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EVOLUTION OF ANIMALS 



Part V 



Fig. 30.20. Types of individuals in a colony of honeybees, and the life history 

 of a honeybee. A, worker; B, queen; C, drone; D, portion of comb showing queen, 

 worker and drone cells; E, egg; F, young larva; G, old larva; H, pupa. A to C 

 somewhat enlarged; D, natural size; E to H much enlarged. In D several of the 

 honey cells are capped. (Courtesy, Phillips: Fanner's Bulletin 447. Bur. Ent. and 

 Plant Quar., U.S.D.A.) 



they perform the labor. Young workers attend to the inside work, mold the 

 wax into comb, feed the larvae, keep the hive clean, and guard the entrance. 

 The older workers go into the field to collect nectar, pollen, and the mixture 

 of plant gums called propolis. They live only a month or two except those that 

 hatch out in the fall and live through the winter when the colony is smaller 

 and the housework lighter. In the colony, workers are both governors and 

 governed. Their treatment creates the queen; they kill unwanted queens; and 

 they direct the outgoing swarm yet they are bewildered and often return to 

 their hive if the queen is not with them. 



There are few drones in a colony and they are present only in spring and 

 summer until after swarming time. A small group of them follows the young 

 queen on her mating flight and one of them mates with her. This is their only 

 service to the colony. 



