254 CONSIDERATIONS FROM STUDY OF INSECTS 



After a short existence in the hive the drones are usually driven out 

 by the workers. The fertilized eggs may develop into workers, but 



if the young larva is fed with 

 a certain kind of food, it will 

 develop into a young queen. 



The cells of the comb are 

 built by the workers out of 

 wax secreted from the under 

 surface of the bodies. The 

 wax is cut off in thin plates 

 by means of the wax shears 

 between the two last joints 

 of the hind legs. These cells 

 are used by the queen to 

 place her eggs in, one to 

 each cell, and the young are 

 hatched after three days, to 

 begin life as footless white 

 grubs. 



For a few days they are 

 fed on partly digested food 

 called bee jelly, regurgitated 



from the stomach of the workers. Later they receive pollen 

 and honey to eat. A little of this mixture, known as bee 



Hornets' nest, open to show the cells of the 

 comb. Photograph by Overton. 



Honeybees : a, drone ; 6, worker ; c, queen. Photograph by Davison. 



bread, is then put into the cell, the lid covered with wax by 

 the working bees, and the young larvse allowed to pupate. After 



