THE HONEY BEE. 69 



What is it seeking as it goes from flower to flower? 



On the little stamens inside the flower is found the pollen, 



or minute whitish seed powder, which readily falls out on 



being disturbed. It is necessary that this be removed from 



one flower to another in order that the pistil, or central stalk 



may have the pollen dust spread upon it. The bee gathers 



a little of this pollen, but a greater amount of it adheres to 



its hairy body, and as it goes from flower to flower some of 



the pollen is rubbed of? and reaches the projjer place on the 



pistil of the flower. But while the bee uses some of this 



pollen, its great object in visiting the flowers is to collect 



the sweet fluid, the nectar, which is secreted by the small 



glands at the base of the flower. By secreting this nectar at 



the base, the flower compels the bee to press open the parts 



of the flower and rub all the internal parts with its body, 



thus accomplishes the cross fertilization of the plants. 



What specializations in the bee are peculiarly adapted 

 to the structure of the flower? 



(2) In a colony of bees there are three kinds of insects, 

 females, or queens, males, or drones, and neuters which are 

 females with ovipositor specialized into a sting, or aborted 

 as in the ants. 



In the hive of the honeybee the larvae are all alike 

 at first, but after awhile the workers feed some of the 

 larva; on one kind of food and some on another. This 

 develops them into different kinds, such as queens, drones or 

 workers. It seems that the kind of food given the larva 

 determines the sex and form of the animal. 



(3) Many Hymenoptera build some kind of a home 

 and take some care of the young. In the family Apidae, bees, 

 the cells are generally built from a waxy substance excreted 



