130 AETICULATES: INSECTS. 



males or drones, and workers In a well-stocked hive, 

 there are two thousand males, fifty thousand workers, 

 but only one queen. The workers are the smallest; 



Pig. 254. — Queen. Kg. 255. — Worker. Fig. 256.— Drone. 



Hive Bee. 



they fly over the surrounding country and collect all 

 the materials to form the structure called the comb; 

 they build the cells and store them with honey; they 

 feed and protect the young ; they wait upon the queen ; 

 they do all the work of the hive. The males or 

 drones have a thicker body, and no sting; they per- 

 form no labor, but are supported by the workers. The 

 queen is much larger than the others, has a sting, and 

 is the sole mistress of the hive. She lays all the eggs, 

 and seldom goes out except to lead a swarm. The 

 honey-comb is one of the most interesting of insect 

 structures, and is arranged in the hive in the most 

 regular manner. The cells are six-sided, and are built 

 in just the shape to save all the room, and to be the 

 strongest, and to contain the greatest amount of honey, 

 and in the shape which requires the least amount of 

 wax in their construction. 



There are certain cells in which the queen lays her 

 eggs, depositing one in each cell ; and when the eggs 

 are laid, the workers fill the cells with the pollen of 

 flowers mixed with water and honey, — this is food for 



