NOISES OF INSECTS. 383 



insects are said to commence their ticking, which is only 

 a call to each othei', to which if no answer be returned, 

 the animal repeats it in another place. It is thus pro- 

 duced. Raising itself upon its hind legs, with the body 

 somewhat inclined, it beats its head with great force and 

 agility upon the plane of position ; and its strokes are so 

 powerful as to make a considerable impression if they 

 fall upon any substance softer than wood. The general 

 number of distinct strokes in succession is from seven to 

 nine or eleven. They follow each other quickly, and are 

 repeated at uncertain intervals. In old houses, where 

 these insects abound, they may be heard in warm wea- 

 ther during the whole day. The noise exactly resem- 

 bles that produced by tapping moderately with the nail 

 upon the table ; and when familiarized, the insect will 

 answer very readily the tap of the nail '. 



The queen bee has long been celebrated for a peculiar 

 sound, producing the most extraordinary effects upon 

 her subjects. Sometimes, just before bees swarm, — in- 

 stead of the great hum usually heard, and even in the 

 night, — if the ear be placed close to the mouth of the 

 hive, a sharp clear sound may be distinguished, which 

 appears to be produced by the vibration of the wings of 

 a single bee. This, it has been pretended, is the ha- 

 rangue of the new queen to her subjects, to inspire them 

 with courage to achieve the foundation of a new empire. 

 But Butler gives to it a different interpretation. He 

 asserts, that the candidate for the new throne is then 

 with earnest entreaties, lamentations, and groans, sup- 

 plicating the queen-mother of the hive to grant her per- 



^ Shaw's Nat. Misc. iii. 104. Phil. Trans, xxxili. 159. Compare 

 Dumeril Tratte Elemenl. ii. 91, n. 694. 



