MAN'S WINGED ALLY, THE BUSY HONEYBEE 



403 



mi 



m 



A LANDLORD OUSTS HIS TENANTS, 



rii t ^rap h r urtf 

 BUT PROVIDES A 



J I S Dcfartn nt I \ 

 MODERN HOME 



Lulture 



He puffed smoke into the old hive, then broke it open. Lifting out chunks of comb and honey, 

 he brushes off the clinging bees near the door of the new hive (right), which they occupy readily. 

 The keeper may destroy the old hybrid queen and give the colony a prolific young Italian (see text, 

 page 425 and Color Plate VII). The exposed brood combs are thick and black, indicating that many 

 generations of larvae have been reared in them. 



to the Grimes Golden. When all pollen 

 except its own is excluded, the Grimes 

 Golden produces little or no fruit. 



"the PRIESTS OF THE FLOWERS" 



"The priests of the flowers" honeybees 

 have been called, since they perform the 

 marriage ceremony of the plants. 



Although the honeybee is by no means 

 domesticated, it is easily controlled. Con- 

 sequently, millions already are being moved 

 from one section of the country to another 

 and placed in orchards and on farms. Bee 

 men in the South even offer for sale a polli- 

 nation package, a wire cage filled with bees. 



The grower distributes the requisite 

 number throughout his orchards, opens the 

 cages, and leaves the rest to the bees. 



Hundreds of full colonies are rented to 

 orchardists during the peak of the blooming 

 period. The bee has also largely replaced 

 the camel's-hair brush in poHinating cucum- 

 bers under glass. 



Were it not for the work of the honeybee, 

 most of our apple, pear, plum, and cherry 

 orchards would bear poor crops, the grow- 

 ing of certain forage crops would be un- 

 profitable, and the variety and quantity of 

 our vegetables would be materially reduced. 



BEE CITIZENS OF MANY LANDS 



Honey and beeswax are produced over a 

 wider geographical range than any other 

 agricultural crop. There is scarcely a coun- 

 try in which honeybees are not kept. They 

 inhabit the Tropic and Temperate Zones, 



