Thirsty Bees In the prolonged drought that has affected most
of the country, the desire for water has been universal. Among the more notable seekers have been the hive-bees. They have, for example, swarmed round a dripping exhaust pipe at the back of my house; and the filling of a bird-bath draws them in --multitudes and with strangely little delay. The dews, which have been most refreshingly heavy, are of little use to them, for they do not venture from the hives till the sun has drunk up most of the supplies. They deserve a drink, for they have excelled themselves in the collection of nectar and the making of honey. A last year's swarm, taken in most amateur fashion, was put into a very old hive that resembles a box, and no frames could be inserted. Even here, though the swarm was weak, a strange mass of queerly shaped combs was made, one of them in the mouth of a feeding tin, and since the removal to more- commodious quarters its 'activity has continued. Not only did the various hives supply a full quota ; the bees ended the season without once attempting to swarm. Perhaps the chief source of the honey was wild white clover, that most beneficial' of plants.
Previous page
