Popular beliefs as to the ways of the honey-bee, unlike those relating to many other insects, are surprisingly accurate, so far as they go.  But, with such a complex thing as hive-life, it is well-nigh impossible to have understanding on any single point without going very much farther than the ordinary tabloid-method of knowledge can carry us.  This is especially true with regard to , and the uses to which it is put within the hive.  The hand-books on bee-keeping usually tell us that pollen is employed with honey as food for the young bees when in the larval state; but this is so wide a generalisation that it amounts to almost positive error.  
As a matter of fact, the pollen in its raw condition is given only to the drone-larva, and this only towards the end of its life as a grub.  For the first three days of the drone-larva’s existence, and in the case of the young worker-bee for the whole five days of the larval period, the pollen is administered by the nurse-bees in a pre-digested state.  After partial assimilation, both the pollen and the nectar are regurgitated by these nurse-bees, and form together a pearly-white fluid—veritable bee-milk—on which the young grubs thrive in an extraordinary way.
 
There are few things more fascinating than to watch a hive of bees at work on a fine June morning, and to note how the pollen is carried in.  With a prosperous stock, thousands of bees must pass within the space of a few minutes, each bee dragging behind her a double load of this substance.  Very often, in addition to the half-globes of pollen which she carries on her , the bee will be in it from head to foot, as in gold-dust.  If you track her into the hive, one curious point will be .  No matter how fast she may go, or what spirit of labour may possess the entire colony, the pollen- bee is never in a hurry to get rid of her load.  She will waste precious time wandering over the crowded combs, continually shaking herself, as though showing off her finery to her admiring relatives; and it may be some minutes before she finally selects a half-filled pollen-cell and proceeds to kick off her load.  The different kinds of pollen are packed into the cells indiscriminately, the bee using her head as a to press each pellet home.  When the cell is full it is never sealed over with a waxen capping, as in the case of the honey-stores, but is left open or covered with a thin film of honey, to preserve it from the air.  The nurse-bees, who are the young workers under a fortnight old, help themselves from these pollen-bins.  They also frequently stop a pollen-bearer as she hurries through the crowd, and the pollen from her thighs.

Throughout the season there is hardly an imaginable colour or shade of colour which is not represented in the pollen carried into a beehive; and with the aid of a microscope it is not difficult to identify the source of each kind.  In May, before the great field-crops have come into bloom, the pollen is almost gathered from wild flowers, and consists of various rich shades of yellow and brown.  By far the heaviest burdens at this time are obtained from the dandelion.  The pollen from this flower is a peculiarly bright orange, and is easily recognised under a strong glass by its grains, which are in the form of regular dodecahedrons, thickly covered all over with short .
 
It is well known that the honey-bee confines herself during each journey to one species of flower, and this is proved by the microscope.  It is not easy to a homing bee laden with pollen.  On alighting before the hive she runs in so quickly that the keenest eye and hand are necessary to effect her capture.  But with the aid of a miniature butterfly-net and a little practice it can generally be done; and then the pellet of pollen will be found to consist almost invariably of one kind of grain.  But it is not always so.  The honey-bee, as a reasoning creature, does not and cannot be expected to do anything invariably.  Among some hundreds of these pollen-lumps examined und............