The Swarm 



the architects, masons, wax-workers, and 

 sculptors who form the chain and con- 

 struct the combs; the foragers who sally 

 forth to the flowers in search of the nectar 

 that turns into honey, of the pollen that 

 feeds the nymphs and the larvae, the pro- 

 polis that welds and strengthens the build- 

 ings of the city, or the water and salt 

 required by the youth of the nation. Its 

 orders have gone to the chemists who en- 

 sure the preservation of the honey by 

 letting a drop of formic acid fall in from 

 the end of their sting ; to the capsule- 

 makers who seal down the cells when the 

 treasure is ripe, to the sweepers who 

 maintain public places and streets most 

 irreproachably clean, to the bearers whose 

 duty it is to remove the corpses ; and 

 to the amazons of the guard who keep 

 watch on the threshold by night and by 

 day, question comers and goers, recognise 

 the novices who return from their very 



