70 NATURAL HISTORY. [CH. IV 



rustic, may be seen surrounded by four or five of 

 the latter, who waylay it as it returns towards its 

 nest laden with honey. They, however, do not 

 injure it, but just subject it to that degree of restraint 

 and uncomfortable mauling-, by pommelling' its 

 chest, and pulling its legs, which obliges it to unfold 

 its tongue and disgorge its honey. The robbers, 

 one after another, sip from the honey; and when 

 the insect has been thus eased, it is set at liberty. 



Sometimes, a sort of friendly intercourse takes 

 place between two hives. Thus the inhabitants of 

 a hive belonging to Mr. Knight, used to visit that of 

 a cottager, considerably after their working-hours. 

 Each bee, before it entered, seemed to be questioned. 

 On the tenth day, however, these civilities termi- 

 nated in a battle. 



Besides this just exhibition of anger in defence 

 of their lives and property, there are times in which 

 the whole hive becomes infuriated against certain 

 members of their own community. It seems as if 

 the bees are such rigid economists, that whoever is 

 useless must be got rid of. Hence the massacre of 

 drones or male bees ; they are born in April and 

 May, and are killed in August. Huber saw them 

 chased from corner to corner of the hive, till at 

 length the whole were huddled together at its 

 bottom, and there massacred. 



This murderous work was going on at the very 

 same hour in six different hives, clearly showing 

 that it is not an effect of chance. In one hive, how- 

 ever, in which the fecundation of the queen had 

 been retarded, so that nothing but drones were pro- 

 duced, they were not molested; neither are they 

 touched in hives deprived of the queen. Hence, the 

 fury of the bees against drones is connected with 

 some principle of utility : not only drones, but even 

 workers are occasionally slaughtered by their com- 

 rades: some conjecture this to take place on ac- 

 count of their old age. A species of workers, dif- 



