APIS MELLIFICA. 



they are half completed ; they adhere generally by one end to 

 the cell. In about five days the little maggot is hatched, and 

 is seen lying at the bottom of the cell, coiled up in a transpar- 

 ent fluid. 



Now begins the additional employment of the laborers, 

 that of feeding and nursing the young maggots ; and for this 

 purpose new materials must be collected abroad and brought 

 into the hive. 



At first the bees of a young colony fly out singly, and after- 

 wards collectively. They direct their flight generally in a 

 straight line or nearest way to the desired object, and often 

 travel to great distances from the hive. In summer time they 

 may be seen almost everywhere where flowers bloom. In 

 April and May they are abroad the whole day, but in the hot 

 months they venture out less frequently, generally in the 

 morning and evening, at which times it is more easy for them 

 to form the pellets of the pollen, the grains of which adhere 

 together less strongly during the heat of noonday. 



Bees do not like wet weather, yet it is perhaps less the 

 presence of rain than the changes in the degree of light 

 which deter them from venturing abroad at this time ; for 

 they possess large and complex organs of sight, and when 

 clouds collect quickly over the clear sky, they are seen to hur- 

 ry back in great numbers to the hive, while if the sky be uni- 

 formly overcast, it is not merely a shower of rain that will 

 drive them back ; many of the actions of the bee prove, on the 

 contrary, how essential moisture is for them. The bee does 

 not take honey indiscriminately from every flower. In the 

 meadows they may be seen generally upon the Orchidaceae, Po- 

 lygonacese, Caryophyllacese, but seldom if ever upon the Ra- 

 nunculaceae, perhaps on account of some poisonous quality. 

 The oleander (Nerium oleander), which yields poisonous honey 

 fatal to thousands of flies, is carefully avoided by bees, and 

 the crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialist the white nectaries 

 of which are so conspicuous, tempts in vain the passing bee. 

 They are, however, extraordinarily active in spring at the blos- 

 soming of the Amentaceae, Rosacese (especially the dog-rose), 

 and the balsamic lilies, Primulacese, &c., and are above all 

 allured by the innumerable flowers of the lime (especially 

 Tilia parvifolia), and their hum may be heard among the 

 branches at some distance. The finest-flavored and most 

 delicate honey is collected from aromatic plants, and it is 



10 



