§ 1.
NATURE OF BEES.
A healthy hive contains in summer three kinds of bees
| 1. The queen or mother-bee. |
| 2. The drones or males. |
| 3. The working-bees, or imperfect females. |
§ 2.
THE QUEEN.
In a hive there is in general only one queen who lays during the time of her highest prolificness in summer daily from 1000 to 3000 eggs, and these in the best order; one egg in a cell. More than one queen the bees do not suffer. Should there be more, they fly away as swarms, or are killed by the bees.
The queen lays male and female eggs. The male-eggs she lays in the drone cells, and the female-eggs in the small cells of the working-bees. The queen requires, reckoning from the egg to her creeping out ten to seventeen days, according to the weather.
§ 3.
THE WORKING-BEES.