INSECTA, CONTINUED 213 



the larger and the posterior wing may be attached to it, in flight, 

 by tiny hooks. Honey bees often wear out their wings by constant 

 use. 



The three pairs of legs are each provided with special adapta- 

 tions. On the anterior pair is found a notch and comb through 

 which the antennae are drawn to clean them of pollen. The middle 

 pair have a spine or spur which is used in transferring pollen back 

 to the hind legs, which are most highly specialized of all. This 

 pair has one segment bordered with strong hairs to form a basket 

 for carrying pollen. The next segment has a series of combs for 

 handling it, and between the two segments is a movable notch 

 which is used as a shear for cutting and shaping the wax. 



Abdomen. The abdomen consists of six segments, with ovipositor 

 or sting at the posterior end. Between each segment are glands 

 which secrete wax for comb making. 



Life History. The life history of the honey bee is the best 

 example of communal life and mutual help. Each member of the 

 colony works for the good of all, and this unselfish habit has 

 resulted in great success as a whole, as well as remarkable develop- 

 ment for each individual. There are three forms of bees in any 

 colony, the queen, drones, and workers. 



The Queen. The queen is almost twice as large as the worker, 

 with a long pointed abdomen, but with no pollen basket nor comb, 

 her particular function being the production of eggs to continue 

 the colony. She may produce as many as three thousand per day, 

 which is twice her own weight. The queen develops from an 

 ordinary egg, but the workers enlarge the wax cell in which it is 

 to grow and feed the grublike larva with extra portions of nourish- 

 ing food. This causes the development of a queen, or fertile 

 female, instead of a worker, which is a female without the ability 

 to lay eggs. After being thus fed for five days, the larva weaves 

 a silken cocoon, changes to a pupa, and is sealed into her large 

 waxen chamber by the workers. When the mature queen emerges 

 from her cell, she seeks out other queen larvae in the colony and 

 kills them, or if she finds another adult queen, they fight till one 

 is killed. She never uses her sting except against another queen. 



