§ I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

ALTHOUGH the principal object in compiling the present work has been to induct our readers into the way of keeping bees according to the most recent and approved methods, it requires little apology for thus apparently deviating from such prescribed course by devoting a small portion of our space to a description of the anatomy of the wonderful little creatures whose labours all our contrivances are intended to assist, especially since a knowledge of their habits is not only interesting to the bee-keeper, but enables him to conduct his apiary in accordance therewith.

In a treatise of this kind, intended to be of a popular character, we shall endeavour to place these details before our readers in a concise and simple manner, avoiding as much as may be technical terms, and referring those who wish to go more deeply into this branch of the subject to the works of Kirby and Spence, Samuelson, etc. In the course of our descriptions we shall frequently refer to the steel engravings, Plates I. and II., drawn by Mr. E. W. Robinson, artist to the Entomological Society of London, who has most carefully dissected bees we sent him for the purpose, subjected these dissections to the microscope, and skilfully produced the accompanying illustrations, which will so much assist the purpose we have in view. These delineations are so clear that a little explanation will suffice to impart a full understanding of the various parts of the bee.

Because the bee is so small an insect we are not to neglect investigating its organisation. "The bee is little among such as fly, but her fruit is the chief of sweet things." The enlightened Boyle, when contemplating the wonders of Nature, declared that his astonishment had been more excited by the mite than by the elephant; and that his admiration dwelt "not so much on the docks as on the watches of creation."[16]

The Figures i, 2, and 3, in Plate L, respectively represent the exterior forms of the queen, the worker, and the drone. They are thus coloured for the purpose of illustrating the Yellow Italian Alp, or Ligurian bee, now deservedly held in such high estimation by bee-keepers, and of whose good qualities we have already remarked. All the bees constituting a stock may not be of quite so bright a colour as those represented: the old bees differ in appearance from the younger ones—darkened bodies and ragged wings, not grey hairs and wrinkled faces, are the signs of old age—so that with bees (especially Italians), as with the gentler sex of the human race, there is appointed a period both of youth and beauty.

The anatomical structure of our English bee is the same in kind as that of the Italian;[17] a description of the one will therefore serve for the other. The most apparent difference consists in the colour. The English bee is of a blackish brown; both varieties have their bodies wholly covered with close-set hairs. These hairs deserve particular attention, because, although so small, each hair is feather-shaped, consisting of a stem and branches somewhat analogous to the feathers of birds. This form is extremely serviceable to the insect, when revelling in the corolla of flowers, to collect the farina, and, besides being thus useful, is peculiarly adapted for retaining animal heat.[18]

The insect is divided into three parts—the head, the thorax or chest, and the abdomen.

§ II. THE HEAD AND ORGANS OF SENSATION.

The head of the queen (Plate I. Fig. 1 c), as also that of the drone (Fig. 3 c), is rounder than that of the worker bee. This last (Fig. 2 c) is of a triangular shape, and much flattened, as in Fig. 2 c*, which shows the side view. In common with other creatures, the head contains the inlet for nutrition, and is the seat of the principal organs of sensation.

In the figures before alluded to may be seen the double visual apparatus with which bees are provided. The oval lobes on each side of the head represent the two eyes, the secondary organs of vision being the three small eyes on the top of the head, called "stemmata." We shall first describe the two larger eyes, which, as seems to be the case with all insects, are immovable, and have neither irides nor pupils, nor yet eyelids to cover them, but are protected from the dust or pollen of flowers by a number of small hairs, as well as by a horny tunicle, which defends and secures them from injury. The multitude of hexagonal lenses, called "ocelli," which make up the eye of a bee, give it, when viewed through a microscope, the appearance of honeycomb; or we might compare it to a multiplying-glass with hexahedral facets, each facet representing the surface of one ocellus. But when we look also to the inner structure, it resembles rather some thousands of telescopes all converging towards one point. It has been computed that in each eye there are 3,500 of these collateral lenses. Fig. 5 in Plate II. represents three of these prisms or lenses magnified. Each of them is wonderfully intricate in structure, comprising, first two plano-convex lenses of different densities, fitted together on the flat sides on the principle of an achromatic object-glass; next an empty space surrounded with dark pigment, which is convex within like the neck of a vase, so as to narrow the passage for the rays to about one-half the diameter, or one-fourth the superficial space; and lastly a longer conical lens, convex at each end and communicating with the optic nerve. The simple eyes, or stemmata, on the contrary, are as strictly simple as their name implies, consisting of one nearly globular lens apiece.

