96 ARTIFICIAL QUEENS, 



seems to express her rage and disappointment at 

 being baffled by tbe watchful guardians of the un- 

 hatched queen, from whom the hoarse sound comes. 

 In the afternoon of the same day., the last mentioned 

 female left her cell. We saw her come forth in 

 majesty, finely and delicately formed, but smaller 

 than the other. She immediately retired within a 

 cluster of workers, and we lost sight of her. Next 

 morning on opening the shutter of the hive, we per- 

 ceived the younger queen rushing apparent!}' in great 

 terror across the surface of the comb, and hurrying 

 round the edge of it to the other side ; and in the 

 next moment, the other royal personage came in 

 sight, hotly pursuing her rival. We now fully ex- 

 pected to witness Huber's combat of queens, and 

 were about to wheel round the hive on its pivot, to 

 contemplate the fray, when business called us away. 

 In half an hour we returned, hoping we might be in 

 time, but all was over ! the younger queen was lying 

 upon the alighting-board on her back, in the pangs 

 of death, newly dragged out by the bees, and doubt- 

 less the victim of her jealous senior. 



We observed two circumstances respecting these 

 artificial queens, which may be noticed here, though 

 rather, perhaps, out of place one of them agreeing 

 perfectly with the experience of Huber, while the 

 other is at variance with it. While the surviving 

 queen remained a virgin, not the slightest mark of 

 attention or respect was shewn to her by the bees ; 

 no one gave her food, she was obliged as often as 

 she required it, to help hersef.f, and in crossing 



