the life of bee 00maetiala

The Life of the Bee BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK Translated by ALFRED SUTRO NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1908 Copyright, 1901 BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY All righti reserved Published May, ,*-' V ' UNIVERSITY PRESS JOHN WILSON AND SON CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A Contents fjs J? PAGE I IL ON THE THRESHOLD THE SWARM III THE FOUNDATION IV THE V VI VII VIII OF THE HIVE OF THE CITY LIFE OF THE BEE 37 131 159 THE NUPTIAL FLIGHT THE MASSACRE MALES THE YOUNG QUEENS THE OF THE PROGRESS OF THE RACE 233 295 347 363 423 The to left It is Life of the Bee ourselves, our own resources to to our humblest efforts that every useful, enduring achievement of this earth is due It is to us, open if we await the better or worse that some alien accident, such expectation human as choose, to may Nature always, provide that hinder our not shall Here again task follow but on condition the most a bees, excel- In the hive there has truly lent lesson been prodigious intervention are in the hands of a The bees power capable of annihilating or modifying their race, of their transforming thraldom own is far' destinies more Therefore none the perform their ; definite profound less and the bees' than our they primitive And, among them, it is precisely duty those whose obedience to duty is most complete profit by who the are able most supernatural fully to intervention that to-day has raised the destiny of their 420 The Progress of the Race And species indeed, to' discover unconquerable duty of a being difficult than one It imagines to be the is less is ever read in whereto the distinguishing organs, the others are all subordinate And just as it is written in the tongue, the stomach, and mouth of the bee that it must make honey, our eyes, our so is it written in our nerves, our marrow, in every lobe of our head, that we must make cerebral substance ; nor is there ears, need that we should divine the purpose this substance shall serve not whether they harvest, as The bees know will eat the we know not who honey they it is shall reap the profit of the cerebral substance we shall have formed, or of the intelligent fluid that issues therefrom universe, perishing and spreads over the when our life ceases As they or persisting after our death go from flower to flower collecting more honey than themselves and 421 their offspring The can need, let Life of the Bee us go from reality to real- ity seeking food for the incomprehensible flame, and thus, certain of having fulfilled our organic duty, preparing ourLet us nour- selves for whatever befall ish this flame we on our feelings and passions, and think, that we hear and touch, on its own essence, which is the idea it derives from the discoveries, on all that and experience from will see observation every movement come when all things its naturally given to itself to good in a that A will spirit result time then turn so that has the loyal desire of this sim- human duty, that the very suspicion of the possible aimlessness of its exhausting effort will only render the duty the ple only add more purity, power, disinterestedness, and freedom to the ar- clearer, will dour wherewith it still 422 seeks Appendix give a complete bibliography of the bee were outside the scope of this book ; TO we shall i be interesting The Historical rian Science The (a) merely to indi- satisfied, therefore, more cate the works : Development of Apia: " Hisancient writers Aristotle, " Bart St (Trans Hilaire) ; : tory of Animals T Varro, " De Agricultura," L Pliny, Re L " Hist Nat.," L xi Rustica L (b) " Palladius, ; ; III xvi Columella," ; De " De Re Rustica," xxxvii., etc The moderns : Swammerdam, " Biblia " Observations sur " Memoires les Abeilles," 1712; Reaumur, pour servir a PHistoire des Insectes," 1740; Ch Bonnet, " CEuvres d'Histoire Naturelle," Naturae," 1737 1779-1783 ; ; Maraldi, A G Schirach, 423 Physikalische The Life of the Bee Untersuchung der bisher unbekannten aber nachher entdeckten Erzeugung der Bienen- 1767; mutter," Hunter, J "On Bees" (Philosophical Transactions, 1732); J A u Hinterlassene Janscha, Vollstandige Lehre von der Francois Bienenzucht," 1773; Observations sur les " Nouvelles Huber, Abeilles," 1794, etc Practical Apiculture : " Theorie und Praxis des neuen Dzierzon, " " The