X. 



MISS APIS AND HER SISTERS. 



LADEN with pollen and nectar, Miss 

 Apis starts homeward. 



People used to think she flew in a 

 straight line to the hive, and so they called 

 the shortest distance from one place to 

 another a " bee line." 



But she does not fly in a straight line, 

 — far from it. 



Whoever has " made a bee line for 

 home" — that is, a true bee line — must 

 have followed a very indirect course indeed. 



When Miss Apis has filled her honey- 

 sac, and is ready to go home, she first 

 mounts up into the air, not straight up, 

 but round and round in a spiral, and 



when high enough she starts toward 

 8s 



