GROWTH AND FEEDING OF HONEYBEE LARVAE. 27 
the comb is placed in the hive. These cells are then marked by past- 
ing a small triangular pointer on the outside of the glass, the fine 
point of which comes directly over the cell to be studied. These 
pointers serve to hold abbreviated data concerning the particular 
cell which they mark; they interfere in no wise with the observations 
and are permanent. Paint or marks on the edge of the cell itself are 
soon removed, and the bees working at this removal may introduce 
a source of error. 
Preliminary observations were made, and it was decided that 
10-minute periods for observations are probably of the most prac- 
tical length. Such a short period can be used to obtain data on a 
greater number of different cells within a given time, or they can 
be doubled and several readings taken in succession on the same cell, 
in case it appears that either procedure is desirable. 
NURSE BEES. 
A nurse bee moves about over the brood combs when attending to 
the needs of eggs or larva?. She stops sometimes and lowers her head 
over certain cells, and at other times she thrusts her head within the 
brood cells but promptly withdraws it. On still other occasions she 
enters a cell containing an egg or a larva and remains in it for a 
more or less extended period, presumably engaged in certain activ- 
ities. The activities of the nurse bees in their work may be classified 
according to the time spent at each cell and according to the probable 
purpose of their visits. These actions are here divided into inspec- 
tions and nursing, and the inspections are further subdivided. > 
INSPECTION, TYPE A. 
A nurse bee in pursuing her duties sometimes pauses with her head 
over an open brood cell. When she does this she usually lowers her 
head slightly, barely perceptibly at times, and then passes on. It is 
observable that she is a nurse bee, and presumably this behavior is 
part of the activity connected with her duties as a nurse, for she has 
just come from another cell where she has been feeding a larva ; and 
if her movements are followed, she is seen to enter another cell, 
where her movements indicate that she is attending to the wants of 
the inmate. 
This act of pausing, together with other activities which may 
accompany it but which have not as yet been explained, is difficult to 
classify, because its significance is not known. Such a pause may be 
all that is required to gain information through some sense organ 
concerning the feeding requirements of the inmate, and therefore this 
activity must be recorded. This type of activity is frequently noted, 
particularly when the cell contains an egg or a young larva. 1 At 
present certain and special significance can not be attributed to this 
activity other than calling attention to it as a fact; it was decided to 
enter it in the data under the designation Inspection, Type A. 
1 A similar hesitating behavior is noted in the case of the laying queen, and it is seen 
most often when she is laying in a com!) containing scattered brood ami eggs. At such 
times she frequently pauses above certain cells and then passes on without entering. 
Many cells thus passed have been examined and practically without exception they con- 
tained either eggs, larvae, or noticeable debris. 
