learn a
few of the lessons which the bee teaches, he would be a better, a more
useful and a wiser addition to society.

OBSERVATIONS AND STUDIES

[Illustration: Two colonies of bees poorly cared for. Note box hives,
crowding, lack of shade, and high weeds. It is a crime to treat bees
this way.]

Go into the fields and study the work of the bee. Follow it from flower
to flower. See if it visits different kinds of flowers or if it gathers
its whole load of honey from one kind. Make a list of all the blossoms
you find bees visiting. Does the bee move slowly from flower to flower?
Can you see it thrust its tongue into the flower? How long does it stay
on one blossom? Does it visit red clover? Pull a red clover blossom
apart and compare the depth of the blossom with the length of the honey
bee's tongue, and determine the reason why it does not visit red
clover. The bumble-bee has a much longer tongue so it can get the nectar
from red clover blossoms. Without the bumble-bee clover seed could not
be successfully grown. Can you see small balls of yellow pollen on the
hind legs of the bee? The pollen is collected from blossoms and is
pasted on to the outside of the hind legs in the pollen basket. When the
bee returns to the hive, it stores the small balls of pollen in the
cells of the comb for use later in the preparation of bee-bread. When
the bee is disturbed in the field does it fly away or will it sting?
When it stings does it always lose its sting? What makes the sting of
the bee poisonous? Examine the wings of bees in the field and note how
they are torn from continued work of gathering honey. The older ones
often lose so much of their wings, that they can no longer carry loads
of honey. Where is the honey carried and how is it placed in the honey
cells in the hive?

[Illustration: A strong colony of bees properly housed and shaded. This
colony in a very unfavorable season stored about 50 pounds of surplus
honey.]

Go now to a hive and study the bees as they go and come. Do those
returning fly as fast as those which leave? Why not? When they return do
they come direct to the mouth of the hive? Do those which leave fly
direct from the hive or circle about first? Can you detect guards which
move about at the entrance of the hive? What happens when a fly or other
insect alights near the opening? Will the bees sting when you disturb
them about the hive? If possible study the colony inside the hive. To do
this you will