Chapter XXXVIII

IMPORTANCE OF BEES TO THE FRUCTIFICATION OF FLOWERS.

Honey is regarded by modern naturalists as of no other use to plants but to allure insects, which, by visiting the nectaries of their flowers to procure it, become instrumental to their fertilization, either by scattering the dust of the stamens upon the stigmata of the same flower, or by carrying it from those which produce only male blossoms to those that bear female ones, and thereby rendering the latter fertile.

No class of insects renders so much service in this way as _bees_; they _have_ however _been accused of injuring vegetables_, in three ways: 1st, by purloining for their combs the wax which defends the prolific dust of the anthers from rain; 2ndly, by carrying off the dust itself, as food for their young larvæ; and 3dly, by devouring the honey of the nectaries, intended to nourish the vegetable organs of fructification[AF].

[Footnote AF: Darwin's _Phytologia_.]

In defence of his insect protegées, +Dr. Evans+ has observed:

"First, That the proportion of wax collected from the anthers is probably very trifling, it being so readily and abundantly obtainable from honey.

"Secondly, That for any depredations committed on the farina, they amply compensate, by their inadvertent yet providential conveyance of it, on their limbs and corslets, to the female organs of monoecious or dioecious plants; whose impregnation must otherwise have depended on the uncertain winds. This is exemplified in the practice of our gardeners, who in early spring, before they dare expose their hotbeds to the open air, and consequently to the access of insects, insure the fertility of the cucumbers and melons, by shaking a male blossom over each female flower. For the same purpose, and with the same success, a gentleman in Shropshire substitutes a male blossom, in place of the female one, at the top of his embryo cucumber, which instantly adheres, and falls off in due time. To the same kind intrusion of insects we owe the numberless new sorts of esculents and endless varieties of flowers in the parterre:

'Where Beauty plays
Her idle freaks; from family diffus'd
To family, as flies the father dust
The varied colours run.'

+Thomson+

"Thirdly, That in a great many instances, the honey-cups are completely beyond the reach of the fructifying organs, and cannot possibly be subservient to their use. Hence +Sir J. E. Smith+ _believes the honey to be intended, by its scent, to allure these venial panders to the flowers_, and thereby shows how highly he estimates their value to vegetation. See his Introduction to Botany. In the same work, the author observes that +Sprengel+ has ingeniously demonstrated, in some hundreds of instances, how the corolla serves as an attraction to insects, indicating by various marks, sometimes perhaps by its scent, where they may find honey, and accommodating them with a convenient resting-place or shelter while they extract it. This elegant and ingenious theory receives confirmation from almost every flower we examine. Proud man is disposed to think that

'Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,'

because he has not deigned to explore it; but we find that even the beauties of the most sequestered wilderness are not made in vain. They have myriads of admirers, attracted by their charms, and rewarded by their treasures, which would be as useless as the gold of a miser, to the plant itself, were they not the means of bringing insects about it."

Thus the bee, by settling upon and collecting honey from a thousand different flowers, is thereby assisting the great purpose of vegetable reproduction, at the same time that the loads she carries home enable her to construct receptacles for the reproduction of her own race.

