Addendum to “The First Honeybees in the Sandwich Islands”

I commenced writing the following “Hawaiian” chapter in December 1996, one year after publication of
Volume I of The Immigrant Bees and a year before my beekeeping biography of New Zealand’s Grand
Bee Master, William Charles Cotton, published in December 1997. Eighteen months later in June 1999, I
published Volume II of The Immigrant Bees. The Hawaiian chapter slept, forgotten, digitally recorded on
the hard disc of my reliable Toshiba laptop. In January 2001 I decided to relocate some bulky research
binders from bedroom to garage. On sight of Lee H. Watkins 1968 article The First Honeybees in the
Sandwich Islands, I remembered my earlier attempt to add to his findings. So, here follows my essay.
Introduction: Pellett in 1938 and Watkins, 1968
Shipping bees into the Pacific region during the Nineteenth Century utilised diverse methods, ranging
from apparently spur of the moment opportunism to those carefully devised and executed. From New
York or Boston on the north-eastern United States seaboard round to California on the west coast, the
Cape Horn route was a daunting voyage of some 13,000 miles (almost 21,000 kilometers). by sailing ship
Alternatively, on arrival at Colon (Aspinwall) on Limon Bay, an overland short-cut in early 1853 from the
eastern Atlantic side of the Panama isthmus to the western Pacific side at Panama City, required an
arduous, and for many, a fatal journey. 1 This excursion necessitated a combination of native boats, pack
mule and railway, itself a trip of some three to five days.2
The completion of the Panama railway in 1855 dramatically reduced the journey to that of a mere three
hours. North by ship from Panama Bay resulted in a saving of some 7,800 miles (around 12,500
kilometers) over the Cape Horn route. Voyagers from England to Australia and New Zealand faced longer
journeys of an intimidating 16,000 miles (over 25,000 kilometers) and more; even the significantly
shorter distance from California to Hawaii presented its challenges.
In 1967 and 1968, Lee H. Watkins, then a retired apiarist from California, had four of his notable articles
on beekeeping history published. They addressed the earliest imports of honeybees into California and the
Sandwich Islands (Hawai’i). Three appeared in the American Bee Journal and one in Gleanings in Bee
Culture. These were successively titled “Harbison’s Second Importation of Bees to California”, 3 “The
First Honeybees in the Sandwich Islands”, 4 “California’s First Honey Bees”, 5 and “Mr. Buck’s
Importations of Bees to California.” 6
Lee Watkins was an impressive researcher, demonstrated by the extensive bibliographies appended to his
articles. The opening paragraph to his May 1968 California’s First Honey Bees “A number of
unsuccessful attempts to bring bees into California must have taken place before 1852, but there are only
a few vague newspaper references to such. Although the data needed to give a clear picture of how the
1
In 1849 a group of some 200 North Americans, lured to the Californian goldfields, crossed to the Pacific from the
mouth of the Chagres River, prior to the availability the Panama railroad, which commenced in 1850. From
McCullough, David (1977) The Path Between the Seas, The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 “They came
dragging into Panama City, rain-soaked, caked with mud, hollow eyed from lack of sleep, and ravenously hungry.
They had gone up the Chagres by native canoe, then overland on mule and on foot, as … thousands more like them
would, year after year, until the Panama Railroad was in service. Old letters and little leather-bound journals
mention the broiling heat and sudden blinding rains. They speak of heavy green slime on the Chagres, of nights
spent in vermin-infested native huts, epidemics of dysentery, mules struggling up to their haunches in the impossible
blue-black Panama muck. A man from Troy, New York, counted forty dead mules along the Cruces Trail, the
twisting jungle path, barely three feet wide, over which they all came from the river to Panama City. Others wrote of
human companions dropping in their tracks with cholera or the dreaded Chagres fever. ”
2
Watkins, Lee H. American Bee Journal, Vol. 108 (5) p.191
3
Vol. 107 (10), pp.378-379, October 1967
4
Vol. 96 (1), pp.48-49, January 1968
5
Vol. 108 (5), pp.190-191, May 1968
6
Vol. 108 (6), pp.232-233, 235, June 1968.
honey bee finally came to California has been available for over one hundred years, no one has ever put it
all together. Thus Frank C. Pellett’s remark: ‘There are numerous statements as to the first shipment of
bees to California but, at this date (1938) it appears to be impossible to determine positively when and by
whom they were introduced, is incorrect as this paper will demonstrate.’ ” Thus, thirty years after Pellett’s
1938 History of American Beekeeping, Watkins was able to populate the story of the introduction of
honeybees into California.
Watkins’ January 1968 opening paragraph to The First Honeybees in the Sandwich Islands, in part, reads
“The first honeybees did arrive in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, in 1857, but no writer in the apicultural
journals or books provides any of the details of this importation, nor do any of them indicate the source of
their information. Hence it might now be appropriate to relate the available details of this interesting
event of 110 years ago. … There is no record of any other attempts between 1852 and October, 1857 to
bring bees to the Islands;” Now, thirty-four years on from Watkins creditable research efforts, my
contribution seeks to update the last of his findings, and enhance the Hawaiian story between the years
1852 and 1857.
