176 



ZOOLOGY. 



ing bee and the queen, bee, shows other instincts not less re- 

 markable. 



The domestic bees, originally from Greece, but since spread 

 all over the world, live in colonies composed of ten to thirty 

 thousand neutral or working bees, of from six to eight hun- 



Fig. 130. Vertical Section of the gasp's Nest. 



dred males called drones, and of a, single female, which seems 

 to reign as queen. They establish their dwellings in the 

 trunk of some ancient tree, or in the hive which man prepares 

 for them ; and to the working bees belong the labours to 

 which the society owes its existence. Of these, some are the 

 wax-gatherers, which go abroad to collect the food and the 

 materials for the construction of the comb ; to others, called 

 nurses, is assigned the task of watching over the young. 



