INSECTS 135 



C. Activities of the Workers 



Whereas the queen and the drones are concerned only with 

 reproduction, there are many essential activities of the colony 

 which are carried on by the workers. These activities include the 

 building of the honeycomb, the gathering and preparation of pollen 

 for food, the collection of the nectar from the flowers, the manu- 

 facture of honey from the nectar, and the general care of the hive. 

 The latter comprises the cleaning, warming, ventilation, and 

 guarding of the hive as well as painting the interior with bee 

 glue which is secured from various plants. It is believed that 

 the workers also determine when a hive is getting overcrowded. 

 If such occurs, they construct the special queen-cells, noted above, 

 in which the new queens are developed. In the collection of 

 various substances from the flowers, the worker Bees incidentally 

 transfer pollen from one plant to another, thereby bringing about 

 cross pollination which, at least in many cases, is essential for the 

 plants. (W. f. 219.) 



We may now discuss some of the activities of the workers in 

 more detail. When it is desired to form wax for building the 

 comb, the Bees eat a great deal of honey and then remain quiet for 

 a time, hanging in great numbers from the top of the hive. The 

 honey is digested and assimilated, and a large part of it then used 

 in the formation of the wax which is secreted by wax glands. 

 These are located on the sterna of the last four abdominal seg- 

 ments. The wax flakes thus formed are removed from the wax 

 pockets and then mixed with saliva and kneaded by the mandi- 

 bles. When the proper consistency has been attained, it is de- 

 posited in just the right place in the comb which is under con- 

 struction. The cells which compose a honeycomb are generally 

 six-sided. It is a question as to whether these cells, when first 

 formed by the Bees, are hexagonal or circular. Some authorities 

 believe the latter to be the case, and that the six-sided cell arises as 

 a result of the equal pressure of the surrounding cells. 



The cells in a honeycomb are named, in general, according to the 

 use which is made of them. As generally described there are six 

 types of cells, as follows : queen-cells, drone-cells, worker- 

 cells, HONEY-CELLS, TRANSITION-CELLS, and ATTACHMENT-CELLS. 



The largest of these are the queen-cells. The drone-cells are the 

 next in size, and the smallest cells of all are the worker-cells. The 



