The Life of the Bee 



devour, and the mother has to display 

 the utmost stubbornness in their defence. 

 Then having freed himself from his most 

 dangerous vices, each individual has to 

 acquire a certain number of more and 

 more painful virtues. Among the humble- 

 bees, for instance, the workers do not 

 dream of renouncing love, whereas our 

 domestic bee lives in a state of perpetual 

 chastity. And indeed we soon shall show 

 how much more she has to abandon, in 

 exchange for the comfort and security of 

 the hive, for its architectural, economic, 

 and political perfection ; and we shall re- 

 turn to the evolution of the hymenoptera 

 in the chapter devoted to the progress of 

 the species. 



34 



