56 
Beekeeping 
workers so that it grows nearly to fill the cell (Fig. 43) in a 
few days. It is then capped over (Fig. 39) and undergoes 
metamorphosis into an adult, this transition stage being 
known as the pupa. If about two weeks after brood-rearing 
has begun, the central comb is removed, we find the inner 
circle of the brood sealed, surrounding this concentric circles 
of larva;, the smaller toward the outside, and in the outer¬ 
most circle are recently laid eggs. Similarly as other combs 
are examined, the same succession of brood is found as we 
go to the outer lateral boundaries of the sphere of brood. 
As the brood continues to develop, the innermost cells are 
first emptied by the emergence 1 of the young adult bees and 
the queen then returns to the center of the sphere to deposit 
eggs. The emergence of the brood increases the size of the 
colony and consequently the amount of brood that can be 
fed and protected is greater, especially since the young bees 
normally do most of the work of caring for the brood. Fur¬ 
thermore, as the temperature of the outside air rises, the 
cluster is expanded and more brood can be included in it. 
Bees often attempt to rear more brood than they can cover 
in the event of unusually cold weather, and if the weather 
turns cold they may contract the cluster and leave brood 
exposed to die of starvation and cold. The concentric ar¬ 
rangement of the brood may often be observed throughout 
the breeding season (Fig. 44) but usually after a time the 
symmetrical arrangement of early spring is less conspicuous, 
due to irregularities in the combs or to external conditions 
modifying the extent of brood-rearing from day to day. In 
general, however, the brood consists of concentric spherical 
layers of various ages. 2 The concentric arrangement of the 
The content of the intestine is often dark and this may frequently be 
seen through the transparent tissues as a narrow band on the convex 
side. 
1 Beekeepers frequently refer to the emergence of young adult bees as 
“hatching.” This, however, is incorrect and the word should be applied 
only to the issuing of the young larva; from the eggs. 
2 In a hive as shallow as the Langstroth the sphere is usually flattened, 
as in Fig. 44. 
