leading particulars relating to the functions of their various organs, sensitive powers, in stincts, secretions, and diseases. We shall also explain the theory of parthenogenesis and the impregnation of queens, and shall follow the bees in their different labours, from the period when the swarm has settled in a new habitation, detailing the complex structure of their combs, their curious processes of architecture, and the pains they bestow on rearing their progeny, and in sending forth new swarms; and, in the last place, we shall notice the best systems of modern bee-keeping, and give some account of hives and apiarian implements.
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FIG. 1. Drone. FIG. 2. Queen-Bee. Fid. 3. Worker Bee.
The leading feature in the natural history of bees, and one which distinguishes them from almost all other insects, is their singular distribution into three different kinds, con stituting to all appearance so many different modifications of sex. The drone (fig. 1), which is characterized by a thicker body, a round head, a more flattened shape, and more obtusely terminated abdomen, within which are contained the male organs of generation, is undoubtedly the of t male of the species. It is distinguished also by the absence of a sting, and by the humming noise that accompanies its flight. The queen-bee (fig. 2), which is unequivocally recognized as the female, is larger than any of the others, has the abdomen of greater length, and is provided with a sting and two ovaria of considerable size. The worker bees (fig. 3) compose the third class, and are dis tinguished by the smallness of their size, their lengthened proboscis, the peculiar structure of their legs and thighs, which are adapted to the collection of certain materials obtained from vegetables, and by the apparent absence of every trace of generative organs, we say apparent, because, as will be shown, rudiments of ovaria do exist, which, however, are not perceptible without a very minute and careful dissection. Till recently the worker bees were regarded as devoid of sex, and were accordingly termed neuters. It is their function to perform all the laborious offices for the community, to construct the interior of their habitation, to explore the country in search of nourishment and other materials, to collect and bring them to the hive, and apply them to different purposes, to attend upon the queen, and supply all her wants, to defend the hive from the attacks of depredators, and to carry on hostilities against the various enemies of the tribe. The life of the queen is chiefly engrossed with the duties of laying eggs. The drones producing neither wax nor honey, and depending on the rest for their subsistence, are idle spectators of the others labours. They appear to be formed only for the momentary but important duty of impregnation, since they perish when this purpose is accomplished. There is commonly only one perfect queen existing at a time within each hive, and she usually appears to be treated by all the other bees with every mark of affection and of deference. The number of workers is very different in different hives ; sometimes there are only a few thousands ; at other times from twenty to forty, or even fifty thousand. The drones, even in the spring, seldom compose more than one-thirtieth or one-fortieth of the whole ; and, at other seasons, there are none to be found in the hive when a fertile queen is present. In order to form some estimate of the number of bees which can occupy a certain space, Hunter counted what number of drowned bees could be contained in an alehouse pint, and found it to be 2160 ; so that if a swarm were to fill two quarts, their numbers would be nearly 9000. Reaumur, with the same view of ascertaining their numbers, employed the more accurate method of weighing them ; he found that a collection, weighing one ounce, consisted of 336 bees, and, therefore, that 16 ounces, or one pound, would consist of 5376 bees.
