70 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



same way as a cow secretes milk. The wax forms 

 in little scales on the under side of their bodies, and 

 when they want to use it they pick it off with their 

 feet. After mixing it in their mouths, they use it 

 in building the beautiful combs with the six-sided 

 pockets in which they store honey. 

 Members of the Bee Family. We do not care to 



a 



Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 Fig. 45. The hovey tee; a, worJcer; h, queen; c, drone. 

 {Twice tJve natural size.] 



go very near bees when they are at work, so not 

 many of u^ know the difference between the queen, 

 the workers, and the drones (Fig. 45). The queen 

 is the largest and the most important bee in the 

 hive. If we examine the cell, or living room of the 

 queen bee, we shall find it nearly four times as large 

 as those of the other bees. It is about the size and 

 shape of a peanut and is usually placed on the edge 

 of the comb. 



