PHYLUM ARTHROrODA 327 



of honey depends upon the kind of flowers from which the 

 nectar is collected. The amount of honey produced in one 

 hive in a fair season ranges from an average of about thirty 

 pounds of comb honey to possibly fifty pounds of extracted 

 honey. This will net the bee keeper from ten to fifteen cents 

 per pound. 



CLEANING THE HIVE. - - The health of the swarm depends 

 upon the cleanliness of their domicile, since perfect sanitary 

 conditions are necessary where so many individuals live in such 

 close quarters. Dead bees, pieces of old comb, the excreta of 

 the queen, drones, and others that remain in the hive, and any 

 other waste materials, are immediately removed. 



VENTILATING THE HIVE. - - Fresh air for the hive is obtained 

 by the exertions of certain of the workers. Many bees near the 

 entrance, and at other places in the hive, are busily engaged in 

 vibrating their wings, and creating a current of -air, which keeps 

 the hive fresh, and aids in ripening the nectar. The loud buzzing 

 which accompanies this activity is often heard at night after a 

 large amount of nectar has been collected. 



GUARDING THE HIVE. - - The hive is guarded against the in- 

 trusions of yellow-jackets, bee-moths, and other bees by workers, 

 who wander back and forth near the entrance, and examine 

 every creature that visits the colony. If the swarm is strong, 

 the guards succeed, with the aid of the bee-keeper, in warding 

 off all honey-loving enemies. 



SWARMING. - - The number of bees in a hive increases very 

 rapidly, since the queen usually lays from 950 to 1200 eggs per 

 day. When the colony is in a prosperous condition, and there 

 is danger of overcrowding, queen cells are built by the workers, 

 usually around the fertilized eggs, and new queens are reared. 

 Two queens do not live amicably in one hive, and, if such a con- 

 dition arises, either there is a battle between the two, resulting 

 in the death of one of them, or the workers kill one, or else the 

 old queen collects from two to twenty thousand workers about 

 her and flies away with them to found a new colony. This is 



