yellow bands, while drones vary from very light bands to 

 bright golden ; the head and trunk in all are darker hued. 



Great progress has also been made, in modern times, in the 

 manipulation of bees. In place of the early wasteful means 

 of securing the bee's stores by destroying the hive, which was 

 but one step in advance of the practise of robbing wild bees' 

 nests, has come a humane and economical practise, which 

 has been the means of elevating bee-keeping from a simple 

 rural pursuit and farm adjunct, giving small returns for the 

 money and time invested, to a highly profitable industry. This 

 revolution in the status of beekeeping dates from the adoption 

 of the movable-frame hive, but the most advanced strides 

 have been taken in recent years, in new countries, where bee- 

 keeping on a large scale is made possible by accessiliility to 

 extensive tracts of land and an absence of the keen competi- 

 tion existing in closely settled regions. At the present time 

 industrial beekeeping overshadows every other interest in 

 bees and this is especially true in these islands, \vhere a large 

 proportion of the bee colonies are owned and operated by 

 corporations. 



NATURE AND BIOLOGY OF THE BEE. 



The nature and biology of the bee are of considerable in- 

 terest, and a thorough knowledge of the biology is indis- 

 pensable to the beekeeper who would succeed with a few or 

 many colonies. 



In the systematic classification of insects, the bee is included 

 in that large group designated hy- 

 menoptera, on account of the com- 

 mon possession of two pairs of 

 membranous wings, mandibulate 

 mouthparts, and a modified ovi- 

 positor fitted for piercing, boring or 

 stinging. The members of this 

 group generally display in dexelop- 

 ment what is known as complete 

 metamorphosis, that is, growth, 

 from eggs, is marked by immature 

 stages known as larva and pupa, 

 which are worm or grub-like in 

 form and soft bodied. In addition 

 to the bees, the group includes 

 wasps, hornets, ants, sawflies, ich- 

 neumons and a host of related Fig. i. 

 forms. The hive bee also has social °";'iopm"it of i,ee' from egg 



adult (copied from Phillips). 



