74 BEE PRODUCTS. 



honey gatherer when endeavoring to take its photograph while it was 

 at work upon some of its favorite food plants. 



The number of individuals in a good colony ranges from 20,000 to 

 80,000, according to the time of the year. The number can never ex- 

 ceed the laying powers of the queen for the season, and rarely, if ever, 

 equals that number. Workers mature in about twenty-one days, spent 

 in the following stages : Three days in the egg, five in the larvae state, 

 and thirteen as a pupa or chrysalis. 



The division of labor among the workers is discussed in another 

 portion of this work. A young bee is easily known by its pale color 

 and lack of strength. In a few days it grows larger, develops strength 

 and color, and is well covered with hair. The aged worker is known 

 by its tattered wings and bald body. The average life of a bee in the 

 working season is about five weeks. 



BEE PRODUCTS. 



The bee is capable of bringing to his hive four things : Bee-bread, 

 propolis or bee-glue, royal jelly, and honey. In addition to these, the 

 bee carries, to be used in case of defense, a gland filled with poison, 

 consisting chiefly of formic acid. The larva has facilities for spin- 

 ning silk. 



Bee-bread is the pollen gathered from flowers, brought in upon 

 the so-called pollen baskets of the hind legs, and placed, generally, in 

 worker cells, packed down, then covered with honey and the cells 

 sealed. This food is indispensable for the rearing of young brood. 

 Huber demonstrated that young bees could not be reared without this 

 pollen, though this without honey will not support mature bees. 



P/'Opolis, or bee-glue, is a resinous substance gathered from the 

 buds and limbs of trees. The bees use it to seal over cavities or un- 

 necessary openings in their hives. In the heat of summer this re- 

 mains soft and is used by the bee-moth as a receptacle for eggs. 

 Hives should therefore have as few cavities as possible, and a poor 

 quality of lumber, or boards partly split, should be avoided in the 

 choice of material for hives. 



Royal jelly is a milk-like substance secreted in a gland within 

 the head of the nurse bees. This is fed to all bees workers, drones 

 and queens alike. The workers and drones, however, are favored with 

 this highly nitrogenous food during the first days of their larval ex- 

 istence, only until their stomachs 'become ready to digest the bee- 

 bread. The embryo queens are more favored and this royal jelly is 

 lavished upon them during their development. According to Ches- 

 hire it is the food of queens during their whole lifetime. 



