58 



of $ 



venom-bag, and a sting. The honey-bag, 

 which is as transparent as crystal, contains 

 the honey which the Bee has brushed from 

 the flowers, the greatest part of which is 

 carried to the Ixive, and poured into the cells 

 of the honeycomb, while the remainder serves 

 for the Bee's own nourishment. Wax is a 

 peculiar secretion in little cells beneath the 

 scales of the abdomen. It is from honey 

 that the wax, by some internal process, is 

 elaborated. The wax oozes out between the 

 abdominal rings, in the form of little la- 

 mina; ; it is then worked with the mouth, 

 and kneaded with saliva that it may acquire 

 the requisite degree of ductility for the con- 

 struction of the comb, which is* finished with 

 a substance called propolis, a glutinous or 

 gummy resinous matter procured from the 

 buds of certain trees. 



The sting is composed of three parts ; 

 namely, the sheath, and two extremely small 

 and penetrating darts, each of which is fur- 

 nished with several points, or barbs, which, 

 rankling in the wound, render the sting 

 more painful. This instrument, however, 

 would prove but a feeble weapon, if the Bee 

 did not poison the wound. The sharp- 

 pointed sheath first enters, and this being 

 followed by the barbed darts, the venomous 

 fluid is speedily iniected. Sometimes the 

 sting sticks fast in the flesh, and is left be- 

 hind ; but the death of the Bee invariably 

 follows. 



Having examined the Bee singly, we now 

 proceed to an inquiry into its habits as a 

 member of a social community. Viewed in 

 I this light, we behold an animal active, vi- 

 | gilant, laborious, and disinterested ; subject 

 to regulations, and perfectly submissive. All 

 its provisions are laid up for the community ; 

 and all its arts are employed in building a 

 cell, designed for the benefit of posterity. 

 Many interesting accounts of the history 

 and economy of the Bee have been published. 

 We know of none, however, so concise and 

 at the same time so explicit, as that which 

 is given by Mr. Newman, in his " Familiar 

 Introduction to the Study of Insects ; " and 

 to that source we are indebted for the fol- 

 lowing observations, marked with inverted 

 commas : 



" A bee-hive contains three kinda of in- 

 dividuals, a queen, drones, and workers ; 

 the queen is a female, and not only the 

 ruler, but, in great part, the mother of the 

 community ; the drones are males, and the 

 workers are abortive females. The sole 

 office of the queen appears to be the laying 

 of eggs, and this occupies her almost inces- 

 santly, as a single one only is deposited in 

 each cell, thus causing her to be in continual 

 motion ; she is slow and majestic in her 

 movements, and differs from the workers in 

 being larger, having a longer body, shorter 

 wings, and a curved sting. The queen is 

 accompanied by a guard of twelve workers, 

 an office which is taken in turn, but never 

 intermitted; in whatever direction she wishes 

 to travel, these guards clear the way before 

 her, always with the utmost courtesy turning 

 their faces towards her, and when she rests 

 from her labours, approaching her with hu- 

 mility, licking her face, mouth, and eyes, 



and appearing to fondle her with their an- 

 tenna. 



" The drones are all males ; they are less 

 than the queen, but larger th;m the workers ; 

 they live on the honey of flowers, but bring 

 none home, and are wholly useless, except 

 as being the fathers of the future progeny : 

 when this office is accomplished, they are 

 destroyed by the workers. A buzzing com- 

 mences in the hive, the drones and the 

 workers sally forth together, grapple each 

 other in the air, hug and scuffle for a minute, 

 during which operation the stings of the 

 workers are plunged into the sides of the 

 drones, who, overpowered by the poison, 

 almost instantly die. 



" The workers are the smallest bees in the 

 hive, and by far the most numerous ; they 

 have a longer lip for sucking honey than 

 either of the others ; their thighs are fur- 

 nished with a brush for the reception of the 

 pollen of flowers, and their sting is straight. 

 The workers do the entire work of the com- 

 munity ; they build the cells, guard the hive 

 and the queen, collect and store the honey, 

 elaborate the wax, feed the young, kill the 

 drones, &c. The average number of these 

 three kinds of bees in a hive is one queen, 

 2000 drones, and 20,000 workers. The eggs 

 are long, slightly curved, and of a bluish 

 colour ; when laid they are covered with a 

 glutinous matter, which instantly dries, at- 

 taching them to the bottom of the cell. 



" For eleven months the queen lays only 

 workers' eggs ; afterwards, those which pro- 

 duce drones: as soon as this change has taken 

 place, the workers begin to construct royal 

 cells, in which, without discontinuing to 

 lay the drones' eggs, the queen deposits here 

 and there, about once in three days, an egg 

 which is destined to produce a queen. The 

 workers' eggs hatch in a few days, and pro- 

 duce little white maggots, which'immediate- 

 ly open their mouths to be fed ; these the 

 workers attend to with untiring assiduity : 

 in six days each maggot fills up its cell ; it 

 is then roofed in by the workers, spins a 

 silken cocoon, and becomes a chrysalis : and 

 on the twenty-first day it comes forth a 

 perfect bee. The drones emerge on the 

 twenty-fifth day, and the queens on the 

 sixteenth." 



When the queen-bee has an inclination to 

 deposit her eggs, she goes forth, accompanied 

 by six or eight working bees as a guard, 

 whose stomachs are filled with honey. She 

 is very deliberate in her motions, and seems 

 to proceed with great caution. She first 

 looks into a cell, and if she finds it perfectly 

 empty, she draws up her long body, inserts 

 her tail into the cell, and deposits an egg. 

 In this way she slowly proceeds till she has 

 dropped ten or twelve eggs, when perhaps 

 feeling exhausted, she is fed by one of the 

 attendant bees, who have surrounded her 

 the whole time. This is done by the bee 

 ejecting the honey from its stomach into the 

 mouth of the queen. When this has been 

 done, the bee goes away, and another takes 

 its place. The operation of laying her eggs 

 again goes on, and is succeeded' bv the saVrie 

 mode of feeding, the attendant bees fre- 

 quently touching the antennas of the queen 



