Mysteries of Bee-keeping ExplainedQuinby, M. (Moses)
Science
Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained
Quinby, M. (Moses)
Bees
The time before it is ready to leave the hive for honey, I might guess
would be two or three days. Others have said "it would leave _the day
it left the cell_;" but I guess they guess at this point. They tell us,
too, that after the bees seal over the cells containing the larvæ,
"they immediately commence spinning their cocoons, which takes just
about thirty-six hours." I think it very likely; but when I admit it, I
cannot imagine how it was ascertained;--the faculty of looking through
a mill-stone I do not possess, and it requires about the same optical
penetration to look into one of these cells after it is sealed over, as
it is all perfect darkness. Suppose we drive away the bees and open the
cell, to give us a look at the interior: the little insect stops its
labor in a moment, probably from the effect of air and light. I never
could detect one in its labor. Suppose we open these cells every hour
after sealing; can we tell anything about their progress by the
appearance of these cocoons, or even tell when they are finished? The
thickness of a dozen would not exceed common writing paper. When a
subject is obscure, or difficult to ascertain, like this, why not tell
us how they found out the particulars; and if they were guessed at, be
honest, and say so? When the bee leaves the cell, a cocoon remains, and
that is about all we _know_ about it.
TERMS APPLIED TO YOUNG BEES.
The young bee, when it first leaves the egg, is termed grub, maggot,
worm, or larva; from this state it changes to the shape of the perfect
bee, which is said to be three days after finishing the cocoon; from
the time of this change, till it is ready to leave the cell, the terms
nymph, pupa, and chrysalis, are applied. The lid of the drone's cell is
rather more convex than that of the worker's, and when removed by the
young bee to work its way out, is left nearly perfect; being cut off
around the edges, a good coat or lining of silk keeps it whole; while
the covering of the worker's cell is mostly wax, and is pretty well cut
to pieces by the time the bee gets out. The covering to the queen's
cell is like the drone's, but larger in diameter, and thicker, being
lined with a little more silk.
DISCREPANCY IN TIME IN REARING BROOD AS GIVEN BY HUBER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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