£5£ 99 THE ECONOMY OF BEES. 



stance kft in the hive without any guards to defend it; but 

 I conclude, that the bees would have returned for it, had it 

 remained till the next day. Whenever the bees quit their 

 habitation in this way, I have always observed some fighting 

 to take place ; but I conceived it to be between the bees of 

 the adjoining hives, and those which were removing; the for- 

 mer being attracted by the scent of the honey, which the lat- 

 ter were carrying off. 

 feessefflihgm On the farm which I occupy, there were formerly many 

 appear totend °^ decayed trees, the cavities of which were frequently oc- 

 out scouts to cupied by swarms of bees ; and when these were destroyed, 

 afteranYndl/i- a board was generally fitted to the aperture, which had been 

 dual has in- made to extract the honey; and the cavity was thus prepared 



formed them f or t j, e rece ptio n of another swarm, in the succeeding season. 



of a proper r ° 



place. Whenever a swarm came, I constantly observed, that about 



fourteen days previous to their arrival, a small number of 

 bees, varying from twenty to fifty, were every day employed 

 in examining, and apparently in keeping possession of the 

 cavity ; for if molested, they showed evident signs of dis- 

 pleasure, though they never employed their stings in defend- 

 ing their proposed habitation. Their examination was not 

 confined to the cavity, but extended to the external parts of 

 the tree above; and every dead knot particularly arrested 

 their attention, as if they had been apprehensive of being 

 injured by moisture, which this might admit into the cavity 

 below ; and they apparently did not leave any part of the 

 bark near the cavity unexamined. A part of the colony, 

 which purposed to emigrate, appeared in this case to have 

 been delegated to search for a proper habitation ; and the 

 individual who succeeded must have apparently had some 

 means of conveying information of his success to others; for 

 it cannot be supposed, that fifty bees should each acciden- 

 tally meet at, and fix upon, the same cavity, at a mile dis- 

 tant from their hive, which I have frequently observed them 

 to do, in a wood where several trees were adapted for their 

 reception ; and indeed I observed, that they almost uni- 

 formly selected that cavity, which I thought best adapted to 

 their use. 



It not unfrequently happened, that swarms of my own 

 bees took possession of these cavities, and such swarms were 