An Update, 2001
Watkins acknowledged the failed attempts to import honeybees into Hawaii in the early 1850s “… but all
the colonies had died from the tropical heat when coming up to the Equator 7. … however, on October 3rd
(1857) the barque Fanny Major sailed from San Francisco, bound for Honolulu loaded with a
miscellaneous cargo … Although not listed with the official cargo, on board were four colonies of bees
under the personal care of Captain Lawton. These bees were from the apiary of William Buck. 8 ”
Repeated failure, a near success and a bumbling lull classify the events between the 1850 premium
offered by the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society for the first successful introduction of honeybees into
the Islands, and eventual success in 1857. Efforts throughout these years to import honeybees included
hopeful promises, declared but unfulfilled intent and repeated failure. There was a near success in 1853
when a hive of bees did reach the Islands, via the arduous Cape Horn route, but from available accounts
was not viable once landed.
Identified sources of bee stocks included New Zealand, Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania, an
island State of Australia) and Boston on the North American east coast. Eventual success first required the
establishment of a viable apiary on the west coast of North America, one capable of exporting stocks
elsewhere. This proved to be the Californian operation of Frederick G. Appleton and William Buck, who
by 1856 were capable of shipping twenty-eight colonies to the Oregon territory 9 and another one hundred
the following year. Having beaten the challenges of bringing honeybees from the Atlantic coast to the
Pacific, meeting the difficulties of the California to Hawai’i voyage escalated from grim possibility to one
of promising achievability. Now follow the story of the fascinating accounts of the methods partly
successful and outright unsuccessful to import honeybees into the kingdom of Hawai’i.
Baron De Thierry’s Promise, 1851
The Transactions of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society for 1851 10 shows Charles, Baron de
Thierry, listed with two others as members 11 of the Committee “appointed to procure the HONEY BEE
from Australia, Central America, or Chile, who are authorised to incur the necessary expense.”
From a collection of newspaper cuttings at the Hocken Library, Dunedin, South Island of New Zealand, is

7
Watkins research obtained from the Daily Alta, California, 1 July 1852
8
Watkins quotes Alta, 23 February 1858 (p.1, c. 2); San Jose Tribune, 4 December 1857 (p.2, c. 5.)
9
Watkins, American Bee Journal, June 1968
10
Roddy, Kevin M. and Arita-Tsutsumi, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, give the date of the first Committee meeting
as August 1851. Refer to www.HawaiiBeekeepers.org/history.php
11
R. C. Janion (Chairman) and J. Montgomery
an undated article from The Polynesian titled “Report on Bees, by Baron De Thierry” 12. This report is
almost identically reproduced in Transactions of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society for 1852. It
reads in part “I have the honour to inform the President and members of the Royal Hawaiian
Agricultural Society, that in compliance with the promise given by me last year, I have made every
exertion to obtain the Honey-Bee for these Islands, and have the satisfaction to state that by letters
from Auckland, New Zealand 13, received on the 10th of last month, I am promised three hives, by
the first vessel direct to Honolulu. I most sincerely hope they will arrive free from injury, and
secure all the beneficial results which are anticipated from their introduction.” The remainder of the
article exhorted the raising of suitable plants “of which the flowers yield the greatest quantity and best
description of wax and honey.”
Though the proposed donor of the hives remains unidentified, it would surprise me if De Thierry
attempted to obtain his promised bees through contact with James Busby, former British Resident to New
Zealand, then resident at the Bay of Islands, far to the north of Auckland. Busby had strenuously fought
the Baron’s wishes to make himself ‘Sovereign Chief of New Zealand’, until the Treaty of Waitangi in
February 1840 forever buried the Baron’s aspirations.
No more is known from De Thierry on the subject of bees, except from his manuscript An Historical
Account of an Attempt to Colonize New Zealand, in addressing the Maoris wide adoption of white mens’
practices “The natives … have to some extent progressed, by noting the usefulness of white men’s
appliances in commerce and labour. … They gather vast quantities of wild honey, and bring into
Auckland a considerable amount of fruit.” 14

Charles, Baron de Thierry

12
The Baron had earlier sailed from New Zealand on the Noble on 10 February 1850 bound for California by way of
Honolulu. Marooned on Pitcairn Island for a month, he continued his voyage to Honolulu on the schooner Velocity,
and thence to San Francisco, where he remained for six months. He returned to Honolulu where he was placed in
charge of the French Consulate until March 1853. After his return to Auckland, de Thierry wrote “At Honolulu I
left friends whom I shall love to the last day of my life ... I was rich in the regard of many who won my
warmest esteem and gratitude.” Hyde, Robin (1975 (1936)) Check to Your King, Viking O’Neil, South Yarra,
Victoria. (p.270)
13
Roddy, Kevin M. and Arita-Tsutsumi, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, state a “colony was ordered from New
Zealand (around 1852) but was never shipped due to an apparent misunderstanding.” They quote McClellan, Edwin.
“Pioneer Bees in Paradise” Hawaii Farm and Home, Oct. 15, 1940.
14
Hyde, Robin (1975 (1936)) Check to Your King, Viking O’Neil, South Yarra, Victoria. (p.274)
A Van Diemen’s Land Proposal, 1852
The 1852 Transactions of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society carries a report from the
correspondence secretary, J. Montgomery, wherein an interesting, though unfulfilled relationship is
revealed “From the Secretary of the Van Diemen’s Land Royal Society I received a long and very
interesting letter expressive of the anxious desire of that society to co-operate and reciprocate with
this society, and to render us any assistance or facility in their power. … He promises to send us a
swarm of Honey Bees when a suitable opportunity should offer, but from the cessation of
intercourse between that Island and this for many months past, I presume no such opportunity has
since presented itself.”
Useful Technical Advice, 1852
Montgomery’s 1852 report continued with some useful technical advice on the shipment of bees, dated 22
March “A few days ago I received a letter from Mr. J. E. Chamberlain of William’s College 15 on the
subject of the introduction of the ‘Honey Bee,’ into these Islands, which seems to me so interesting
and important that I feel called on to subjoin the following copy of it.” Addressed to the Secretary of
the Hawaiian Agricultural Society “Sir:- I learn that the attempt to introduce Bees, by the R. B.