Bienenfreundes ; Langstroth, Honey" into bee French by Ch Dadant (translated " L'Abeille et la Ruche," which corrects and : completes the original) Georges de Layens and Bonnier, " Cours Complet d'Apicul" ture ; Frank Cheshire, " Bees and Bee-keepPractical); Dr E.Bevan,"The ing" (vol ii " T W Cowan, " The British Honey-bee " A Root, " The Bee-keeper's Guidebook ; A B C of Bee-Culture;" Henry Allen, ; ; "The Bee-keeper's Handy-book;" L'Abbe " " Guide du Proprietaire des Abeilles " Petit Cours Dadant, d'Apiculture " " Conduite du Ed Collin, Ch Pratique Rucher ; ; Bertrand, ; " Weber, " Manuel pratique d'Api424 Appendix " Cours Complet d'Api" Guide de Bauvoys, 1'Apicul" " Die Biene und ihre teur ; Pollmann, " " Der Zucht ; Jeker, Kramer, and Theiler, " Schweizerische Bienenvater S Simmins, " A Modern Bee Farm " F W ; Vogel, culture;" " culture Hamet, De ; ; " Die Honigbiene und " Bienvolker Baron ; " Die Biene und die Vermehrung der A Von Berlepsch, ihre Frucht," etc General Monographs F Cheshire, " Bees and Bee-keeping" i Scientific); T W Cowan, "The (vol " " Les Abeilles " : Honey-bee Girard, Organes Bees " ; J ; "Manuel Perez, ; d'Apiculture" (Les Abeilles, " British Fonctions) ; Schuckard, " Introduction to and Spence, Kirby " " et Entomology Physiologic Girdwoyn, ; de 1'Abeille;" Anatomic F et Cheshire, " Diagrams on the Anatomy of the Honey" " Die Gunderach, Naturgeschichte " der Honigbiene L Buchner, " Geistes" O Biitschli, " Zur Entleben der Thiere ; bee ; ; wicklungsgeschichte Haviland, their "The der Social Biene " J ; Instincts D of Bees, Origin and Natural Selection." The Monographs (Organs, Func- Special Life of the Bee tions, Undertakings, etc.) F Dujardin, " Memoires sur nerveux' des Insectes " Sur Edwards, la " ; Dumas Production de : le Systeme and Milne la Cire des " E Blanchard, " Recherches anatomiques sur le Systeme nerveux des Insectes;" L R D Brougham, " Observations, DemonAbeilles ; strations, and Experiences upon the Structure " of the Cells of Bees; P Cameron, " On Par" in the thenogenesis Hymenoptera (Transactions Natural Society of Glasgow, 1888); Erichson, and " " Insectis ; De B Fabrica et Usu Antennarum in T Lowne, " On the Simple Compound Eyes of cal Transactions, " On Insects " (Philosophi- 1879); G K Waterhouse, the Formation of the Cells of Bees and " Dr C T E von Siebold, " On a Wasps True Parthenogenesis in Moths and Bees " " F Leydig, " Das Auge der Gliederthiere ; ; ; Pastor Schonfeld, " Bienen-Zeitung," 1883; " Illustrierte 1854- Bienen-Zeitung," 1885- 1890; Assmuss, "Die Parasiten der Honigbiene." 426 Appendix Notes on Melliferous Hymenoptera E Blanchard, " Metamorphoses, Moeurs et " Vid u Histoire des Instincts des Insectes " : ; " Origin of Species ; " u Souvenirs Entomologiques (36 " Mental Evolution in Romanes, " " " Insectes Darwin, ; Fabre, series) : ; " Animal Intelligence " Histoire Naturelle des Hymenopteres ;" V Mayet, " Memoire sur les Moeurs et sur les Metamorphoses d'une Animals id., ; Lepeletier et ; Fargeau, Nouvelle Espece de la Famille des Vesicants (Ann Soc Entom de France, 1875) ler, ; " H Mul- " Ein der Beitrag zur Lebensgeschichte Dasypoda Hirtipes ;" E Hoffer, "Biologische und SchmarotBeobachtungen an Hummeln " " in Natural zerhummeln Jesse, ; " History and Sir ; Wasps " ; id., Animals Intelligence of Haclites " ; Gleanings " Ants, Bees, Instincts, and " Les John Lubbdck, " The Senses, Westwood, Walkenaer, " Introduction ; V Rendu, Study of Insects;" De "Animal gence des Betes;" Espinas, munities," etc 427 to the 1'Intelli- Com- ! University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which MOV FEBo V I U- , V ,,/^ VP)l X FY it was borrowed 1158 00022 3205 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000446846 ... ON THE THRESHOLD THE SWARM III THE FOUNDATION IV THE V VI VII VIII OF THE HIVE OF THE CITY LIFE OF THE BEE 37 131 159 THE NUPTIAL FLIGHT THE MASSACRE MALES THE YOUNG QUEENS THE OF THE. .. PROGRESS OF THE RACE 233 295 347 363 423 ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE HIVE The Life of the Bee > ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE HIVE not is IT tise my on intention to write a trea- apiculture, Excellent bee- keeping... invented the microscope, contrived injections to ward off decay, was the first to and by the discovery of dissect the bees, the ovaries and the oviduct definitely fixed the sex of the queen, hitherto