252 



ZOOLOGY 



as beebread, is then put into the cell, the lid covered with wax 

 by the working bees, and the young larvae allowed to pupate. 

 After about two weeks of quiescence in the pupal state, the adult 

 worker breaks out of the cell and takes her place in the hive, 

 first caring for the young as a nurse, later making excursions to 

 the open air after food as an adult worker. 



If new queens are to be produced, several of the cell walls are 

 broken down by the workers, making a large ovoid cell in which 

 one egg develops. The young bee in this cell is fed during its 

 whole larval life upon bee jelly and grows to a much larger size 

 than an ordinary worker. When a young queen appears, great 

 excitement pervades the community; the bees appear to take 

 sides; some remain with the young queen in the hive, while others 

 follow the old queen out into the world. Here they usually settle 

 around the queen, often hanging to the limb of a tree. This is 

 called swarming. This instinct is of vital importance to the bees, 

 as it provides them with a means of forming a new colony. For 

 while the bees are swarming, certain of the workers, acting as 

 scouts, determine on a site for their new home; and, if un- 

 disturbed, the bees soon go there and construct their new hive. 

 A swarm of domesticated bees, however, may be quickly hived 

 in new quarters. 



We have already seen (see pages 37 and 38) that the honeybee 

 gathers nectar which she swallows, keeping the fluid in her crop 

 until her return to the hive. Here it is regurgitated into cells 

 of the comb. It is now thinner than what we call honey. To 

 thicken it the bees swarm over the open cells, moving their 

 wings very rapidly, thus evaporating some of the water in the 

 honey. A hive of bees have been known to make over thirty-one 



pounds of honey in a single day, 

 although the average record is 

 very much less than this. 



Ants. — Other social Hymen- 

 optera are the ants. The social 

 habits of these insects have long 

 been a subject of study. An 

 artificial ants' nest can easily 



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Food 



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Diagram ot an artificial ants' nest; 

 S. moistened sponge. After Miss Fielde. 



