Transcript Huber's Amazing Observations

Huber’s Amazing “New
Observations”
Presentations online
Before you take copious notes, all these
presentations are online here:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespresentations.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 Info
Michael Bush
bees at bushfarms dot com
www.bushfarms.com
Book: The Practical Beekeeper