ABSTRACT
‘LAZY bees,’ writes the above-named author in Ch. 16 of the same book, I ‘can be incited to work by a cloud of smoke, for unless they give con-stant attention to their honeycombs, these become leaden in colour. On the other hand, too much smoke makes them ill, and any such ailment very quickly affects the honey, which also turns sour at the least touch of moisture.’ So writes Pliny. 1 The bees protect the hive doors, as guards do the gates of a camp. 2 In the early morning, as Aristotle tells us in the place I have already cited, they are all quiet, till one of them gives a double or triple buzz to rouse the rest, just like a bugle-call. Then, if the day promises to be mild, they all fly out together to their work. You see, they can anticipate winds, cold, and rain, and when they do not take to the air, it is an indication that such weather is on the way. Certainly, if the season is clement and they are still creeping about inside the hive, bee-keepers may expect a chilly spell. When they have returned to the hive and evening is drawing on, there is first a great uproar, as before, but then the noise gradually simmers down until one bee, flitting about, emits the same loud buzz they were woken by in the morning, and, as in a military camp, this gives the signal for them to sleep. At that point there comes a sudden hush. 3 4 But when their labours are properly completed, the young hatched out, and all duties discharged, the bees celebrate by taking exercise. They promenade in the open air, looping and circling up to the heavens, and then eventually return for their food. 4