"For the due fertilization of the common _Barberry_, it is necessary that its irritable stamens should be brought into contact with the pistil, by the application of some stimulus to the base of the filament; but this would never take place were not insects attracted, by the melliferous glands of the flower, to insinuate themselves amongst the filaments, and thus, while seeking their own food, unknowingly to fulfil the intentions of Nature in another department." _In some cases the agency of the hive-bee is inadequate to produce the required end; in these the humble-bee is the operator:_ these alone, as Sprengel has observed, are strong enough for instance, to force their way beneath the style-flag of the _Iris Xiphium_, which in consequence is often barren. _Other insects besides bees are instrumental in producing the same ends;_ indeed they are necessary instruments: and hence according to the same naturalist, in some places, where the particular insect required is not to be met with, no fruit is formed upon the plant which is usually visited by it, where it is indigenous; for he supposes that _some plants have particular insects appropriated to them_. The American _Aristolochia Sipho_, though it flowers plentifully, never forms fruit in our gardens, probably for the reason just assigned. The _Date Palm_ affords a striking instance of the necessity of extraneous intervention to perfect fructification; male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, and unless the two sorts be in the neighbourhood of each other, the fruit has no kernel and is not proper for food. There was a tree of this kind, bearing female flowers, at Berlin, for the fructification of which, a branch, with male flowers upon it, was once sent by post from Leipsic, (20 German miles,) and being suspended over some of the pistils, the tree afterwards yielded fruit and seed in abundance. +Professor Willdenow+ has stated a very curious circumstance, concerning the _Aristolochia Clematitis_. He observes that the stamens and pistils of the flower are inclosed in its globular base, the anthers being under the stigma, which thereby requires the intervention of an insect, to convey the pollen to it. The _Tipula pennicornis_ accomplishes this object; it enters the flower by its tubular part, which is thickly lined with inflected hairs, so as readily to admit the fly, but totally to prevent its release, till by the fading of the corolla the hairs have fallen flat against its sides. Hence the insect in struggling to effect its escape, brushes off the pollen and applies it to the stigma, thereby accomplishing the fertilization of the flower.

INDEX.

Page.
Anatomy of the bee 249
The head 251
The proboscis _ib._
lips 253
tongue _ib._
pharynx 254
œsophagus or gullet _ib._
mandibles 255
maxillæ _ib._
antenna 255, 292, 307
palpi 256, 308
eyes 256
The trunk 250, 256
The wings 256
legs 257
The abdomen 251, 258
The honey-bag 258
venom-bag _ib._
anus _ib._
ovipositor _ib._
sting _ib._
organs of reproduction _ib._
Anger of bees 288
not apt to be excited at a distance from home 290
fatal consequences of 288
Animation of bees suspended 202
Antennæ 255, 292, 307
effects of their excision 309
organs for communicating information 292
for receiving meteorological intelligence _ib._
Antipathies of bees 303
Ants, anecdotes respecting 183, 205
(Amazon) anecdote of 323
enslaved 324
their milch cattle 74
white, wonderful fertility of 40
Aphides 72
principal source of honey-dew _ib._
their willing subserviency to bees and ants 75
wonderful fertility of 32
Apiary 48
best aspect for _ib._
Bonner's 51
circumstances to be avoided in 48
to be desired in _ib._
Apparatus for deprivation 107
Architecture of bees 339
commencement and progress of a comb first observed by Huber 340
construction of a cell 340
of cells of transition 353
of drone-cells 350
of royal-cells 351
geometrical accuracy of cell-work 342
demonstrated by Maraldi, Kœnig, and McLaurin 346
honey-comb, description of 352
varnish for strengthening cell-work 344
Armour of defence against bees, &c. 175
Aurelia. _Vide_ Pupa.

