34 NATURAL HISTORY. [CH. I. 



workers, she was literally gray with that which stuck 

 about her. The first care of the bees was to unpow- 

 der and clean their future sovereign. For more than 

 two hours she remained at the bottom of the hive, 

 surrounded and sometimes covered by them, while 

 they licked her on all sides. It seemed as if they 

 were anxious to warm her, and in truth she re- 

 quired it, as she was benumbed by the coldness of 

 the night, and had only been revived by me in the 

 morning with artificial heat. I could not help ad- 

 miring the anxiety and assiduity of their attentions. 

 They relieved each other in the task of cleaning her. 

 They removed her to another spot more than an inch 

 distant ; some were upon, some under her. For 

 more than two hours I witnessed this interesting 

 scene." 



For a day or two, Reaumur kept them close pri- 

 soners ; but subsequently placed them near the very 

 spot from which they had been taken, and gave them 

 the liberty of egress. He found, however, that, 

 though they went out, they returned to their new 

 habitation and new queen, and constructed cells for 

 her accommodation. 



This fact removed Reaumur's doubt. These bees 

 had been taken from a populous hive well stored, 

 and yet they completely forgot their old companions 

 and their birth-place, put up with all the inconve- 

 niences of a small hive, and undertook to labour for 

 a stranger. 



But although thus prodigal of their affections to 

 any mother, still a certain number of hours must 

 elapse before they will adopt a stranger ; and then the 

 lives of a thousand of their fellow-labourers are no- 

 thing to them in comparison with that of the elected 

 queen. 



Reaumur found a queen and some workers appa- 

 parently dead from cold. Some of the latter he had 

 resuscitated, so that, though feeble, yet they could 

 walk. The others with the queen were still motion- 



