Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1904 — Thievish Bees. [ARTICLE]

Thievish Bees.

Buckner in bis “Psychic Life of Animals” speaks of thievish bees which in order to save themselves the trouble of working attack well stocked hives in masses, kill the sentinels and the Inhabitants, rob the hives and carry off the provisions. After repeated enterprises of this description they acquire a taste for robbery with violence. They recruit whole companies, which get more and more numerous, and finally they form regular colonies of brigand bees. But it Is a still more curious fact that these brigand bees can be produced artificially by giving working bees a .mixture of honey and brandy to drink. The bees soon acquire a taste for this beverage, which has the same disastrous effects upon them as upon men. They become 111 disposed and Irritable and lose all desire to work, and finally when they begin to feel hungry they attack and plunder the well supplied hives.