CHAPTER XIV 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS 



The Honeybee 



We may begin by asking the class some bright morning 

 in May : What did you see the bees doing, on your way 

 to school ? What flowers were they on ? Did you see 

 their hip pockets full of pollen ? What do you suppose 

 they do with that ? Where do they find the honey ? 

 These with a hundred others are just the questions with 

 which to begin the study of the honeybee's life and work. 



Have in different vials a house fly, bluebottle, wasp, 

 hornet, ant, bumblebee, a honeybee, if possible with pollen 

 on its thighs, and any other insects that may look some- 

 what like a honeybee. Pass them around and find out 

 how many can tell a honeybee from every other insect. 

 Do not let anybody tell until all have had a good chance to 

 see. Ask each child to borrow somebody's watch between 

 this lesson and the next and to follow a bee for five 

 minutes, and be prepared to tell exactly what it did. 

 How many blossoms did it visit .' What kind were they } 

 Were they all the same kind, or did it go from one kind 

 to another .■* From their observations, what can they say 

 as to the flowers the bees like best ? Could they see 

 how a bee fills its pollen baskets ? For lower grades and 

 the kindergarten, a pound section of honey may furnish 



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