THE WORKER-BKE. 67 



out-door duties only during the later periods of their existence. 

 The Italian bees (551) furnished me with suitable means to test 

 the correctness of this opinion. 



" On the ISth of April, 1855, I introduced (533) an Italian 

 queen into a colony of common bees; and on the 10th of May 

 following, the first Italian worl<ers emerged from the cells. On 

 the ensuing day, they emerged in great numbers, as the colony 

 had been liept in good condition by regular and plentiful feeding. 

 I will arrange my observations under the following heads : 



161. "i. On the 10th of May, the first Italian workers 

 emerged ; and on the 17th they made their first appearance out- 

 side of the hive. On the next day, and then daily till the 29th, 

 they came forth about noon, disporting in front of the hive, in 

 the rays of the sun. They, however, manifestly, did not issue 

 for the purpose of gathering honey or pollen, for during that 

 time none were noticed returning with pellets ; none were seen 

 alighting on any of the flowers in my garden ; and I found no 

 honey in the stomachs of such as I caught and killed for examin- 

 ation. The gathering was done exclusively by the old bees of 

 the original stock, until the 29th of May, when the Italian bees 

 began to labor in that vocation also — being then 19 days old. 



IG'Z. "f. On the feeding troughs placed in my garden, and 

 which were constantly crowded with common bees, I saw no 

 Italian bees till the 27th of May, seventeen days after the first 

 had emerged from the cells. 



" From the 10th of May on, I daily presented to Italian bees, 

 in the hive, a stick dipped in honey. The younger ones never 

 attempted to lick any of it ; the older occasionally seemed to sip 

 a little, but immediately left it and moved away. The common 

 bees always eagerly licked it up, never leaving it till they had 

 filled their honey-bags. Not till the 25th of May did I see any 

 Italian bee lick up honey eagerly, as the common bees did from 

 the beginning. 



" These repeated observations force me to conclude that, during 



same: expenments have jnoTen that one of the species cannot folflll all 

 the fanctions shared among the workers of a hive . We painted those of each 

 class with different colors, in order to study their proceedings; and these were 

 not interchanged. In another experiment, after supplying a hive, deprived of 

 a qaeen, with brood and pollen, we saw the small bees quickly occupied in the 

 feeding of the larvae, while those of the wax- working class neglected them. 

 Small bees also produce wax, but in a very inferior quantity to what is elab- 

 orated by the real wax- workers." The two kinds spoken of by Huber were 

 bees at diffeieut stages of life. 



