HONEY BEE. 257 
Lucy, I suppose, like the wasps, 
they put only one egg in each cell. Do 
they feed the maggots in the same way ? 
Mother. Just so : the working bees 
take the greatest care of the worms, con- 
stantly supplying them with food till the 
time for changing to a chrysalis arrives. 
Then they close over the top of the cell 
with a thin coat of wax; and the little 
worm proceeds to spin a delicate web, in 
which it becomes a nymph. In this state 
it continues for a few days, when it quits 
its case; and, eating its way through the 
thinroof of its chamber, makes its appear- 
ance as a winged bee. 
Lucy, How long is it becoming a 
perfect bee ? 
Mother, About twenty days from the 
time the e^^ was laid. When a young 
bee comes forth, some of the elders sur- 
round it and give it honey from their 
trunks; its strength thus confirmed, away 
it flies, and collects honey with as much 
skill as the oldest in the hive. The la- 
bourers then throw from the hive the 
