ANTS, BEES AND WASPS 173 



partially digested by the worker bees, and afterwards with rations 

 of pollen and honey. When fully fed the larva spins a silky cocoon 

 in which it changes to a pupa, and its cell is sealed up by the 

 workers with a cap of wax mixed with pollen ; then, when it has 

 completed its metamorphosis, the perfect bee bites its way through 

 the cap of its cell, and in a short time is ready to take its place 

 among the workers of the hive. The whole process from the lay- 

 ing of the egg to the emergence of the perfect insect from its cocoon 

 takes about three weeks. 



Towards the middle of April, if all is going well with the colony, 

 a certain number of larger brood cells are prepared, and in these 

 the queen deposits eggs which in due time will produce drones, 

 or male bees. Not only can the queen regulate the number of 

 eggs she lays, but the kind of egg laid is also under her control. 

 In this matter, however, the queen is not allowed to use her own 

 judgment ; all her proceedings are directed by the workers. They 

 lead her to the cells prepared for drones or workers, as the case 

 may be, and she obediently deposits the right kind of egg in each. 



As the drones begin to make their appearance in the hive 

 the workers may decide to build a few royal cells. These are much 

 larger than the ordinary cells, and in shape and size somewhat 

 resemble an acorn-cup. Five or six cells are usually made and 

 hung mouth downwards, either in the middle or at the side of 

 the central brood combs. It is not certain whether the queen 

 deposits the eggs in the royal cells herself, or whether they are 

 transferred there from the common cells by the attendant workers ; 

 but the latter is most probably the case, as the mere sight of a 

 royal cell is enough to rouse the queen to fury. The egg placed 

 in a royal cell is actually the same as those from which workers 

 are produced, but the resulting larva receives different and more 

 generous treatment. Throughout the whole of its larval stage it is 

 plied with the rich bee-milk which is only given to the common 

 larva when it is first hatched. If by some mischance a hive is de- 

 prived of its queen, and no royal larvae are available, the workers 

 are able to rear a common grub as a queen, provided it is less than 

 three days old, and thus young enough to respond to the change of 

 treatment. When fully fed the royal larva is closed up in its cell 

 by the workers, but instead of spinning a complete cocoon as the 

 worker and the male larvae do, it only encloses the head and upper 



