42 The Bee People. 
it for her own use, but that she may bear 
it to the hive for the baby bees to eat. 
You can see this honey-sac by feeding a 
hive bee as much as she wants, and then 
letting her fly to the window. The light 
shining through the delicate body makes the 
clear honey in her little “bottle” plainly 
visible. The Italian honey-bees, whose ab- 
domens are a light tan color, at the upper 
end, show the honey-drop better than the 
common brown bees. 
Some of the honey passes on into the 
true stomach of the bee, which is just 
beyond the honey-sac, and is digested ; 
but the most of it Miss Apis carries to 
the hive in her honey-sac. 
It is curious that everything Miss Apis 
eats has to be swallowed into the honey- 
sac before it can get into the stomach, 
and yet the honey is always clear and 
pure. Honey and pollen go together into 
the honey-sac, yet the honey in the comb 
contains almost no pollen. 