Forbes, has proved abortive. 16 That Bees can be introduced into the Islands, by taking advantage of
their natural characteristics, I think not only possible but very probable, and shall, sir, with your
permission, proceed to give that peculiarity, by taking advantage of which I think you will attain
the desired result.
Bees hibernate in the winter. When the thermometer has fallen below a certain temperature (45 or
50 degrees,) they lie dormant and eat no honey. But when it rises above, they must consume
sufficient food to raise the temperature of their bodies to about 70 degrees of Fahrenheit. Some
farmers observing this peculiarity take all the honey from the hives at the commencement of the
cold season and place them where they will be continually below the first named temperature till
spring opens and the Bees can again make honey.
Applying this to the case in hand, let a hive be placed in a water-tight box, then packed in ice and
thus conveyed to the Isles. As soon as the artificial winter has been removed, the bees will awake to
their accustomed industry and activity. The effect on them will be no more than of a long winter.
This seems to be the most feasible plan of procuring Bees from the United States, by way of Cape
Horn. It seems to be the best way to obtain them from any country. Packed in ice they feel none of
the changes, constant changes, which occur on shipboard. They fall asleep in America – they awake
in Oahu – they are transplanted and that too, in entire unconsciousness. It may be a question
whether they ever perceive the change.
Aside from its importance to the Islands, this object has great interest for the naturalist, and the
Bee, from the moment she spreads her wings in the Hawaiian breeze, should be watched, her
vagaries noted, that thus a new chapter may be added to our national science, and that the islands
so lately a blot on creation, may become a star, from whence shall radiate the light of knowledge,
science and religion. I am Sir, yours truly, J. E. Chamberlain.” 17

15
from the North American east coast
16
Roddy, Kevin M. and Arita-Tsutsumi, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, state “Henry A. Pierce, partner of Charles
Brewer, shipped a “fine hive” from Boston to Honolulu in 1852 on the good ship R. B. Forbes (Krauss 1978).
Unfortunately, as the ship passed through the tropics on its way to Cape Horn, the increase in temperature melted the
honeycomb and killed the honey bees.” See also Krauss, Bob. “Luring the bees to paradise.” Honolulu Advertiser
October 21, 1978.
17
pp.128-130
John Montgomery’s Report, 1853
John Montgomery’s Report to the Committee on Horticulture appeared in the 1853 Transactions of the
Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society. Leading with a discussion on the absorbing pleasures a garden
offers, followed by the difficulty of transporting fresh seeds “I hear with much pleasure that Mr. Rice
& Co. are expecting a collection in the Matanzas, now daily looked for, and I trust they may arrive
fresh and in good condition. The same ship also brings two swarms of bees, one of which packed in
ice, will probably reach us in safety.” 18 It would appear J. E. Chamberlain’s technical advice of 1852
had been translated into action for this 1853 attempt. De Thierry no longer appeared on the Honey Bee
Committee, made up of W. Chamberlain and four others.
W. Chamberlain’s 1854 Report on the 1851 & 1853 Unsuccessful Attempts
Each year since the formation of the Society, except for that of 1854, a reward had been offered for the
introduction of the honeybee into the islands. From the 1854 Transactions of the Royal Hawaiian
Agricultural Society, W. Chamberlain, a member of the Committee on the Honey-Bee, submitted a
lengthy nine page report to the President and members of the Society. Therein is documented two failed
attempts to introduce hives of “this interesting insect … (whose) labours contribute so much to the
comfort of man and furnish a source of profit as well as luxury ... and with such precautions as
seemed to justify the hopes that they would reach us in safety; but we have again been called to
experience disappointment in our expectations, - only a small number being found alive on the
arrival of the Matanzas ...” (p.53) “Henry A. Peirce 19, Esq., of Boston and Capt. Stearnes of the
Bark Matanzas 20, have interested themselves to introduce here the honey-bee, for the benefit of our
islands, at their own individual expense and with much pains, which enterprise unfortunately
failed, 21 as also a previously similar attempt by Mr. Peirce ...” (p.57).
To his report Chamberlain appended a letter to the Honey Bee Committee, dated 26 May 1854, Honolulu,
from Charles R. Bishop, one of its members “who is in possession of more information and experience
on this subject, than any other member of the committee, and which I herewith append.” It provided
more details on the latest attempted introduction, after noting one of the earlier failures “In 1851, Mr.
Peirce put on board the ship R. B. Forbes, one swarm of bees, and offered the mate a liberal reward
if he would take care of and deliver any of them here safely. The hot weather in the South Atlantic
melted the honey and drowned all the bees in the hive.” (p.58). Rather than the honey, it would have
been the wax combs that melted, thus allowing the honey to pool. The bees might have equally
succumbed to the heat as the collapse of the combs. Lack of ventilation and/or overheating caused by
confinement between decks or possibly direct exposure of the hive to the sun may have been contributors
to the mortal damage.

18
pp.60-61
19
Listed as a life member of the R.H. Agricultural Society in 1850
20
ex Boston
21
From Roddy & Arita-Tsutsumi (2003): Two hives, one packed in ice, were shipped to O’ahu. The hives arrived in
poor condition, and were later auctioned to C. R. Bishop, husband of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, for thirteen dollars
(Krauss 1978). The bees survived for a short time, then died out. The society then made a public offer of ten dollars
to “the person who shall introduce the first honey bee into the islands.”
