THE HONEY-BEE. 



of those of her rivals, and, as will be afterwards 

 scribed, exerts herself with the most impetuous 

 eagerness to destroy them. When two Queens hap- 

 pen to emerge from their cells at the same time, a 

 pitched battle takes place, which ends in the death 

 of one of the combatants. We have never witness- 

 ed this interesting exhibition of bee-warfare, this 

 duellumj as described by Huber, but we have no 

 doubt of its being a fact, after the very unequivocal 

 proofs we have witnessed of this mutual aversion, and 

 particularly the instance to be afterwards stated. 



Functions of the Worker-Bee (See PL I. Fig. 3.) 

 The workers, to the number of 10,000, 20,000, 

 and even 30,000, constitute the great mass of the 

 population, and on them devolve the whole labours 

 of the establishment. Theirs is the office of search- 

 ing for and collecting the precious fluid which not 

 only furnishes their daily food, as well as that of 

 their young, and the surplus of which is laid up for 

 winter stores, but also the materials from which they 

 rear their beautiful combs. In the little basket-sha- 

 ped cavity in their hind-legs, they bring home the 

 pollen or farinaceous dust of flowers, kneaded by the 

 help of the morning dew into tiny balls, which form 

 an important ingredient in the nourishment of the 

 brood ; and also the propolis or adhesive gum ex- 

 tracted from willows, &c. with which they attach 

 their combs to the upper part and sides of the hive, 

 and stop every crevice that might admit the winter's 

 coid. Exploring a glass hive in a soft spring morn- 

 ing, and following with his eye a Bee loaded wit ft 



E 



