1140 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



fashion the comb. Large glands in the head and thorax enable 

 them to change the nectar to honey as they bear it from flower 

 to hive. A large sucking stomach, anterior to the true stomach, 

 is the engine which draws in the nectar, and the reservoir in 

 which it is stored in transit from blossom to honey cells. The 

 large, deep pollen baskets permit the storing of pollen or glue, 

 that it may be borne from flowers or buds to the hive. The 

 sting enables them to defend their home and stores, even though 

 done at the sacrifice of their own lives. 



The worker has come from impregnated eggs, and are de- 

 veloped in the smaller horizontal cells. (Fig. 10, c.) They are 

 sparingly fed, and are twenty-one days from egg to winged bee. 

 The function of the workers is to do all the work of the hive. 

 The older bees, those over two weeks of age in a large normal 

 colony, gather the nectar, collect the pollen and bee glue, and 

 defend the hive. The young bees make the comb, nurse the 

 brood, cap the cells in fact, are the housekeepers. In case 

 there are few young bees, the old bees may secrete wax and 

 work indoors, while if old bees are scarce, } r oung bees will 

 commence to gather before they are two weeks old. The 

 worker bees may live several months, as they do in winter. In 

 the busiest part of the year they live only about forty-five days. 



Races of Bees. There are several well marked races of 

 the Apis Mellifica, or Honey Bee. 



BLACK OR GERMAN BEE. These are black in color, modified 

 slightly by more or less gray hairs ; are rather ill-tempered, 

 have a shorter tongue than other races, are not so prolific as the 

 yellow-banded bees, and so are generally being replaced by 

 other bees. They are, however, quicker to enter sections than 

 the yellow bees, and by adding thicker cappings make a little 

 nicer honey. There are several varieties of this race, as the 

 Carniolan, Heath, etc. 



ITALIAN BEES. These have three yellow rings just back of 

 the thorax. The first is narrow, the second wide, the third inter- 

 mediate. If pure, every bee will possess these three bands. 

 The queen will be solid yellow on the back to near the tip of 

 the abdomen ; while the drones will have large patches of yel- 



