THE POPULAR INSECT PLAN 2i;{ 



fed undigested honey and pollen after the fourth day, while young 

 queens are fed upon an especially nutritious albuminous "royal 

 jelly" until they pupate. During the larval period, the young 

 insects grow rapidly, changing their skins or molting several times 

 during the process. About the end of the fifth day the larvae are 

 given their last food by the attendant bees and the cell is capped with 

 wax. Then the larva spins a cocoon, molts for the last time, and 

 becomes a pujM. In this stage it begins to assume adult characters 

 and, after the next molt, emerges from the cell as an adult. This 

 process, in which the insect undergoes certain changes not in line 

 with its direct development, is called a metamorphosis. The last 

 molt in which the young adult is ready to emerge from the cell takes 

 place about 20 days from the time the egg was laid. The young 

 adult bee, or imago, chews its way out of the cell, usually emerging 

 on the 21st day. The metamorphosis of the drone takes 24 days and 

 the queen 16, the greater rapidity of the latter probably being due to 

 the more nutritious food received. 



The Life in the Hive 



The activities in a bee hive are numerous and interesting. Besides 

 collecting nectar and pollen and making honey, the most important 

 work is that of building the wax cells of the comb. Wax is secreted 

 by the wax glands on the abdomen and transferred to the mouths of 

 the workers, where it is mixed with saliva, kneaded by the mandibles, 

 and shaped into the familiar hexagonal cells of the honeycomb. 

 Six kinds of cells are made : (a) drone cells, (6) worker cells, (c) queen 

 cells, {d) transition cells between worker and drone cells, (<?) attach- 

 ment cells which fasten the comb in place, and (/) honey cells. 

 Worker bees also bring back propolis or "bee glue," resinous materials 

 collected largely from the buds of trees. The propolis is used to fill 

 up cracks in the hive and to strengthen the comb. Water is also 

 carried to the hive in dry, hot weather. Besides the above activities, 

 others must be performed if life in the hive is to go on. The workers 

 must have plenty of fresh air, for they do hard work. To this end 

 certain of the bees are delegated to the task of vibrating their wings 

 rapidly, thus creating currents of air through the hive. Some workers 

 rid the hive of excreta, dead bees, or any other substances that 

 interfere with its cleanliness. Still other bees guard the entrance of 

 the hive against such enemies as bee raoths or yellow-jacket hornets, 

 which come to steal honey. 



