MANIPULATING PKAMES 47 



of tlie worker bee) when each grub extends itself the 

 length of its cell (Fig. 25, No. 7). About this time the 

 nurse bees seal it up (Fig. 25, No. 13). The larva then 

 spins the cocoon, and enters upon the wonderful transi- 

 tion from larva to chrysalis (Fig. 25, Nos. 8, 9, 10). 

 In twenty or twenty-one days from the time the egg was 

 laid, the perfect insect worker will cut her way out 

 through the capping of the cell. The development of the 

 drone takes twenty-five days from the laying of the egg. 

 The queen, the only perfectly developed female in the 

 hive, occupies a much shorter period in reaching maturity 

 (See under head "Queen Bearing," page 109). The 

 royal mother is ready to hatch from the cell on the 16th 

 day. 



COMB OR EXTRACTED HONEY. 



If the supply of pollen and honey still continues 

 plentiful, the queen will very soon fill the whole of the 

 eight or ten frames with eggs and brood in varying 

 stages of progress, and cells along the top-bar will be 

 swelled out with new honey. This is the signal for the 

 apiarist to supply more room. 



The bee-keeper will now have to decide whether he 

 intends to produce comb or extracted-honey. If he lives 

 in a district capable of producing heavy flows with nice 

 white wax, he may possibly find a ready market for all 

 the comb he could harvest. He should demand a much 

 better price for his comb-honey because it costs more 

 to produce, and he is also disposing of the wax. 



It undoubtedly requires more skill to produce a good 

 sample of comb-honey, and the necessary plant is of a 

 more costly nature. When produced, the frail nature 

 of the comb renders it very subject to damage during 

 transit over long distances to the metropolis. Comb- 

 honey in lib. sections is sold in the cities of Australasia 

 in limited quantities at 1/- per lb., but the producer can 

 obtain only about 6/- or 7/- per dozen. At this price there 

 is more money in working for extracted-honey, and the 



