48 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



an}i;hing with them without the use of smoke. 

 To appreciate the value of smoke in bee con- 

 trol it must be remembered that the beehive 

 contains a highly organized community. A^^lile 

 apparently there is no overlord who directs the 

 work, each individual bee fills a place in per- 

 forming the duties of the hive. As mentioned 

 in the previous chapter, some are nurses, some 

 are foragers, some are guards, etc. Probably 

 every bee that hves out her normal life cycle 

 performs all of these duties at some period of 

 her existence. The only division of labor 

 seems to be one of age. The young bees feed 

 the young, secrete wax, etc., while the older 

 ones go to the fields for nectar, pollen, etc. 

 Aside from this general division of labor be- 

 tween young and older workers, the bees seem 

 to take hold wherever inclination leads, or 

 where the need is most pressing. Since the 

 prime object of the labor of the community is 

 the accumulation of a store of honey, guards 



