RIVALS NEAR THE THRONE, 325 
every one bestows upon her. The sentiment displayed towards 
her is not so much of a personal character as the idea of utility, 
of the preservation and perpetuity of the people, which very visibly 
prevails. 
This mother, say our authors, has a somewhat giddy head. Like 
all individuals who have nothing to do, she is volatile and capricious. 
At the end of a year’s incubation and sedentary life in the depths of 
the hive, a desire seizes her for the open air, to see a little of the world, 
to visit new countries. She has, nevertheless, a more serious motive 
than they say. She sees the spacious chambers which are being built 
for the young mothers who will replace her. She feels that her rivals 
are concealed there, and grows fiercely jealous. Incessantly she prowls 
around, and but for the assiduous guard which protects them, and 
keeps her away, she would dart her sting through the thin partitions. 
Conceive, then, what must be her rage when the young captives, igno- 
rant of her fury and their danger, make imprudent efforts to escape 
from their cradles, hum and sing aloud their little cicala song, which 
is peculiar to the mother of the bees, and so clearly announces to the 
queen the presence of the pretenders? The foresight of the bees, which, 
to guard against all accidents, has thus reared up the young mothers, 
involves them then in difficulty. A frightful combat impends, a whole- 
sale massacre; the old queen-mother, were she allowed, would not 
spare one of those odious females. Separation is preferable to civil war. 
The aged sovereign, agitated and distraught, runs everywhere, and 
seems to say: “ Let those who love me, follow me.” She raises a song 
of departure, and all labour is suspended. 
Determined to follow her, numbers of the bees make the necessary 
preparations, and eat a supply of food which will last them several 
days. The excessive agitation is manifested by a sudden change of 
temperature ; from 28° C., the heat of the hive mounts up to 30° or 32°, 
a condition of things intolerable to the bees, for to respire easily is a 
peculiar feature of their organization. In the extreme heat they are 
all bathed in sweat. Therefore they must either set out or die. The 
mother sallies forth, and they rush headlong after her. They buzz and 
whirl for a moment round the abandoned home, and then dart a 
218 
