^^' BEES. 



and Ijving creatures always marclied and coimtermarched 

 every way as the queen was laid ! The doctor persevered in 

 these experiments, till, after five days and nights of fasting-, 

 they all died of famine, except the queen, who lived a few 

 hours long-er, and then died. The attachment of the queen 

 to the working--hees appeared to be equally as strong* as 

 their attachment to her; though offered honey on several 

 occasions during the period of hei separation from them, she 

 constantly refused it, disdaining a life that was no life to her 

 without the company of those which she could not have ! " 

 What did Burke mean by saying- the age of chivalry was 

 gone ? Had he forgotten the bees ? 



If a new or strange queen be introduced into the hive 

 within two or three hours after they have thus lost the 

 rightful sovereign, she will experience an opposite kind of 

 manifestation of bee-loyalty. However true a queen by 

 nature she may be, she is here a pretender. The bees 

 therefore surround her, and starve her to death : they have 

 too much respect for queens to sting them. So do they 

 check undue monarchical encroachments. On the other 

 hand, if a stranger queen be introduced to them some 

 eighteen hours or so after the loss of their own, they look 

 upon her very differently. She is a benefactor, and wel- 

 comed accordingly. It is true, they are guarded in their 

 first reception ; they treat her as a prisoner for a time, 

 perha})s still hoping their own beloved mistress may yet 

 return, but in the end she receives the allegiance of all. If 

 twenty-four hours have passed since the loss of the ordinary 

 queen, the bees are so delighted at the thought of a suc- 

 cessor to the vacant throne, that a stranger queen is gladly 

 accepted the instant she presents herself. 



But supposing no such fortunate accident to cotmter- 

 balance the unfortunate one, the bees then resort to the 

 wonderful power that has been given to them of, in a sense, 

 making their own queens. Certain larvae, two or three days 

 old, lying in the ordinary cells, and that woidd in the 

 ordinary course become working-bees, are selected ; three of 

 the cells adjoining to each of them are broken down and 

 formed into one ; the nurses bring the royal bee-bread, or 

 " ro^^al jelly," which is of a more stimulating pungent cha- 

 T-acter than the ordinary composition, and give the larv39 