The Californian introductions by C. A. Shelton in 1853, 22 William Buck in 1855, 1856, 1857 and 1858,
and the Harbison brothers in 1856 and 1858, 23 were all accompanied to ensure care to the best of their
abilities was provided. The Harbisons shielded their hives from the direct heat of the sun and provided
ventilation. Both chose not to go round Cape Horn, but took the shorter but broken route across the
Isthmus of Panama. To the first modern day visionaries in 1870 of the cutting of a canal from the Atlantic
to the Pacific Ocean, the Darien wilderness on the Isthmus of Panama was “one of the wildest, least-
known corners of the entire world … known to be the narrowest point anywhere on the Central
American isthmus, by which was meant the entire land bridge from lower Mexico to the continent
of South America … the distance from tidewater to tidewater on a straight line was known to be
less than forty miles …” 24 It was not until 1914 that the canal was opened thus removing the need to
change to rail at Colon on Limon Bay, then board ship at Panama City on the Bay of Panama. 25
Bishop’s letter of 26 May 1854 continued “In February, 1853, he procured another fine swarm well
stocked with honey, and was at a large expense (some $140) in having it secured on the deck of the
Bark Matanzas, in such a manner that seemed to insure its safe arrival here. The hive was placed in
a strong box, leaving a space of six inches all around for air, between the hive and box, then a
packing of ice two feet thick, above, below, and on each side, outside of which was a space of six
inches filled with charcoal, and all enclosed in a case eight feet square, having 2 lead pipes three
inches in diameter, running from the outside to the hive to supply the bees with air. ... The bark had
a long passage, (150 days) and being becalmed a number of days in the vicinity of the equator, in
the Atlantic, a part of the ice melted, and during the rough weather off Cape Horn, thumped
against the box so heavily as to jar many of the bees down into the water.” (p.58)
A Workable Method, 1842
The method adopted by Peirce to contain the hive is very similar to that proposed 26 by William Charles
Cotton in My Bee Book (1842) wherein he planned in fine detail how he would bring bees from England
to New Zealand. “I will … carry them direct from England, sixteen thousand miles over the sea. …
By putting them to sleep, by keeping them at a low temperature, by burying them, and keeping
them dry … The diagram is a vertical section of an old hogshead 27, which I have had fresh
coopered, and the joints properly fitted. It is lined throughout with a coating of thick felt, which is,
I believe, one of the best non-conducting things. The bottom has a pipe and tap to carry off the
leakage, and is filled with broken crocks, that the drainage may be most perfect.
As the ice melts away - as melt it will - though I trust two-thirds of it will safely cross the Line, I
shall draw it off through the tap, and by measuring the waste every day, know how much I have
22
From Watkins, Lee H. (1969), The Journal of San Diego History (vol. 15, no. 4) He states the first to bring
honeybees to California (the honeybee, Apis mellifera, was “botanist Christopher A. Shelton, who arrived in San
Francisco aboard the steamship "Isthmus" on March 14, 1853, with twelve colonies of bees. He immediately took
them to San Jose but only one hive survived. It did well, casting three swarms the first summer. There is no record of
any other honeybees being successfully imported until William Buck brought thirty-six hives from New York via the
Panama Route arriving November 30, 1855. Only eighteen of the hives were alive when he reached San Jose. Buck
made three more importations arriving with his last shipment on February 20, 1858, with one hundred and nineteen
colonies of which it was reported that seventy-five survived.”
23
I’ve sourced this clarification from Watkins, Lee H. (1969), The Journal of San Diego History (vol. 15, no. 4)
which may be found on the web: “J. S. Harbison brought in his first shipment of bees aboard the "Sonora" on
November 30, 1857, to San Francisco where he transferred them to the river boat "New World" for Sacramento
arriving there on December 2. Of the sixty-seven colonies he started with from the Harbison apiary near Newcastle,
Pennsylvania, only five hives were completely dead upon arrival though several more were so weak that he united
them with stronger ones, so that he finally had left fifty colonies.”
24
McCullough, David (1977) The Path Between the Seas, The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914. (p.21, 22)
25
ibid. (p.21)
26
Cotton, William Charles (1842) My Bee Book (pp.357-361)
27
a wine or beer barrel
left. ... we have a hundred thousand passengers on board-which is about the crew which will be
shipped in ten hives. ... Now, without some care we should have a pretty mess of half-melted ice ...
together with dead Bees and spoilt honey, if the Hives had been permitted to rest on ice, and sink
down with it as it melted. … I have thought of this: and the same diagram represents a wooden
frame, which is fixed firmly across the inside of the hogshead, about an inch above the ice. The Bees
will be moved from their bottom boards on some cold November day, and securely tied, each in a
square cloth of dairy canvas. 28 The Hives will then be placed on the top of this frame, and well
dried cinders, from which the moisture has been all baked out, will be poured in from above, till the
hogshead is quite filled. By these means light and heat will be both excluded, and the Bees will be
put into a deep and long sleep; though I hope not an eternal one.
But in order to give my Bees every chance of a long life and a happy one, as well as a long voyage ...
