INSECTS 



251 



is, on the contrary, a captive most of her life. Most of the eggs 

 are fertilized by the sperm cells of the males; the unfertilized 

 eggs develop into males or 

 drones. After a short exist- 

 ence in the hive the drones 

 are usually driven out by the 

 workers. The fertilized eggs 

 may develop into workers, or, 

 if the young larva is fed with 

 a certain kind of food, it will 

 develop into a young queen. 



The cells of the comb are 

 built by the workers out of 

 wax secreted from the ven- 

 tral surface of the bodies. 

 The wax is cut off in thin 

 plates by means of the wax 

 shears between the two last 

 joints of the hind legs. These 

 cells are used by the queen to 

 place her eggs in, one to each cell, and the young are hatched 

 after three days to begin life as footless white grubs. 



Hornets' nest, opened to show the cells of the 

 comb. From photograph by Overton. 



Honeybees; a, drone; h, worker; c, queen. From photograph by Davison. 



For a few days they are fed on partly digested food called bee 

 jelly, regurgitated from the stomach of the workers. Later they 

 receive pollen and honey to eat. A little of this mixture, known 



