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t.ue egg- is hatched until the cell is closed; t)ut then thoy 

 appear to think no more about the matter, and leave the 

 infant bee to its fate with the most philosophical indii- 

 lerence. This only relates to worker-bees, for the nurse- 

 bees have repeatedly been seen to assist the drones, and 

 their assiduity in attending- on the young queens is quite as 

 great at the time of their emerging as when they were first 

 hatched. Some days elapse before the young worker-bees 

 and drones can fly. As to the queen, special provision is 

 made, as we shall see presently. 



The internal changes of the bee during this period are no 

 less remarkable than the external changes, and are exceed- 

 ingly interesting to the dissector. The tube, enormously 

 large in the middle, and very small at each end, which at 

 first formed the entire digestive system, gradually contracts 

 in diameter; the part immediately behind the thorax be- 

 gins to swell at one side, and is gradually changed into the 

 honey -bag ; the intestine first makes a small bend out of 

 its straight course, then makes one twist, and then another, 

 until the whole beautiful machinery is completed. In the 

 Museum of Anatomy, at Oxford, is a complete series of 

 dissections to illustrate the changes of the digestive organs. 

 If any of my readers should wish to dissect bees for them- 

 selves, I would recommend them to begin with the humble- 

 bee, as its much greater size renders it easier to the un- 

 practised dissector, and its internal anatomy is almost pre- 

 cisely the same as that of the queen hive-bee. Queen-bees 

 are too scarce to waste; but female humble-bees may be 

 obtained any day. I do not know a more beautiful sight 

 than a series of well-executed dissections of the humble- 

 bee. By taking a nest they may be found in all stages, and 

 a few weeks spent in careful examination and dissection 

 (always taking care to sketch, if possible, any circumstance 

 that seems remarkable) will give more real knowledge on 

 the subject than reading a host of books. Few tools are 

 requisite. A pair of Beale's dissecting scissors, a pair of 

 fine forceps, a magnifjing-glass, and a few needles, are all 

 the requisites. The insect should be fastened to a plate of 

 cork loaded with lead, and sunk under water or spirit, from 

 which it must never be removed, or the delicate oi'gan-j, 

 deprived of their original attachments, and burdened with 



