58 STUDIES IN INSECT LIFE, ETC. 



individual in tiding over the winter months. 

 Although in the winter the activities of the hive 

 drop to a minimum, still there is some movement 

 of the bees and so food is imperative. 



The fresh nectar poured out of the body of the 

 bee contains 80 per cent, of water and is very 

 fluid. Why it remains in the cell and does not 

 pour out before the cell is " capped " is rather 

 a mystery. Truly, the cells are tipped a little 

 upwards, but not enough to explain this later 

 when it thickens into honey it may be said to 

 be too viscous to flow out yet if the comb be 

 lightly shaken down it comes in a sweet and 

 sticky stream. One of the most interesting 

 factors in the conversion of nectar into honey 

 is the removal of the superfluous water. The 

 worker-bees after a hard day in the field return 

 to the hive, and after depositing their evening 

 harvest take their stand in serried rows and 

 begin fanning with their wings. Tireless and 

 apparently without fatigue they continue this 

 exercise hour after hour until the rising of the 

 sun recalls them to their harvest fields. A good 

 hive will in the course of a night drive out of a 

 " skip" an amount of aqueous vapour equivalent 

 to 1-5 litres of water, and so gradually the amount 



