50 



ZOOLOGY 



the young queens, which pass the winter in some sheltered 

 spot and form new colonies in the spring. 



The introduced, semi-domesticated honey-bees have quite 

 a chfferent social economy. In the first place, the nest is 



perennial ; consequently 

 the young and old queens 

 cannot remain in the same 

 hive, else the nest would 

 become overcrowded by 

 the presence of too many 

 families. As j' o u n g 

 queens mature, the old 

 queen seeks to destroy 

 them ; but she is usually 

 forced out of the hive by 

 the workers, a numljer of 

 which accompany her. 

 This migration is what we 

 call " swarming." ' When 

 several young queens ma- 

 ture at the same time, 

 duels or repeated swarm- 

 ings ensue until onlv one queen remains. When a new colony 

 is started in a hive or hollow tree, a coml) is formed of wax 

 secreted Ijy the worker bees, ami into this the queen depos- 

 its eggs destined to develop into workers. Still later, eggs 

 destined to form drones are laid in cells larger than 

 those in which workers develop. The developing young 

 workei-s and drones are fed w\t\\ honey and bee-bread. Honey 

 is derived from the nectar of flowers which is lapped up 



1 Fig. 54. 



- Swarm oi bees. Plioto 

 D. and S. 



