92 POLLEN. 



Dzierzon is of opinion that bees are able to furnish food 

 for their young, without the presence of pollen in the hive ; 

 although he admits that they can do this only for a short 

 time, and at a great expense of vital energy ; just as the 

 strength of an animal nursing its young is rapidly reduced, 

 when for want of proper food, the very substance of its own 

 body is converted into milk. My experiments do not cor- 

 roborate this theory, but tend to confirm the views of Huber, 

 that pollen is absolutely necessary to the development of 

 brood. 



Gundelach says, that if a colony with a fertile Queen be 

 put into an empty hive and set in the dark, and then supplied 

 with honey, comb will be rapidly built, and the cells filled 

 with eggs. The eggs in due time will be hatched, but the 

 worms will all die within twenty-four hours. 



Some Apiarians think that pollen is used by the bees when 

 they are engaged in comb-building ; and that unless they are 

 well supplied with it, they cannot rapidly secrete wax, with- 

 out very severely taxing their strength. I once attached 

 but little weight to this conjecture, but further observations 

 have convinced me of its truth : for if bees are supplied 

 with an abundance of pollen and honey, they will produce 

 wax much faster than when supplied with honey alone. 

 That the full grown bees make some use of pollen in con- 

 nection with honey, for their own nourishment, I believe also 

 to be highly probable. 



Bees prefer to gather fresh bee-bread, even when there 

 are large accumulations of old stores in the cells. Hence, 

 the great importance of being able, by the control of the 

 combs, to make the surplus of old colonies supply the defi- 

 ciency of young ones. 



If honey and pollen can both be obtained from the same 

 flower, then a load of each will be secured by the industrious 

 insect. Of this, any one may be convinced, who will dis- 



