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Show si:li:(;ti:d. FACTS ABOUT TIIK IIOXKY I11C1C. There nro throe elnsses of bet:.s in n hivi! tho worker, qiK-c n nnd drom'. Queens are rinsed hy pceuli.tr l'ood mill treatment from cux that would othi'rwUo product) workers. - Tho worker is an undeveloped female. fe-male. Workers, in tho absence of the queen, sometimes lay cjrgs.. Theso invariably in-variably produce drones. TI10 queen lives from two to five years. The worker from two to three months in the working season, and fiom six to eight during the season of rest. Tho queen is perfected in fifteen or sixleen days from the egg, tho worker iu twenty to twenty-one, and the drone in twenty-four. Tho queen usually commences layiug form seven to twelve days after leaving the cell, and is capable of laying from two to three thousand rg;s in a day. The impregnation of the queen always al-ways takes place outside the liive, on tho wing, and generally the fourth or lil'th day alter leaving the cell. Excepting Ex-cepting in rare cases, one inpregnation answers for life. The drone she lias mated with dies immediately. The eggs of an unimpreguatcd queen produce nothing hut drones; and it is generally conceded that impregnation does not affect the drone progeny; consequently, con-sequently, tho male progeny of a pure Italian queen is pure without regard to the drono sbo has mated with. The queen and worker are provided with stings; but while the latter will only use it upon any provocation, the former for-mer will use it on her own rank. Tbe drones have no sting. One queen, as a ru'e, is all that is tolerated in a hive; but previous to throwing off "after Bwarrus," two or more queens are permitted in thesame hive for a short time; but the extra ones are soon disposed of. In case of superseding a queen, the old one is preserved until the new one is fitted to take her place. Queens have a deadly hatred for each other, and will destroy, if permitted, all queen larva; or cells in tho hive, and wdl fight until thero is but one living one lefu Bees gather three kinds of products: Propolis, from the gum trees and shrubs, for fastening the joints and cracks of their hives; pollen, or bee bread, from flowers, for feeding their young and themselves; and honey, which constitutes the main food of the hive. Water is also carried into the hive during the breeding season, for mixing with the food for their young; .-alt is also made use of for the same purpose. Wax, like fat, is an animal product, and is secreted by the bees in thin scales from the underside of the body. While doing this, they consume large quantities quanti-ties of honey from fifteen to twenty pounds for every pound of wax secreted. se-creted. A frightened bee, or one filled with honey, is not disposed to sting. A good swarm contains about twenty thousand bees. A strong or medium hive, with a good laying queen, is never seriously troubled with the moth worm; but a hive without a queen or a means of raising one is sure to be taken by them. Bees recognize each other by their scent. The first one or two weeks of the young bee's life is spent inside the hive, as a nurse or wax worker. The range of the bee's flight for food is generally within two or three miles; much greater range is of little bentfit to them. Ex. |