The construction of the eye for seeing objects best at a moderate distance will account for the fact that bees mount high up into the air after collecting their store of food, and then, having determined the point, no matter how far off, they fly homewards with the directness of a cannon-ball, and alight at the door of their own habitation, though the country around may be crowded with hives; but on reaching the entrance their vision appears defective, for they then feel their way with the antennæ as if totally blind, and should the hive have been moved a little they will rise again into the air to obtain a more distant view, suited to the lengthened focus of their sight. When a stock or swarm is brought from a distance the bees do not take their departure at once, but reconnoitre awhile, visiting surrounding objects so as to well know the spot again in order to return thereto.

The distinct purposes of the two different kinds of eyes may not perhaps be yet determined with certainty, but Pastor Schönfeld (whom Von Berlepsch employs to write those sections of his own work that relate to the senses of bees, as being "beyond doubt the best-informed of apiarians on these subjects") gives a decided opinion that the stemmata serve only for the most distant objects, while the compound eyes, which are much more highly refractive, become available when closer at hand. Thus these eyes, which we compared to telescopes, are credited with the least of telescopic power, and serve for nearer observation after all. How much nearer, however, we are not yet in a position to say, and nothing need be withdrawn of what is stated above as to the far-sightedness of bees. The compound eyes are assumed to be also serviceable in the twilight, and thus to afford some vision in the interior of a hive. It is worth mentioning, as a rare compliment from a German to an English apiarian, that Schönfeld declares the best anatomical description of the eyes of our insect to be given by Samuelson in his work, "The Honey Bee."[19]

The mouth of the bee is a most complex structure, marvellously adapted for its duties, and consists of the labrum, or upper lip, with the mandibles, or upper gills, and of the labium, or lower lip, which is made up of the ligula or tongue, also called the proboscis, the labial palpi, and the paraglossæ, together with the maxillæ, or lower gills—we adopt this word "gills" from the German for want of a better. The jaws open vertically, but the mandibles, maxillæ, and palpi work horizontally, and serve as pincers or scissors. The mandibles are the two side pieces which constitute the working portion of the upper jaw. Fig. 1 d in Plate I. shows the mandible of the queen, which, like that of the drone (Fig. 3 d), is provided with two teeth, whilst the mandible of the worker (Fig. 2 d) is without teeth. This last having to manipulate the wax with smoothness, the teeth would doubtless be objectionable. These mandibles are strong, horny, and sharp-pointed, to assist in breaking down food, and in other respects constitute serviceable tools for seizing their enemies, ejecting the drones, etc.

The tongue (Plate II. Fig. 3), or proboscis, is a long slender projection, flattish in form, and about the thickness of a bristle. It has about forty cartilaginous rings, each of which is fringed with minute hairs, having also a small tuft of hair at its extremity, where it is somewhat serrated. In movement it is like the trunk of an elephant, and is susceptible of extension and contraction, bending and twisting in all directions; and by rolling about, it sweeps or laps up, by means of the fringes around it, everything to which it is applied. Thus, when a bee alights upon a flower, it pierces the petals and stamens, where the nectar is secreted, and deposits its collection on the tongue, from whence it passes into the gullet (Plate I. Fig. 2 c) at its base. At times, in building combs, the tongue is used as a trowel, with which the minute scales of wax are deposited in their appropriate places, and the desired finish is given to the cells. This organ has been denied by some to be a hollow tube, but this is not the view generally held, and it certainly does not act wholly by handing up the food, for there is a furrow or gutter running along the whole length of its under side. Thus, when a bee is imbibing honey the rings of the abdomen have a vibratory motion similar to pumping, showing to the casual observer that suction is rapidly going on. Dr. Bevan tells us that the true tongue is an extremely minute object at the base of the maxillæ; but this appears to have been a mistake of his own.

