INSTINCT IN ANIMALS. 185 



hive, followed by a swarm, scouts are sent out 

 in search of a proper place for her to settle on, 

 or for a suitable abode. This is one instinct. 

 Another is, for a certain number of bees to 

 rush out of the hive after the queen that leads 

 forth the swarm, and follow her wherever she 

 goes. How these are selected for the purpose, 

 for they are not all young bees, is a curious and 

 mysterious fact. Certain it is, that if one of 

 these should be put back into the parent hive, 

 the day after it has left it, it is immediately 

 killed as an intruder. When the swarm is 

 hived, a third instinct teaches them to cleanse 

 it from all impurities ; a fourth, to collect a 

 warm substance called propolis, and with it to 

 stop up every crevice, except the entrance; 

 a fifth, to ventilate the hive, which is done by 

 a number of bees at the bottom of the hive 

 fanning their wings very rapidly, which pro- 

 duces a current of cool air; and a sixth, to 

 keep a constant guard at the door or entrance 

 of the hive. Another instinct leads them to 

 collect honey from flowers. They are also 

 taught by instinct to avoid rain, returning in 

 great haste to the hive if a cloud passes over 



