314 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



drone emerges twenty-four days after the egg is laid, and bis lease 

 of life depends somewhat upon the wealth of the harvest. If a con- 

 tinued dearth comes early in the season, his days are numbered. If 

 there if* honey to be gathered the whole season, his life will be 

 spared until a killing frost, when his thrifty sisters will mercilessly 

 drive him from the hive. 



The worker emerges from the cell twenty-one days after the egg 

 is laid. At a very early age she begins the duties of housekeeping, 

 cleaning out the cells, feeding the baby bees, building combs, etc. 

 liees engaged in this work are called nurse bees. When sixteen days 

 old, the worker begins to go afield, adding to the stores of the hive, 

 and is then called a field bee. The length of life of a worker depends 

 on the time of year when life begins; A worker emerging in June, 

 when hard work is the order of the day, wall wear itself out in about 

 six weeks. An old bee is known by its ragged wings, and works until 

 it dies. A worker emerging in September will live a half year or 

 longer, as much of its life is spent in a semi-dormant condition. 



HONEY-COMB. 



A marvel of workmanship is the honey-comb constructed by the 

 bees, of wax, consisting of a. base or septum, with six-sided cells on 

 each side. The greater part of the cells are one-fifth of an inch in 



^^^ diameter, thus making about 

 ^bS twenty-nine to the square inch 

 on each side, but as modified 

 by man's interference, twenty- 

 five to the square inch is nearer 

 themaiLk. These cells are called 

 DKOXE-cOMB. WORKER-COMB. worker-cclls. Dronccells are 



(By permission from Roofs A B C of Bee OnefOUrth Of aU iuch iu diame- 



^"'^"'■^•^ ter, a«id there are about eight- 



een of them to the square inch. Under normal conditions, an egg 

 laid in the smaller or worker-cell will produce a worker, and 

 one laid in a drone-cell will produce a drone. The difference in 

 the eggs is that the egg laid in the worker-cell is impregnated and 

 that laid in the drone-cell is unimpregnated. Worker-comb meas- 

 urr.s about seven-eighths of an inch in thickness (a little more when 

 it is old), and drone-comb is about one and one-fourth inches thick. 

 That is the measurement when the comb is used for brood-rearing. 

 \\ hen us.'d for storing honey it may be thicker, in some instances 

 three inches thick or more. Worker-comb may also be used for 

 storing jtollen. 



Queen-cells are constructed when needed, and differ entirely in 

 a[)iiearance from other cells. A completed queen-cell looks a good 



HHH 



