43i 



GAKDEN MANAGEME^'T. 



111 



queen aud tlie hive, to feed the 5'oung, and to kill the drones at the appointed 

 season. In a single hive there are sometimes as many as 30,000 of thesa 

 individuals. They are distinguished from the fully-developed female by 

 having a larger hip, the jaws not notched at the tip, and the sting straight. 



1296. The apparatus for collecting and carrying the pollen consists of a 

 hollow in the hind legs of the working bee, of which a magnified side-view is 



given in A, fig. IV., and the interior fig. B, the 

 inside of the last joint of which has a brush-like 

 ai^paratus for collecting and holding the pollen 

 as collected. 



1297. The arrangements of cells, as represented 

 in fig. III., are remarkable instances of skilful 

 workmanship and adaptation, being in the very 

 form which the mathematician would select for 

 holding the largest number of inclosures in a 

 given space. 



1298. The perfect female, of which there i& 

 but a single individual in the hive^ is termed 

 the queen, and is distinguished by her greater 

 size, more elongated form, brighter colour, 



/ff 'IK ^fBi^W shorter tongue, notched jaws, and curved sting. 

 /vlilii, jliliilfe ^^!^i Her duty principally consists in the laying of 



eggs ; and in her proceedings she is attended 

 by a body-guard of workers, who pay her the 

 greatest attention : hence she is the mother of 

 the hive. It is one of the most curious points 

 in the history of this insect, to notice the im- 

 mense influence which this solitary female has 

 upon the entire population of many thousand 

 bees. The absence of the queen deprives the workers of no organ, paralyzes 

 no limb, yet, in every instance where they are deprived of her, they neglect 

 their duties, and, unless provided with another queen, they refuse food, and 

 quickly perish. 



1299. The male bees, of which there are several hundreds, sometimes two 

 thousand, in a hive, are idle creatures, doing no work. Their only duty is to 

 impregnate the female ; and this effected, they are driven from the hive and 

 killed by the workers, who thereupon destroy the male larvae and pupae 

 remaining. They are called drones, a term which has been also apphed 

 to various species of flies which much resemble bees, but which may at once- 

 be distinguished by having only one pair of wings. 



I3C50, The true drones are more bulky, and they are not armed with. 

 a s^ing. Their antennsD are composed of thirteen joints (those of the 

 lemales and workers having only twelve articulations), the head is more 

 rounded, the eyes larger and meeting behind; their jaws are smaller 

 Rnd very hairy ; and the basal joint of the posterior tarsi has neither 



