THE HOME OF THE BEES 



found in rye flour, and when a box containing 

 a quantity of it is placed in the bee yard, it is 

 astonishing to see how readily they will accept 

 it and carry it away to their hives. 



The hardest work a bee has to perform is 

 that of pollen-gathering, and only the strongest 

 bees in the colony engage in this work, while 

 others are constantly gathering propolis, 

 water, and honey. The young or nurse bees 

 have all they can do to feed the larvae, and 

 to maintain a proper temperature of about 

 ninety-eight degrees in the hive, without which 

 the eggs will not hatch. About ten thousand 

 bees are required in the hive to keep the in- 

 cubator at work, for the hive is literally an 

 incubator. The honey-gathering force of the 

 hive is composed of all bees above this number, 

 so the advantage of having large colonies at the 

 time of the honey flow is manifest. 



Thus we have seen that the things present in 

 the home of the bees are combs, honey, propo- 

 lis, pollen, with a little silk used for lining the 

 cells for the larvae, besides the bees and larvae. 



