1 6 THE HONEY-BEE. 



When ready to emerge from the cell, the young bee 

 nibbles round the lid of its abode, and bursting its 

 cocoon along the back, it crawls forth in its imago or 

 perfect condition. Forthwith the busy nurses clean 

 it from any remains of its silken covering ; brush 

 its legs and antennae; pull its wings and fuss about 

 it, as if to urge it to action and to arouse it to a 

 due sense of its newly acquired powers. Speedily 

 awakened to its responsibilities, the young bee as- 

 sumes, as its earliest duties, the tending of the brood- 

 cells, the feeding of the larvae, and the various offices 



FIG. 5. WORKER LARVA AND PUPA IN COMB. 



so recently performed for itself by its slightly older 

 sisters. Then, as strength increases, the wings are 

 tried in flight ; the locality of its home is reconnoitred, 

 and in two or three days after its emergence into its 

 complete condition it issues forth on journeys, nearer 

 or more remote, in search of stores for the perpetually 

 recurring wants of the succession of children continu- 

 ally being reared in the hive. 



Each complete community of bees consists of three 

 classes ; first, the queen, who is the parent of all the 

 offspring ; second, the drones, or males ; and third, 

 the workers, which are really undeveloped females. 



