532 



Saw-riies, Gall-Hies, Ichneumons, 



be placed conveniently near the house, or, better, inside one's room, it will 

 prove a never-failing source of interest and pleasure. 



Perhaps it had better be explained how an observation-hive can he kept 

 in one's room without interfering with coinciclent human occupancy. The 

 observation-hive, in the first place, may be, as shown in Fig. 736, simply an 

 ordinary outdoors hive into each side of which a large pane of glass has 

 been let, with .swinging outer wooden doors, one on each side, which, when 

 shut, keep the hive in normal darkness, but o[)ened, allow "observing" to 

 go on. In addition to the side glasses a loose sheet of glass is inserted just 

 under the ordinary "honey-board" or removable top of the hive. Or the 

 observation-hive may be, as shown in Fig. 737, a special, narrow, two-frame 



Fig. 737. — .\n observation-hive holding only two frames, with the two sides wholly of 

 glass, so that any single bee can be continuously watched. (Drawn from hive in 



author's laboralor)'.) 



hive, with both sides wholly composed of glass held in the narrow wooden 

 frame which forms the ends and the top and bottom of the hive. A black 

 cloth jacket should be kept on the hive when " observing " is not going on. 

 In such a hive, which will obviously hold but a small community (one of 

 not over 10,000 individuals) any single bee can be kept continuously under 



