The Life of the Individual 105 



consists of feeding and caring for the larvae, feeding the 

 queen and the drones, cleaning, ventilating, comb building 

 when necessary, guarding the hive from intruders and other 

 work inside the hive.^ 



When about a week old,^ on bright days, the young bees 

 take "play flights" in front of the hive. Suddenly, as if in 

 response to a signal, the young bees fly out, circle about the 

 hive, usually with their heads toward the entrance, and as 

 a rule they do not at first venture more than a few feet away. 

 In a short time this flight is over and the young bees return 

 to the hive. This flight of young bees is often mistaken by 

 beginners in beekeeping for the attack of robber bees but 

 the action in the two cases is so different that close obser- 

 vation soon makes the dissimilarity clear. When robbers 

 are numerous, they dart toward the hive and alight about 

 every crack, while young bees circle about, rarely alighting 

 on the hive. The flight of the young bees is also sometimes 

 mistaken for the beginning of swarming. 



Later flights are more extended, and when workers are 

 from 14 to 21 days old (if during a honey-flow), they begin 

 their field duties of gathering nectar, pollen, propolis and 



peculiar physical structure which determines the action. This physical 

 basis may be a specialization of some nervous element or of some other 

 organ, but it probably always exists. In the case under discussion, it is 

 not enough to state that the division of labor inside and outside the hive 

 is instinctive and such a statement is largely an evasion of the problem 

 which the facts observed present to us. 



' In addition to the inside duties named, the young bees must sometimes 

 serve as honey reservoirs during a heavy honey-flow. Especially in comb- 

 honey production where the bees must be crowded to produce fancy honey, 

 the comb built is often not sufficient to hold the nectar brought in and it is 

 given to the young bees. They may be seen in the evening on the combs 

 with abdomens distended, but usually before morning more comb is 

 completed and the honey is deposited in cells. Possibly this may be part 

 of the ripening process, which is poorly understood as yet. This function 

 of young workers suggests the behavior of the honey ants, in which certain 

 individuals serve as honey pots for the storage of honey until used. In 

 this case the abdomen is abnormally distended. 



^ In giving age in days or weeks it must be understood that this is vari- 

 able, depending on season and honey-flows. The determining factor in 

 the aging of bees is work, not days (p. 126). 



