66 
THE FUNCTIONS OF BEES. 
farina, the observer will perceive the little active 
forager, on her arrival in the interior, hurrying over 
the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell in 
which to deposit her burden ; arid having found one, 
fastening herself by the two fore-feet on its superior 
border, then bending her body a little forward, that 
her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edge 
of the cell. In this position she is next seen thrust- 
ing back her second pair of feet, one on each side, 
and sweeping with them from top to bottom along 
the two hinder legs, where the farina balls are fixed, 
and by this means detaching them from the hairy 
linings of the cavities, and depositing them in the 
cell. To the workers, also, are committed the va- 
rious offices of guarding the entrance of the hive by 
night and day, during the honey season ; of repulsing 
marauders — of keeping their abode free from all 
offensive matters — of renewing the air within by an 
ingenious mode of ventilation — of replacing a lost 
Queen, and of destroying the drones at the decline 
of the honey season. Receiving from nature these 
weighty charges, they labour assiduously to fulfil 
them ; and, while each member of the community 
acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works 
less for private than for the general good. These 
labours appear unceasing ; yet do the weary labour- 
ers sometimes snatch an interval of repose. During 
the busy season, we have seen hundreds of the 
workers retiring into the cells, and exhibiting all the 
marks of profound sleep. This fact is very easily 
observable, especially in those cells which are con- 
