The Young Queens 



has become too weak to persist in her 

 passion, they will themselves complete the 

 massacre of the innocents ; and the sover- 

 eign race, and their dwellings, will all 

 disappear. 



This is the terrible hour of the hive ; 

 the only occasion, with that of the more 

 justifiable execution of the drones, when 

 the workers suffer discord and death to be 

 busy amongst them ; and here, as often in 

 nature, it is the favoured of love who 

 attract to themselves the most extraor- 

 dinary shafts of violent death. 



It will happen at times that two queens 

 will be hatched simultaneously, the occur- 

 rence being rare, however, for the bees 

 take special care to prevent it. But when- 

 ever this does take place, the deadly com- 

 bat will begin the moment they emerge 

 from their cradles : and of this combat 

 Huber was the first to remark an extraor- 

 dinary feature. Each time, it would seem 



255 



