56 
FOLLOWING THE BEE LINE 
sinking of the boat to a certain depth in the water 
shows that the hives are sufficiently full, and they 
are then carried bac\ to their former homes. 
Even earlier, this aquatic form of migratory bee¬ 
keeping was pursued in Egypt. Plants bloomed in 
Upper Egypt six weeks earlier than in Lower Egypt, 
inducing the beekeepers of the latter region to pack 
up their tubular mud and reed hives and convey 
them up the Nile to Upper Egypt, timing their 
journey so they arrived there just when the flowers 
were budding. They followed the blooming season 
on their way back, stopping during the day, moving 
at night—taking advantage of honey bees’ customary 
return to their hives at nightfall. 
John (Jan) Swammerdam, one of the most emi¬ 
nent naturalists of the seventeenth century, was a 
great bee enthusiast. Born in Amsterdam in 1637, 
he studied the profession of medicine and took his 
doctor’s degree in 1667. However, he neglected his 
practice through a passionate devotion to the study 
of insects, making special researches on the anatomy 
of bees. He also investigated the metamorphoses of 
insects, thus laying the foundations for their natural 
classification. His absorption in these studies greatly 
distressed his father, who had adequate means and 
supplied his son with funds—but not for that pur- 
