92 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS. 



at the same moment, of the largest size, and well 

 formed in every respect. Nothing could he more 

 conclusive than this experiment. It demonstrated that 

 bees have the power of converting the worms of wor- 

 kers into Queens, since they succeeded in procuring 

 them by operating on worms not chosen by them- 

 selves, but selected for them. 



In addition to this conclusive experiment, we shall 

 take the liberty of detailing two of our own on the 

 same subject, which were made nearly twenty 

 years ago, and which we have repeated almost every 

 year since with the same success. We give these 

 experiments not from any idea that those of Huber 

 require confirmation, or that ours are of importance 

 enough to supply any such supposed deficiency, but 

 on the obvious principle that the more numerous the 

 experiments, and the greater the diversity of experi- 

 menters, the more irrefragably is the alleged fact 

 established, if the result be uniformly the same. In 

 June 1822, we instituted an experiment with a view 

 of witnessing a combat between two queens, and the 

 result as to that object will be afterwards noticed. 

 It was only incidentally that we derived from it a 

 confirmation of the fact in question, and we shall now 

 state the particulars. Into a hive well peopled, but 

 not possessing, as far as we could discern, any very 

 young brood, we introduced a stranger-queen, with 

 the expectation that the two rival potentates, each of 

 whom, like the jealous Turk, can bear no rival near 

 her throne, would decide by single combat which of 

 them should retain the honours and privileges of 



