The honey-bee: its nature, homes and products

by William Hetherington Harris

Fig. 39.—Ovaries and Spermatheca of Queen.

By voluntary effort on the part of the queen, each egg, as it passes this vesicle, may be touched with a most minute drop of the fluid just mentioned. Then this very marvellous fact results. An egg thus fertilised develops into a queen or a worker, according to the conditions under which it is hatched; while those eggs which are not brought in their passage into contact with the fluid, and receive no spermatozoa, become drones. Herein lies the explanation of fertile workers giving birth to drones only, and of queens, hatched after the drones of a season are dead, also laying eggs which will develop only into male bees. We are absolutely unable to account for these most extraordinary circumstances, which open up interesting fields for future investigation. Not the least wonderful point is the exercise of will, on the part of the queen, in the production of the particular kind of egg which, without making mistakes, she lays in the cells specially provided for the three classes of her offspring.

The last of the abdominal organs we have now to describe, is one which is not essential to the life of the individual, but has been conferred by the Creator as a means of offence and defence, viz., the sting. Those who have frequently felt its effects have no need to be told how formidable a weapon it is; but few probably are fully acquainted with the structures which give it such potent force. If a bee be irritated, and made to thrust out its sting, we observe a dark brown and sharply-pointed dart. This, when magnified, is seen to be the sheath, in which the true sting lies and is moved. The sheath is divided down the centre, and between the two parts the real piercers work, though the sheath itself is thrust into the wound. It consists of two horny scales, smooth and closely adherent to the true darts. These last are stiff filaments, barbed along their outer edge. They are not quite equal in length, so that the teeth of the one do not lie exactly opposite those of the other. They work side by side, and, possibly with alternate motion, pierce deeper and deeper into the punctured material. The teeth give a firm hold to the imbedded weapon, and prevent its easy withdrawal. In fact, when plunged into human flesh, or into thick leather gloves, these barbs hold so tightly that the insect is unable to free itself, and if forcibly detached, or if by a vigorous effort it escapes, the sting is left behind, and frequently attached to it are portions of the viscera. The bee thus loses its life, and the injury it inflicts is the more severe.

Fig. 40.—Sting of a Bee, greatly magnified.

The mere puncture of the weapon, however, would be a quite unimportant matter, were it not that, connected with the groove in which the dart works, is a short tube leading from a bag containing a liquid of the most acrid and poisonous nature. By powerful muscles, attached to the upper part of the sting, the barbs are thrust out; the sheath follows them into the pierced substance, and then, by the pressure of other muscles, a drop of the poison-liquid runs down into the wound, and immediately sets up a violent pain and inflammation of the surrounding parts. So powerful is the action of the irritant, that numerous cases are on record of death ensuing through its influence. We are, however, bound to say that, by many authorities, such fatal consequences are considered to result from syncope produced by fright, rather than from the direct effect of the poison on the nervous system. Still, there is no doubt of the very formidable nature of the liquid, as may be generally seen in the amount of swelling and discomfort caused by the exceedingly minute portion injected by the sting of a bee.

Fig. 41.—Barbs of a Bee's Sting, very highly magnified.

The most remarkable function of the sting-apparatus has, in modern times, been discovered to be the insertion of a minute drop of the poison in each honey-cell when filled. This acts as an anti-septic, and prevents fermentation in the sweet liquid.

The poison is secreted by tiny glands, from which it is conveyed, by tubes or ducts, into the reservoir, where it is stored ready for use. Chemically, the liquid is said to have an acid reaction. Hence the application of ammonia, and other alkaline solutions, will most effectually counteract its effects.