THE HONEY BEE 363 



During the fourth day the larva hatches from the egg as a white, 

 footless, soft, grub-like form floating in "bee-milk," also called "royal 

 jelly." This "milk" is composed of digested honey and pollen with 

 probably some glandular secretions. The "milk" is formed in the true 

 stomachs of special "nurse" workers who place it in the cells. 



All larvae are fed this royal jelly for about three days by the nurse 

 workers, but then a change takes place. Those which are to become 

 workers are fed honey and digested pollen, while those which are to 

 become queens alone continue to get the richer royal jelly until they 

 change to the pupal stage. The drone larvae, after the fourth day, re- 

 ceive undigested pollen and honey. 



The young larvae grow rapidly and shed their exoskeleton several 

 times. In fact, during the last molt, even the lining of the alimentary 

 canal and all its contents is shed with the exoskeleton. 

 y> ; Some five or six days after hatching, the nurse worker places a 

 quantity of food in the cell with the larva and places a cap on the cell. 

 The larva spins a cocoon of silk about itself some two or three days later. 

 It is now in a resting stage and is called the pupa. 



The spinning-glands are in the mouth region, and later become the 

 salivary glands of the adult. 



Almost the entire structure is made over during this pupal stage 

 and the full-fledged bee emerges in its adult form and shape. 



BEHAVIOR 



As the queen emerges from the pupal stage the eggs have not yet 

 distended her abdomen, so she is about the same size as a worker. As 

 soon as she becomes accustomed to her surroundings she starts on a 

 hunt for other queen cells. She breaks through these and stings the 

 pupa within or tears the cell down and lets the workers remove such 

 destroyed structures with the other debris. There is thus only one queen 

 left. It is after this time that the nuptial-flight, already mentioned, takes 

 place. By the ninth or tenth day she is busy laying eggs. The number 

 of eggs laid, or at least the rapidity with which eggs are laid, is deter- 

 mined by the amount of food the workers bring home. More eggs are 

 laid when more food is obtained. 



The workers, when young, act as nurse maids for a week or two 

 before taking up the regular duties of gathering food. Some of these 

 also defend the hive against outside attacks, clean the hive, and even go 

 scouting to find suitable new quarters before swarming. 



The workers really work themselves to death, and probably live 

 only some five or six weeks. New ones are being hatched continually 

 to keep the normal number of bees in the hive. Those which hatch in 

 the fall may live five or six months. 



If a queen should die, any one of the workers may with proper 



