PEEFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 375 



diate]}- gives to her abdomen the curve necessary to enable it to reacli the 

 orifice of the cell, and to introduce it within it. The eggs are set in the 

 angle of the pyramidal bottom of the cell, or in one of the hollows formed 

 by the conflux of the sides of the rhombs, and being besmeared with a 

 kind of gluten, stand upright. If, however, it be a female that lays only 

 male eggs, they are deposited upon the lowest of the sides of the cell, as 

 she is unable to reach the bottom.^ 



While our prolific lady is engaged in this employment, her court consists 

 of from four to twelve attendants, which are disposed nearly in a circle, 

 with their heads turned towards her. After laying from two to six eggs, 

 she remains still, reposing for eight or nine minutes. During this interval 

 the bees in her train redouble their attentions, licking her fondly with their 

 tongues. Generally speaking, she lays only one egg in a cell ; but when 

 she is pressed, and there are not cells enough, from two to four have been 

 found in one. In this case, as if they were aware of the consequences, the 

 provident workers remove all but one. From an experiment of Huber's, 

 it appears that the instinct of the queen invariably directs her to deposit 

 worker eggs in worker cells; for when he confined one, during her course 

 of laying worker eggs, where she could only come at male cells, she refused 

 to oviposit in them ; and trying in vain to make her escape, they at length 

 dropped from her; upon which the workers devoured them. Retarded 

 queens, however, lose this instinct, and often, tliough they lay only male 

 eggs, oviposit in worker cells, and even in royal ones. In this latter case 

 the workers themselves act as if they suffered in their instinct from the 

 imperfect state of their queen; for they feed these male larvae with royal 

 jelly, and treat them as they would a real queen. Though male eggs 

 deposited in worker cells produce small males, their education in a royal 

 cell with "royal dainties" adds nothing to their ordinary dimensions.- 



The swaniiiiig of bees is a very curious and interesting subject, to 

 which, since a female is the sine qua non on this occasion, I may very pro* 

 perly call your attention here. You will recollect that I said something 

 upon the principle of emigrations, when I was amusing you with the his- 

 tory of ants ; but the object with them seems to be merely a change of 

 station for one more convenient or less exposed to injury, and not to 

 diminish a superabundant population. Whereas in the societies of the 

 hive-bee, the latter is the general cause of emigrations, which invariably 

 take place every year, if their numbers require it ; if not, when the male 

 eggs are laid no royal cells are constructed, and no swarm is led forth. 

 What might be the case with ants, were they confined to hives, we 

 cannot say. Formicaries in general are capable of indefinite enlarge- 

 ment, therefore want of room does not cause emigration ; — but 

 bees being confined to a given spa.ce, which they possess not the means of 

 enlarging, to avoid the ill effects resulting from being too much crovvded, 

 when their population exceeds a certain limit they must necessarily emi- 

 grate. iSometimes — for instance, when wasps have got into a hive — the 

 bees will leave it, in order to fly from an inconvenience or enemy which 

 they cannot otherwise avoid ; but it does not very often happen that they 

 wholly desert a hive. 



Apiarists tell us that, in this country, the best season for swarming is 



1 Bonnet, x, 258. 8vo. ed. ^ Ruber, i. 122. 



B C 4 



