THE WORKERS. 37 



It is said they also see to the making of wax, the 

 building of comb, and the cleansing of the hive, 

 during the first two or three weeks of their life. 

 Some corroboration of this idea is given by the 

 circumstance that, if there be not sufficient room for 

 the extension of a very strong population in their 

 abode, and the conditions for swarming are not satis- 

 factory, the older bees will remain idle in clusters, 

 often outside the hive, leaving to the younger ones 

 the execution of the internal work. 



Sir John Lubbock has recorded a series of obser- 

 vations which seem to indicate that certain individuals 

 are stationed near the entrances as sentinels. In his 

 most interesting work on Ants, Bees, and Wasps, he 

 says : — 



"On October 5th I called out the bees by placing 

 some eau-de-Cologne in the entrance, and marked 

 the first three bees that came out. At 5 P.M. I called 

 them out again. About twenty came, including the 

 three marked ones. I marked three more. 



" October 6. — Called them out again. Out of the 

 first twelve, five were marked ones. I marked three 

 more. 



"October 7. — Called them out at 7.30 A.M. as 

 before. Out of the first nine seven were marked ones. 

 At 5.30 P.M. called them out again. Out of six, five 

 were marked ones. 



"Octobers. — Called them out at 7.15. Six came 

 out, all marked ones. 



" October 9. — Called them out at 6.40. Out of the 

 first ten, eight were marked ones. Called them out 

 at 11.30 A.M. Out of six, three were marked. I 

 marked other three. Called them out at 1.30 P.M. 



