154 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



ascertained. The strong, curved jaws, working 

 sideways, are doubly interesting as the main 

 implements used in the preparation of the wax, 

 and largely in the comb-building. But the eyes 

 and the long, flail-like antennae rivet attention 

 first. Whether the bee was made for her life, or 

 the life — imposed on her by inexorable conditions 

 —made the bee what she is to-day, the extra- 

 ordinary adaptation of her physique to her en- 

 vironment is beyond all question. The great 

 compound eyes, with their thousands of facets 

 each pointing in a slightly different direction, are 

 obviously made for wide and distant outlooks. 

 It is with these eyes that the bee finds her way 

 out and home over miles of country. In the 

 worker the compound eyes occupy the whole 

 sides of the head, but in the drone they are much 

 larger, and meet entirely at the top. Thus, 

 dallying in the sunshine, he is able the while to 

 keep the whole arc of the sky under scrutiny, 

 ready at an instant's notice to take up the love- 

 challenge of the young queens. 



But these large multiple eyes of the bee are of 

 little use to her at close quarters, or in the deep 

 twilight of the hive. For indoor use, and for near 

 vision, she has three other eyes, containing a 

 single lens each, and set in her forehead just 

 above her antennae. The popular belief, that the 

 honey-bee carries on her busy life, and elaborate 

 enterprises in complete darkness, is mainly a 