Each Hive has a pipe leading from the outward air to its T hole; 29 this will supply fresh air. … I
must remove the foul air before I can put any fresh in … by a pipe … leading also into the outer air,
but, as well as the other, guarded by a piece of perforated zinc, that the foul air may pass out
without allowing one single Bee to accompany it. This will carry away all dampness, an well as foul
air; the Bees’ breath may be condensed in an inverted bell glass … It will then trickle down in the
shape of water … Thus, I trust, my Bees will arrive safely at New Zealand;” 30

Cotton’s diagram, 1842

Apparently ignorant of Cotton’s sympathetic but more advanced design, Peirce’s execution failed on two
key points. The first was to keep the hive from being thrown about within its container, and the second
was the lack of a method to remove the melted ice, or at least suspend the hive above the maximum high
water level should all the ice melt. From the description above, the wooden box containing the
unrestrained hive, with the former unfortunately less than watertight, must have descended gradually into
the iced water, which eventually flooded the hive. Had the outer casing been less than watertight, the bees
may have survived, though somewhat battered.
W. Chamberlain, 1854, continued.
There was another hive on board in the 1853 attempt according to Bishop’s letter of May 1854 “Capt.
Stearnes also purchased a swarm, and placed the hive inside a box having wire-cloth nailed across
openings in the sides, and hung it up under his boat, just forward of the cabin.” Obviously concerned
28
dairy canvas was used to strain milk
29
T hole: the top hole, which was either plugged or provided access to a honey skep or bell jar above
30
pp.360-361
at the rough conditions the hive upon the deck had encountered “... After they doubled the Cape, Capt.
S. had them taken out of the large case, and hung up under the boats with the other swarm, where
they both appeared to be doing well, until they arrived within about ten days of this port, where
moths made their appearance in the boxes, and the bees commenced to die rapidly, - Capt. S’s
swarm more than the other.” (p.58). The icebox environment of Peirce’s hive had apparently retarded
the development of the wax moth larvae.
“When the bark arrived off Honolulu, (in August, 1852), (sic: should read 1853 31) I went on board,
examined Capt. S.’s hive, and found large numbers of moths, worms, larvae, and some dead bees
inside, but no live bees. The other hive was in very bad condition, containing swarms of moths,
worms and larvae among the honey comb. A few of the bees were living, and they had plenty of
honey, - some 12 to 15 lbs, - a part of which, in the chamber of the hive, was very handsome. I took
the hive to my garden, where, with the kind assistance of Capt. Stearnes and others, we removed as
many as possible of the moths, and cleared the hive of worms, dirt, etc, as well as we could, and
afterwards removed nearly all the honey. There appeared to be from 40 to 60 bees living, among
them the queen. The hive of bees and honey was put up and sold at auction, in order to give persons
understanding the management of bees, or wishing to have them, an opportunity to purchase. I
purchased them, had a new hive made, and tried to induce them to occupy it, but without success.
After a few days, I thought they seemed to be less active than usual, and upon examination, found
but three or four bees remaining, and a day or two after, none at all. As there were no dead bees in
the hive or on the boards underneath, and no birds about to destroy them, I concluded that they
had some place more to their fancy than the hive, and that I should again see them or hear of them,
but I have not, and am unable to account for their disappearance or fate.
Capt. Stearnes took excellent care of the bees ... and had he had a short passage, or even a passage
of from 130 to 140 days, would have delivered both swarms in good order; which proves that they
can be brought from the U.S. via Cape Horn, without any great expense or trouble, except to have
them secured against wet, excessive heat and rough handling. 32 But great care should be taken in
the commencement, to select hives free from moths and their eggs.
Had the swarm mentioned arrived here in better condition, it probably would have been better to
have sent it immediately to a cool locality, on Maui or Kauai, in the vicinity of sugar plantations and
banana fields; but it was too far gone to admit of any delay in removing the destructive enemies of
the bees. …
I have lately learned that honey bees have been recently introduced into California 33. Bye and bye,
we shall probably be able to get them from there, more easily than from any other place (pp.58-59)
… with little inconvenience. At present however, we are aware of no locality nearer than the eastern
States of America, from whence they may be transported conveniently hither; though it is stated
that they are raised in Australia and New Zealand, which are nearer to us in point of distance.”
(p.53)
Bishop recognised, in part, the reason for the failure, at least for the suspended hive, omitting the semi-
drowning of the boxed hive “We are informed that the failure in this enterprise was not occasioned
by any lack of care and attention; but by the unexpected appearance of that enemy of the insect, -

31
Schmitt, Robert C. (c1995) Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawai’i. University of Hawai’i, Honolulu. The date given
for the arrival of the Matanzas is 1 August 1853. “Only a few bees were still alive, however, and these survived only
a short time.” A list of sources from the years 1848, 1853, 1899 and later until 1978 is supplied.
32
Obviously referring to the hive of Capt. Stearnes, simply suspended beneath the ship’s boat, any openings secured
with wire mesh.
33
The Californian introduction could have been that of C. A. Shelton, when one hive was successfully introduced
there in March 1853.
the bee moth, - within the hives a few weeks previous to the arrival of the vessel at this port, 34 and
we are encouraged to believe that, with great care in the selection of hives free from moths and their
eggs, and with due regard to the season of their shipment, that they may be safely brought hither,
even from New England, by the same method as that adopted in the Matanzas.” (p.53)
Success, 1857, to Captain Lawton of the Fanny Major
As demonstrated, a hive of bees, containing only some 40 to 60 occupants, did successfully reach the
shores of Hawaii in August 1853, but their subsequent survival was very much in doubt. For the year
1857, Watkins research 35 and conclusions show “that the Fanny Major arrived with three hives of
bees alive and still well stocked with honey … by checking the various arrival and sailing dates … a
fair guess is that the Fanny Major arrived in Honolulu 36 with four hives of bees about October 25th
(1857) … three of the four hives … are doing well, and that it is considered a ‘successful
experiment’.” 37 Did Chamberlain, Bishop and the others of the Honey-Bee Committee continue their
efforts in the period between Captain Peirce’s 1853 voyage of 150 days via Cape Horn, and Captain
Lawton’s October 1857 California to Hawaii voyage of some fourteen days?
