II 



THE PERSONALITY OF THE HONEY- 

 BEE 



Although there are quite a number of insects 

 which superficially resemble the bee, most people 

 are able to recognise it when they meet it. The 

 most individual characteristic is its method of 

 flight, which is quite unlike that of any other 

 insect. 



Those who have studied insects closely can tell 

 many species from each other more accurately by 

 their flight than one can tell one's acquaintances 

 by their gait. What practised butterfly-hunter 

 does not know the noble sailing flight of the 

 silver- washed fritillary, the beautiful evolutions of 

 the White Admiral, or the short, jerky excursions 

 of the common skippers ? 



So, when we see a modest brown insect passing 

 swiftly and systematically from flower to flower, 

 its wings vibrating with incredible swiftness and 

 with a hum that is, perhaps, one of the most 

 joyful of all sounds to be heard on a hot summer's 

 day, we know, without catching the creature and 

 subjecting it to a microscopic examination, that 



