From the time of Aristotle onwards,
writers commented on the highly organized
honey bee society. One such Latin work is
Historia Animalium
They expel from the hive
all idlers and unthrifts.
As has been said, they
differentiate their work;
some make wax, some
make honey, some make
bee-bread, some shape and
mould combs, some bring water
to the cells and mingle it with
the honey, some engage in
out-of-door work. At early dawn
they make no noise, until some
one particular bee makes a buzzing
noise two or three times and
thereby awakes the rest; hereupon
they all fly in a body to work. . .
until at least some one bee flies
round about, making a buzzing noise,
and apparently calling on the others
to go to sleep; then all of a sudden
there is a dead silence (IX.40.627a)
No comments:
Post a Comment