IN A STRANGE HIVE. 283 



white one, came out directly. Till 6.50 this bee 

 kept on going in and out every minute or two ; 

 hardly any bees were flying, only a few stand- 

 ing at the doors of most of the hives. At 

 7.20 she was still at the hive door. 

 May 20. Between 6 and 7 P.M. I marked a bee 

 and transferred her to another hive. 



May 21. Watched from 7.30 to 8.9 in the morning 

 without seeing her. At half-past six in the evening 

 went down again, directly saw and fed her. She was 

 then in her new hive ; but a few minutes after I ob- 

 served her on the lighting-stage of her old hive ; so I 

 again fed her, and when she left my hand she returned 

 to the new hive. 



May 22. 8 o'clock. She was back in her old 

 hive. 



May 23. About 12.30 she was again in the new 

 hive. 



Though bees which have stung and lost their sting 

 always perish, they do not die immediately ; and in the 

 meantime they show little sign of suffering from the 

 terrible injury. On August 25 a bee which had come 

 several times to my honey was startled, flew to one of 

 the windows, and had evidently lost her way. While 

 I was putting her back she stung me, and lost her 

 sting in doing so. I put her in through the postern, 

 and for twenty minutes she remained on the landing- 

 stage ; she then went into the hive, and after an hour 

 returned to the honey and fed quietly, notwithstanding 