J. W. Marsh’s 1855 Report of Woe
To put it kindly, momentum did indeed falter, for unfortunately, to 1856, bees still had not arrived in
Hawaii alive, it would seem for want of further attempts. J. W. Marsh’s 1855 Report on Birds, Bees,
Insects and Worms declared regretfully “Respecting bees, the Committee have to say that they have
not seen or heard of any of those interesting creatures for some time, nor anything more nearly
resembling them than the wasps which have lately so multiplied among us. Believers in the theory
of equivocal generation may fancy that these latter, demi-savages as they are, will, in our genial
climate develop into the more civilised and civil bee. Your Committee are of the opinion that they
will not. If we wish real, bona-fide, honey-bees, we must continue to import them.”
Frustration followed “In conclusion, it should have been stated, that of the five members of this
Committee, two have within the last year gone to the United States, “leaving not a report behind,” a
third regrets that he is unable to communicate anything of value, fourth intimates that he is not a
member of the society and does not wish to be - while the fifth pleads guilty to a very general and
particular ignorance on all the given topics, protests that he did not know of his appointment till the
eleventh hour, and declares that he can’t and won’t write a report. The Committee, therefore, have
no report to offer. Respectfully submitted.” (p.50)

34
Honolulu
35
Watkins sourced from the San Jose Tribune, 4 December 1857; Daily Alta California, 16 December 1857
36
Schmitt, Robert C. (c1995) Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawai’i. University of Hawai’i, Honolulu. After 1853
“Four years later, a shipment of honey bees arrived from San Jose, California, and survived.” A list of sources from
the years 1848, 1853, 1899 and later until 1978 is supplied.
37
Roddy, Kevin M. and Arita-Tsutsumi, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, state “On 21 October 1857, three hives of
German dark bees Apis mellifera mellifera were shipped to Honolulu by William Buck of San Jose, California
(Eckert 1951, Krauss 1978) on the American bark Fanny Major (Spoehr 1992). The trip took eighteen days and the
colonies survived the journey in good condition. They were purchased by the Society for one hundred dollars each.
The hives were placed under the care of Dr. William Hillebrand in Nu'uanu Valley. There they thrived, and
successfully established themselves such that by the following year, the three original hives had increased to nine
colonies by swarming (Nieman 1942).” Refer also Krauss, Bob. “Luring the bees to paradise.” Honolulu Advertiser
October 21, 1978; Spoehr, Hardy. Kaho'olawe honey and pineapple ventures : anecdotes to the island's history.
Wailuku, Hawai'i: Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance Commission, 1992; Nieman, Richard E. "Liquid Gold." Paradise
of the Pacific December 1942, v54, no. 12, p. 17.
Edward P. Bond’s “Oops!”, 1856
Bond’s letter to the Committee dated 28 July 1856 and reported in the Transactions of that year, gave the
“good” news first “Dear Sir, - Captain Matthews W. Green, of the “Raduga,” who was for many
years settled in the neighbourhood of Boston, gave much attention to horticulture, and particularly
to the care of bees. He is very sanguine that he should succeed in bringing out a swarm to these
Islands, and will presumably attempt it, if he comes hither again. Capt. G. lays much stress upon
the importance of ventilation, and thinks that a hive could be so prepared, by covering the openings
with wire gauze, as to secure the needful supply of air, and yet prevent the exit of the bees. I present
this hint for what it may be worth.”
Misfortune and anguish followed “The same gentleman gave me a valuable treatise on the subject,
from which I had hoped to draw something that might be of value to the members of the Hawaiian
Agricultural Society, but in the three removes 38 which are as bad as a fire, the precious document
has been mislaid, and I have deferred writing to you until this eleventh hour in the vain hope of
finding it.”
Hope persisted “I hear it often said, that we cannot have honey till we procure, not only bees, but the
food which they will require. I see no cause for this remark. We have a great variety and abundance
of flowers in our woods and fields … Let us have the bees, and I will guarantee them food enough.
Very respectfully yours.” I wonder if any members of his audience shook their heads in dismay. At least
he and former members of the Committee on the Honey-Bee bequeathed documentation covering the
period between 1850 and 1856, sufficient to round out the research performed by Lee H. Watkins some
three decades ago.
CALIFORNIA & THE HARBISON BROTHERS: 1853, 1856 & 1858
I don’t claim the following account to be the definitive story of the introduction of honeybees into
California, 39 however it admirably describes the transport of honeybees from the North American east
coast to the west coast via Panama. It portrays the skill and attention to detail required to overcome the
many difficulties these pioneers encountered. Their methods are very relevant to the Australasian
experience of 19th Century shipments of honeybees. As well, this chapter forms a solid background to the
failed attempts of the early 1850s to bring honeybees from Boston to Honolulu via Cape Horn. It would
appear that only until honeybees had established successfully in California could the additional shift to
Hawai’i be made with any success, despite Peirce’s near miss of 1853. Like my chapter on Hawaii, this
tale also lay forgotten once compiled in April 1996. It came to mind after I re-awakened its partner
chapter on Hawai’i in January 2001.

38
A reference to Committee member turnover or repeated change of premises ?
39
see Watkins, Lee H. (1969), The Journal of San Diego History (vol. 15, no. 4) “John S. Harbison: Pioneer San
Diego Beekeeper” for an excellent coverage on this topic.
 John Stewart Harbison (1826-1912).
