Huber’s Amazing “New Observations”

Presentations online Before you take copious notes, all these presentations are online here: http://www.bushfarms.com/beespresentations.htm My book is all on my website. Ebooks are available from my website.

Bee Camp http://www.bushfarms.com/beescamp.htm Apprentice: http://www.bushfarms.com/beesapprentice.htm

Who was Huber? Francis Huber 1750-1831 Born in Switzerland Started losing his sight at 15 Proved virtually every practical fact we know about bees.

The two volumes Volume I is mostly about raising queens, mating queens, drone laying queens, laying workers and the formation of swarms. It was first published in 1792 in French Volume II is about the production of wax, the architecture of the bees, respiration etc, and was first published in 1814 in French

How does a blind man make observations? “I am much more certain,” said he one day to me smiling, “of what I taste than you are, for you publish what your own eyes only have seen, while I take the mean among many witnesses.” --Memoir of Huber by Professor De Candolle

A true scientist Took much of the speculation of his day and constructed experiments to prove or disprove them. Made repeatable experiments so others could verify his discoveries Invented devices and hives to allow the appropriate observations Measured things carefully Carefully distinguished his actual observations from his assumptions

His collaborators Francis Burnens (his servant) Pierre Huber (his son) Maria Aimée Lullin Huber (his wife) Jean Senebier (a chemist) Charles Bonnet (a naturalist) Christine Jurine (a naturalist/artist/dissector) John Hunter (a naturalist)

His discoveries Details of the mating of the queen Details of the forming of swarms Details of the making of emergency queens Details on drone laying queens Details on laying workers Details on the production of wax Details of the construction of comb Details of the respiration and ventilation of the colony Details of the way bees guard their hives

Proofs Proved that queens mate with drones (which was still in dispute) Proved that the queen mates outside the hive Proved that there are drone laying queens Proved that there are laying workers Proved that bees breath (which was still in dispute) Proved how they ventilate the hive Proved that wax is not made from pollen

Proofs (cont.) Proved that nectar is the needed ingredient for wax Proved that bees secrete wax scales from nectar Proved that the scales are not true beeswax but are the primary ingredient Proved that propolis comes from poplar buds Proved that comb is reinforced with propolis and other secretions of the bees

Proofs (cont.) Proved that bees need contact with the queen to know that she is there (was on the verge of proving pheromones and QMP transfer by trophalaxis) Proved that bees can smell Proved that they need their antennae for many things Proved that all workers are female Proved that combs have a “beespace” between them

Inventions Invented the movable comb hive. Invented many different observation hives to observe many different things including the construction of comb

Huber’s leaf hive

Huber’s leaf hive

Huber’s leaf hive

Huber’s leaf hive

Leaf Hive Frame

Leaf hive

Leaf hive open

Cutaway side view of comb in frame

Male reproductive organ (1st ½)

Male reproductive organ (2nd ½)

Portion remaining in Queen

One cell standing on end

With cap removed

Showing bottom of one cell is part of the bottom of three cells

Abdomen

Wax Glands in segment

Wax glands removed

Leg

Structure of comb

Transition comb

Contact Michael Bush bees at bushfarms dot com www.bushfarms.com www.youtube.com/c/MichaelBushBeekeeper www.patreon.com/Michael_Bush Book: The Practical Beekeeper