272 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
waste no time in abortive attempts to change the lot assigned to them; they 
display statecraft, a knowledge of social economy, the qualities of thrift, and 
useful activity; are also acquainted with the arts of the architect, the builder, 
the mining engineer, the upholsterer, the house-decorator, the paper-maker, the 
embalmer, the soldier. They possess the senses of sight, hearing, smell; they 
are able to communicate with each other; they distinguish colors; they are 
able after the most lengthened separation to recognize members of their own 
community, even when this embraces a million of individuals and the returning 
prodigal left while still in the pupal stage. 
The Humble-Bee or Bumble-Bee {Bombas) is found everywhere. It was 
imported into Australia as a fertilizer. The queens hibernate, and in the 
spring found new colonies. She surrounds the eggs with a mixture of pollen 
and honey, upon which the larvae are to feed. At maturity the larvae spin a 
are then metamorphosed 
into pupae. The work¬ 
ers first reach full de¬ 
velopment, and at once 
relieve the parent of the 
care of providing for the 
family. In building, the 
bee uses such material 
as is most easily obtained, 
and shows great ingenu¬ 
ity in adapting the form 
of her dwelling to the 
necessities of the case. 
The Honey-Bee is 
the most important mem¬ 
ber of the bee family, and 
is deserving of the pop¬ 
ular interest in which it 
is held, since its product 
yields fifteen millions of 
dollars annually, and 
is rapidly increasing. 
The bees are easily distinguished as males, females, drones and workers. The 
male bee has at least one-fifth of its head occupied by large eyes, and the hind 
legs are slender at the base, and widen as they approach the top. The 
female and worker bees have elongated and lateral eyes, not joined together; 
the. wings have a marginal cell ; the hind legs are not spined. The queen 
is immured in a separate cell and waited upon by the workers, who omit no 
attention calculated to add to her comfort and pleasure. Her eggs, as fast as 
laid, are carried away by .watchful attendants and placed in other cells. As 
there is need for change in the conditions of incubation, the eggs are shifted 
to chambers selected with reference to the temperature required, and no hot¬ 
house gardener is more intelligent or more watchful. As soon as,a new queen 
is born the old queen, with a few devoted attendants, takes her flight and colo¬ 
nizes elsewhere. The bees seem to have the power of developing a worker, 
or sterile female, into a queen. The drones are produced not by the queen, 
silken cell, which the mother encases m wax, and 
TERMITE HILLS. 
