80 



THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE CHAP. 



to novel conditions in a manner which must be described 

 as intelligent. Especially when we remember that the 

 beaver belongs to a somewhat stupid rodent race, are 

 we inclined to believe that it is the cleverest of its kind 

 because the most socialised. 



5. Bees. Many centuries have passed since men first 

 listened to the humming of the honey-bees, and found 

 in the hive a symbol of the strength of unity. From 

 Aristotle's time till now naturalists have been studying 



the life of bees, without 

 exhausting either its facts 

 or its suggestions. The so- 

 ciety is very large and 

 complex, yet very stable 

 and successful. Its customs 

 seem now like those of 

 children at play, and now 

 like the realised dreams 

 of social reformers. The 

 whole life gives one the 

 impression of an old-estab- 

 lished business in which 

 all contingencies have been 

 so often experienced that 

 they have ceased to cause 

 hesitation or friction. 

 There is indeed much 

 mortality, some apparent 

 cruelty, and the constantly 

 recurring adventure of mi- 

 gration; but though hive may war against hive, inter- 

 civic competition has virtually ceased, and the life pro- 

 ceeds smoothly with the harmony and effectiveness of a 

 perfected organisation. 



The mother-bee, whom we call a " queen ' -though 

 she is without the wits and energy of a ruler is to this 

 extent head of the community, that, by her prolific egg- 

 laying, she increases or restores the population. Very 

 sluggish in their ordinary life are the numerous males or 

 " drones," one of whom, fleet and vigorous beyond his 



FIG. 22. HONEY-BEE (Apis 

 mellifica). 



A, queen ; B, drone ; C, worker. 

 (From Chambers's Encyclop.) 



