1070 BEE -CULTURE. 



provements and changes that have been made in the management 

 of bees have been of* a radical character. 



In a state of nature, bees make their residence and deposit their 

 supply of honey for winter's provision in rocks and trees, or in rude 

 nests or hives made of straw or leaves, something like the nests, of 

 wasps. As man progressed in the practice of gathering the honey 

 for his use, the industry of controlling bees, and looking after and 

 preparing the produce of the hive for market, was developed, until it 

 has become one of the most profitable of all pursuits. 

 Physiology of Bees. 



There are three kinds of bees in a swarm, or colony, — drones, 

 queen, and workers. The drone's business seems to be to impreg- 

 nate the queen ; the queen confines herself to laying eggs ; and the 

 workers, which are undeveloped females, make the honey. There 



Fm. 1438.— A. A. Rice's Apiary, Seville, Ohio (Including House Apiary). 



are four distinct stages in the existence and development of bees ; 

 these are the egg condition or state ; the larva, or grub ; the pupa, or 

 chrysalis; and the imago, or complete form of the insect. Two kinds 

 of eggs are laid by the queen-bee, — drone-eggs and worker-eggs. 

 Every hive has two kinds of cells, the larger size constituting the 

 drone-comb, which is designed to receive the drone-eggs, and the 

 smaller size constituting the worker-comb, and designed to* receive 

 the worker-eggs. The queen-bee is guided by instinct in laying her 

 eggs in the respective cells for which they are intended. In order 

 to rear a queen, one of the worker cells, containing an egg freshly 

 laid, is enlarged to somewhat the size and shape of a peanut. 



