CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE HONEY BEE 



The Honey Bee (Fig. 230) has been studied and written about for 

 centuries as one of the most interesting" of insects. It lives a decidedly 

 complex social life and has lent many examples to prophets and teachers 

 of all times. 



The bee is intensely specialized in almost all parts of its body, and 

 as such is of great value to any comparative study of the arthropods. 





Fig. 230. 



Hive bees and comb (after Schmeil). A, Worker; K, queen; 

 D, drone ; 1, worker with cells filled with honey and covered ; 

 2, cells containing eggs, larvae, and pupa?; 3, cells containing 

 pollen ; 4, below 4 are regular cells ; 5 drone cells ; 6-10, queen 

 cells. 



Foremost in rank in the hive is the Queen. She is the mother of 

 every member of the hive, for she alone, of all the inhabitants, lays 

 eggs. 



With her, in the summer time, there are some sixty thousand work- 

 ers and several hundred drones. The latter are killed during the winter. 



The abdomen of the queen is longer than that of a worker and there 

 is no pollen basket on the tibia of her hind leg's. 



The drone is the male. He lives upon the food gathered by the 

 females. His body is heavy and broad and no pollen baskets are found 

 on the hind legs. His eyes are larger than those of either queen or 

 worker. 



The worker is an undeveloped female, which can, however, by proper 



