TEE BEE. 



bers ; and by tliis time, the bees whose duty it is to nurse the 

 little strangers have poured into each cell a drop of diluted 

 honey, and in this the little maggot lies curled up. When the 

 nurses know that the fat little worm is approaching bee-hood, 

 they plaster over the mouth of its cell and leave it to itself. 

 Then the prisoner sets about spinning for itself a silken cocoon 

 (the queen larva accomplishes this task in about twenty-four 

 hours, the worker in not less than thirty-six hours), and in 

 this it lies enveloped tiH the metamorphosis is complete, and, 

 becoming a perfect bee, it first bursts its silken bonds, and then 

 the door of its dungeon, and another subject is added to the 

 hive. Its first journey is to the lighting-board in front of the 

 hive, that the sun may dry its damp little body ; while an old 

 bee kindly busies itself to straighten and smooth the hairs that 

 cover its hmbs, just as a chicken picks out the feathers of her 

 little one just emerged firom the shell. 



This is pretty much the way in which plebeian bees are 

 treated — ^with those of royal blood it is altogether difierent. 

 It should have been stated that the time occupied from the 

 deposition of the egg to the final appearance of the worker bee 

 is about twenty days, for the drone twenty-four days ; but for 

 the princess bee sixteen days suffice. When one of the royal 

 brood is ready to emerge from her prison, there is a great 

 commotion in the hive, and the popnlace cease work, and for 

 a little time make holiday to welcome the auspicious stranger. 

 The queen-mother too approaches, but with quite difierent 

 feehngs from those which actuate her subjects. Her designs 

 are of a sanguinary character ; she is eager for her daughter to 

 emerge, that she may fall on and murder her. 



Luckily for the poor little princess, however, the devotion of 

 the populace is not so blind as to allow, without interference, 

 such cold-blooded atrocity. They gather round the royal cell, 

 and, instinctively knowing the queen's 

 evil intent, g^ard the entrance, and in 

 the event of her majesty growing fero- 

 cious, or her daughter impetuous, do 

 not scruple to bring beams of wax and 

 erect a strong door; so keeping the 

 rivals apart W. the old queen, unable atm^ bee 



longer to control her royal indignation, 



sweeps out of the hive, generally accompanied by a troop of 

 courtiers and a host of labourers, who are willing to follow the 

 fortunes of their sovereign, whatever they may be. When this 



