804 



A HISTORY OF 



amounts to five thousand. This animal, 

 whose existence is of suofi importance to her 

 subjects, may easily be distinguished from the 

 rest by her size, and the shape of her body. 

 On her safety depends the whole welfare of 

 the commonwealth ; and the attentions paid 

 her by all the rest of the swarm, evidently 

 show the dependence her subjects have upon 

 her security. If this insect be carefully ob- 

 served, she will be seen at times attended with 

 a numerous retinue, marching from cell to 

 cell, plunging the extremity of her body into 

 many of them, and leaving a small egg in 

 each. 



The bees which generally compose her 

 train, are thought to be males, which serve to 

 impregnate her by turns. These are larger 

 and blacker than the common bees ; without 

 stings, and without industry. They seem 

 formed only to transmit a posterity ; and to 

 attend the queen, whenever she thinks proper 

 to issue from the secret retreats of the hive, 

 where she most usually resides. Upon the 

 union of these two kinds depends all expecta- 

 tions of a future progeny ; for the working 

 bees are of no sex, and only labour for another 

 offspring : yet such is their attention to their 

 queen, that if she happens to die, they will 

 leave off working, and take no farther care of 

 posterity. If, however, another queen is, in 

 this state of universal despair, presented them, 

 tht>y immediately acknowledge her for their 

 sovereign, and once more diligently apply to 

 their labour. It must he observed, however, 

 that all this fertility of the queen-bee, and the 

 great attentions paid to her by the rest, are 

 controverted by more recent observers. They 

 assert, that the common bees are parents 

 themselves ; that they deposite their eggs in 

 the cells which they have prepared ; that the 

 females are impregnated by the males, and 

 bring forth a progeny, which is wholly their 

 own. 



However, to go on with their history, as de- 

 livered us by Mr. Reaumur. When the queen- 

 bee has deposited the number of eggs neces- 

 sary in the cells, the working bees undertake 

 the care of the rising posterity. They are 

 seen to leave off their usual employments ; to 

 construct proper receptacles for eggs ; or to 

 complete those that are already formed. 

 They purposely build little cells, extremely 

 *olid, for the young ; in which they employ a 



great deal of wax : those designed for lodging 

 the males, as was already observed, are larger 

 than the rest; and those for the queen bees 

 the largest of all. There is usually but one 

 egg deposited in every cell ; but when the fe- 

 cundity of the queen is such, that it exceeds 

 the number of cells already prepared, there 

 are sometimes three or four eggs crowded 

 together in the same apartment. But this is 

 an inconvenience that the working bees will 

 by no means suffer. They seem sensible that 

 two young ones, stuffed up in the same cell, 

 when they grow larger, will but embarrass, 

 and at last destroy each other : they therefore 

 take care to leave a cell to every egg ; and re- 

 move or destroy the rest. 



The single egg that is left remaining, is fixed 

 to the bottom of the cell, and touches it but in 

 a single point. A day or two after it is de- 

 posited, the worm is excluded from the shell 

 of the egg, having the appearance of a maggot 

 rolled up in a ring, and lying softly on a bed 

 of a whitish-coloured jelly ; upon which also 

 the little animal begins to feed. In the mean 

 time, the instant it appears, the working bees 

 attend it with the most anxious and parental 

 tenderness ; they furnish it every hour with a 

 supply of this whitish substance, on which it 

 feeds and lies,- and watch the cell with unre- 

 mitting care, They are nurses that have a 

 greater affection for the offspring of others, 

 th.m many parents have for their own chil- 

 dren. They are constant in visiting each cell, 

 and seeing that nothing is wanting ; preparing 

 the white mixture, which is nothing but a 

 composition of honey and wax, in their own 

 bowels, with which they feed them. Thus at- 

 tended, and plentifully fed, the worm, in less 

 than six days' time, comes to its full growth, 

 and no longer accepts the food offered it. 

 When the bees perceive that it has no further 

 occasion for feeding, they perform the last 

 offices of tenderness, and shut the little animal 

 up in its cell ; walling up the muuih of its 

 apartment with wax : where they leave the 

 worm to itself; having secured it from every 

 external injury. 



The worm is no sooner left enclosed, but 

 from a state of inaction, it begins to labour, 

 extending and shortening its body ; and by 

 this means lining the walls of its apartment 

 with a silken tapestry, which it spins in the 

 manner of caterpillars, before they undergo 



