INSTINCT 205 



gon, composed of the smallest amount of wax that 

 can furnish the required strength. The free ends of 

 the cell walls are kept thickened so that they will not 

 be broken, and the angles of the cells are strength- 

 ened by the addition of propolis. When the cells 

 have been filled they are sealed up, each with three 

 rhombic plates which, it has been proved by math- 

 ematicians, are placed in the best possible position. 



Most of the cells are intended for the reception of 

 honey; larger than these are the cells for the bee- 

 bread. Three kinds of cells are constructed for rear- 

 ing the young. The smallest and most numerous are 

 for workers; some are for drones; while from one to 

 a dozen or more large vertical cells are for the rear- 

 ing of queens. All cells except the last are placed 

 with their axes in a nearly horizontal position. 



The queen lays one egg in the bottom of each cell 

 which has been prepared for the purpose of rearing 

 the young. The eggs which are to produce queens 

 and workers are precisely alike, both being fertilized, 

 while those which are to produce drones are not fer- 

 tilized. The drones are, therefore, produced by the 

 process of parthenogenesis. 



The receptacle for the sperm communicates by a 

 tube with the oviduct, and the queen has the power 

 to fertilize the eggs or to refrain from doing so, and 

 she makes no mistakes. 



At the proper temperature the eggs are hatched in 

 three days, and in five or six days more the larvae 

 have acquired their full size. The larvae which are to 

 become workers and drones are fed on bee-bread, and 

 those which are to become queens are fed on royal 

 jelly. 



Only one queen is permitted to live in the colony at 

 the same time, there being a mortal antipathy be- 

 tween the queens. The queen is continually guarded 



