But though we should naturally expect winds and
currents, rivers and clouds, and even plants to follow fixed
laws, we should scarcely have looked for such regularity in the
life of the active, independent busy bee. Yet we see that she,
too, has her own appointed work to do, and does it regularly and
in an orderly manner. In this lecture we have been speaking
entirely of the bee within the hive, and noticing how
marvellously her instincts guide her in her daily life. But
within the last few years we have learnt that she performs a most
curious and wonderful work in the world outside her home and that
we owe to her not only the sweet honey to eat, but even in a great
degree the beauty and gay colours of the flowers which she visits
when collecting it. This work will form the subject of our next
lecture, and while we love the little bee for her constant
industry, patience, and order within the hive, we shall, I think,
marvel at the wonderful law of nature which guides her in her
unconscious mission of love among the flowers which grow around
it.
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