The Life of the Bee 



ment we need only call attention to 

 the essential trait in the nature of the 

 bee which accounts for the extraordinary 

 agglomeration of the various workers. 

 The bee is above all, and even to a 

 greater extent than the ant, a creature 

 of the crowd. She can live only in the 

 midst of a multitude. When she leaves 

 the hive, which is so densely packed that 

 she has to force her way with blows of 

 her head through the living walls that 

 enclose her, she departs from her proper 

 element. She will dive for an instant 

 into flower-iilled space, as the swimmer 

 will dive into the sea that is filled with 

 pearls, but under pain of death it 

 behoves her at regular intervals to re- 

 turn and breathe the crowd as the swim- 

 mer must return and breathe the air. 

 Isolate her, and however abundant the 

 food or favourable the temperature, she 

 will expire in a few days not of hunger 



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