56 Beekeeping 



workers so that it grows nearly to fill the cell (Fig. 43) in a 

 few days. It is then capped over (Fig. 39) and undergoes 

 metamorphosis into an adult, this transition stage being 

 known as the pupa. If about two weeks after brood-rearing 

 has begun, the central comb is removed, we find the inner 

 circle of the brood sealed, surrounding this concentric circles 

 of larvae, the smaller toward the outside, and in the outer- 

 most circle are recently laid eggs. Similarly as other combs 

 are examined, the same succession of brood is found as we 

 go to the outer lateral boundaries of the sphere of brood. 

 As the brood continues to develop, the innermost cells are 

 first emptied by the emergence ' of the young adult bees and 

 the queen then returns to the center of the sphere to deposit 

 eggs. The emergence of the brood increases the size of the 

 colony and consequently the amount of brood that can be 

 fed and protected is greater, especially since the young bees 

 normally do most of the work of caring for the brood. Fur- 

 thermore, as the temperature of the outside air rises, the 

 cluster is expanded and more brood can be included in it. 

 Bees often attempt to rear more brood than they can cover 

 in the event of unusually cold weather, and if the weather 

 turns cold they may contract the cluster and leave brood 

 exposed to die of starvation and cold. The concentric ar- 

 rangement of the brood may often be observed throughout 

 the breeding season (Fig. 44) but usually after a time the 

 symmetrical arrangement of early spring is less conspicuous, 

 due to irregularities in the combs or to external conditions 

 modifying the extent of brood-rearing from day to day. In 

 general, however, the brood consists of concentric spherical 

 layers of various ages.^ The concentric arrangement of the 



The content of the intestine is often dark and this may frequently be 

 seen through the transparent tissues as a, narrow band on the convex 

 side. 



' Beekeepers frequently refer to the emergence of young adult bees as 

 "hatching." This, however, is incorrect and the word should be applied 

 only to the issuing of the young larvse from the eggs. 



2 In a hive as shallow as the Langstroth the sphere is usually flattened, 

 as in Fig. 44. 



