CHAPTER XII 

 THE HONEYBEE AND BEES IN GENERAL 



i. THE HONEYBEE 

 (Apis melliftca Linn.) 



THE honeybee has been selected as a type of the Class In- 

 secta, of the Phylum Arthropoda, because of its wonderful 

 adaptations to its environment; its complex social life; its eco- 

 nomic value to man ; and the ease with which it may be obtained 

 for dissection, or studied alive in the laboratory. Honeybees 

 have been made the objects of investigation by naturalists for 

 over two thousand years, and the habits of no other insect are 

 better known. They live in colonies in which there are three 

 kinds of individuals workers, drones, and a queen. An average 

 colony contains in the summer about sixty thousand worker bees, 

 a few hundred drones, and a single queen. The greatest number 

 will be found in a hive during the honey-gathering season. In 

 the winter the number diminishes by several thousands. No 

 drones are members of the colony at this time. The appearance 

 and functions of the different kinds of individuals found in one 

 hive are as follows. 



The Queen. The queen (Fig. 128) is the most important 

 member of the hive, since normally upon her and her alone falls 

 the duty of reproduction. She lays all of the eggs, and is the 

 mother of every worker and drone in the colony. She lives for 

 three years or more, receiving during this time the support of her 

 many offspring. The queen may be distinguished from the 

 worker by the greater length of her abdomen and the absence of 

 a pollen basket on the tibia of her hind legs. 



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