THE HONEYBEE AND BEES IN GENERAL 



253 



The length of time of each state is shown in Table XI (191, 

 p. 28). 



TABLE XI 



THE TIME OCCUPIED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUEEN, WORKER, AND DRONE 



After three days the larva emerges from the egg, and lies at 

 the base of the cell (Fig. 145, FL.) floating in the food prepared by 

 the workers and known as chyle or " bee milk." Chyle is com- 

 posed of digested honey and pollen, probably mixed with a 

 glandular secretion, and is given to all of the larvae by the nurse 

 bees during the first three days. Then the larvae that will be- 

 come workers are given honey and digested pollen in gradually 

 increasing amounts; the drone larvae, after the fourth day, also 

 receive honey and undigested pollen; but the queen larvae are fed 

 lavishly on the rich albuminous bee milk, the " royal jelly," 

 until they change to pupae. 



GROWTH during the larval period is accompanied by several 

 moults of the chitinous larval envelope. At the end of the larval 

 period the cells containing the young brood are covered over 

 with wax, feeding ceases, and the larvae proceed to spin a cocoon 

 of silk from their spinning glands (Fig. 145, SL.). These spinning 

 glands (Fig. 146, sd.) become the salivary glands (systems I and 

 II) of the adult. The simple structure of the larva is shown in 

 Figure 146. The alimentary canal consists of an oesophagus 

 (03), a chyle stomach (cd.), a hind-intestine (ed.), and two sets of 

 appendages, the spinning glands (sd.), and the Malpighian tubules 

 (vm.). Almost every segment contains a pair of spiracles (st.), 

 and a ganglion of the central nervous system (bm.). 