The labial palpi (Plate II. Fig. 3 o) rise from the base of each side of this lapping instrument, and are also ciliated exteriorly. They appear to serve as feelers to the mouth. Between these and the tongue are the two small sheaths or membranes called the paraglossæ; and outside of the same are the working portions of the lower jaw, or the maxillæ (Fig. 3 n), which are also provided with hairs and with two feelers midway known as maxillary palpi. When the jaws close on the tongue they form a sheath or defence thereto.

With the mandibles of the upper jaw opening right and left, and the maxillæ of the lower, which serve to hold the object laboured upon, the insect prepares its work for the sweeping-up apparatus of the lower parts. Thus, when combs become mouldy, or in any way unfit receptacles for brood or honey, these tools provided by Nature serve the place of hands, and the bees are able to chop up in small pieces, and remove from their dwelling, whatever lumber of this kind may be offensive to them. They are applied also for opening the anthers of flowers. The whole of this apparatus, while perfect in action in an expanded state, can be folded or coiled together when not in use, so as to form one strong and well-protected instrument.

The antennæ (Plate I. Figs. 1 a, 2 a, 3 a) are most important instruments, and are planted between or below the eyes and a little below the stemmata, one on each side; they consist of a number of tubular joints, each having a separate motion, and, being thus jointed throughout their whole length, they are capable of every variety of flexure, and their extremities are exquisitely sensitive. With the antennæ these insects recognise their queen, and appear to communicate to each other their joys and sorrows. For instance, if a colony be deprived of its queen, bees may be seen rushing about the hive, and, with a nervous twinge, crossing their antennæ or violently striking them together, and conveying the intelligence of their forlorn state. The sense of touch is here most acute. Huber performed an interesting experiment which definitely proved that it was by means of these organs that they communicated with each other. Dividing a hive by a grating which kept the two portions too widely apart for the antennæ to meet, he soon had the queenless half in a state of commotion and upset; but when he allowed these feelers the means of access, though nothing else could be passed through, he saw them by hundreds making their enquiries, and receiving answers, which resulted in the whole remaining tranquil. The same observer tried the experiment of depriving two queens of their antennæ and introducing both to the same hive, when the bees did not appear to know their own from the stranger; but the moment he added a third, still in possession of these organs, they fell upon her with murderous intent. Huber further points out that a moonlight night is the best time for observing the use of the antennæ as feelers. The bees, if it is warm, circumambulate their doors, to all appearance as vigilant sentinels, with these appendages stretched right before them; and woe to the moth that comes within reach—the instant it is felt its death follows.

The sense of hearing has been denied bees by some, but against all evidence; others contend that the seat of this power is also situate in their antennæ. The sounds which bees emit, particularly at swarming time, are conclusive that they possess this faculty; the only reasons for arriving at an opposite conclusion seem to be, that they are indifferent to most sounds, even the loudest, not emitted by themselves--but even to this there is the notable exception of the fright they evince at drumming on their hives—and that no precise organ of hearing can be found. Naturalists are now more united in the opinion that the seat of hearing is here located. The antennæ are said to have also another office, viz., that they act as a barometer, by which bees know the stale of the weather and are premonished of storms; the darkening of the sky seems, however, to be frequently the cause of their trooping homeward, though they care not for the loudest thunder, so long as the sun continues to shine. In the dark recesses of the hive the feelers are exceedingly serviceable, and may truly be denominated "eyes to the blind."

Bees possess acutely the sense of smell, and, attracted by the fragrance of flowers, they may be seen winging their way a considerable distance in an undeviating course, even sometimes in the face of weather which one might have thought they would not have braved. The precise seat of this sense, however, is another doubtful point. Dr. Dönhoff ascribes this also to the antennæ, stating that if these are cut off the bees lose the faculty, but regain it after a time. Schönfeld takes this as proving the case the other way; but are we not familiar with analogies in which on the loss of some organ its function has been developed elsewhere—especially when as here the rudiments of the lost part must have remained? Schönfeld's own surmise is that the faculty resides in the surfaces of the inner respiratory organs; Dr. Hicks (the assistant author of Samuelson's "Honey Bee") places it in a number of vesicles at the roots of the wings; others again attribute it to two depressions in the lower portion of the face. But Dönhoff's reference to the antennæ has experiment, to our view, in its favour, though of course not decisively so. But whether this is correct or not, this pair of horns play an important part with the useful faculties which they combine.

