62 ANIMAL BIOLOGY 



Besides gathering honey or pollen, bees bring in a sub- 

 stance called propolis or "bee glue" which they obtain from 

 the gums and resins of trees. This substance is used in stop- 

 ping up cracks, for holding the combs in place, and for 

 covering over offensive objects, such as dead slugs or 

 other creatures which are too large to drag out of the hive. 

 Bees are watchful nurses as well as good providers. The 

 cells in which the queen lays eggs are supplied from time 

 to time with honey and pollen as the young grubs require 

 more food. Often one worker feeds another and all are 

 ready and apparently eager to offer nutriment to the queen. 

 Among bees care for their own interests means hostility 

 to enemies, and the valiant worker is ready to sting any 

 enemy that threatens the welfare of the community even 

 though it involves the loss of her own life. 



In the formation of new communities or swarms of 

 bees the old queen followed by a swarm of workers is- 

 sues from the hive. The swarm often settles on the bough 

 of some tree from which the bees hang in a dense cluster. 

 If left to themselves the bees may finally take up their 

 abode in a hollow tree or some other protected situation, 

 but the thrifty bee keeper usually transports the swarm 

 to a new hive where they soon succeed in making them- 

 selves at home. 



There are numerous species of bees which differ greatly 

 in their mode of life. Many are solitary in their habits. 

 These show no division into fertile and worker castes. 

 The female in many species makes merely a shallow hole 

 in the ground; this she stores with honey and pollen 

 upon which she lays an egg; then she fills up the hole with 

 dirt and leaves it. The larva, after devouring the stored 

 up food, pupates and then emerges as a perfect insect. 

 Some bees remain in the nest and care for the young more 

 or less constantly, and thus form a family group. From 



