THE HONEY BEE

Shannon News, 9 April 1926, Page 3

THE HONEY BEE

FROM BIRTH TO DEATH A SHORT LIFE AND A BUSY. ONE A beehive Avith glass windows constructed- by Professor Karl von Frisch has enabled him to watch the bees "talking" to ono another by means of special dances. Mr. G. A. Rosch, one of his pupils, has, by using- the same technique, been able to observe the entire career of several bees, from, the moment they emerged from the pupeft cells to the day of their death, says a writer in t.he "Morning Post." As soon as the young worker has appeared they were carefully removed from the hive, and marked by spots of specially prepared paint. They w«r« then put back, and each bee, as sh 3 sst about her career, could be watched and tract d among the hundreds of her sisters. It is now established that the life of the average bee is a short and, a hard one. She goes-through a routine very similar to that of a human being, though it is* compressed within a much shorter span. Shi? seldom lives longer than 35 days in summer, though veterans aged 55 have been recorded. Her first task, after she has thoroughly washed and cleaned herself, is to prepare the cells for those who .will' follow after.

Before the queen bee, going on her rounds through the nurseries, deposits her eggs, each single cell is cleaned thoroughly by a young bee, though the necessary repairs tQ its walls are undertaken by those of more experience. The younger bees must also spend a certain amount of time squatting - on the cells to keep them warm if the hive temperature is lowered. At the age of three-ten days the young worker helps the regular nurses to feed the larvae. She fetches honey and pollen from the common store, and, visiting certain cells in turn, feeds the larvae with the special mixture they need. At the end of the nursing period she turns to various duties. On a fine, warm morning she will take her first look round out of doors, but she is not ready to become a regular collector.' Her usual job is to take the food from the incoming fliers, to distribute a portion of it among the inmates of the hive, and carefully to deposit the overflow in. the stores. She also husies herself with the cleaning of the hive by carrying all foreign bodies outside 1 ': and helps the young to creep out ov their cells by biting through their li is. When she is about a fortnight old she takes over a post of great responsibility. She becomes a sentry. With a sagacity almost equal to that.of a fully trained human soldier she keeps her guard, watching oyer all bees coming in or going out, and if necessary doing battle with rash or straying marauders who endeavour to gain access to the treasures within. This is invariably her last task before she goes on field duty. As a rule, tho bee becomes a honey gatherer round about the twentieth day of hr life; but the period may vary a little. Sometimes she discovers a new source of honey or pollen, in Kvhich case her importance as a new food supplier is greatly enhanced. She continues in the career the poets have sung until the end of her life, which in the summer only lasts about a month. The observations of Mr. Rosch have definitely proved that the routine for alt worker bees is the same, and that each one, if necessary, and according to her age, can take over any job in the communal life at short notice. The whole orgavtisation, while strictly standardised, i.< so wonderfully arranged that each inmate is able to adapt herself tc circumstances as necessity dictates. It is precisely this power of adaptation which makes the human mind feel a kinship with the collective intelligence of the bee world. As this German work of discovery and observation continues and is taken up elsewhere it Is expected that it will reveal many more wonders, and particularly may in due course enable the apiarist and naturalist to communicate j with his bees in an entirely n&\v manner.