Page:Jardine Naturalist's library Bees.djvu/87

Rh utmost ire is kindled against the invader, as far as concerns the reception of the newly-hatched insect, and its introduction to the duties and avocations of the Bee-community, they appear altogether selfish and indifferent. There is another case in which this indifference appears very striking: a sudden change of weather about the end of autumn, from a mild temperature to raw frost, has such an immediate effect on the brood, that it is not uncommon to observe a young bee, which shall have so far succeeded in breaking its prison, as to extricate its head, and nearly its shoulders, yet perishing from cold in this situation, without the slightest effort on the part of the workers to save the life of a companion whose rearing has already cost them so much labour. Immediately after the young bee has issued from the cell, the workers hasten to clean it out, clear away the ragged remains of the cover, fortify it anew with the usual strong bordering of wax, and thus prepare it for the reception of another egg, or of honey, or farina. We have hitherto confined our observations to the progress of a worker, from the egg to the state of the perfect insect. The same process takes place in the case of the Males and of the Queen, though with some difference as to the time occupied in the transformation. Like those of the common bees, the eggs of Males are hatched in three days; the larva state continues six and a half days, and after having formed their cocoon, and been metamorphosed into nymphs,