The Colony and its Organization 41 



the colony. She has for her sole duty the laying of eggs and 

 all the individuals normally develop from eggs laid by her. 

 They are deposited at the bases of cells of the comb in that 

 portion of the nest devoted to the rearing of brood, the brood 

 nest. The eggs are fastened to the cell base by the poste- 

 rior (future caudal end of the larva) end by means of a secre- 

 tion of the queen. The number of eggs laid by the queen 1 

 varies from a few daily in early spring and late fall in the 

 northern regions to about 1500-2000 a day at the height of 

 the egg-laying season. Under special conditions, usually 

 artificially produced by the beekeeper, she may lay as many 

 as 4500 to 5000 eggs a day and maintain this rate for several 

 days. The weight of the maximum number that can be laid 

 in a day is equal to about twice the weight of the queen at 

 any time during the period, indicating a marvelous rapidity 

 in metabolism. 



The queen is not, as her name would indicate, the ruler of 

 the colony. It has for ages been known that there is one 

 large individual in the colony and the ancients gave the 

 name "king" to this supposed ruler. When it was learned 

 that the supposed monarch laid eggs it became necessary to 

 change the name. It is now known that the queen is men- 



1 In 1903, the author had occasion to study the egg-laying of normal 

 queens. Queens were introduced to a small colony in an observatory hive 

 on an empty comb. These queens usually deposited about four or some- 

 times six eggs a minute, passing quickly from one cell to another. The 

 abdomen is inserted in the cell, the legs are braced firmly on the edges of 

 adjacent cells and the wings are placed flat against the edges of cells to the 

 rear. During egg-laying, the queen is often surrounded by a circle of 

 worker bees with their heads toward her, rubbing her with their antennae. 

 Frequently this rapid egg-laying is continued without interruption for 

 20 to 25 minutes and at times for a longer period. There then is usually a 

 resting period, often of about five minutes, during which time the queen is 

 fed by the workers. Whenever the queen comes to rest, she is surrounded 

 by a circle of workers and, as she walks over the comb, each bes turns to- 

 ward her when she gets within half an inch. This is probably a response 

 to the stimulus of odor. 



Some curious traditions have arisen about this circle around the queen, 

 one of the most interesting being the claim that there are always twelve, 

 the number being associated with the twelve apostles. The turning toward 

 the queen is often ascribed to the affection of the workers for her, but this 

 is probably as well grounded as the tradition of there being always twelve. 



