THE IlIVK TJEE. 435 



hive and disgorges the juice into one of the cells. But, during 

 that short sojourn in the insect, the juice has undergone a 

 change, and been converted into honey, a substance which is 

 quite unlike that from which it was formed, and which has 

 an odour and flavour peculiarly its own. How this change is 

 wrought is at present unknown, for the little bag in which the 

 transformation is made is composed of a membrane that seems 

 incapable of exerting any influence upon the substance con- 

 tained within it. 



All food that is eaten by the Bee passes through the honey- 

 bag, which is closely analogous to the crop of a bird, and it 

 would seem that the honey ought rather to pass into the stomach 

 than be disgorged at the will of the insect. However, it is well 

 known that many birds feed their young by disgorging food, and 

 the Bee is enabled to perform the same operation by means 

 of a little valve which leads from the honey-bag into the 

 stomach, and is plainly perceptible even with the unassisted eye. 

 Under ordinary circumstances the valve just allows the food to 

 pass gently and gradually into the stomach ; but the violent effort, 

 which is made in ejecting the food, closes the valve, and only 

 allows the honey to flow upwards through the mouth. 



The ofBce of the worker and drone cells is two-fold — first, 

 to act as nurseries for the insects while passing through their 

 preliminary stages, and next to serve as repositories for food, 

 whether liquid or solid. The egg of the Queen-Bee is placed 

 nearly at the bottom of the cell, exactly on the angle where the 

 points of the lozenges meet. It is soon hatched into a little 

 white grub, which is assiduously fed by the nurses, and grows 

 with wonderful rapidity. As soon as it has eaten its last larval 

 meal, it spins a silken cover over the cell, and remains there 

 until it has become a perfect insect. It then bites its way out, 

 and after a day or so devoted to hardening and strengthening its 

 limbs, it leaves the hive and joins in the labours of the com- 

 munity. 



No sooner is the Bee fairly out of its waxen nursery, than the 

 workers clear out the cell, and prepare it for the reception of 

 honey. As soon as the cell is filled, the Bees close up the 

 entrance with a waxen door, which is air-tight, and serves to 

 preserve the honey in proper condition. Those who wish to eat 

 honey in its pure state should always purchase it in the comb. 



FF 2 



