Insecta. 47 



season is over they are driven out or killed by the workers. 

 The workers are the smallest of the three kinds, and are 

 provided with "pollen baskets" and stings. The queen is 

 larger than the workers, and has a long, pointed abdomen. 

 She has a sting, but never uses it except against a rival 

 queen. The average life of a worker is about five weeks. 

 Workers may live eight months, while a queen has been 

 known to live five years. 



The Work of the Hive. As indicated in the name, the 

 management of the hive falls chiefly on the workers. In the 

 first place, the workers make honey. They gather nectar 

 from flowers ; this is taken into the honey stomach, but 

 not mainly for the sustenance of the worker. It is trans- 

 ferred to the cells, loses some water by evaporation, and 

 becomes honey. The workers make the wax from which 

 the comb is made. The wax is a secretion from the glands 

 on the under surface of the abdomen. When wax is needed 

 a large number of workers gorge themselves with honey 

 and hang like a curtain, clinging to each other, remaining 

 quiet. As the wax exudes from the glands, other workers 

 gather it and construct the comb. The economy of mate- 

 rial is well known, but the cells are not always mathemati- 

 cally exact, as is commonly supposed. 



The workers also collect a gummy substance from buds, 

 which forms propolis, or "bee glue," with which they 

 cement crevices and make similar repairs. Pollen is also 

 gathered in a " basket " on each hind tibia. Of this pollen 

 "bee bread " is made for feeding the young. 



Development. For the rearing of the young special 

 cells are made which constitute the "brood comb." This 

 brood comb may be afterward used for storing honey. The 

 queen deposits an egg at the bottom of each cell, and after 

 they hatch, the larvae are fed by the workers till ready to 



