6. The king bees never leave the hives, either for food or any other purpose, except with the whole swarm; and they say that, if a swarm wanders to a distance, they will retrace their steps and return until they find the king by his peculiar scent. They say also that, when the king is unable to fly, he is carried by the swarm; and if he perishes, the whole swarm dies with him. And if they continue for a time to form cells, they place no honey in them, and then they also perish. 7. The bees collect the wax by climbing actively on the flowers with their fore feet. They cleanse these upon the middle pair of legs, and their middle legs again on the curved part of their hind legs, and thus loaded they fly away. They are evidently heavily loaded. During each flight the bee does not settle upon flowers of different kinds, but as it were from violet to violet, and touches no other species till it returns to the hive. There they are unloaded, and two or three bees follow every one on its return to the hive. It is not easy to see what is taken, nor has their manner of working it been ever observed. Their manner of collecting wax upon the olive trees has been the subject of observation; for the thickness of the leaves makes them remain a long while in this tree. 8. After having done this they produce their young. There is nothing to prevent there being grubs, and honey, and drones in the same comb. As long as the king bee is alive, they say that the drones are produced in a separate place; but when he is dead they are produced by the bees in their own cells, and such drones are more passionate: for this cause they are called stingers, not that they have any sting, but that they would sting, if they had the power to do so. The drone cells are larger. Sometimes the drone cells are placed by themselves, but are generally combined with those of bees, for which reason they cut them off. 9. There are several kinds of bees, as has been already observed: two kinds of kings, the better sort of which is red, and the other sort is black and variegated, and in size double that of a good bee. The best kind is small, round, and variegated; the other is long, like the wild bee. There is another called phor (the thief); it is black, and has a broad abdomen. The drone is another sort: it is the largest of them all, has no sting, and is stupid. The bees that are produced from those that inhabit cultivated places are different from the natives of mountainous countries, for those produced from wood bees are more hairy, smaller, less, more diligent, and more violent. The best bees elaborate a smooth comb, with a polished surface. The comb also is of one form, as if entirely adapted for honey, or for grubs, or drones; and if it happens that all these are produced in the same comb, each form will be elaborated in order.