Bee, honey, comprises three descriptions of individuals 1
Bee, anatomy of. _Vide_ Anatomy.
Bee-boxes 83
compared with hives 100
dimensions of 83
Dunbar's 102
observations therein 103
history of 109
Huber's 102
Hunter's _ib._
materials for, best 83
Gedde's 111
Hartlib's 110
Mew's _ib._
Reaumur's 102
Thorley's 111
Warder's _ib._
White's _ib._
centre-boards 88
floor boards 87
reference to venders of 89
Bee bread 9, 371
dress 175
eater of Selborne 337
flowers. _Vide_ Pasturage.
house 52
shed 99
Bees, adherence of to life 202
anger of 288
protection against 177
animation of, suspended 201
antipathies of 303
attachment to queen 140
ballasting themselves (erroneous) 48
black 7
brooding (erroneous) 6
build combs sometimes under resting boards 125
their contests with each other 289
by single combat _ib._
by general engagement _ib._
corsair 207
death, sudden, from effluvia of Rhus Vernix 197
diseases of. _Vide_ Diseases of Bees.
drone. _Vide_ Drones.
duration, extraordinary, of a colony 298
education of 260
embryo 10
development of, affected by temperature 14
enemies of. _Vide_ Enemies of Bees.
evolution of _ab ovo_ 10
excursions of 377
exotic. _Vide_ Exotic Bees.
excrement of 188, 194
fructifiers of flowers. _Vide_ Fructification of Flowers.
generation, absurd theory of 35, 48
harvest season of 119
impatient of cold 114
indisposition to ascend with their works 112
instincts of. _Vide_ Instincts of Bees.
intellect of 319
intoxicated sometimes 60
language of. _Vide_ Language of Bees.
longevity of 296
mode of approaching 177
mortality of, extraordinary in 1762 186
numbers in a hive 3
number of stocks in some situations 234, 235
nymph 12
origin, ancient notion of 48
overstocking of 235
perspiration of 273
poison of 286
in the pupa state 12
purchase of 80
queen. _Vide_ Queen.
regurgitating power of 229
removal from hives to boxes 148
respiration of 266
scouts. _Vide_ Providers.
secretions of 273
senses of. _Vide_ Senses.
sexes of 20
sleep of 295
stinging of 284
stingless 210
stock, criterions of a good one 81
suffocation of 174
sulphuring of _ib._
swarming of. _Vide_ Swarming of Bees.
swarming, not apt to sting 138
striking instance of it 139
of the contrary _ib._
transportation of. _Vide_ Transportation.
wax 220
average quantity in a hive 221
criterions of good 220
difference from myrtle wax 224
annual consumption of 222
secretion of, promoted by electricity 232
separation of from honey 216
source and nature of. _Vide_ Source and Nature
of Bees-wax,
white 221
working 3
collectors from birth 15
compared with drones 5
destroy the drones 44
fertile sometimes 23
office of 3
sex of 3, 24
Cuvier's remarks on 24
Jurine's dissections of _ib._
usual number in a hive 3
Braggot, or common mead 245
Breeding, commencement of 37
signs of 118
early, to promote 119
Hubbard's opinion of 117

Cells, construction of. _Vide_ Architecture.
Chrysalis. _Vide_ Pupa.
Circulation 271
Clustering 123
Cocoons 11, 12
Cold, effect of on bees 117
in diminishing the consumption of honey 185
Combs, construction of 340
constructed sometimes under resting-boards 125
Comparative advantages of storifying and single-hiving 122
of wooden boxes and straw-hives 100

Deprivation 162
to be exercised cautiously 163
possible accident at the time of 165
modes of performing 167
Isaac's 170
Keys's 170
Dovaston's 171
Evans's 172
proper periods for 162
Diseases of bees 184
Dysentery 188
Vertigo 189
Tumefaction of Antennæ 192
Pestilence or _Faux Couvain_ _ib._
probable causes of _ib._
remedies _ib._
preventive 195
review of different theories of _ib._
Dividers and other implements 107
their use in deprivation 167
Drones, their use 5, 30
evolution of _ab ovo_ 14
massacre of 43
how effected 44
not found in all swarms 4
number usual in a hive 3
occasional preservation of 44
sitting upon the eggs 6
opinion of Mr. Morris _ib._
of Fabricius _ib._
of Kirby and Spence _ib._
Dunbar's observations in his mirror-hive 8, 21

Eggs--drone, royal, worker 8
first laying of 37
great laying of 116
misplaced, devoured by workers 42
number of, laid in a given period 39, 40
period at which each sort is laid 37
transportation, opinion of 42
worker, may be rendered royal 19
Electricity, effect on secretion of wax and honey 232
Enemies of bees 199
protection against 203
Excrement of bees 188, 194
Exotic bees 210
their honey-cells _ib._
of Guadaloupe _ib._
Guiana 211
India _ib._
South America _ib._
Basil Hall's Account _ib._
Eye of the bee, peculiar construction of. _Vide_ Senses. 312

