282 THAT'; 



pies her almost incessantly, as a 

 single one only is deposited in 

 each cell, thus causing her to be 

 in continual motion ; she is slow 

 and majestic in her movements, 

 and differs from the workers in 

 being larger, having a longer 

 body, shorter wings, and a curved 

 sting. The queen is accompanied 

 by a guard of twelve workers, an 

 office which is taken in turn, but 

 never intermitted ; in whatever 

 direction she wishes to travel, 

 these guards clear the way before 

 her, always with the utmost cour- 

 tesy turning their faces towards 

 her, and when she rests from her 

 labours, approaching her with 

 humility, licking her face, mouth, 

 and eyes, and appearing to fondle 

 her with their antennae. 



" The drones are all males ; 

 they are less than the queen, but 

 larger than the workers ; they 

 live on the honey of flowers, but 

 bring none home, and are wholly 

 useless, except as being the fa- 

 thers of the future progeny : 

 when this office is accomplished, 

 they are destroyed by the work- 

 ers. A buzzing commences in 

 the hive, the drones and the 

 workers sally forth together, 

 grapple each other in the air, 

 hug and scuffle for a minute, 

 during which operation the stings 

 of the workers are plunged into 

 the sides of the drones, who, 

 overpowered by the poison, al- 

 most instantly die. 



" The workers are the smallest 

 bees in the hive, and by far the 

 most numerous ; they have a 

 longer lip for sucking honey than 

 either of the others ; their thighs 

 are furnished with a brush for 



s it; 



the reception of the pollen of 

 flowers, and their sting is straight. 

 The workers do the entire work 

 of the community ; they build 

 the cells, guard the hive and 

 the queen, collect and store the 

 honey, elaborate the wax, feed 

 the young, kill the drones, &c. 

 The average number of these 

 three kinds of bees in a hive 

 is one queen, 2000 drones, and 

 20,000 workers. The eggs are 

 long, slightly curved, and of a 

 bluish colour ; when laid they 

 are covered with a glutinous 

 matter, which instantly dries, 

 attaching them to the bottom of 

 the cell. 



10 



712. 



" For eleven months the queen 

 lays only workers' eggs ; after- 

 wards, those which produce 

 drones : as soon as this change 

 has taken place, the workers 

 begin to construct royal cells, in 

 which, without discontinuing to 

 lay the drones' eggs, the queen 

 deposits here and there, about 

 once in three days, an egg which 

 is destined to produce a queen. 

 The workers' eggs hatch in a 

 few days, and produce little 

 white maggots, which imme- 

 diately open their mouths to be 



