1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



103 



a hive in this explanation. It is the appear- 

 ance of rival queens that causes these after- 

 swarms. 



" BEMARKABLE PACTS CONCEBNING THE QUEEN 

 BEE." 



Agassiz says: " The queen bee, usually quite 

 contented with her lot, watching over her pro- 

 geny, active, and patient in the care of her 

 eggs, becomes furious if a rival arises in the 

 hive." " Usually contented with her lot," ap- 

 pears to be correct, but being " active and pa- 

 tient in the care of her eggs and watching over 

 her progeny," is all imagination. The truth of 

 the matter is, she takes no more care of her 

 eggs or progeny than the flesli-fly or mosquito. 

 I feel safe in saying this, for I liave observed 

 hundreds or thousands of queens and never yet 

 saw one thus engaged. AH that the queen 

 does is to deposit her eggs in the cells, some do 

 not even do that properly, a half dozen eggs 

 being sometimes found in one cell. The su- 

 pernumerary eggs must be removed by tlie 

 workers. Any one can prove the truth of this 

 by a little attention. It is nearly true that if a 

 rival arises in the hive, the old queen will 

 sometimes " fight to the death." But when 

 the Professor exjalains how the rival appears, 

 he errs again. " So well this understood in the 

 hive that the workers take care to prevent such 

 conflicts by holdmg back the new queen just 

 ready to be hatched from her royal cell until 

 the ])ees have swarmed." This is the mother 

 queen, the old one, that is spoken of now. But 

 the fact is that when she issues with a swarm 

 there is no such thing as a new queen just ready 

 to be hatched, nor will there be short of a week, 

 unless bad wether has kept her back. Very 

 many swarms and old queens come out — espec- 

 ially with the Italians — when the young queen 

 has not yet emerged from the egg, and no young 

 queen in such case will hatch out short of 

 twelve days. Nature has provided that they 

 should leave when the young queen has pro- 

 gressed to the larva state and has been sealed 

 over in her cell. She is then a week longer in 

 changing from the larva to the chrysalis and 

 maturing to a perfect queen, before which time 

 she cannot fight. Now the instinct that teach- 

 es the old queen to leave with the first swarm 

 before there is any possibility of a conflict is 

 quite as wonderful to me as anything the Pro- 

 fessor relates. 



He continues : " At such a time," that is, just 

 before the issue of a first swarm, "the workers 

 "will stand by the cell out of which a queen is, 

 to be born, ascertain how far her transforma- 

 tion is completed, and, should there be a dispo- 

 sition of the young queen shortly to creep out, 

 they increase the deposit of wax upon the lid, 

 which shuts the cell, thus preventing the egress 

 of the royal prisoner. If she tries to break 

 through or attempts to gnaw her way out, the 

 workers crowd around the opening or accumu- 



late such an amount of wax upon it as to frus- 

 trate all her efforts. When the old queen has 

 peacefully departed the ne?v one is set free." 



Now we have seen or can see if we observe 

 properly tliat no sucli things happen with the 

 (Ad queen. We have hives in which we can 

 examine all parts, can see every bee, and exam- 

 ine the condition of every cell at any time. 

 AVith such hives nothing is easier than to show 

 Agassiz to be in error. Had his remarks been 

 applied to young queens they would have been 

 nearer the truth, but then would not have hit 

 it exactly. The way bees proceed in swarming 

 is briefly this: The old queen departs with tlie 

 swarm as soon as tlie first royal cells are ready 

 and sealed, usually leaving some unsealed. The 

 remaining workers go on precisely as Ijefore, 

 nurse the young, seal uf) the unfinished cells of 

 workers as well as the royal cells. The queen 

 th:it first matures bites her way out before she 

 has strength to fly, and makes it her business 

 to go about and sting her royal sisters to death. 

 This is exemi)lified when a hive throws off but 

 one swarm in a season. But if a second swarm 

 is to issue the case is diff"erent, and then is when 

 the second and other maturing queens are kept 

 back, not by depositing wax upon the lid, but 

 by simply holding it shut ; a little hinge on 

 one side is all that holds, and it can be pushed 

 open in a secona when the bees do not hold it. 

 The first hatched queen is not allowed to de- 

 stroy the others, and seems to understand that 

 they are deadly rivals and have strength to 

 fight a decided battle. She seems greatly agi- 

 tated, running about and stopping a moment 

 occasionally to give a few sharp shrill sounds. 

 Those in the cells repeat the notes in a hoarser 

 key. I have taken out the combs and held a 

 single one before me with the bees on it, and 

 have seen the queen at the time of making the 

 notes. I have examined the cells just describ- 

 ed containing the queens, and seen the bees 

 holding the door shut. I have cut off such 

 cells, held the door myself, heard the piping 

 noise in my hand, have laid the cell down and 

 saw her majesty push open the door to freedom 

 the next instant. This piping may always be 

 heard a day or two before an after swarm or 

 swarm with young queens. If the weather and 

 all is favorable, the first hatched queen seeming 

 to understand the consequence if she remains, 

 leaves with as many bees as choose to follow, 

 and avoids further trouble. This occurs usual- 

 ly in just nine days after the old queen issued. 

 Another queen is liberated "> 'hich proceeds like 

 the one first hatched, and i ' a third swarm is- 

 sues it is under similar circi instances and only 

 about two days after. \\ iien the bees are 

 through swarming the qu( "iii which is at liber- 

 ty destroys all her rivals a 1 reigns alone. 



Now, a few words abou the construction of 

 cells. The Professor says : "The swarm hav- 

 ing alighted near a favorable spot, a single 

 working bee — one out of twenty thousand, per- 



