24 



Marvels of the Universe 



passage of the bees, but 

 also for the ingress of the 

 fresh air and escape of 

 the foul ? The impulse 

 of the inexperienced bee- 

 keeper here is to remedy 

 what he considers the 

 bees' want of intelligence 

 and foresight by piercing 

 a row of ventilation-holes 

 in the hive-roof. If he 

 does so, he will find that 

 within an hour or two the 

 bees will have blocked up 

 the holes again. 



But the fact is we 

 do not at first realize 

 the whole ingenuity of 

 this branch of hive-policy, 

 because we have not 

 taken into account all the 

 conditions. In a normal 

 hive, beside the vast 

 population of adult bees, 

 there are innumerable 

 bee-grubs — perhaps ten 

 or twelve thousand at a 

 time — maturing in the 

 brood - cells ; there are 

 also the store-combs filled 

 with brewing" honey, each 

 little vat incessantly giv- 

 ing forth a heavy steam. 

 Not only must fresh air 

 be continually provided 

 for the bees, young and 

 old, but there must be a fairly brisk air-current through the honey-combs to carry off this 

 vapour, or it would soon condense and the hive become a quagmire. Yet this is not all. Both 

 young brood and maturing honey require a high and equable temperature for their proper 

 development, so that the air must be wanned before it reaches the nurseries and brewing-quarters 

 of the hive. 



Throughout the winter, when the conditions governing bee-life are fundamentally changed, 

 there is no need for mechanical ventilation of the hive, because the natural motive power of the 

 warm air given off by the clustering bees is sufficient to create the gentle air-circulation then alone 

 needful. But at the first return of warm weather a new form of activity is inaugurated. Gangs of 

 bees are stationed at the hive-entrance, both inside and out, whose duty it is to fan the air in different 

 directions according to the position taken up. The combined result of this fanning system is to 

 draw in air at one side and expel it at the other, after it has made the whole circuit of the interior 

 of the hive. And now we see the wisdom of allowing only one aperture. Any method of through 



Pholo ii/] 



[Tickner Jidicnrdes. 



DEPOSITING THE EGGS IN THE BROOD-COMB. 



A brood-comb, showing the two sizes of cell made by bees. The large cell is used for 

 raising the drones, or male bees, and the smaller cell for the workers. The queen, in 

 laying the eggs, which can be seen in the illustration, attaches them to the base of 

 the cells. 



