68 Three Kinds of Bees in. Each Colony. 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE 

 HONEY-BEE. 



With a knowledge of the anatomy and some glimpses of the 

 physiology of insects in general^ we shall now find it easy to 

 learn the special anatomy and physiology of the highest in- 

 sects of the order. 



THREE KINDS OF BEES IN EACH FAMILY. 



As we have already seen, a very remarkablfe feature in the 

 economy of the honey-bee, described even by Aristotle, which 

 is true of many other bees, and also of ants and many wasps, 

 is the presence in each family of three distinct kinds, which 

 difier in form, color, structure, size, habits and function. 

 Thus we have the queen (Lubbock has shown that there are 

 several queens in an ant colony), a number of drones, and a 

 far greater number of workers. Huber, Be van, Munn, and 

 Kirby also speak of a fourth kind, blacker than the usual 

 workers. These are accidental, and are, as conclusively shown 

 by Von Berlepsch, ordinary workers, more deeply colored by 

 age, loss of hair, dampness, or some other atmospheric con- 

 dition. American apiarists are too familiar with these black 

 bees, for after our severe winters, they prevail in the colony, 

 and, as remarked by the noted Baron, "They quickly disap- 

 pear." Munn also tells of a fifth kind, with a top-knot, which 

 appears at swarming seasons. I am at a great loss to know 

 what he refers to, unless it be the pollen masses of the asclepias, 

 or milk-weed, which sometimes fasten to our bees and become 

 a severe burden. 



THE QUEEN BEE. 



The queen (Fig. 16), although referred to as the mother 

 bee, was called the king by Virgil, I^liny, and by writers as 

 late as the last century, though in the ancient ' 'Bee Master's 

 Farewell," by John Keys, published in London in 1796, I 

 find an admirable description of the queen bee, with her func- 

 tion correctly stated. Reaumur, as quoted by "Wildman on 

 Bees," published in London in 1770, says "this third sort has 

 a grave and sedate walk, is armed with a sting, and is mother 

 of all the others." 



Huber, to whom every apiarist owes so much, and who. 



