There are nine varieties, of which six are gregarious-the bee, the
king-bee, the drone bee, the annual wasp, and, furthermore, the
anthrene (or hornet), and the tenthredo (or ground-wasp); three are
solitary-the smaller siren, of a dun colour, the larger siren, black
and speckled, and the third, the largest of all, that is called the
humble-bee. Now ants never go a-hunting, but gather up what is ready
to hand; the spider makes nothing, and lays up no store, but simply
goes a-hunting for its food; while the bee--for we shall by and by
treat of the nine varieties--does not go a-hunting, but constructs its
food out of gathered material and stores it away, for honey is the
bee's food. This fact is shown by the beekeepers' attempt to remove
the combs; for the bees, when they are fumigated, and are suffering
great distress from the process, then devour the honey most
ravenously, whereas at other times they are never observed to be so
greedy, but apparently are thrifty and disposed to lay by for their
future sustenance. They have also another food which is called
bee-bread; this is scarcer than honey and has a sweet figlike taste;
this they carry as they do the wax on their legs.
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