Bees left without a queen, and with no means of supplying the want, appear to feel themselves cut off from the very purpose of their existence; the labors of the community are slackened, and its members soon dwindle away. It has ready, however, been stated that bees left with• out a queen can provide themselves with one by transforming and enlarging a worker's cell which contains an egg or very young larva. This process is sometimes carried on as if by several distinct parties, in different parts of the hive at once; and, as if aware that time will be gained, the bees generally prefer cells containing of two or three days old to those containing eggs.
Minter Life and Ene»zies.—Bees become tor pid during cold weather, and consume compara tively little food. They are readily aroused from this state, however, as may at any time be proved by tapping on a beehive, when it will be found that the temperature of the interior of the hive rises rapidly. Respiration is consider ably lessened in the state of torpidity, and the temperature rises when it is resumed. The respiration of bees takes place by air-tubes or trachea; (see INSECTS ) , and is very active when the insect is in a state of activity. The respira tory movements are easily seen in looking at a bee. The consumption of oxygen by this process might be expected soon to reduce the atmosphere within a hive to a state in which it could no longer support animal life; but in summer, when respiration is active and the hive populous, a constant circulation of air is maintained by the insects themselves, some of which are employed in a rapid vibration of their wings for this pur pose. A greater or smaller number of them, ac cording to circumstances, may frequently he seen thus engaged in fanning the air at the mouth of a beehive.
Among the enemies of bees, mention should be made of the bee-moth, which, notwithstanding the danger of the stings of the bees, enter the hives and deposit their eggs. They belong to
the small family Gallerii&c, with only seven species in the United States. One species, Gal leria mellonella, a well-known pest, is a purplish brown and yellow moth, which creeps into the hive at night to deposit her eggs. The larvae hide by day and feed at* night on the wax, bur rowing through the cells and doing much damage, even to the extent of destroying the colony. The bee colony should be kept strong, the cracks in the hive should be well filled to keep out the moth, and all moths and larvae seen should be killed. Mice sometimes eat their way into the hives in winter, and destroy and plunder un molested. The bee-louse (Urania career) is a troublesome parasite of bee colonies in the Mediterranean region, being most frequently found on the thoraces of queen bees. Several species of robber flies and dragon flies occasion ally capture bees and eat theni. There are also a number of bee-killing birds in Europe and the United States.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. For standard works, see HYBibliography. For standard works, see HY- MENOPTERA and INSECTS. For classification of American bees, consult: Cresson, "Synoposis of Families and Genera of the Hymenoptera North of Mexico," in Transactions Ain. Entom. Society (Philadelphia, 1887) ; Ashmead, "Classification of the Bees," in Trans. Am. Entnm. Soc. (Phila delphia, 1899). Popular works: Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee, English trans. by Sutro (New York, 1901) ; Morley, The Bee People (New York, 1897) ; Huber. Yourelles Obserra lions sun les .1beillcs (Paris, 1st ed. 1794). BEE, BARNARD E. (1824-61). A Confederate general, born in South Carolina. He graduated in 1845, at West Point, and served with great ability and gallantry in the Mexican War. He was on frontier duty from 1848 to 1861, became a brigadier-general in the Confederate Army, and was mortally wounded while leading his brigade at Bull Run, July 21, 1861.