A. AND M. COLLEGE APIARY. 



25 



tenth day after egg deposition is sealed over with a thin covering and left 

 to gradually molt and take on the form of the adult bee. Twenty-one 

 days after the egg was laid in the case of the young worker bees, and 

 twenty-three days in the case of the young drones, the bee has completed 

 its growth, gnaws open the covering of its cell, and crawls out, a per- 

 fectly developed bee, but nevertheless looking a bit rough, fuzzy and 

 clumsy. Soon it grooms out the small hairs covering its body, rapidly 

 gains command of its legs and goes to an unsealed cell of honey for its 

 first meal. After the first or second day out of the cell, the young worker 

 takes up the duties of "nurse" and prepares and gives food to the larvae. 

 Under average conditions, according to Mr. A. I. Eoot, this may be con- 

 tinued by the young bee up to any time from the sixth to the fourteenth 

 day, after which it engages in comb building, honey gathering and the 

 other duties of the hive, now being a fully developed bee in every way. 



Fig. 2. Ten frame dove-tailed hive. (From 

 A. I. Root, A B C of Bee Culture. ) 



Fig. 



Hoffman self-spacing frames. (After 

 A. I. Boot Co.) 



The younger bees do not do much in guarding the hive until they reach 

 at least middle age. The younger bees can be handled with impunity and 

 will not sting, and it is the old bees in the hive that make trouble for the 

 operator when the hive is opened or disturbed. 



In looking over the combs in a hive the majority of the cells will be 

 found of a uniform size and making up the bulk. These are the worker 

 cells. In spots, and sometimes occupying entire frames, will be noticed 

 cells that are markedly larger than the rest. These latter are the drone 

 cells, making up what is termed the "drone comb." It is in these cells 

 that the drones, being larger, are reared. No material difference is noted 

 in the larval history of the drone, from that of the worker, except that 

 twenty-three days instead of twenty-one are required for the attainment 

 of maturity. 



The life history of the queen will be discussed under the head of 

 "Swarming," to be mentioned later on. 



