434 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 205. 



queen cell is simply an elongated worker cell, resembling a peanut, 

 drawn out over the comb. In case the colony needs a queen, any 

 worker egg laid or placed in one of these cells will hatch into a 

 larva, which will be lavishly fed with a thick, milky fluid and ma- 

 ture a queen. The queen usually passes the time of her greatest 

 usefulness in her second year. For this reason a good many pro- 

 gressive beekeepers practice requeening at this time. Eggs are 

 shown on plate XXXVI, c, and drone, queen and worker cells on 

 plate XXXV. b. 



Workers. 



By far the most numerous bees in the hive are the workers. 

 They are also the smallest, measuring only about one-half inch in 

 length. Except laying the eggs, they do all the work about the 

 hive — gathering the honey and pollen; building the combs ; feed- 

 ing and taking care of the -brood; cleaning the hive, sealing all 

 cracks and doing all other labor required. The life of the workers 

 during the busy season is only about six weeks, in which time they 

 wear out their wings flying against the wind or through the grass 

 in the fields in search of food. For this reason grass should always 

 be kept down in front of the hive entrance. 



Drones. 



The drones are the non-producers of the hive and live on the 

 toil of the workers. They have no means of producing honey or 

 secreting wax or doing even the work necessary for their own sup- 

 port. They are longer than the workers, shorter than the queen, 

 but thicker and clumsier than either. Their wings rea;ch to the 

 tip of their body; and when they are on the wing they make much 

 more noise. Their sole object is to mate with the young queens, 

 which always happens on the wing. After the mating the drone 

 dies immediately.' ' 



Races of Bees. 



The black or German bee was the first brought to this country, 

 some say by the Pilgrims ; others, by way of Florida. These are a 

 very hardy race and good honey gatherers, more especially adapted 

 to the production of comb honey, but their irritable temper and 

 inability to resist disease have brought them into disfavor. 



Their cousins, the Banats, Camiolans a;nd Caucasians, three 

 other dark races, are gentle and good honey producers if they can 



