122 NEW ZEALAND NATURE-STUDY BOOK 
an acid; this can be neutralised by an alkali; hence, if 
the wound be rubbed with carbonate of soda or liquid 
ammonia, the pain and swelling will be relieved. The sting 
is a modified ovipositor or instrument for placing eggs in 
a desirable position, with which the female forms of many 
insects are provided. 
: 4 
Scie 
Fig. 81._(a) The Queen Bee, (b) the Worker, (c) Drone Bee. 
The Bee Community. There are three kinds of 
bees found in the hive—the worker, the drone, and the 
queen bee. The worker is the form just described, and 
is the one which, as its name implies, does all the work of 
collecting and storing the honey. The drones or male bees 
are easily distinguished from the workers by their longer 
and heavier bodies ; they do no work, and are killed by the 
workers before the end of the honey-collecting season. 
They do not possess stings, nor are their hind legs provided 
with the arrangements which enable the worker to carry 
pollen. The queen, which is longer and more slender in 
build than either of the other two, can also be recognised 
after a little practice, but she seldom leaves the hive, and 
hence is not often seen. She lives about four years, and 
during that time lays many thousands of eggs. 