Farina 370
collecting of 371
time of 372
confined to one species of flower on each journey 373
Reaumur's opinion _ib._
Dobbs, Butler and Sprengel's 373, 374
conveyance of 372
food of larvæ, and not the constituent of wax 371
fructifying power of 370
preparation of for use 371
source of 370
storing of 373
structure of 370
Fading 179
importance of 193
syrup for _ib._
modes of _ib._
times of 152
Fermentation, conduct of 240
Fertility of insects 32, 40
Flies in Madeira wine 201
Fly, flesh, erroneous judgement respecting 306
Food of larvæ 10
Fructification of flowers 380
instrumentality of bees to that end _ib._
bees attracted to flowers by their nectar _ib._
accused by Dr. Darwin of injuring flowers _ib._
defended by Dr. Evans _ib._
Opinion of Sir J. E. Smith 382
of Sprengel 383
not the only insects that promote
fructification _ib._
in the Barberry for instance, the Iris Xiphium, the
Aristolochia Sipho of America, the A. Clematitis, and the
Date Palm _ib._

Hawk-moth, Death's Head 208
ravages committed by it in the apiary _ib._
resources of the bees _ib._
Hearing, sense of. _Vide_ Sensation, organs of; and Senses.
Hives 95
Chelmsford and Hertford 96
compared with boxes 100
construction of, best 97
dimensions of 96
distances at which they should stand from each other 49
Dunbar's 102
his observations therein 103
heat occasional in 39
usual in _ib._
materials proper for 95
leaf 102
Moreton 96
Huber's 91
Huish's 90
preparation of 137
Reaumur's 93
situation proper for 49
straw 96
Thorley's 92
Wildman's 93
with glasses _ib._
Hiving of swarms 136
Super- and Nadir- 124, 151
Honey 226
analysis of 233
animalization of 227
candying of 196
contrivances of bees to keep it in open cells 228
Corsican, not mulcted by the Romans 63
criterions of good 232
deleterious 65, 190, 230
flavour affected by pasturage 65, 229
by season 232
by mode of separation _ib._
harvests of 165
preservation of 233
qualities of 231
quantity required for winter consumption 162
average afforded by a colony 226
sometimes taken _ib._
secretion of, promoted by electricity 232
separation of, from wax 216
taken by means of dividers 167
Honeycomb 339
Honey-dew 71
ancient opinions of 71
modern ditto 72
Gilbert White's 71
Dr. Evans's 72
Dr. Darwin's _ib._
Mr. Curtis's _ib._
Sir J. E. Smith's 73
Boissier de Sauvages's 79
trees addicted to it 77
yields a great harvest to the storifyer 78
Humble-bees 207, 209, 319, 327
Humming, causes of 270

Idiot bee-eater 337
Imago 13
Implements, bee 107
Impregnation. _Vide_ Queen.
Instinct 318
definition of 335
most remarkable in creatures that congregate 318
of humble-bees _ib._
all the phænomena of insect life not referable to it 322
Darwin's opinion 323
Hunter's 330
Virey's 331
Des Cartes' _ib._
Buffon's _ib._
circumstance noticed by Dr. Evans 325
by Mr. Walond 236
Huber's humble-bees 327
Amazon ants 323
bee fortifications 328
anecdote of a beetle 330
Instinct may be directed by intellect 333
modified and counteracted by intellect _ib._
instanced in birds' nests _ib._
in Sir J. Banks's spider 332
in dogs 333
Maraldi's Slug 320
Reaumur's Snail 319
Reimar's opinion of memory 333
weakened by domestication 336
strengthened by concentration _ib._
Intellect of bees 319
capable of modifying and counteracting instinct 333
capable of directing instinct _ib._

