BEES. 69 



swelled in proportion to the quantity of honey 

 it contains. When empty, it has the ap- 

 pearance of a fine white thread ; but, when 

 filled v/ith honey, it assumes the figure of an 

 oblong bladder, the membrane of which is so 

 thin and transparent, that it allows the co- 

 lour of the liquid it contains to be distinctly 

 seen. This bladder is well knoAvn to chil- 

 dren who live in the country; they cruelly 

 amuse themselves with catching Bees, and 

 tearing them asunder in order to suck the 

 honey. The Bees are obliged to fly firom one 

 flower to another till they fill their first sto- 

 machs. When they have accompHshed this, 

 they return directly to the hive, and disgorge 

 in a cell the whole honey they have collected. 

 It not unfirequently happens, however, that 

 on its way to the hive the Bee is accosted by 

 a hungry companion. How the one manages 

 to communicate its wants to the other, it is 

 perhaps impossible to discover. But the fact 

 is certain, that when two Bees meet in this 

 situation, they mutually stop, and the one 

 whose stomach is full of honey, extends its 

 trunk, opens its mouth, and, like a ruminat- 

 ing animal, forces up the honey into that 