With their extraordinary devotion to sweets, bees can hardly but be possessed of a strong sense of taste, though in consequence of their being detected occasionally lapping the impure liquids from stable or other fœtid drains, Huber considered it the least perfect of their senses. But it is now ascertained that bees, like most animals, are fond of salt, and they therefore resort to dunghills and stagnant marshes, from which they are doubtless able to extract saline draughts. It cannot be denied, however, that, according to our ideas, their taste is otherwise at fault; thus it sometimes happens that, where onions and leeks abound and are allowed to run to seed, bees are so anxious to complete their winter stores, that, from feeding on these plants, a disagreeable flavour is communicated to the honey (see Chap. VI. § iii.).

§ III. THE THORAX AND ORGANS OF MOTION.

The thorax or chest approaches in figure to a sphere, and is united to the head by a thread-like ligament. This is the centre of the organs of motion. Here are attached both the muscles that move the legs and wings, and the legs and wings themselves.

In Fig. 1 of Plate II., b, b, b show the muscles that move the wings; e, e, the bases of the wings. These appendages consist of two pairs of unequal size, which are arranged to hook together. In Plate I. Fig. A will be seen the margins of the two wings. In Fig. B are the eighteen or twenty hooks placed on the anterior margin of the hinder wing, whilst the posterior margin of the fore wing is beautifully folded over to receive them, so that, when employed in fanning for ventilation, the two wings on each side act as one, and present an unbroken surface to the air. The wings of workers are larger than those of the queen, but those of drones are much larger still.

The bee has six legs, three on each side. Each leg is composed of several joints, having articulations like a man's arm, for the thigh, the leg, and the foot. The foremost pair of these are the shortest; the middle pair are somewhat longer, and with them the bee unloads the little pellets from the baskets on her thighs; the hindmost are the longest of all. On the outside of the middle joint of these last there is, in each leg, a small cavity, in the form of a marrow-spoon, called the "pollen basket." The pollen is conveyed from the front to the second pair of legs, and from these to the receptacles in the hind ones. Fig. 2 b in Plate I. shows the inner side of the hind leg and pollen brush; 2 b*, the outer side and pollen basket. On entering a flower a bee often covers itself with pollen, and hence the need for the brash apparatus on reaching home.

The legs are covered with hairs, more particularly the edges of the cavity mentioned, in which the kneaded pollen requires to be maintained securely. In this they convey those coloured loads which are so constantly seen carried into a hive. This basket, or pollen groove, in the thigh is peculiar to the worker; neither queen nor drone has anything of the kind.

Another provision of the bee's limbs consists in a pair of hook's attached to each foot, with their points opposite to each other, by means of which the bees suspend themselves from the roof or sides of hives, and cling to each other as they do at swarming time or prior to and during the formation of new comb, thus forming a living curtain. In these circumstances each bee, with its two fore claws, takes hold of the two hinder legs of the one next above. This mode of suspension seems agreeable to them, although the uppermost in the festoon appear to be dragged by the weight below. Wildman supposed that bees had a power of distending themselves with air to acquire buoyancy, and thus lessen the burden of those at the top. They find no difficulty in extricating themselves from the mass; the most central of the group can make its way without endangering the stability of the grape-like cluster.

Bees are able to walk freely in an inverted position, either on glass or other slippery substances. The peculiar mechanism of their feet, which enables them to do so, consists in their having in the middle of each hook a thin membranous little cup or sucker that is alternately exhausted and filled with air. Flies have the same beautiful apparatus—hence a fly commonly selects the ceiling for a resting-place. These little air-cups, or exhausted receivers, may be seen by applying a strong magnifying-glass to a window that has a bee traversing the reverse side. The edges of these little suckers are serrated, so as to close against any kind of surface to which their legs may be applied. This apparatus may be also serviceable for gathering the pollen before transmitting it to the baskets on the hind legs. Besides these appendages and apparatus of the thorax, that region is traversed by the œsophagus or gullet (the opening to which will be found in Plate I. Fig. 2 c), on its way to the digestive and other organs, situate in the third part of the insect—viz., the abdomen. The covering of the thorax, with the external covering of the gullet, may be seen in the drawing of the magnified dissected body of the bee (Plate II. Fig. 1).

