Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/288

 BEE

by for their change, each wraps its body round with twelve or fourteen leaves, making a hard and firm cafe, fattened up at each end with as many pieces of leaves bitten off, and fixed carefully on.

The cafes are about an inch long, and lie one at the end of an- other, fo as to fill up the whole hole. The holes in the wood are not ahvay {freight, but fomctimes burrowed, like thofe of rabbits.

Mites are very exeat enemies to thefe creatures ; and knowing that a helplefs animal is contained there, they ufually eat their way thro' the cafe^ and devour the animal in its reftftlefs ftate of the nymph. Wh'jn the bets efcape this, and come to their proper maturity, they are in all refpecls like the common bee; except that they have a yellow ffreak acrofs their belly, fo bright, that it gives them the look of the wafp : but the body is too fhort for that animal, and they are in reality true bees, having a fting, and all the other parts of a regular bee, Phil. Tranf. N° 64.

There is, in fome parts of America, a very different fpecics of bees from ours ; and the manner of creeling their combs, and lodging their honey, is not lefs different than their form. Their combs are compofed of a feries of fmall bottles or blad- ders of wax, of a dusky brown or blackifh colour ; and each of thefe is much of the fize and fhape of aSpanifh olive. They hang together in clufters, almoft like a bunch of grapes, and are fo contrived, that each of them has its aperture while the bees are at work upon it j but as foon as it is filled with honey, this aperture is clofed, and the bees leave it, and go to work upon another veffel.

Their lodgings are ufually taken up in the hollow of an old tree, or in fome cavity of a rock by the fea-fide. They arc very cunning in choofing the propereft places of this kind, be- caufe their honey is fo delicious a bait, that they are hunted after by many forts of animals ; and they have no power of de- fending themfelvcs, having no flings, as our bees have. When the combs are removed, they muff be very gently taken out of their place, and carried to where they are to be emptied in their exact natural pofition, otherwife they do not hold, but the greater part of the honey will be fpilt, or mixed with the wax by the way.

The honey is clear and liquid as rock-water, and is hardly to be diftinguifhed from pure water by the fight ; and the man- ner of getting it clean out is, to prick the bottom of every bladder feparately with a thorn, or a pin. It is better indeed to give the puncture a little above the very bafe, becaufe there is often a frnall fediment of thicker matter j.ift there, which would prevent the reft from running out. It is ufed by the natives rather as drink with their food, than as honey. They ufe it alfo in medicine as a purge, drinking half a pint of it in a morning failing. It is of an extremely agreeable flavour, and in fome parts of America it is very plentiful. Phil. Tranf. N° 172. p. 1030.

Naturalifts relate wonders of the oeconomy, policy, fagacity, and induftry of bees. The diftribution they make of their la- bour is no lefs celebrated ; for while fome are employed in ga- thering of honey or wax, others repair rotten hives ; others carry out the dead ; others cleanfe the filth ; others keep guard, placing thcmfelves in five or fix files, eight or ten deep, upon the floor of the hives, fo that all the bees at entrance muft pate between them ; fome are even faid to fcrve for bridges and lad- ders for others to pafs on. Maraldi, ubi fupra. See alfo Boyle, Work, abridg. T. 2. p. 181, feq.

In effect, no infect, and indeed fcarce any animal, makes fuch a figure in the writings of naturalifts as the bee; but when we come to examine ftricily into what is related of this infect, we fliall find, however, a great deal of falfity in the marvellous things recounted of it ; but we fhall find at the fame time, by nice inquiry into their Works, many things not lefs to their credit, which have been patted over in filence ; and the place of imaginary wonders, exploded by fuch afcrutiny, will be amply filled up by real wonders unknown before. Ariftotle, Pliny, and the reft of the antients, have recorded, that the bees, in cafes of ftormy weather, take up a fmall ftone in their legs, in order to their being of fome weight, and not liable to be carried away by every blaft of wind. This is one of the falfe wonders attributed to thefe infects; and the falfity is eafily detected, by only obferving the numbers that fly to a hive in a florm, it will not be feen, that any one of them has any fuch contrivance ; and indeed if they had, the fact would eafily be known, by their leaving their flones either at the mouth of the hive, or within it, fince a ftone capable of add- ing any thing confiderable to their weight, muft be of fome fize, and fo many thoufands of thefe as muft be depofited by the multitudes of bees driven home by every ftorm 3 could not but be feen.

The antients had this foundation for their account : there is a fort of two-winged fly, of the fize and colour of a bee, and fo like it as not to be diftinguifhed, except by its having only two wings inftead of four, and its having no fting. This fly builds its neft with pieces of coarfe and large fand, and to this end is frequently found carrying thofe little ftones thro' the air. This creature had been miftaken by fome obfervers for a bee, and the intent of its labour in carrying thefe ftones miftaken ; and

BEE

hence the account of the lees carrying them by way of baliaft introduced into the world.

