1 1 4 HVMENOPTERA. 



They are of smaller size than the drones ; from which they are moreover dis- 

 tinguishable by their spoon-shaped mandibles, and by the structure of their 

 hind legs, which are furnished with excavations upon their outer surface, sur- 

 rounded by hairs, called " baskets," in which they convey the pollen of flowers 

 collected in the garden. The males or drones, when at their full complement, 

 number from six to eight hundred in a hive of ordinary size : they are slightly . 

 larger than the working bees, are not furnished with a sting, and have a shorter 

 proboscis. The reason of their being so numerous would appear to be simply 

 to allow the queen-bee to select her own mate out of her numerous suitors, 

 for after she has made her selection, they are simultaneously butchered by the 

 working bees, and cast forth from the hive as useless encumbrances. The queen- 

 bee alone, amidst this numerous assemblage, is capable of laying eggs, a cir- 

 cumstance easily accounted for when we reflect upon her extraordinary fertility. 

 The working bees, according to Huber, are divided into two classes, the wax- 

 workers^ to whom is intrusted the charge of procuring food and furnishing the 

 materials for building the comb, and the nurses, which are of smaller size, 



FIG. 109. FESTOON OF WAX-MAKERS. FIG. no. PROBOSCIS OF HONEY-BEE. 



occupy themselves entirely with domestic duties, and to whom is intrusted the 

 nursing of the young brood. As the honey-bee is not capacitated by its instinct 

 to construct a nest protected by any general covering, as is the case with the 

 wasps and termites, it is obliged to select some cavity in which to build : this 

 is sometimes a hollow tree, but more generally the hive artificially prepared 

 for its reception. In this retreat the workers construct their combs, made up 

 of an immense assemblage of hexagonal cells, in which they educate their 

 young brood, and store away provisions for the use of the community. The 

 combs are always suspended perpendicularly and parallel to each other> leav- 

 ing sufficient space between them to afford passage to the insects. The cells 

 are thus placed horizontally. Skilful geometricians have demonstrated that 

 the shape of the individual cells is precisely that which is most economical 

 as relates to the expenditure of wax used in their construction, as well as that 

 calculated to insure the greatest possible space. The bees, however, are able 

 to modify their form according to circumstances. With the exception of such 

 as are destined for the reception of the royal brood, these cells are all nearly 