Thanks to the Journal of San Diego History, 1969, Vol.15, No.4 40
Angus Mackay of Sydney or his principal, James Carroll of Brisbane, chose the Harbisons to supply him
with Italian bees in 1877, and possibly as early as 1872. W. C. Harbison simply described himself as a
practical apiarian. From his Bees and Bee-keeping: A Plain, Practical Work of 1860, a most entertaining
sage is depicted in fine detail “To ship bees successfully to so great a distance, and through such a
diversity of climate as is experienced on the steam ship route to California, via the Isthmus of
Darien, at Panama, required a pretty correct knowledge of the habits and peculiarities of the bee,
combined with untiring care and watchfulness on the part of those who made the first successful
shipments of bees to California, when the experiment was a hazardous one, the expenses being so
exorbitant at that time, and the undertaking fraught with such serious obstacles. The experience
that has been had for the last three years, with the present low rates of passage and freights,
renders their shipment now comparatively easy, and many are engaged in it.” (p.246).
Harbison made the following observation regarding “the great difficulties of first introducing bees to
California” (p.248) prior to the construction of the Panama canal “The time required to make the
voyage from any Atlantic port, either in Europe or America, via Cape Horn, was so great, that bees
would certainly perish before their arrival, if indeed the effort was ever made by those early
missionaries. The difficulty of transporting them across the Isthmus of Darien, and thence by sea to
California, would involve a greater amount of labor and difficulty than Spaniards in those early
times were willing to undertake. This would also apply to taking them by land from the Mexican
States to California.” (p.251).
The World Book Encyclopaedia (1985) describes the Panama Canal, a waterway across the Isthmus of
Panama, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as “one of the greatest engineering achievements in
the world. Upon its completion in 1914, the canal shortened a ship’s voyage between New York City and
San Francisco to less than 5,200 miles (8,370 kilometers). Previously, ships making this trip had to travel
around South America - a distance of more than 13,000 miles (20,900 kilometers). … The Panama canal
extends 50.72 miles (81.63 kilometers) from Limon Bay on the Atlantic to the Bay of Panama on the
Pacific” 41 “One of two things is certain, either that the effort was never made by those early Spanish
settlers to import bees to California, or if it was made it proved to be a failure;” (Harbison, p.252).
Note emphasis on the ‘effort’ and the ‘difficulty’ involved.

40
A web search eg., by Google, will easily find this article
41
Vol. 15, p.102
Under the heading ‘The First Stock of Bees in California’ Harbison wrote “In February, 1853, Mr. C.
A. Shelton ... sailed from New York with twelve hives of bees ... he arrived at San Francisco in
March, with but one living colony, eleven having died whilst in transit. This was the pioneer hive of
bees on the Pacific coast. Mr. Shelton, with his hive of bees, took passage on a little steamer from
San Francisco to Alviso; on the trip she burst her boiler; killing several persons, Mr. Shelton being
of the lamented number; but his bees escaped unhurt, and were taken to San Jose, where they did
well.” (p.252)
On ‘Other Shipments’ “In the fall of 1855, my brother and partner in business, J. S. Harbison, sent
east by a friend who was making a visit, for a hive of bees, which he received in Sacramento the
first of February, 1856. But a very small colony, with the queen, survived the long voyage, and with
proper care they increased and did well. The result of this experiment clearly demonstrated the
fact, that if properly prepared and carefully handled, bees could be successfully imported in large
quantities, and if once there, that they would increase rapidly and produce large quantities of
honey. With this assurance he returned home in June, 1857. Being advised by letter, we had
commenced to prepare stocks in a suitable manner for shipment. He completed the preparation
after his arrival, and again started for the land of gold, sailing from New York on the fifth of
November, with sixty-seven colonies. On arriving at Aspinwall, circumstances being favorable, he
opened the boxes and permitted the bees to fly out and clean themselves, which no doubt greatly
assisted in preserving their health during the rest of the voyage. He arrived safely at Sacramento on
the first of December, having lost but five colonies on the way; others had been reduced in numbers
until quite weak. By uniting all such together, making strong stocks at the expense of numbers, they
were reduced to fifty ...” (pp.252-3)
“This was the first large and successful shipment of bees made to California. Others were made
about the same time, but with very indifferent success; which was owing, to a great extent, to the
want of practical knowledge on the part of those having them in charge.” 42
Methods for their 1st Shipment
Then follows the section titled ‘How Our First Shipment was Prepared’ “Boxes were made of boards
3/8ths thick, one foot square and six inches high. Into these the combs, bees and all, were
transferred in June, when honey was plenty and young queens matured readily. The combs were
cut to fit neatly into these boxes, leaving proper spaces between, and braced with strips of wood,
being careful to have combs in each box that had eggs in it. The bees were now divided and a
portion put in each box, there being enough comb and bees in an ordinary sized hive to fill two or
three of these boxes. Those that were without queens supplied themselves from eggs found in the
combs. In this way we found no difficulty in making nearly an average of three well organised little
colonies from one old stock. Any spaces left for want of combs were filled in by the bees themselves;
they also fastened up the old combs thus transferred from the old hive, very nicely and securely.
Being permitted to work in these boxes from June until the close of the season, they were well
stored with honey and pollen for their long journey, and in a compact, portable shape.
