The Swarrrx 



to and fro in loud lamentation. Seize 

 her, imprison her, take her away from 

 the hive at a time when the bees shall 

 have no hope of filling her place, owing, 

 it may be, to her having left no pre- 

 destined descendants, or to there being 

 no larvae less than three days old (for a 

 special nourishment is capable of trans- 

 forming these into royal nymphs, such 

 being the grand democratic principle of 

 the hive, and a counterpoise to the preroga^ 

 tives of maternal predestination}, and then, 

 her loss once known, after tw(? or three 

 hours, perhaps, for the city is vast; work 

 will cease in almost every direction. The 

 young will no longer be cared for ; part 

 of the inhabitants will wander in every 

 direction, seeking their mother, in quest 

 ' of whom others v/ill sally forth from the 

 hive ; the workers engaged in construct- 

 ing the comb will fall asunder and scatter, 

 the foragers no longer will visit the 



