14 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



queen in fourteen days, or into a -working bee in twenty- 

 one days. Whether the queen is developed and made 

 perfect by special treatment in the cell, or whether the 

 working bee is dwarfed and made imperfect by special 

 treatment, is a question yet unanswered — and is, perhaps, 

 beyond the powers of human investigation. 



It is a fact established beyond all doubt that bees can 

 procure a queen for themselves, provided they have larvae 

 not more than three days old in worker-cells. Eoyal 

 cells and a particular kind of food only appear necessary 

 for the conversion of common larvae into queens. 



The development of queens from worker-eggs or grubs 

 is a most marvellous transformation, and; comprehends 

 far more than the development of the reproductive organs 

 in queens, or the repression of them in worker-bees. The 

 transformation alters the anatomical structure and in- 

 stinctive propensities. Queens are different in form, 

 colour, and habit from, and live six times longer than, 

 working bees. They have more slender trunks and more 

 crooked stings than bees ; they have no downy brushes 

 at the joints of their limbs, or basket-shaped cavities on 

 their legs for holding bee-bread. Queens in numerous par- 

 ticulars are very different from the working bees. In this 

 transformation there is a world of wonders and mystery. 



Bees, like the human family, possess five senses — 

 viz., sight, feeling, taste, hearing, and smelling; and a 

 very interesting and instructive chapter could be -n-ritten 

 in proof of their existence [and acuteness. We must 

 hasten to notice the industry, ingenuity, and courage of 

 bees. 



The Indiistry of Bees. 



■■' How few bee-keepers know the worth of their own ser- 

 vants — the value of their own stock ! ISTo writer can get 

 near enough to touch the hem of the garment of the in- 



