BEE 



152 



E E 



workers alwavs commence tli<- construction of the Utter, at 

 the time that the female i> laying > C 8B S that nrc ' 



"TH'O 'r, inJell* are very different from those of the malo 

 . T walker! and are generally suspended from & 



of the comb: their number variet from two or time, 

 .i.tv. though the latter i* a very unusual MM*; 1| 

 form thev arc very m.u-h like a pear. havmR ; the th,,-k, > 

 end joined to the comb, the other end. at which part l 

 mouth or entrance of the cell i* situated, hanging down- 

 ward*. 



Tlie qiwn'i cell! a. i"l< vlwr of the amo. 



Ill these cells the queen deposits the eggs of future 

 queens, at intervals of at least a day. a 1 always dur.n 

 the period of laying the eggs of males. When the queen 

 is about to lav, she thrusts her head into n cell to ascer- 

 tain its fitness ; she then inserts her abdomen, and in a 

 few seconds withdraws it, leaving an egg at tin; bottom < 

 the cell fixed in an upright position by a glutinous 

 stance at one of its ends. 



Fig.S. 



.. tlie eg* i e. the lrra ; f, Ihe par* oMhe^ worker-bee: on.t rf. the he.l of 



The egg is about one-twelfth of an inch long, and of a 

 cylindrical form, with rounded ends. When the larva 

 emerges from the egg, it is immediately supplied with lood 

 by the nurse-bees. This larva may l)e seen lying in a 

 curved position at the bottom of the cell, where it continues 

 to grow until it has completely filled up the space ; when it 

 is faD grown it lies horizontally with its head towards the 

 entrance. The food given to the larva is a mixture of farina. 

 honev and water, which is converted into a whitish jelly by 

 elaboration in the stomachs of the nurse-bees : the propor- 

 tions of farina and honey vary according to tho age ot the 

 M.II.I" and we believe that the food is not given directly to 

 the larva, but disgorged into the cell, so that the insect is 

 surrounded with it. But when the larva is nearly lull 

 grown, its food i sweeter (probably containing a greater 

 proportion of honey), and is applied by the uum-beei 

 directly to its mouth, somewhat in the manner of a bird 



aig its young.* 



The drone and worker-bees are of a greyish colour when 

 they first leave their cells, and several days elapse before 

 thev are strong enough to fly; but the queen is kept pri- 

 soner in her cell (or some time after she has assumed the 

 imago state. The reasons for this imprisonment we shall 



..tly show. 



When the larvm in the queens' cells are about to change 

 into pupa), the old queen begins to exhibit signs ol agita- 

 tion running carelessly over the cells, occasionally thrust- 

 iuu' her abdomen into some of them, as if about to lay, but 

 withdrawing without havingdone so, or perhaps laying them 



Vi.. |,MP fr.1 HIP Umrof wmpi (Wch *re wry rloMlf alliril I" I'" 1 

 hp-lm- In li.ilut.) l.\ mrjm of lilllp pit nf |iii|HT mMWtt I" " 

 Minor ami ..irr; ihry ImmeilUtal) ownrd their 

 ..1..-.I. i.n.l .iirkril HIP i.itriir from llir ii.-ip.-r. ll.r IMMII.T. 

 a.p much Ihp Un nil Ihelr antpimir. ui>n wliirli. ir ll>.- Inrvir ri'.|inrc 

 f..l 1 1*) inimc.lim.-l> "|*.i tbeil mouth nn.l m >u|.|.lil trom the tongue of 



i. the side of the cell instead of at the bottom. She i no 



,n"cr surrounded by her usual circle of attendants, and her 

 ritation U-ing commu: ill -I'--' pa~e-. ;l < long" 



L'ciicral confusion i> < r. a'.-.l ; till at last the great 

 f the bees nuh out of DM hi^-. with that qu^u at UMV 

 icud. It is Urns that the first swarm quits the hive, and i 

 s invariably conducted by the old qu-.Mi. 



