Page 118 - The Miracle of the Honeybee

116 THE MIRACLE OF THE HONEYBEE

When the new queen is about to emerge from her cell, the old queen
bee leaves the hive accompanied by a group consisting of worker bees and
a few drones. After this swarm leaves the hive, it forms a cluster, often
rather like a bunch of grapes, on a nearby branch or projecting object. 95
The queen is in the middle of this mass. The workers literally form a wall

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around her with their bodies, thus ensuring her safety. As the bees come
together in this disciplined manner, the odor unique to the colony soon
forms.
As already mentioned, every worker has a scent gland in its body
which it can use for marking flowers whenever it wishes. This gland is ex-
ternally invisible when not in use. Yet the bee can expose it when it wants,
whereupon it exudes a scent. The scout bees use this to mark new places

they find. Bees are exceedingly sensitive to the scent of their own colony,
and the scent left by the scouts can be perceived even from considerable
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distances. The bees are thus able to find their new destinations easily.

A swarm of bees waiting on a tree to make their nest.
When the scout bees find a site for the new hive, this
mass will disperse.