BEE BUSINESS 49 



have never determined whether this is re- 

 moved in the honey stomach of the bee dur- 

 ing the process of carrying its spoils from 

 the field to the hive, or whether the loss is 

 due mostly to natural evaporation after 

 the honey has been deposited in the cells. 

 Certain it is though, that a very great 

 change takes place in the nectar between 

 the time when it comes from the flower 

 and when it is sealed in the comb by the 

 bees. Just what the bee does to it we can 

 not say but we can be sure it is a busy 

 creature while doing so. The workers 

 gather and store pollen in addition to 

 their stores of honey. To aid them in this 

 work they are provided by nature with 

 special hairs on their legs so arranged as 

 to collect the pollen and carry it most 

 easUy. These hair structures are called 

 "pollen baskets." 



The pollen is used in preparing food 

 for the first stage in the life of the young 

 bees as will be seen later. 



Another little job for the worker is to 



