IN A STRANGE HIVE. 283 



white one, came out directly. Till 6.50 this bee 

 kept on going in and out every minute or two ; 

 hardly any bees were flying, only a few stand- 

 ing at the doors of most of the hives. At 

 7.20 she was still at the hive door. 

 May 20. — Between 6 and 7 p.m. I marked a bee 

 and transferred her to another hive. 



May 21. — Watched from 7.30 to 8.9 in the morning 

 without seeing her. At half-past six in the evening 

 went down again, directly saw and fed her. She was 

 then in her new hive ; but a few minutes after I ob- 

 served her on the lighting-stage of her old hive ; so I 

 again fed her, and when she left my hand she returned 

 to the new hive. 



May 22. — 8 o'clock. She was back in her old 

 hive. 



May 23. — About 12.30 she was again in the new 

 hive. 



Though bees which have stung and lost their sting 

 always perish, they do not die immediately ; and in the 

 meantime they show little sign of suffering from the 

 terrible injury. On August 25 a bee which had come 

 several times to my honey was startled, flew to one of 

 the windows, and had evidently lost her way. While 

 I was putting her back she stung me, and lost her 

 sting in doing so. I put her in through the postern, 

 and for twenty minutes she remained on the landing- 

 stage ; she then went into the hive, and after an hour 

 returned to the honey and fed quietly, notwithstanding 



