432 



THE NATURE BOOK 



when visiting this flower hovers near it 

 and then ahghts upon the upward curving 

 lower petals. Immediately it settles its 

 \\eight presses these petals down and 

 partially opens them ; the stigma and 

 pollen-laden anthers, which are at first 



rhotoo-ra/'h hy Pictotial Agency. 



BEE ON A GAILLARDIA. 



pressed down, now become suddenly 

 released, spring upwards, and strike the 

 Bee on the under side of the body. By 

 this action pollen for the fertihsation 

 of other flowers is sprinkled on the Bee, 

 while the stigma gathers pollen brought 

 by the Bee from flowers it has previously 

 visited. The Bee for this service receives 

 the nectar from the flower and the pollen 

 left over after fertihsation, which pollen 

 it rolls into httle balls and carries in the 

 concave part of one of its pairs of legs 

 to its storehouse. Some flowers deposit 

 the pollen on the upper side of the Bee's 

 body just behind the head, and on the 

 return of the insect to the hive it will 

 be removed by other Bees, while the 

 carrier Bee is storing its honey in the 

 cell. 



When the honey cell is full it re- 

 mains open until its contents have evapor- 

 ated to the requisite consistency, and 

 the Bees then " sting " the honey (which 

 accounts for its pungent taste) to prevent 

 fermentation, and seal it over with a 

 capping of wax. 



In addition to the pollen and honey 

 Bees also gather a dark greenish-l^lack 

 wax called j:)ropolis, from resinous trees 



and shrubs, which is used to stop up holes 

 in the hive, or to seal over objectionable 

 matter which is too large or heavy for 

 them to remove. Beeswax itself is a 

 product of their own bodies, and when 

 new is almost, or quite, white. 



Sometimes instead of gathering honey 

 a Bee will act as sentry, or serve amongst 

 the number which stand outside on the 

 alighting board with heads toward the 

 entrance, and work their wings as fans to 

 draw out the air and ventilate the hi\'e. 



The worker Bees described above are 

 all imperfect females ; the queen is the 

 only perfect female, and hence is the 

 mother Bee of the hive. The drones, 

 or males, of a community number about 

 four or five hundred, and the workers 

 twenty to sixty thousand. 



The drone's life is a short and a merry 

 one, but with a tragic ending. They 

 appear first in the spring, or early summer, 

 and live a life of selfish idleness, enjoying 

 the glorious sunshine, doing no work, 

 feeding when they wish on the stores 

 gathered by the workers, and being 

 treated \\dth respect and consideration 



rhotoi^raph by Pu tonal .-l^^iuiy, 



BEE ENTERING A CANTERBURY BELL 

 BLOSSOM. 



by their industrious sisters. But what 

 a fate is in store for them when summer 

 wanes and the honey supply fails I A 

 signal i^asses through the hive and the 

 workers turn upon them simultaneously, 