To these boxes we added another box at the side (when packing them up to ship), three inches by
six, and one foot long, having first made a large opening in the side, and securing these boxes by
tacking strips on either side. This served as a vacant chamber for the bees to occupy when suffering
from extreme heat in hot latitudes. Proper openings were made on each side, and covered with wire
cloth, to give a current of air through the box, which, with the addition of the vacant air chamber, is
twelve by fifteen inches long and six inches in height. Two of these formed one package, one set on
top of the other, being covered with oiled cloth to keep out wet, and securely fastened with heavy
twine, forming a loop at the top, which served as a handle to carry them by. A package of this kind,
consisting of two colonies, measures less than one and a half cubic feet, being a great saving over
42
pp.253-254
ordinary sized hives, as freight and charges are estimated by the foot from New York to San
Francisco, and at such high rates that every foot saved in size is important.
Our improved movable comb hive being perfected by J. S. Harbison, of the firm of W. C. & J. S.
Harbison, soon after arriving with the bees they were transferred, and worked in them very
successfully and satisfactorily.
Methods for their 2nd Shipment
‘Second Shipment, How Prepared’ Our first shipment of bees to California being successful and
profitable, we resolved to prepare a larger lot, and ship them the following year, but in a little
different form from the first lot, retaining the same general principles in a more convenient and
practical shape; in short, we determined to transfer bees, with their combs, &c. from common box
hives into the improved movable frames of the proper size to fit the hives, thirteen inches in height
by twelve in width.
Having received a model of the frame and suitable box for shipping, I had boxes made of boards
3/8ths thick, fourteen inches square and twenty inches long, with a partition in the centre, making a
convenient receptacle for two colonies with six frames in each, having a cross-bar with gains cut in
it for the projection of the upper part of the frame to rest in, leaving a vacant space or chamber at
front edge of the frames of one and one-half by ten inches wide, and fourteen deep. At the foot or
opposite angle of the frame a cross-bar, with gains cut in it to receive the tenon of the frame, was
nailed in the bottom, which held the frames firmly in their place. Openings for the bees to pass in
and out were made for one colony in front and one in the rear. The lid was left movable.
Having boxes and frames thus prepared, I commenced, in the last week of May, to transfer bees
from box hives into these frames, fastening the combs with metallic braces, dividing the combs,
bees, &c. so as to make two colonies from one. Those destitute of a queen would supply themselves
... Some of these I again divided during the season, making three and in some cases four colonies
from one old stock, dry combs being supplied to some extent from other sources. They continued to
work in these small boxes during the remainder of the season, storing them well with provision for
the winter.
As part of the shipment I thus prepared here and the balance was prepared in the same manner at
Centralia, Illinois, by A. Harbison, and shipped from thence to New York. Preparatory to shipping,
the lids were nailed down; wire cloth was tacked over the openings to ventilate properly; oiled
muslin was put over the top to protect them from being injured by rain or spray; heavy twine rove
around the box, about the middle of each division, and again lengthwise, forming a loop or top for
convenient handling. Two colonies thus prepared were but little larger thin one ordinary sized hive,
and of convenient portable shape.
I decided to accompany this shipment, and spend a few months in California, for the purpose of
observing the effects of so great a change of climate and circumstances, and increasing my
knowledge of the habits and peculiarity of the honey bee. Accordingly, on the 15th of November,
1858, in company with my brother, J. S. Harbison, we started in charge of our bees to New York, en
route for California. On reaching New York we found the steamship Moses Taylor was to sail. Being
quite small, and not affording suitable deck room for the safety of the bees, we concluded to remain
until the departure of the next steamer, causing a delay of two weeks.
On the 6th of December, however, we sailed, and after a pleasant voyage arrived at Aspinwall on the
13th. Whilst in the Caribbean sea, the bees suffered considerably from the extreme heat. We kept
an awning suspended over them, to protect them from the hot sun, and had them arranged in tiers
on the hurricane deck, so that a current of fresh air was constantly passing between and around
them. At Aspinwall we had them placed in an express car to cross the Isthmus, and obtained
permission to remain in the car with them for the purpose of keeping the side doors open to give a
free circulation of air. Arrived at Panama, they were placed in an open boat or lighter, which was
taken in tow by a steam tug and run alongside the steamship, which lay at anchor some three miles
from the dock. We had them carefully handled, and kept them shaded from the sun; but so intense
was the heat, that they suffered very much. Had they been exposed to the direct rays of the sun, the
combs would have melted in a few minutes. We sailed from Panama on the morning of the 15th,
and arrived off Cape St. Lucas on the 24th, where we met cold, chilly winds, making it necessary to
close up our bees a little, and shelter them from the weather; without this precaution they would
have been seriously affected by the sudden change front extreme heat to cold. Arriving at San
Francisco on the evening of the 29th, we shipped on steam boat for Sacramento, and reached there
on the morning of the 31st.”
The express car referred to was part of the railway which crossed the isthmus which “... opened in 1853
to carry the crowds hurrying to the newly-discovered gold-fields of California. The railway reaped
a huge fortune for its promoters, and its success started people hunting up and down the isthmus
for a suitable route for a canal which would make the journey by sea continuous from the east coast
to the west coast of America.” 43
Harbison “The bees had remained in close confinement all this time, forty-seven days. We found but
eleven dead out of one hundred and fourteen, one hundred and three having survived the long and
tedious voyage. This number we reduced by uniting those that had become weak, making one
strong stock from two or more weak ones. We lifted each comb out of the boxes, and after cleaning
them carefully, transferred bees and all into hives that were prepared to receive them; the frames
fitting nicely, it required but a few minutes to transfer a colony. Thus in a short time we had them
working in clean new hives. We fed them syrup daily whilst a scarcity of honey existed ... which
caused them to breed very rapidly.” (pp.254-259).

43
Newnes, Vol. 5, p.57