in its own colony, and that it has neither love nor devotion to any other colony, nor to bees in general; indeed, quite otherwise. Endowed with an instinct almost fiendish, bees seem to understand when another colony is weak or discouraged, and, therefore, offers a legitimate field for plunder. Strong colonies are seldom robbed, as they are able to drive out and kill the thieves; but the weak colony is a constant temptation to ill doing, and should be carefully watched and guarded.
WHEN BEES ROB
This occurs usually when there is little honey to be found in the field. Satan provides mischief for the idle six feet and four wings quite as efficiently as for hands. At the end of the honey-harvest there may be a general temptation throughout the apiary to break open vaults of precious stores belonging to others, and escape with the contents. At the close of the honey season strong colonies usually have plenty of sentinels to guard the entrance and look after suspicious strangers. Never at any time should honey-comb be left open around the apiary, for it always leads to robbing. It seems to suggest to the bees that honey gathered is a much more desirable product than that worked for in the fields.
Sometimes when preserving or pickling is going on in the house the bees start to rob the kitchen; and while they may be deterred by screened windows, yet the smell of the sweets may so excite them to desires for forbidden wealth that they seem to become
