THE HONEY-BEE. 91 



existed originally in the common lee as well as in the 

 mother-bee, but the confined limits of its cell, and 

 the want of the peculiar food provided for the royal 

 race prevented its developement." 



The proceedings of the bees in order to supply 

 the loss of their Queen,, are extremely interesting. In 

 about twenty-four hours they are aware of the misfor- 

 tune that has befallen them, and, without loss of time, 

 they set about repairing the disaster. They fix upon 

 a worm not more than three days old, demolish the 

 three contiguous cells, and raise around it a regular 

 cylindrical inclosure. At the end of three days, the 

 workers change the direction of the cell, which has 

 hitherto been horizontal, into a perpendicular position, 

 working downwards till it assume the appearance of 

 a stalactite. In due time it is sealed, and the larva 

 undergoes its metamorphosis into a royal nymph. Hu- 

 ber gives a detail of some interesting experiments on 

 this head, the substance only of which we can pre- 

 sent to our readers. He deprived a hive of its 

 Queen, and put into it some pieces of comb con- 

 taining worker eggs. The same day several cells were 

 enlarged by the bees, and converted into royal cells, 

 and the larvae supplied with a profusion of jelly. He 

 then removed these worms from the royal cells, and 

 substituted for them as many common worms from 

 workers' cells. The bees did not seem aware of the 

 change, they watched over the new worms as intently 

 as over those chosen by themselves ; they continued 

 enlarging the cells, and closed them at the usual time. 

 At the proper time, two Queens were hatched, almost 