The breathing apparatus of bees is a very remarkable feature: they have no lungs, but, instead, air-vessels, or tubes and bladders ramifying through every part of the frame. The external openings of these, which are called "spiracles," are found in the sides of their bodies behind the wings. Two pairs of them are located in the thorax, and one pair on each side of the scales of the abdomen. They would be difficult to show in a drawing, as the multitude of hairs which protect them are in the way of getting at a very distinct delineation. The writer has traced their oval form by the aid of Messrs. R. and J. Beck's "Binocular Microscope," and exceedingly interesting objects they appeared. From the circumstance of bees breathing through these orifices in their bodies, it will not be difficult to understand how sadly the little creatures must be inconvenienced when by accident they fall on loose mould, and thus have their breathing pores choked with dust; it also shows how needful it is to prevent bees being besmeared with honey (by using bad appliances for feeding), which is still more injurious to them. The air-vessels are all that they possess of a circulating system, as bees have neither lungs, heart, liver, nor blood. It appears, however, that a white fluid matter, called "chyle," which in degree answers the purpose of blood, is produced in the intestines, nourishes the body, receives the oxygen from the air-vessels, and generates that animal warmth so necessary for the insect's well-being—warmth which, as a matter of course, say Schmid and Kleine in their "Leading Threads," settles that it is incorrect to call the insect a cold-blooded animal. Bees have the power of counteracting superabundant heat by perspiration. Not unfrequently, on a hot summer's morning, a good deal of moisture may be noticed at the entrance of a crowded hive, which the inmates have been enabled to throw off. This is a healthy sign, because a sign of great numerical strength. The humming sound always to be heard in a beehive is produced by breathing.

§ IV. THE ABDOMEN AND SECRETIVE ORGANS.

The abdomen, attached to the posterior part of the thorax by a slender ligament, has, for an outer covering; six folds or scales of unequal breadth, overlapping each other, and contains the honey-bag, or first stomach, the ventricle, or true stomach (Plate II. Figs. 1 and 2 f), with other intestines, to be hereafter referred to.

The honey-bag (Figs. 1 and 2 d) is an enlargement of the gullet, and, although called the first stomach, no digestion takes place here. In shape it is like a taper oil-flask; when full it is about the size of a small pea, and so transparent that the colour of the honey may be seen through it. This sac, as it is sometimes called, is susceptible of contraction, and so organised as to enable the bee to disgorge a part of its contents at will, to fill the honey-cells of the hive. It has been much controverted whether any or what change takes place in the nectar of flowers whilst in the bee's stomach (Chap. VI. § iii.).

A short passage leads to the ventricle or true stomach (Figs. 1 and 2 f), which is somewhat larger. This receives the food from the honey-bag, for the nourishment of the bee and the secretion of wax. The stomach, like the honey-bag, has a considerable number of muscles, which are brought into play to help the digestive and other organs. The biliary vessels (Figs. 1 and 2 h, h) receive the chyle from the digested food in the stomach, which from thence is conveyed to all parts of the body for its support. "A bee," says Dzierzon, "with the honey which she can take into her stomach, is able to subsist abundantly under some circumstances for longer than a week, while under others she will die of hunger within twenty-four hours. If we regard life as a process of combustion, then with the bee it resembles at one time the spark just glimmering in the ashes, at another the bright up-bursting flame that in a few minutes consumes the fuel, which to the barely glimmering fire would have ensured nutrition for a much longer time."

