CO BEES. 



labour. lie says, " I liave come to this conclusion from 

 rejieatecl observation, that in proportion to the number 

 leaving" at the early hour of five in the morning', nearly an 

 equal number came in to repose at eleven a. m. ; and those 

 that left at later Ijours in the morning-, ceased from their 

 field-labours at intervals of about six hours during- the day. 

 Those that had returned from labour could be easily dis- 

 ting'uished from the others that had not been out, as the 

 former occupied particular positions until those that were 

 asleep were awakened, and vacated their place to g'o on 

 duty, and then the others might be seen taking- up their 

 ])ositions, and in a short time afterwards were fast asleep." 

 It is interesting" to look in upon the hive when the bees 

 are asleep; to see the workers, each with its head and 

 thorax in a cell, giving*, in the dilatation of the abdomen, 

 the only sign of life ; to mark the queen reposing- from the 

 cares of office in the cell of a drone, while the workers form 

 a reverent circle all about her, g*ently touching- her body ; 

 or to specul-ate when the "hazy drone" means to break 

 from his apparently interminable nap, lasting- eig-hteen or 

 twenty hours at a time. 



Regular sentinels g"uard the entrance to the hive, day 

 and nig-ht; and these, says Mr. Grant, are relieved with 

 as g-reat reg-ularity as in military life. Very necessarv 

 precautions — for the bees, like all other wealthy communi- 

 ties, are particularly li-able to be preyed upon by hosts of 

 enemies. There are the terrible corsair-bees, for instance, 

 who, from ill-management and insufficient feeding-, cease at 

 last to depend upon their own industry, and live solely by 

 ])lundering" the fruits of the industry of others. And, as 

 ipight be suspected, when bees do turn to ))ad courses, they 

 do it very elfectively. They send out their spies to explore 

 the country around, and to find out which are the weakest 

 hives. The poor humble-bee is infamously used by these 

 corsairs. They give him no peace at home or abroad. They 

 strip his hive in his absence, and if they meet him in the 

 fields, they cry, in but too intelligible language, " Stand and 

 deliver ! " and are obe^^ed. The humble-bee gives all up, 

 and then, when tliey let him go, departs, sadly enough no 

 doubt, but patiently, to collect more honey, and hope for 

 better iuck in carrying" it home. Then, again, there is the 



