6 THE APIARY; OR, 



of wliich our " Unicomb Observatory Hive " is one of the best. lu 

 ordinary hives the queen is scarcely ever to be seen ; where there 

 are several rows of comb, she invariably keeps between them, both 

 for warmth and to be more secure from danger. The writer has 

 frequently observed in stocks which have unfortunately died, that the 

 queen was one of the last to expire ; and she is always more difficult 

 to gain possession of than other bees, being by instinct taught that 

 she is indispensable to the welfare of her subjects. 



The queen enjoys a far longer life than any of her subjects, her 

 age generally extending to four or even five years. The drones, 

 which are mostly hatched in the early spring, seldom live more than 

 three or four months, even if they should escape the sting of the 

 executioner, to which they generally fall victims. The worker-bee, 

 it is now a weU-ascertained fact, lives from six to eight months, in 

 no case exceeding the latter ; so that we may reckon that the bees 

 hatched in April and May expire about the end of the year, and it is 

 those of the autumn who carry on the duties of the hive until the 

 spring and summer, that being the time when the greatest number 

 of eggs are laid. The population of a hive is very small during the 

 winter, in comparison with the vast numbers gathering produce in 

 the summer, — produce which they themselves live to enjoy but for 

 a short period. So that not only, as of old, may lessons of industry 

 be learned from bees, but they also teach self-denial to mankind, 

 since they labour for the community rather than for themselves. 

 Evans, in describing the age of bees, thus paraphrases the well 

 known couplet of Homer in allusion to the fleeting generations 

 of men : — 



Like leaves on trees, the race of bees is found, 

 Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; 

 Another race the spring or fall supplies. 

 They droop successive, and successive rise. 



The Drone. — ^The drones are male bees; they possess no sting, 

 are more hairy and larger than the common bee, and may be easily 

 distinguished by their heavy motion, thick-set form, and louder 

 humming. Evans thus describes the drones : — 



Their short proboscis sips, 

 No luscious nectar from the wild thyme's lips ; 

 From the lime leaf no amber di-ops they steal, 

 Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meal:. 