Wax is the animal fat of the bees, and to produce it requires a considerable consumption of honey to supply the drain upon the system. To be capable of passing through the pores of the abdomen, the wax must no doubt be a liquid oily matter, which, on making its appearance outside the abdominal rings, thickens, and exudes from under the four medial ones, in flakes like fish-scales, one on each side; so that there are eight of these secreting cavities, which are peculiar to the worker, not being found either in the queen or drone. The shape of these cavities is that of an irregular pentagon, and the plates of wax, being moulded in them, exhibit accordingly the same form (see Plate II. Fig. 6 w). No direct channel of communication between the stomach and these receptacles, or wax-pockets, has as yet been discovered; but Huber conjectures that the secreting vessels are contained in the membrane which lines them, and which is covered with a reticulation of hexagonal meshes, analogous to the inner coat of the second stomach of ruminant quadrupeds.

The last important organ of the abdomen is the sting. This small but effective weapon is situate close to the stomach, and is found in the queen and worker, but is absent in the drone. Our engraving (Plate II. Fig. 4) exhibits the sting of the worker bee with its muscles and attachments: r shows the muscles that move the sting, and q the curved base of the outer sheath by which it is enclosed. Much beautiful mechanism is observed on a microscopic examination of this weapon, so wonderfully powerful in comparison with its bulk. The sting is composed of three separate portions, each of which is double—the dart, and the inner and outer sheaths. Very confusing accounts are given of this organ in different works, owing probably to the term "sheath" being applied by some to the outer and by others to the inner covering. The outer one consists of two fleshy curved claspers (q in the figure), inside of which is the linear sheath, which forms an essential portion of the sting, and consists of two horny scales closely adherent to the darts. These last are composed of stiff filaments, which at the outer end are each barbed with from five to ten teeth on one side; and they slide within the inner sheath, and that within the outer, on the principle of the tubes of a telescope. As represented in our engraving, the inner sheath clasps the darts to a level with the tips of the outer one.

The darts are first protruded in the act of stinging, and, by aid of the powerful muscles on each side at s, are buried in the flesh to the depth of one-twelfth of an inch; the inner sheath then follows, and at the same time, by a muscular contraction, the poison is forced along the groove in which the darts work, causing the well-known painful effects which arise from the sting of a bee. These darts are of slightly unequal length, so that the teeth on each side are not opposite to each other. From this arrangement it is easier for them to penetrate the flesh, and alternately deepen the wound, while the teeth successively hold each firm as it makes its way, until the poison has been ejected. If the sufferer could only command himself so as to remain perfectly passive, the bee might be able to draw in these darts which protrude beyond the sheath, and would then have a chance of withdrawing the sting; the little insect would consequently inflict less pain, and might perhaps escape paying the penalty of her life. It generally happens, however, that the excitement of both parties is so great, that the poor bee leaves behind the whole apparatus, and even part of her intestines, so that her death is the result, and the wound is more severe. The sting is about the sixth part of an inch long, and is largest at the base. Here are situated the glands or ducts (Fig. 4 u). By these the poison is secreted and passed into the poison-bag (Fig. 4 t), which acts as a reservoir for retaining it till required.

On the subject of the sting Paley remarks: "The action of the sting affords a beautiful example of the union of chemistry and mechanism: of chemistry, in respect to the venom, which in so small a quantity can produce such powerful effects; of mechanism, as the sting is not a simple but a compound instrument. The machinery would have been comparatively useless had it not been for the chemical process, by which, in the insect's body, honey is converted into poison; and, on the other hand, the poison would have been ineffectual without an instrument to wound and a syringe to inject the fluid." As before stated the drone has no sting, but, in place thereof, the organs of reproduction, on which, as on the corresponding organs of the queen, sufficient has been remarked above (pages 24 and 63).

And now, in concluding this section, we would remark the wonderful contrivance and finish which all the works of the Great Master Artificer unfold. In the works of man we see, perhaps, a piece of mechanism of unquestioned beauty and excellence, yet there is a bolt here or a screw there that might have been dispensed with, and does not possess any definite use. But in the works of Nature everything has a place; we may not at once comprehend the exact purpose of some intricate parts, but that only implies that we have not made a thorough investigation. The most minute hair serves its required end. Some reflections of Dr. Evans, though chiefly referring to the cells of bees, may not inappropriately finish this chapter:—