344 A COURSE ON ZOOLOGY. 



of the swarm. The hatching of the eggs brings forth 

 larvae that have no limbs ; these are cared for by the 

 workers in the cells in which they are born : by appro- 

 priate care and nourishment of honey and pollen, either 

 queens, drones, or workers are produced, and the cells 

 are differently shaped, so that the intended sex of the 

 inmate cannot be mistaken. After a certain number of 

 days these larvae change into pupae, and the latter into 

 perfect bees. There cannot be at the same time two 

 queens in the same hive. So soon as a young queen 

 prepares to leave her cell at the close of her metamor- 

 phosis, the old queen attempts to kill her ; the workers 

 prevent this, and the old queen leaves the hive, taking 

 with her a part of the population, and forming a new 

 swarm. The new queen, who is left in the hive, soon 

 emigrates in the same manner, abandoning the hive to 

 a still younger one, and there may be in this manner 

 four swarms each season ; the departing swarm usually 

 alights on the branch of a tree not far from the old 

 hive, and the bees allow themselves to be transferred to 

 a new hive without resistance. 



The swarming usually occurs late in the spring, and 

 the honey is gathered at the beginning of summer, so 

 that the bees are able to renew their provisions before 

 winter ; besides, the workers being away nearly all day 

 on fine days, the honey and comb may be removed 

 without sacrificing the bees and without danger of being 

 stung. Sometimes before removing the honey the bees 

 are stupefied with smoke or with ether vapor; but 

 this is entirely unnecessary where modern frame hives 

 are used. 



During the winter, bees live on the provisions that they 

 have collected during the season of flowers. When too 



