158 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



BALLING THE QUEEN 



"Balling" in the hive is an indignity that may well 

 have suggested to other societies the method of 

 black-balling unwelcome seekers after honours. The 

 bees ball an unwelcome queen by gathering around 

 her in a compact mass, remaining there until the 

 unfortunate usurper is smothered or starved, or both. 

 As if to live up to their mathematical reputation, 

 this ball is quite spherical because each bee is an 

 animated atom of centripetal force scrambling and 

 pushing toward the centre. This method of smoth- 

 ering royalty is regarded as an evidence of the 

 worker's reluctance to sting a fertile queen. But 

 observations are recorded which state that the bees 

 on the outside of the ball seem fiercely trying to 

 sting, and that the individuals nearest the queen 

 ofttimes share her fate because of this venomous 

 attitude of their sisters. Whether this use of the 

 sting by the outsiders is for the purpose of fighting 

 their way toward the centre, or whether they are 

 mad with a desire to kill the queen, is by no means 

 a settled question. However, if they were bent upon 

 stinging her to death, she would scarcely be alive 

 after having been balled for some time; while it is a 

 matter of common experience that by breaking up 

 the ball and driving off the murderers, the queen 

 may be saved. Sometimes the bees will ball a 

 queen for a time, then voluntarily release her and 

 accept her. 



There are two ways generally followed for dis- 



