OR, MANUAL Olf THB APIARY. 163 



In twenty-one days, it may be twenty with the best condi- 

 tions, the bees emerge from the cells. Every bee-keeper should 

 hold in memory these dates : Three days for the egg, six for 

 the larva, and twelve days after the larva is sealed over. Of 

 course, there may be slight variations, as the temperature of 

 the colony is not always just the same. 



The old writers were quite mistaken in thinking- that the 

 advent of these was an occasion of joy and excitement among 

 the bees. All apiarists have noticed how utterly unmoved the 

 bees are, as they push over and crowd by these new-comers in 

 the most heedless and discourteous manner imaginable. 

 Wildman tells of seeing the workers gathering pollen and 

 honey the same day that they came forth from the cells. This 

 idea is quickly disproved if we Italianize black bees. We 

 know that for some days — usually about two weeks if the col- 

 ony is in a normal condition, though if all the bees are very 

 young it may be only one week — these young bees do not leave 

 the hive at all, except in case of swarming, when bees even too" 

 young to fly will attempt to go wit'h the crowd. However, the 

 young bees do fly out for a sort of " play spell " before they 

 commence regularly to work in the field. They doubtless wish 

 to try their wings. These young bees, like young drones and 

 queens, are much lighter colored when they first leave the cell. 



The worker-bees never attain a great age. Those reared 

 in autumn may live for eight or nine months, and if in queen- 

 less colonies, where little labor is performed, even longer ; 

 while those reared in spring will wear out in three months, 

 and when most busy will often die in from thirty to forty-five 

 days. None of these bees survive the year through, so there 

 is a limit to the number which may exist in a colony. As a 

 good queen will lay, when in her best estate, three thousand 

 eggs daily, and as the workers live from one to three months, 

 it might seem that forty thousand was too small a figure for 

 the number of workers. Without doubt a greater number is 

 possible. That it is rare is not surprising, when we remember 

 the numerous accidents and vicissitudes that must ever attend 

 the individuals of these populous communities. 



The function of the worker-bees is to do all the manual 

 labor of the hives. They secrete the wax, which, as already 



