The Life of the Individual 101 



cells of the comb, the bee larva needs no protective covering 

 and, being fed by the worker bees, 1 it does not need organs 

 which will enable it to soek or even to detect food or to masti- 

 cate solid food. It is ideally adapted to the protected condi- 

 tion in which it is placed in the colony scheme and quickly 

 perishes if removed and exposed to adverse conditions. 



Metamorphosis. 



After the excessive growth, the larva is sealed in the cell 

 with a capping of wax (Fig. 39) and it then spins a delicate 

 silken cocoon with the secretion of the silk glands (SlkGl) 

 within the cell. Soon after this, all external motion ceases 

 and the animal begins to undergo that wonderful series of 

 changes known as metamorphosis. During the larval 

 growth the mid-intestine and hind-intestine are not con- 

 nected (Fig. 52) but this connection is made after sealing 

 and the feces of the larva are then cast out. 



The organs which served the larva are of course not suit- 

 able for the adult insect and the changes necessary to obtain 

 suitable adult organs take place in the pupal stage. Anglas 

 has described many of these changes but the metamorphosis 

 of insects is so complex and so much disputed by various 

 workers that it is to be hoped that the changes in the bee 

 may be again investigated. The simple alimentary canal 

 of the larva is discarded and a new one is formed in its place. 

 The segmentally arranged muscles of the larva either dis- 

 appear or are changed into those of the adult. The nervous 

 system apparently loses some of the segmental ganglia by 

 the fusion of various ganglion pairs. The antennae, eyes, 

 legs and wings develop from rudiments which have remained 

 undeveloped in the larva. Not only do the internal organs 

 change and new structures appear but the animal changes 



1 The larva of the honeybee is fed frequently during the period of rapid 

 growth. In bumblebees (Bombus) and stingless bees (Melipona and 

 Trigona), a cell is filled with a mixture of pollen and nectar, after which 

 the queen lays an egg on the mass. The cell is then sealed and the larva 

 J s not fed further during the developmental stages. 