At any other lime the queen would have been unable t. 

 fiv the great number of eggs contained in her abdomen 

 rendering her too heavy: this however is sufficiently r, 

 duccd after the great laying just described, to enable her tr 

 llv with ease. 



An unerring instinct obliges the queen to leave the hn, 

 at this time, for two sovereigns never can <-o e\it in the 

 same community ; and had she not left it, the young q. 

 (now just about to quit their cells) would inevil 

 been killed by her. Let us now observe what is going on 

 in the hive wliich has just been deserted by :ts queen. 

 would seem as if it were too much reduced by the deputa 

 of the swarm : but it must be borne in mind that this i\ 

 never occurs except in the middle ol the day. and during 

 very fine sunny weather, when a large portion ol 

 are abroad gathering honey and pollen: and i 

 contain a numerous colony, these, on their return 

 with those which have not been disturbed miring the 

 neral confusion, and a considerable number of > 

 continually hatching, form a sufficient Block, and |-. 

 even enough to send off another swarm. 



In two or three days' time from tho leaving of the fi 

 swarm, perfect order is restored in the hive ; and the nurse 

 .ntinue to attend upon the young, carefully watching 

 the queen's cells, and working at the outside* bj 

 the wax from the surface. It is said that the wax 

 moved in order to facilitate the exit of the young queen 

 but although the removal of it may thus be ol service, we 

 arc not inclined to think it is done for that pnrpo- 



The eg"s are laid in the royal .-ells at intervals of at least 

 adav, and it consequently follows that the completion and 

 closing of these cells must take place at different t 

 vc say completion, for at the time the queen Un 

 the cells arc only half formed, and resemble the cup ol an 

 acorn When the cells have been closed about SCUM, 

 the youn" queen cuts away with her jaws the pi 

 silken covering at the mouth of the cell, and. if pern-, 

 would make her escape; but the bees guarding the cell 

 s,.lder the covering with some particles of wax. and keep 

 her prisoner about two days, in which time she obtains 

 sullicu nt strength to be able to fly immediately on quit 

 her prison It is difficult to imagine by what i 

 bees guarding the royal cells can judge of the Btness of the 

 ne'.osed female for liberation. The most probable conjec- 

 'ture is, that they judge by the quality of the sound emttt. 

 hv the prisoner at this time. This sound consists ol a 1111111- 

 '.er of monotonous notes, so rapidly repeated as 

 appear one continuous sound. The sound is produced by the 

 vibration of the wings, and probably become- sharper and 

 more audible as the bee acquires strength. 



The young queen upon being liberated immediately ap- 

 proaches the remaining royal cells, and would destroy their 

 contents, by tearing them open ami mortally wounding her 

 rivals with her sting: but this is not permitted- for so long 

 as there is a suflicient number of guards, they bite and 

 drive her away. She has the power, however, of arresting 

 this ill-treatment for a while, by emitting a peculiar sound, 

 which has such an effect on the sentinels that they re- 

 main motionless: and she sometime- takes advantage ol 

 this, to make an attack upon the royal cells. But as the 

 sound ceases when she moves, the charm is dissolved, her 

 guards recover their power, and she is again driven bncli. 



After a time, the young queen, owing to her strong de- 

 lire to attack the royal cells, and the constant repulses 

 she meets with, becomes extremely agitated, and by running 

 quickly over the cells and groups ol worker, communicates 

 her di'-order to a great portion of the bees, so that a lame 

 number quit the hive and cluster about the out-ide and 

 niter a short time the y.nng queen leaves the hive with a 

 swarm. Thus it is that the second swarm is thrown oil. 

 seldom happen- that a hive sends off more than two or thn e 

 swarms: alter ulii-'h. unless the hive be an extremely popu- 

 lous one, there arc so few bees led, that there is not a sulli- 

 cient number to keep proper guard over the royal cells. The 

 young queens consequently make their escape, two or three 

 at a time, in which case a contest takes place between them, 



