10 



BULLETIN 1222, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



strong colony which was fed a thin sugar sirup throughout the experi- 

 ment, in order to stimulate activity. As a result, as will be noted 

 from Table 2 and Figure 2, the weights of the older larvae were notice- 

 ably increased under these conditions. In the case of the maximum- 

 sized larvae at the 6-day age, this amounted to as much as 8.1 per cent. 

 This series was on the average sealed earlier than the previous series. 

 These figures also more nearly correspond with those of Table 1. 



Fig. 2.- 



-Living weights of honeybee larvae at different age periods and under vary- 

 ing conditions. (Tables 1 and 2.) 



Therefore, it seems safe to conclude that the amount of incoming nectar 

 has an appreciable effect upon the development of at least the older 

 larvae. Weights of larvae under 3 days old did not show this variation 

 to any noticeable degree, there being only 1.7 per cent difference for 

 the 4-day age and less for still younger ones. The curves shown in 

 Figure 2 illustrate this point graphically. It will be noticed that the 

 various growth curves, even to a relative extent that drawn from the 

 Straus data, are almost identical for the first three days, only begin- 

 ning to diverge on the fourth day. 



