66 THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES. 



farina, the observer will perceive the little 

 forager, on her arrival in the interior, hurrying ove* 

 the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell in 

 which to deposit her burden ; and having found one 

 fastening herself by the two fore-feet on its superior 

 border, then bending her body a little forward, that 

 her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edge 

 of the cell. In this position she is next seen thrust- 

 ing back her second pair of feet, one on each side, 

 and sweeping with them from top to bottom along 

 the two hinder legs, where the farina balls are fixed, 

 and by this means detaching them from the hairy 

 linings of the cavities, and depositing them in the 

 cell. To the workers, also, are committed the va- 

 rious offices of guarding the entrance of the hive by 

 night and day, during the honey season ; of repulsing 

 marauders of keeping their abode free from all 

 oifensive matters of renewing the air within by an 

 ingenious mode of ventilation of replacing a lost 

 Queen, and of destroying the drones at the decline 

 of the honey season. Receiving from nature these 

 weighty charges, they labour assiduously to fulfil 

 them ; and, while each member of the community 

 acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works 

 less for private than for the general good. These 

 labours appear unceasing ; yet do the weary labour- 

 ers sometimes snatch an interval of repose. During 

 the busy season, we have seen hundreds of the 

 workers retiring into the cells, and exhibiting all the 

 marks of profound sleep. This fact is very easily 

 observable, especially in those .cells which are con- 



