INTRODUCTION 



although a large one. There is the mother, whom 

 we call the queen ; and who lays the eggs. Her 

 daughters, the workers, do not become independent 

 as soon as they are old enough to be useful, but, as 

 has been remarked, devote their energies to sup- 

 porting the family and rearing their younger brothers 

 and sisters. One of the peculiarities of the bee family 

 is that all the work is done by the female members. 

 The father has died long before his children are 

 born. The sons are idle, contributing nothing to 

 the stores of the colony ; in the honey-bees' family 

 they are maintained entirely at the expense of the 

 colony, and, when food grows scarce, they are 

 turned out to die, but the humble-bee drones 

 maintain themselves, quietly taking their departure 

 from the nest as soon as they are able to fly. 



By far the most interesting individual in the 

 humble-bee family is the queen, because of the very- 

 eventful life she leads. At first her duties include 

 those of the workers, her brood depending upon her 

 for everything food, warmth, and protection from 

 enemies. She nurses it with as much motherly 

 devotion, industry, and patience as we see displayed 

 by many birds and mammals in the care of their 

 young : she thus shows much greater capacity and 

 higher intelligence than the queen honey-bee, who, 

 fed and attended by workers throughout her life, is 

 not only incapable of providing for herself, but pays 

 no attention whatever to her offspring, and is merely 

 a machine for laying eggs in enormous numbers. 



The humble-bee and the honey-bee are the only 



