ENKMIKS OF BEES. 237 



■worm lodged in the comb makes his way either to the cen- 

 tre, or between the heads of the young bees in the cells 

 and the sealing, and as he proceeds, eats a passage, lining 

 it with a shroud of silk, and gradually enlarging it, as he 

 increases in size. When combs are filled with honey, they 

 work on the surface, eating only the sealing. In very weak 



families, this silken 

 passage is left un- 

 touched, but is re- 

 moved by all strong 

 colonies. I have found 

 Fig. 28.-WORM GALLERY KEMovED FROM j^ asserted that " the 



THE COMB. Ill 11 



worms would be all 

 immediately destroyed by the bees were it not for a kind 

 of dread of touching them, until compelled by necessity." 

 As the facts which led to this conclusion are not given, 

 and I can find none confirming it, perhaps I shall be ex- 

 cused for being "of little faith." On the contrary, I find to 

 all appearance, an instinctive antipathy to all intruders, and 

 they immediately remove them when possessing the power. 



WORMS SOMETIMES WORK IN THE CENTRE OF COMBS. 



When a worm is in tlie centre of a comb filled with 

 brood, its passage is not at first discovered. The bees, to 

 get it out, must bite away half the thickness of the comb, 

 removing the brood in one or two rows of cells, sometimes 

 for several inches. This will account for the number of 

 immature bees found on the fio'or-board at morning, in the 

 spring ; as well as in stocks and swarms but partially pro- 

 tected after the swarming season. 



BEES MCTILATED BY WEB. 



Sometimes a half dozen young bees nearly mature will 

 be removed alive, all webbed together, fastened by legs, 

 wings, etc. All their efibrts to break loose prove unavail- 



