Social Bees and Wasps 



youngster has grown in size to the extent of nearly filling 

 its cell and in intelligence to the point of being able to 

 feed itself. The nurse accordingly fills up the remainder 

 of the cell with " bee bread," which is merely nectar and 

 pollen, before capping that is to say, sealing up its 

 open end with wax. After a day or two, during which the 

 larva finishes its store of food, it changes into a chrysalis 

 or pupa within the cell, and there it remains for nearly a 

 fortnight before emerging as a fully developed worker. 



Now a curious thing happens. It is not surprising to 

 learn that the newly born bee remains within the hive 

 for nearly a fortnight before venturing afield on foraging 

 expeditions ; it is surprising, however, to learn that the 

 duties assigned to so inexperienced a creature are those 

 of nurse worker. So that aiding in bringing other bees 

 into the world and safely through their infancy is the first 

 duty of the newly arrived worker. 



As the queen lays her eggs continuously, the young bees 

 are as continuously making their appearance, and before 

 the lapse of many days a considerable family has arisen. 

 By this time careful study of the comb will reveal certain 

 cells which are larger than their neighbours ; in these cells 

 the queen lays unfertilised eggs. The ability of the queen 

 to lay fertilised or unfertilised eggs at will is one of the 

 most extraordinary phenomena in the bee world and has 

 been the cause of considerable argument by naturalists, 

 but that she can do so has been proved beyond a doubt. 

 From these unfertilised eggs arise larvae which are fed in 

 the manner we have just described, and they develop, 

 eventually, not into workers, but into drones. 



Up to this point, excluding always mishaps, everything 1 

 has gone smoothly for the queen and her enormous family. 

 But sooner or later a time comes when the home is no 

 longer large enough for its inmates, and it is a time fraught 

 with danger for the queen could she but know it. The 

 workers betray their anxiety by becoming vastly excited. 

 They tear down the walls of certain cells and build up a 



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