48 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. 



THE QUEEN. 



The queen, or mother, is the only perfectly devel- 

 oped female in the hive. Her form is symmetrical 

 and .graceful ; her color, on the back and sides, is 

 usually of a dark brown, but occasionally of a slightly 

 yellow or variegated appearance ; while the belly 

 and legs are of a bright copper color. 



Strictly, speaking, the queen is a working mother, 

 rather than a ruling sovereign. Her main office is 

 to deposit eggs in the cells ; which is proved by the 

 fact that a queenless colony continue labor with nearly 

 the same alacrity as though they possessed one, till 

 finally terminated by the death of the generation. 



WHEN QUEENS ARE BRED. 



Bees, if left to themselves to swarm in the natural 

 way, only breed queens at a period preparatory to 

 swarming, or to supply the place of old ones about to 

 die.* When a hive is sufficiently full, and pasture 

 abundant at the season when instinct prompts them 

 to swarm, from five to eight days prior to the first 



#1 have, in two instances, found sealed queens (in one there 

 were three, in the other, one) in a hive not half full of comb, with 

 the old queen still laying eggs, although so decrepid from age, or 

 other causes, that it was impossible for her to fly, and conse- 

 quently could not accompany a swarm. After the young queen 

 emerged, there were no more eggs deposited for about ten days, 

 the required time for the young queen to become fruitful. During 

 this time, the old queen had either died or was slain by her suc- 

 cessor. From these facts, we are led to conclude that the bees 

 were aware of the approaching death of the queen, and thus 

 wisely provided a successor while it was in their power to do so. 



