Robert Merry's museum, Volumes III-IV (1842)Various
General
Robert Merry's museum, Volumes III-IV (1842)
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
There are several kinds of bees; the most interesting species of which
is the honey bee. Small and insignificant as this little creature
might appear to be, it is one of the most wonderful animals in the
world. Many of them live in a wild state and make their hives in hollow
trees. In America, and other countries, there are persons who devote
themselves to finding these hives for the sake of the honey. One of
the most common methods adopted is to place some bee-bread, in order
to tempt the bees, on a flat board or tile, and draw a circle round
it with white paint. The bee always settles upon the edge of anything
flat, so she must travel through the paint to reach the bee-bread. When
she flies away, the white on her body enables the observer to trace
her flight, and her course is marked down with a pocket compass. The
same thing is done at another spot, some distance from the first, and
by comparing the direction of the two lines, the situation of the nest
is easily found, as it must be at the point, where, if continued, the
lines would meet. In Africa, the bee hunter is aided by a little bird
called the honey guide. In the same country the honey ratel will sit
and hold one of his paws before his eyes, about the time of sunset, in
order to get a distinct view of the objects of his pursuit; and when
he sees any bees flying, he knows that at that hour they are returning
home, and so he follows them.
The domestic bees afford a good opportunity for studying the habits of
this wonderful race of insects. Three kinds of bees are discovered in
the hive; the drone, the queen bee, and working bee. The drones are the
fathers of the young bees, and live an idle life. They are larger than
the rest, and make a louder hum in flying. The queen is the mother of
the young bees, and governs the hive. The subjects are much attached to
her.
If she dies, the whole community is thrown into the greatest agitation,
and those which first find out what is the matter, run about the hive
in a furious manner, touching every companion they meet with their
little horns or feelers, which are called antennæ. These in their turn
run about in the same manner, and inform others of the sad event,
till the whole hive is in confusion. This agitation lasts four or
five hours, after which the bees begin to take measures for repairing
their loss. Nothing can be more extraordinary than the way in which
they proceed. They build several cells, which are much larger than the
common ones, and of a different form. Having removed one of the worker
worms into each of these, they feed it with a particular kind of food,
and in a few days it grows larger, and at length comes out a queen. One
of these becomes the sovereign of the hive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account