20 THE ECONOMY OF THE HIVE 



the influence which spurs on the bees to their 

 multifarious duties, " the spirit of the hive." 

 Whether there is a committee which debates 

 matters and decides important questions or not, 

 is an interesting point which may perhaps be 

 settled one day. 



One thing is quite clear, and admits of not the 

 least doubting. Nothing useless is tolerated in 

 the hive. A bee which is injured and unable 

 to perform its duties is removed from the 

 hive, if indeed it does not take itself out of 

 the way, which it usually does. Queen cells, 

 when emptied and done with, are cut down 

 and removed ; old and failing queens are put 

 to death and new ones raised. The drones, 

 as soon as the honey flow is over, are like- 

 wise ruthlessly exterminated. They will only be 

 tolerated so long as there is the means of replacing 

 before winter comes the stores they consume 

 so voraciously. Efficiency must be maintained 

 at a high level, and no sacrifice seems too 

 great to secure it. 



Of course, the outstanding feature of the hive 

 economy is the storage of honey in large quantities 

 for future use. In England, and indeed in 

 temperate countries generally, the flowers which 

 produce honey, blossom over a very short period, 

 and, therefore, if a colony is to be permanent, 

 it must have collected during that period far 

 more than it requires for its immediate needs. 



