19 pliny's natural history. [Book XI. 



always a peculiar form of their own, and are double the size 

 of any of the rest ; their wings are shorter 53 than those ot the 

 others, their legs are straight, their walk more upright, and 

 they have a white spot on the forehead, which bears some re- 

 semblance to a diadem : they differ, too, very much from the 

 rest of the community, in their bright and shining appearance. 



CHAP. 17. (17.) THE MODE OF GOVERNMENT OE THE BEES. 



Let a man employ himself, forsooth, in the enquiry whether 

 there has been only one Hercules, how many fathers Liber 

 there have been, and all the other questions which are buried 

 deep in the mould of antiquity! Here behold a tiny object, 

 one to be met. with at most of our country retreats, and num- 

 bers of which are always at hand, and yet, after all, it is not 

 agreed among authors whether or not the king 59 is the only one 

 among them that is provided with no sting, and is possessed 

 of no other arms than those afforded him by his majestic office, 

 or whether Nature has granted him a sting, and has only denied 

 him the power of making use of it ; it being a well-known 

 fact, that the ruling bee never does use a sting. _ The_ obedi- 

 ence which his subjects manifest in his presence is quite sur- 

 prising. When he goes forth, the whole swarm attends him, 

 throngs about him, surrounds him, protects him, and will not 

 allow him to be seen. At other times, when the swarm is at 

 work within, the king is seen to visit the works, and appears 

 to be giving his encouragement, being himself the only one 

 that is exempt from work : around him are certain other bees 

 which act as body-guards and lictors, the careful guardians of 

 his authority. The king never quits the hive except when the 

 swarm is about to depart ; a thing which may be known a long 

 time beforehand, as for some days a peculiar buzzing noise 

 is to be heard within, which denotes that the bees are waiting 

 for a favourable day, and making all due preparations for their 

 departure. On such an occasion, if care is taken to deprive the 

 king of one of his wings, the swarm will not fly away. _ When 

 they are on the wing, every one is anxious to be near him, and 

 takes a pleasure in being seen in the performance of its duty. 

 When he is weary, they support him on their shoulders ; and 



58 The greater size of the abdomen makes the wings look shorter. 

 w The queen has a sting, like the working bees, but uses it less fre- 

 quently. 



