BEE-KEEPING 249 



weeks in the honey season. The bees 

 hatched in autumn usually live through the 

 winter, and commence the work of the 

 colony in the ensuing spring. 



The queen takes fifteen days to hatch from 

 the time the egg is laid to the time when she 

 emerges from the cell as a perfect insect, the 

 workers twenty-one days, and the drones 

 twenty-four. 



Wax is not gathered by the bees, but is Wax 

 secreted by certain glands situated on the 

 under side of the abdomen, and from this 

 wax all the honeycomb necessary in the hive 

 is made. These combs consist of numerous 

 six-sided cells, the size of which varies 

 according to the kind of bee which is to 

 be hatched in them. 



The cells in which worker bees are The cells 

 hatched are the smaller, five worker cells 

 or four drone cells occupying an inch in 

 width. The cells are placed back to back, 

 with their openings sideways and slightly 

 tipped upwards. 



