BEES. 141 



quite perfect and smooth. In these wonderful 

 houses we find numerous arcades and galleries, 

 leading to the various divisions, all finished with 

 the nicest skill ; and though the whole trunk of a 

 tree seems bored in every direction, it is never- 

 theless left quite strong, and generally lives, as if 

 nothing had touched it. These colonies are ama- 

 zingly populous, upwards of a million of inhabit- 

 ants being congregated in very small space. 



The habits of bees are amongst the most 

 interesting of any in the animal kingdom. The 

 instinct they display in a variety of actions, 

 whether in a wild or domesticated state, is a 

 source of continual wonder and admiration. 

 The structure of their cells, the treatment of 

 their eggs, the government of their hives, and 

 their storing of food, are equally remarkable. 



Every bee-hive contains three different sets of 

 inhabitants. A queen bee, drones or male, bees, 

 and neuters or workers. There is never more 

 than one queen ; if another is formed, it is de- 

 stroyed at once, and its body removed. The 

 number of drones is about six or seven hundred 

 in each hive, and these are regularly killed by 

 the workers in August. This is done, in order 

 that the winter stock of food may be preserved, 

 and not eaten by a greater number than are ac- 

 tually useful. 



The working-bees perform all the labour of 

 building, collecting materials, preserving the ho- 

 ney, and tending the young. When they are 



