(原版)澳大利亞語文第三冊 LESSON 15

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LESSON 15 BEES

BEES

II

1. After Mr. Flower had lifted the lid from the hive, he called Joe to come and look in. Joe saw that the top was made of a number of wooden frames [1] packed closely together.

2. His uncle lifted one of the frames from the hive, and the children saw that it was shaped like a small square box. The sides were of thin wood, but the centre was filled with white honey-comb over which the bees were crawling.

3. Sarah handed her uncle a soft brush. He gently brushed the bees from the comb back into the hive. He then placed the boxes of comb upon a tray which he had ready. After he had treated all the frames in the same way, the children saw that these had filled only the top part of the hive. They had rested on a zinc grating through which the bees were crawling.

A CLASS IN BEE-KEEPING

4. Mr. Flower said that the holes in this grating were too small to let any but the working bees pass through into the top part of the hive, and so nothing but pure honey in the waxen comb was found in that section [2] .

5. He then lifted out the zinc grating, and took some of the frames from the bottom of the hive. Joe saw that these combs were much darker in colour than the others, and that many of the cells had a white grub in each.

6. Their uncle told them that this grub was called the larva of the bee; that it had come from an egg laid by the queen bee; and that it would change into a pupa or chrysalis, from which would come the winged bee.

7. Sarah thought it was very wonderful that this soft white grub would one day become a busy bee.

8. In one of the combs they found a cell very much larger than the others.

9. Mr. Flower said that the grub in this cell was looked after with great care and fed with special food, for from it would come a queen bee.

10. He showed them that each hive contained [3] three kinds of bees—the queen, the workers, and the drones. In each hive there was but one queen, but there were hundreds of busy workers who acted as builders, nurses, or honey gatherers.

11. The drones, he said, were idle insects. As soon as winter approaches [4] and food becomes scarce, the workers kill these and drag them from the hive.

12. Mr. Flower then put the frames back into the lower section, replaced the zinc plate, and filled the top section with frames containing comb from which the honey had been taken.

13. The full combs were sent to the honey-house [5] ; and the children went to dinner, much pleased with the morning spent with the bees.

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[1] frames: Wooden outside parts—as slate frames, picture frames.

[2] section: A part cut off.

[3] contained: Held within it.

[4] approaches: Draws near.

[5] honey-house: House with windows screened with gauze so that the bees cannot get in.