Entomological Society. 471 



young queen, which had left the mirror hive, mounting high in the 

 air on her departure, was found to return after an absence of six 

 minutes, when a small white substance, about as large as a pin's 

 head and somewhat soft and ragged, was seen adhering to the ex- 

 tremity of her body. (This is what is alluded to by Dr. Bevan in 

 the ' Honey Bee/ p. 35, and which Mr. Golding considers to be evi- 

 dence of fecundation.) He considers that it is invariably the old 

 queen of the stock which goes off with the first swarm. (See article 

 "Swarming" in Dr. Bevan's 'Honey Bee,' chiefly contributed by 

 the writer : v. Advert, p. viii.) He had traced a marked queen from 

 hive to hive, in first swarms, until she was three years and ten months 

 old, the oldest recorded. He had taken much pains in tracing the 

 queens, sometimes slightly notching the tip of the wing, or cutting 

 off an antenna, and always with the above result ; indeed, for some 

 days after the first swarm leaves the hive there is no queen at liberty 

 in it, until the senior princess comes forth and commences piping. 

 Another interesting instance to the like effect had occurred during 

 that and the preceding season. A labourer in his employ, George 

 Waters, an excellent practical apiarian, observed last year that, on 

 the coming off of a first swarm, the queen in vain attempted to fly, 

 falling from the stool. He gave her to the swarm, after noticing 

 that one wing was much injured. This swarm was again left single- 

 hived the then present year, and on their swarming he again ob- 

 served the same disabled queen attempting to join the swarm ; thus 

 proving not only that the old queen issues with the first swarm, but 

 also that Huber was probably right in his idea that one act of im- 

 pregnation suffices for the life of a queen, as in this case the queen 

 was unable to fly, and therefore there could be no repetition of the 

 act whilst on the iving. On the decease of the old emigrating queen- 

 bee, it is of course necessary that a fresh queen should be produced ; 

 Mr. Golding has in fact proved that colonies do sometimes — always, 

 he supposes, when needed — raise young queens without swarming. 

 In fact, being convinced that queens after their third season become 

 less prolific, he has sometimes destroyed the old queen of a first 

 swarm before putting it back, purposely that the colony should have 

 a young queen ; families which have old queens most frequently fail- 

 ing from their loss or diminished fecundity. 



On the 9th of June, 1832, Mr. Golding's Huber-hive swarmed; 

 and upon examining it directly afterwards, it was found to contain 

 three royal cells sealed up and one unsealed, which was also found 

 sealed up on the 14th. On the 29th of June, 1 830, Mr. Humphrey's 

 Huber-hive swarmed, and on examining it three closed royal cells 

 were found, and five others in various stages, there being certainly 

 no queen at liberty in the hive at the time *. 



* It is proper to observe, that several of the above observations were 

 written by Mr. Golding in reply to a suggestion made by me to him, that 

 as the swarming of the hive-bee was analogous in so many respects to that 

 of other social insects, it seemed reasonable to suppose that the primary 

 object of the swarming was the impregnation of the queen-bee, and conse- 

 quently that it was the newly-hatched princess which went off with the 

 swarm, the old queen remaining in the hive not requiring a second im- 

 pregnation. — J. O. West wood. 



