HYMENOPTERA 



53 



FIG. 33. An egg, four larvae, aad 

 two pupae of the honey bee in 

 their cells. Natural size. 



in winter. This is not found in flowers, as is generally 

 supposed, but is manufactured 

 by the bees from nectar 

 produced by glands in the 

 flower. The nectar passes into 

 the honey stomach where cer- 

 tain secretions act on it before 

 it is regurgitated into the cells 

 of the comb. 



The amount of work accomplished by a hive of bees 

 is wonderful. A single swarm 

 has been known to collect 

 thirty-two pounds of material 

 in a day and some swarms of 

 the Cyprian breed have pro- 

 duced one thousand pounds of 

 honey each in a season. The 

 usual yield for a colony is less 

 than a hundred pounds annually. 

 Some of the cells are used for 

 breeding purposes. The queen 

 seems able at will to lay eggs 

 that will produce either drones 

 or females. The eggs destined 

 to become queens are laid in 

 larger cells, and the larvse, foot- 

 less white grubs, are furnished a 

 specially nutritious diet. 



Honey bees are valuable not 

 only for the honey and wax pro- 

 duced, but also as a means of cross-fertilizing flowers. 



FIG. 34. Alimentary canal of a 

 honey Dee. st, honey stomach ; 

 s, true stomach ; nt, intes- 

 tine ; o, esophagus ; sg, salivary 

 glands ; fc, kidneys. Enlarged 

 six diameters. 