Jelly, royal 20
Jurine, Miss, dissections of 24

Knowledge distinguished from Wisdom 334

Language of bees 291
Mr. Knight's opinion _ib._
M. Huber's _ib._
his experiments _ib._
Larvæ 10
food of _ib._
progressive growth of 12
motions of 15
voraciousness of 12
inclosure or sealing up of 11
commencement of spinning cocoon _ib._
worker may become royal 19
Leaf-hives 102
Dunbar's 103
Huber's 105
Hunter's 102
Reaumur's _ib._
Leaven, artificial 242
natural 240, 242
Locusts, female, destroyed by males 46
Longevity of bees 296
extraordinary duration of a colony 298

Mead, antiquity of 236
Braggot, or common 245
directions for making 244
esteemed by our ancestors 237
ideal nectar of the Scandinavians _ib._
Memory of bees 260, 314
Reimar's opinion 333
Metys 378
Mortality among bees and wasps 186
Moth-wax 199
eggar, anecdote of 306
hawk. _Vide_ Hawk-moth.
Motions of insects 274
instances of extraordinary power of 275

Nadir-hiving 124, 151
Nutrition 272
Nymph 12
resemblance to a mummy 13

Palpi 256
Pasturage 55
effect on the flavour of honey 66, 230
ancient opinion of 65
Barthelemy's _ib._
Duppa's 230
noxious 67, 230
Xenophon's opinion of 67
Tournefort's _ib._
Darwin's opinion of 68
Barton's 68, 231
Pellets, moulding of 372
Perspiration 273
Pissoceros 378
Poison of Bees 286
its nature _ib._
crystallizes in drying _ib._
Pollen. _Vide_ Farina.
Propolis 375
analysis of _ib._
mode of conveying 376
source of _ib._
Huber's experiments _ib._
Evans's observations 377
Knight's 378
form of its pellets 377
variously compounded with wax 378
time of gathering 379
uses of 375
substitutes sometimes used for 378
Reaumur's experiment _ib._
Providers, or Scouts 131
Warder's opinion of 132
Butler's _ib._
Knight's _ib._
Evans's _ib._
Duchet's _ib._
Reaumur's _ib._
Buffon's _ib._
Bonnet's _ib._
Huber's _ib._
Bonner's 135
Pupa 12
resemblance of to a mummy 13

Queen-bees, artificial 20
discovery attributed to Schirach _ib._
said to have been long known 20
opinions of Vogel and Monticelli _ib._
experiment of Dunbar 22
not mute as Huber supposed 23
attachment of workers to 141
enmity towards, and combats with each other 281
evolution of _ab ovo_ 14
homage paid to 144
impregnation of 25
opinions concerning _ib._
Bonner's 28
Bonnet's 29
Butler's 36
Debraw's 27
Dobbs's 26
Fleming's 32
Hattorf's 28
Huber's 27, _et seq._
Huish's 27
Hunter's 30, 33
Linnæus's 33
Lombard's 29
Maraldi's 26
Reaumur's 26
Schirach's 28
Swammerdam's 25
Wildman's 36
objections to Huber's theory _ib._
impregnation retarded 37, 41
intercourse with drones 30, _et seq._
probable duration of fertilizing influence 31
laying, commencement of 37
affected by temperature _ib._
loss of, its consequences 144
mode of depositing eggs 8
mode of searching for when a stock has been suffocated 174
mutilated, lose their instincts 309
prescience (supposed) of 118
prisoners when very young 17
reason of this _ib._
virgin, when first seek the drones 34
voice of, authoritative 128
when imprisoned 19

Reason, human, definition of 335
insect, definition of _ib._
presumptive evidence of 322
difference between human and insect 335
observations of Reid 356
of Evans _ib._
Regurgitating power of bees 229
Reimar's opinion of memory 333
Reproduction, organs of 275
ovaries 276
oviducts _ib._
ovipositor 277
sperm-reservoir _ib._
Respiration, organs of 266
evidences of their existence 267
stigmata, spiracles or breathing pores 266
tracheæ _ib._
Riem's discovery 3

