And this leads us on to a curious, if not unique fact in relation to the natural history of the Honey bee, which though probably not unknown to the ancients, was rediscovered and promulgated by Schirach, a member of an apiarian society, formed in the middle of the last century at Little Bautzen, in Upper Lusatia. In contradistinction to the usual way in which a young Queen is created, preparatory to the swarming season, by what is denominated the natural process, the details we are about to give show that the same thing may be effected by another mode, or, as it is said, artificially. Whether these terms, as opposed to each other, are rightly applied or not, they at least mark a difference; and being thus practically understood, we shall follow the example of other authors in using them. The fact itself, startling as at first it seemed, has been so clearly authenticated, that any lurking scepticism has disappeared; and, indeed, the principle is now so well understood and carried into general use by the scientific Apiculturist that, in a popular treatise on the Honey bee, our object would he imperfectly accomplished without entering into a few particulars in connection with it. And first, we have the assurance that the prevalent opinion as to any supposed original or generated difference between common eggs and those laid for the especial production of Queen bees, is founded in error; an altered and accelerated mode as to the development of the egg being all that is needed for the maturation of a perfect female. That we may understand the method of procedure on the part of the bees, we have to suppose that a hive has been deprived of its Queen (no matter whether by death or design) at that particular period when eggs and larvæ are each present in the cells of the combs: such larvæ being not more than two or three days old, for this is essential. Could we at such a juncture witness the proceedings of the family, a spectacle would be presented of much domestic distress and confusion when it had been discovered that the hive was queenless. Soon, however, the scene changes to the quietude of hope, for the foundation of a queen’s cell (and as a provision against possible failure, often of three or four) is commenced by the bees, usually within twenty-four hours. They select a common grub or larva, and enlarge the cell it occupies, by sacrificing the three contiguous ones, surrounding it with a cylindrical enclosure; the new cradle of royalty presenting in this stage the appearance of an acorn cup. The embryo Princess, for such she has now become, is amply supplied with a nurture, supposed to differ from that given to the common larvæ (a point questioned by some naturalists); her habitation in the meanwhile receiving elongation to suit her growth. About the fifth day the worm assumes the nymph state, the cell being now worked into its usual pear-shaped figure; the bees quitting it as soon as the lower end is finally closed. About the fourteenth day a perfectly developed female comes forth, in no respect differing from a Queen bred in the natural way. Fecundation and the laying of eggs usually follow in a few days, the economy of the hive then resuming its wonted course.
The Queen bee rarely leaves home, or is to be seen, except in hives constructed purposely with a view to observation. In such a one I have frequently watched the proceedings, as she has leisurely traversed the combs, the bees clearing a passage on her approach, their heads turned towards her, and, by repeatedly touching her with their antennæ, showing a marked attachment, a favour she is occasionally seen to return. Indeed, in some well-authenticated instances, affection has been continued even after her death. The great object of her existence being the perpetuation of the species, her majesty seems intent on nothing more, during these royal progresses, than peeping into the cells as she passes them, ever and anon selecting one, within which she inserts her abdomen, and deposits at the bottom an egg. These are about the size of those produced by a butterfly, but more elongated, and of a bluish-white colour. So prolific are some Queens that I have sometimes witnessed an extraordinary waste of eggs when, as the combs have become in great part filled with brood or honey, she finds a difficulty in meeting with a sufficiency of unoccupied cells. In such an emergency, impelled by necessity, the eggs are dropped at random, and carried off or devoured by the bees. No doubt an early and productive season tends often to this result, and marks the necessity of a timely temporary addition to the storing room of the family. The great laying takes place in April and May, when the number of eggs has been variously estimated by naturalists at 200 to 600 in a day, amounting to an aggregate of 50,000 to 80,000 in the year. “This sounds like a great number,” remarks Dr. Bevan,[C] “but it is much exceeded by some other insects.” Indeed, a wider calculation has been made, in his valuable remarks on bees, by the Rev. Dr. W. Dunbar,[D] who thinks that some Queens (for they are not all equally prolific) produce 100,000 eggs yearly. When we take into account the enormous demand for the supply of swarms, the constant deaths in the course of nature, and the thousands of lives always sacrificed by casualties of various kinds, at home and abroad, I am inclined to lean to the higher estimate. No doubt as the cold weather advances there is a considerable falling off in the number of eggs, but the interval is very short in which the queen, in a flourishing hive, discontinues laying more or less. “Indeed,” observes Mr. Golding, “it appears that at any time when the temperature is not too low for the bees to appropriate the food that is given to them, the Queen will deposit eggs.”
[C] See ‘The Honey-Bee, its Natural History, Physiology, and Management.’ By Edward Bevan, M.D.
[D] See the ‘Naturalist’s Library,’ vol. xxxiv.
THE COMMON OR WORKING BEES
Are the least in size, and in point of numbers in a family are variously calculated at twelve to thirty thousand, according to the bulk of the swarm; though under certain circumstances they are sometimes much more numerous. As regards sex, we have seen in the preceding section that there is no reason to doubt they are females, only that the reproductive organs and ovaries are not as fully developed as they are in the case of a perfect Queen; and this has led to the erroneous use of the term neuters, as sometimes applied to the common bees. If any doubt should remain as to their sex, it is removed by the knowledge that, in some rare instances, they have been able to produce eggs. Like the Queen, each has the power of stinging. The use of the sting, however, usually involves a loss of life, for, being barbed like an arrow, the bee has rarely the power of withdrawing it.
The eggs for workers are deposited in the common cells in the centre of the hive, being the part first selected for that purpose, the Queen usually laying them equally on each side of a comb, and nearly back to back. In four or five days' time, they are hatched, when a small worm is presented, remaining in the larva or grub state four to six days more, during which period it is assiduously fed by the nurse-bees. The larvæ then assume the nymph or pupa form, and spin themselves a film or cocoon, the nurses immediately after sealing them up with a substance which Huber[E] calls wax. It is, however, a mixture of wax and pollen, being thicker, more highly coloured, more porous, and less tenacious, probably to afford air, and facilitate the escape of the imprisoned tenant. This takes place about the twenty-first day from the laying of the egg, unless the process has been somewhat retarded by cold weather. The attentive observer may at this time, in a suitable hive, witness the struggles and scrambling into the world, generally by its own exertions, of the now perfect imago, the little grey new-born shaking, brushing, and smoothing itself, preparatory to entering upon the duties of life, and in a day or two, or sooner, it is busily occupied in the fields.[F]
[E] See “Observations on the Natural History of Bees,” by Francis Huber; English edition, London, 1841. An invaluable work to the scientific apiculturist.
[F] As soon as the young bee comes forth, the others partially clear the cell, and it again receives an egg; this being often repeated four or five times in the season. Afterwards the cells become the receptacles for honey or farina; but they are found in time to become contracted or thickened by this rapid succession of tenants, and the consequent deposits of exuviæ, excrement, &c. It has been asserted by Huber and other naturalists, that young bees, bred in old contracted cells, are proportionately smaller in size. Such combs should be removed from the hive.
Though we have, as I conceive, no actual proof that the occupation of individual bees is at all times unchangeably directed to one point (as some naturalists have imagined), observation shows that the division of labour is one of their leading characteristics. Some are engaged in secreting and elaborating wax for the construction of combs in the hive; others in warming the eggs; in feeding the larvæ, as also their queen; in ventilating and cleansing the hive; in guarding and giving notice of attacks or annoyance from without; and the rest in searching the fields and woods for the purpose of collecting honey and farina, for present and future store.