6 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTKALASIA 



istic hive community — are tlie wonderfully constructed 

 pockets. These receptacles are so situated that they act 

 as admirable liaskets wherein to carry the daily bread. 



POLLEN BASKETS. 

 The honey-bee with its load of "staple" is a common 

 enough sight on any fine, bright day. Yes, the little pellets 

 so |>romiiiently carried on the "hallowed thigh," are trul}' 

 the bread of the bee-hive. Certainly it is not made of 

 wheaten flour, but of tiny pollen grains (Fig. 1) or floral 

 fertilising material that the industrious foragers gather 

 from various blooms. Of course it is well known tliat bees 



T% FiG.l. POLLEhl Gf(HlHs. Uimm. 



HEDCdiiRMT, Yellow Box. WriiTt Giovei\. PHlox. 



confer great favours upon the florist and horticulturist 

 in transferring pollen from flower to flower. AVhere a 

 number of liees are kept in an orchard the blossoms are 

 more likely to he effectively fertilised and a greater 

 ])roportion of fruit "set." Of a certainty the wind 

 helps, l)ut bees are the most reliable. Pollen, when 

 analysed by the chemist, contains food values closelj' 

 approximating tliose of pea-meal. During a dearth of 

 natural i)ollen, bee-keepers often feed this substitute. 

 Tlie gathering of pollen by the honey-bee is an act 

 calculated to delight the nature student, fjook at this 

 bee, hear its droning hum as it hovers over a blossom. 

 See, it settles on the flower and executes a raking motion 

 with its fore-legs. Again the hovering flight, and right 

 under our eyes the insect conjui'or ])erforms a curious 

 "sleight of hand" trick. The front pair of legs are 



