FOES AND FRIENDS OF THE PLANT 201 



fanning with their wings. And then there are the 

 nurses who feed the babies and take care of them. The 

 queen goes about laying eggs, attended always by a 

 guard of honor who go with her, keeping their heads 

 always toward her as she moves about. Then there 

 are the battles between thejold. and new queens, which 

 go on amid the wildest excitement, with all the bees 

 crowding around to see. And the greatest event of all 

 is when a swarm leaves the hive, and the bees are all 

 excited to such a pitch that they seem beside them- 

 selves. (See page 406; read also what is said about 

 bees in Kellogg-s " Insect Stories. ") 



In order to see some of these things we may make bee- v/L 

 hives or ant nests with walls of glass, through which we may / 

 watch them at work. The glass must be covered to keept/$ 

 out the light. A small beehive of this sort can be made by 

 anyone, using a box about eighteen inches square and four 

 inches deep, and replacing the top and sides by panes of glass. 

 It should stand upright. This may be covered with card- 

 board or cloth to keep out the light. The hive may be kept 

 indoors, but a small opening must be left to the outside 

 (under a window, for example) for the bees to go in and out. 

 Such a hive succeeds even in a city. (See Hodge's " Nature 

 Study and Life," Chapter 14.) Read what is said about bees 

 on pages 406 to 410. 



For ants the best plan is to take two pieces of glass two 

 inches square (or larger), and fasten them together by rubber 

 bands and put pieces of cardboard between them at the 

 edges, so as to hold them a little apart. If they are too far 

 apart, the ants will not like it, but there must be space 



