APIS. 
than in m6st insects. It is not easy to fix 
the time when the eggs hatch : I have been 
led to imagine it was in five days. When 
tiiey hatch we find the young maggot lying 
coiled up in the bottom of the cell, in some 
degree surrounded with a transparent fluid. 
In many of the cells, where the eggs have 
just hatched, we find the skin standing in 
its place, either not yet removed, or not 
pressed down by the maggot. Tiiere is now 
an additional employment for the labourers, 
namely, the feeding and nursing the young 
maggots. We may suppose the queen has 
nothing to do with this, as there are at all 
times labourers enough in the hive for such 
purposes, especially too, as she never does 
bring the materials, as every other of the 
tribe is obliged to do at first ; therefore she 
seems to be a queen by hereditary, or rather 
by natural right, while the humble-bee, 
wasp, hornet, &c. seem rather to work 
themselves into royalty, or mistresses of the 
community. The bees are readily detected 
feeding the youiig maggot ; and, indeed, a 
young maggot might easily be brought up 
by any person who would be attentive to it. 
They open their two lateral pincers to 
receive the food, and swallow it. As they 
grow, they cast their coats or cuticles; but 
how often they throw their coats, while in 
tire maggot state, I do not know. The 
maggots grow larger and larger till they 
nearly fill the cell ; and by this time they 
require no more food, and are ready to be 
inclosed for the chrysalis state : when ready 
for the chrysalis state, the bees cover over 
the mouth of the cell with a substance of a 
light brown colour, much in the same man- 
ner that they cover the honey, excepting 
that, in the present instance, the covering 
is convex externally, and appears not to be 
entirely wax, but a mixture of wax and 
farina. The maggot is now perfectly in- 
closed, and it begins to line the cell and 
covering of the mouth above-mentioned 
with a silk it spins out similar to the silk- 
worm, and which makes a kind of pod for 
the chrysalis. Having completed this lining, 
they cast off, or rather shove off, from the 
head backwards, the last maggot coat which 
is deposited at the bottom of the cell, and 
then they become chrysalises. 
“ In this state they are forming them- 
selves for a new life : they are either entirely 
new built, or wonderfully changed, for there 
is no t the smallest vestige of the old form 
remaining ; yet it must be the same mate- 
rials, for now nothing is taken in. How far 
this change is only the old parts new model- 
led, or gradually altering their form, is not 
easily determined. To bring about the 
change, many parts must be removed, out 
of which the new ones are probably formed. 
As bees are not different in this state from 
the common flying insects in general, I shall 
not pursue the subject of their changes fur- 
ther, although it makes a very material part 
in the natural history ofiusects. 
“ When the chrysalis is formed into the 
complete bee, it then destroys the covering 
of its cell and comes forth. They are of a 
greyish colour, but soon turn brown. 
“ When the swarm of which I have hither- 
to been giving the history has come off early, 
and is a large one, more especially if it was 
put into too small a hive, it often breeds 
too many for the hive to keep through the 
winter ; and in such case a new swarm is 
thrown off, which, however, is commonly 
not a large one, and generally has too little 
time to complete its comb, and store it with 
honey sufficient to preserve them through 
the winter. This is similar to the second or 
third swarm of the old hives. 
“ I have already observed that the new 
colony immediately sets about the increase 
of their numbers, and every thing relating 
to it. They had their apartments to build, 
both for the purpose of breeding, and as a 
store-house for provisions for the winter. 
When the season for laying eggs is over, 
then is the season for collecting honey ; 
therefore, when the last chrysalis for the 
season comes forth, its cell is immediately 
filled with honey ; and as soon as a cell is 
full, it is covered over with pure wax, as it is 
to be considered as store for the winter. 
This covering answers two very essential 
purposes : one is to keep it from spilling, or 
daubing the bees ; the other to prevent its 
evaporation, by which means it is kept fluid 
in such a warmth. They are also employed 
in laying up a store of bee-bread for the 
young maggots in the spring, for they begin 
to bring forth much earlier than probably 
any other insect, because they retain a 
summer heat, and store up food for the 
young. 
“ In the month of August we may suppose 
the queen, or queens, are impregnated by 
the males ; and as the males do not pr ovide 
for themselves, they become burdensome to 
the workers, and are therefore teased to 
death much sooner than they otherwise 
would die; and when the bees set about 
this business of providing their winter store, 
every operation is over, except the collect- 
ing of honey and bee- bread. At this time 