The moral virtues have been all, at one time or other attri- buted to the lees. We have been told of their burying their de.id with all the folemnity and ceremony of a regular funeral and that with great labour. The thing which gave rife to this was, the obferving a fingle bee often labouring to carry out of the hive another lee, which was dead : this, with the utmoft difficulty, he at length flies away with, and depofits at fome diftance from the hive. This, however, is riot out of care for the dead, but for the living : thefe creatures hate to have any thing incumber them in the hive ; and it is as common to fee them carry out as great a load of any other offenfive or unne- ceffary matter. We fhall alfo throw off all our opinion of their charity in thefe operations, if we confider, that, at cer- tain times, when they think their ftores will fall fhort, they make no fcruple to throw out of the hives their own offspring the nymphs, and young bees fcarce extricated from that cover- ing, often being carried away, and left to perifll in great num- bers together. Reaumur, Hilt. Infeft. Vol. 9. p. 268. It is pretended by feveral authors, that the lees know how to diftinguifh virtuous from vicious men ; and that being them- felves a chafte and virtuous people, they love fuch men as are fo, and hate and injure others : they fay, that a chafte and vir- tuous man may go to their hives, and ftand by them as long as hepleafes, without hurt; but that a vitious perfon will certainly be ftung, if he attempts it.

It is true, that many perfons have flood a long while near hives without hurt ; and that others have been defperately ftunir only in paffing by them : but this is from far different caufe? In general, thofe bees, whofe hives are fituated near houfes, are ufed to fee men every day, and therefore are not alarmed at them, and finding no danger from them, are not apt to fuf- pea any ; fo that they do them no injury : but, on the con- trary, lees whofe hives are in places lefs frequented, not being accuftomed to the fight of a man, will take him for an enemy whenever he appears. There is alfo another rule to be ob- ferved, .11 order to avoid being ftung by them, which is, not to hurt or injure them. If a perfon will bear the humming noife of them about his ears, and not difturb them, even when near his face, he may obferve them many hours without dan- ger ; but if he molefts or beats them away, he ufually fuffers for it. Thefe are the reafons why fome people are ftunir by bees, and others not ; and people not attending to thefe, have fuppofed many other imaginary and idle caufes. Bees have alfo been celebrated for their nice fmell ; and it is affirmed by many, that they love fweets, and hate ftinks in fuch a manner, that they will fly to the one out of love, and will fting the perfon who carries the other about him, by way of hatred. But there is fo little ground for this, that Mr. Reaumur tried them, and found no difference when he carried fweet or difagreeable things about him : and it is to be ob- ferved, that we are not to judge for them in regard to what are fweets and what are ftinks, fince they often frequent places where urine is voided, and lies to corrupt, which to us is a very ill fmell.

The lees have frequent battles about the mouths of their hives; but it is but feldom that they proceed fo far as to be mortal : fometimes, however, many are left dead upon the fpot, and the conquerors march in, in great triumph. It is certain that the bees forefee rain, and it being very detri- mental to them, they always haften to their hives to avoid it. Whether they fee the clouds gathering for it, as fome imagine, or whether (as is much more probable) they feel fome other effefls of it upon their bodies, is not yet determined ; but it is certain, that no bee is ever caught even in what we call a Hid- den fhower, unlets it have been at a very great diftance from the hive, or have been before injured by fome accident, or be fickly, and unable to fly fo faft as the reft. All thefe things are to be feen on the outfide of a hive; but when we look within it, the wonder is greatly increafed. The obferving fo many thoufands of little creatures all fo affively at work, and with fuch admirable regularity, makino- combs and cells for the reception of their winter's ftores, and other neceffary ufes, is a fight of infinite amazement : nor is there lefs wonder in obferving the clufters of them at thofe times when they are in a humour to take fome reft, that they may go jointly to work again with frefh fpirits. Their method of refting is, by getting together, and hanging one to another in vaft numbers. When thefe clufters of them are very large, they are only fhapclefs heaps; but when they are of fewer num- bers, they make a fort of chains, of which each link is a livino- animal. Thefe are often the beginnings of other clufters, and thefe frequently hang from branches of trees in the form of feftoons or garland;, each end being held to the branch, and the middle drooping from it.

The manner in which the bees hang together to form thefe fmaller, as well as the larger clufters, is this ; each bee, with its two fore-legs, lays hold of the two hinder-legs of the bee that is next above it, or only by one of its fore-legs to one of the hinder-legs of the other. In this manner is formed a chain, by the iucceffive application of the bees one behind another ; and thus the firft let fupports the weight of all the reft down