62 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



if the night be exceptionally hot and oppressive, 

 and the fanning army unusually large, the bee- 

 master with an eye for dramatic effect generally 

 finishes the tiro's wonderment by showing him an 

 old trick. He lowers the candle until the flame 

 is just behind the squadron of ventilating bees, 

 and at once all is darkness : the current of air 

 drawn out of the hive has proved strong enough 

 to extinguish the light. 



It has been said that there are guard-bees who 

 watch the hive-door day and night. To the un- 

 skilled human eye one bee looks very like another, 

 and it is difficult to understand how, in the many 

 thousands that pass, the guards manage to detect 

 an intruder so unerringly, and to eject her with 

 such unceremonious promptitude as is always 

 shown. Probably it is not by sight alone that 

 these occasional interlopers are singled out. The 

 sense of smell in the honey-bee is extraordinarily 

 acute, and this, no doubt, assists the guards in 

 their difficult work. It is well known that a queen- 

 bee must possess a very distinct odour, as her 

 mere presence abroad, even when shut up in a box, 

 will attract the drones from all quarters. In all 

 likelihood the peculiar aroma from each queen-bee 

 impregnates the whole colony, and thus the guard- 

 bees are able at once to distinguish their own kin 

 from that of alien stocks. 



Still watching the outside life of the hive in the 

 old bee-garden, many other interesting things 



