THE QUEEN 89 



reared in a queen cell is one of the most striking studies in the 

 result of environment. Only sixteen days are required for the 

 queen to reach maturity from the time the egg is laid, while the 

 worker requires twenty-one. The queen is much longer in shape 

 and looks to be one-third to one-half larger than the worker. 

 The queen lacks the wax-secreting organs of the worker, while 

 her own sexual organs are fully developed. She lacks the pollen 



Fig, 



46. — Queen laying in a newly made comb. The queen can be recognized by 

 her greater length (see arrow) and the circle of attendants facing her. 



baskets and brushes which are conspicuous in the worker. True 

 enough she would have no possible use for any means of carrying 

 pollen or secreting wax in her work of being a mother to a family 

 of a few hundred thousand offspring during her lifetime. Never 

 theless, as far as can be seen, the physical changes are entirely 

 the result of a change of environment. The queen will remain 

 in the hive, so her eyes are not nearly so well developed. She 

 has no need to discover the distant fields of clover. Her life will 