Salt, of use to bees 186
Schirach's discovery 20
Scouts. _Vide_ Providers.
Secretions of bees 273
Sensation of bees 258
medium of its communication 259
its seat _ib._
bees have a common sensorium _ib._
evidences of it _ib._
protracted vitality _ib._
memory 260
instances of _ib._
Reimar's opinion of 333
susceptible of instruction 261
instances of _ib._
organs of 258
antennæ 262
opinions of their offices _ib._
facts in support of them 263
palpi _ib._
uses ascribed to _ib._
Senses of bees 302
smell _ib._
instances of its acuteness 303, _et seq._
touch 307
analogy from ants 291
taste 309
hearing 310
evidences of _ib._
sight 311
not very perfect _ib._
Dr. Virey's theory 316
Sensorium 259
Separation of wax and honey 216
Shed for bees 99
Sleep of bees 295
Source of bees-wax 356
Source and nature of bees-wax; pollen formerly
supposed to be the prime constituent of it 356
striking difference between them _ib._
wax proved to be a secretion from the body of the bee 362
experiments and observations of Huber, Thorley,
Duchet, Wildman, Hunter and Evans 362, _et seq._
regular division of labour 367
hence wax-working and nursing-bees _ib._
experiment to show the designation of pollen _ib._
other sources of wax 368
Sphinx Atropos. _Vide_ Hawk-moth.
Spider, anecdotes of 261
fertilization of 31
Sir Joseph Banks's 332
Stemmata 315
experiments of Swammerdam, Reaumur, &c. 315
Sting of working-bee 277
fatal consequences attending its use 278, 283
not apt to be used when the bee is distant from home 289
of queen-bee 279
her cautious use of it 286
compared with sharp instruments _ib._
Stinging, remedies for 284
precautions against, when attacked 285
Storifying 109
will not always prevent swarming 124
compared with single-hiving 122
Suffocating or sulphuring of bees 174
Sugar an excellent substitute for honey 360
Super-hiving 124, 151
Swarming 115
causes of _ib._
usual periods of 119
best periods of _ib._
instance of very early _ib._
disadvantages of early and late 120
heat produced by 39, 273
bees not apt to sting at this time 138
striking instance of this 139
instance to the contrary _ib._
importance of queen at the time 140
experiments in proof of it 141, _et seq._
Swarms, number thrown off in a season 115
intervals betwixt successive 116
hiving of 136
union of 154
causes of 115
period usual of 118
best 119
early _ib._
late _ib._
led off by senior queen 31
symptoms preceding 127
Syrup for feeding bees 179

Temperature of a well-stocked hive of bees 274
occasional ditto _ib._
Touch 307
Transportation of bees 159
Isaac's success from _ib._
practised in Egypt, France, Italy and Greece 159-161

Union of swarms or stocks 154
Mr. Walond's method of 157
methods practised by others 154

Ventilation 268
how accomplished _ib._
Vitality protracted 259

Wax. _Vide_ Bees-wax.
myrtle 223
its difference from bees-wax 224
pockets 365
working-bees 366
Wasps, formidable enemies of bees 199
importance of destroying queens in spring 45, 206
fact respecting them noticed by Mr. Knight 290
extraordinary dearth of in 1806, 1815 and 1824 186
Wildman's feats 155
Wine-making, general principles of 240
elements necessary to its formation 240
sweet _ib._
dry 241
fining 246
stumming _ib._
Wisdom as distinguished from Knowledge 334
Working-bees. _Vide_ Bees.

THE END.

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Printed by Richard Taylor, Shoe-Lane, London.

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Transcriber Note

Minor typographical errors were corrected. Hyphenation was standardized to the most prevalent form used. The poetry authors were moved to a blank line and right aligned.