. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE HUMBLE BEE. 547 the legs of the Bees is the pollen of flowers. This is kneaded up by the bees, and is called bee-bread. The cells are six-sided, a form which gives the greatest space and strength with the le 'St amount of material, but the meihoc' employed by the Bees to give the cells that shape is not known. The cells in which the Drone or male Bees are hatched, are much larger than those of the ordinary or worker Bee. The edges of the cells are strengthened with a substance called propol s, which is a gummy material procured from the buds of vari
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE HUMBLE BEE. 547 the legs of the Bees is the pollen of flowers. This is kneaded up by the bees, and is called bee-bread. The cells are six-sided, a form which gives the greatest space and strength with the le 'St amount of material, but the meihoc' employed by the Bees to give the cells that shape is not known. The cells in which the Drone or male Bees are hatched, are much larger than those of the ordinary or worker Bee. The edges of the cells are strengthened with a substance called propol s, which is a gummy material procured from the buds of various trees. This propolis is also used to stop up crevices and to mix with wax when the comb has to be strengthened. The royal cells are much larger than any others, and are of an oval shape. When a worker lar^a is placed in a royal cell, and fed in a royal manner, it imbi'-ies the principles of royalty, and becomes a queen accordingly. This practice is adopted if the Queen Bee should die, and there be no other queft" to take her place. '1 he Queen Bee is lady paramount in her own hive, and suffers no other queen to divide rule with her. Should a strange queen gain admittance, there is a battle at once, which ceases not until one has been destroyed. At the swarming time, the old queen is sadly put outbythe encroachments of various young queens, who each wish for the throne, and at last is so agitated that she rushes out of ihe hive, attended by a large body of subjects, and thus the tirst swaim is formed. In seven or eight days, the queen next in age also depaits, taking with her another supply of subjects. When all the swarms have left tlie original hive, the remaining queens fight until one gains the thtone. The old method of destroying Bees for the sake of the honey was not only cruel but wasteful, as by burning scpme dry " puff-ball " the Bees are stupefied, and shortly return to consciousness. The em- ployment of a " cap" on the hive is an eJccellen
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
