12 THE HONEY-BEE. 



The egg. All the eggs of the community are laid 

 by the queen. The cells in which they are deposited 

 vary in size and in shape, according to whether 

 queens, drones, or workers are to be developed in 

 them. In length the eggs are about one-twelfth of 

 an inch ; in shape, oblong, but a little broader at the 



FIG. i. EGG'S AND LARVA OF BEES. 



upper than at the lower end, and slightly curved ; 

 in colour they are white, with a bluish tinge. Their 

 external coat is slightly glutinous when they are 

 first laid, and thus they adhere to the bottom of 

 the cell in which they are deposited. 



The larva. Under the genial influence of the 

 heat of the hive, ranging from 66 to 70 Fahr., the 

 formation of the larva from the egg-contents imme- 

 diately begins ; and, in the course of three days, a 

 tiny worm or grub has been developed, and makes 

 its way out of its delicate shell. It now lies curled 

 round, still at the base of its dwelling, and, fed by 

 the nurse-bees on a jelly-like mixture of pollen and 

 honey, it rapidly grows. Its food supply is made 

 strictly correspondent to its wants, and by the time 

 the larva is ready for its next change not a drop 

 of the jelly is unconsumed. The fleshy white grub 

 is in shape at first slightly, and afterwards strongly 



