74 THE HONEY-BEE. 



for the deposit of this substance, nor is it ascertained 

 that what is procured from any particular kind of 

 plant is placed apart ; but a mixture of various 

 pollens appears to be made, though during the pre- 

 valence of any special flower yielding the material, 

 certain colours predominate, as might be expected, in 

 the stores of bee-bread. 



The quantities collected by a prosperous colony 

 must be very great. Some writers put the amount 

 at twenty pounds in the course of a season. The 

 carrying in of this produce is usually a sure sign that 

 there is brood in the hive. The absence of a supply 

 going in generally raises the suspicion that no young 

 are developing, owing to the loss of the queen. The 

 amount seen to be carried in is, therefore, a rough 

 indication of the prosperity of the community. 



In early seasons its collection begins as soon as 

 February. During April and May, i.e. in the height 

 of the blossoming time, the largest quantities are 

 stored ; and this period corresponds with the most 

 rapid and extensive increase of the population of 

 the hive. 



The nurse-bees take some portion of the pollen 

 immediately it is brought in, and, working it up with 

 honey and saliva, prepare the food for the larvae. In 

 some cases, they partially digest it before giving it to 

 the young brood. It is believed that the queen, 

 when laying her thousands of eggs, needs copious 

 supplies of nitrogenous nutriment, and that her 

 attendants diligently feed her with honey mixed with 

 bee-bread, which has been partly prepared in their 

 stomachs for quick assimilation in the body of their 

 monarch. 



