3«2 



THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



pollen and nectar from flowers and entering and leaving the hive in large 

 numbers. They constitute the greater part of the colony; an average 

 strong colony will include from 35,000 to 50,000 workers. They are 

 females in which the reproductive organs are imperfectly developed; t hey 

 do not ordinarily lay eggs, and when they do the eggs develop only into 

 males. The workers do not pair with males, consequently their eggs are 

 unfertilized, and unfertilized eggs of the honey-bee produce only males. 

 The workers are so-called because they perform all the labors of the col- 

 ony. Young workers attend to the inside work of the hive; they take 

 care of the young brood, and for this reason are termed nurse-bees, they 

 build combs, and protect the entrance of the hive against robbers. The 

 older workers go into the field to collect pollen, nectar and propolis. 



The drones are larger than the workers, and are reared in larger cells. 

 If honeycombs be examined, some sheets will be seen to be composed of 

 larger cells than those of the more common type. It is in cells of this 

 kind that the eggs are laid which are to develop into males. In shape 

 the drones are broader and blunter than the workers. They are few in 

 number and are only present in the hive during the early summer. After 

 the swarming season is over, these gentlemen of leisure are driven out of 

 the hive by the workers or are killed by them. 



The queen is larger than a worker, and has a long pointed body. She 



is developed in a cell which differs 

 greatly from the ordinary hexagonal 

 cell of honeycomb. This cell is large, 

 cylindrical, and extends vertically. 

 In Figure 633 the beginnings of two 

 queen cells are represented on the 

 lower edge of the comb, and a com- 

 pleted cell extends over the face of 

 the comb near the left side. From 

 the lower end of this cell hangs a 

 lid, which was cut away by the work- 

 ers to allow the queen to emerge. 



The queen larva is fed with a sub- 

 stance called royal jelly. This is a 

 substance which resembles blanc-mange in color and consistency. It is 

 excreted from the mouth by the nurse-bees, and is very nutritious food. 

 The origin of this food, whether it is a secretion from special glands of 

 the nurse-bees, or is regurgitated from their stomachs is not at present 

 known. During the first three days of the larval stage of worker bees 

 they are also fed with royal jelly after which they are fed with honey and 

 bee-bread. 



It has been demonstrated that in the egg-state there is no difference 

 between a worker and a queen. When the workers wish to develop a 

 queen they tear down the partitions between three adjacent cells contain- 

 ing eggs that under ordinary conditions would develop into workers. 

 Then they destroy two of the eggs, and build a queen-cell over the third. 

 When the egg hatches they feed the larva with royal jelly, and it de- 

 velops into a queen. 



In early summer several queen-cells are provided in each colony. 

 As soon as a queen is developed from one of these the old queen attempts 

 to destroy her. But the young queen is guarded by the workers, and 



Fig. 632. — Comb of honey-bee with queen-cells. 



