1839.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



470 



vered in euch a manner, that it exactly resembled 

 those swarms which, in endeavoring to settle, fix 

 on some brnnch of a tree. Being desired to take 

 it off, he did so, wherenpon the bees settled on his 

 shoulders, iiis head and his hands, without sting- 

 inor him or those in the vicinity. All followed him 

 when he retired ; lor besides those which he car- 

 ried about, they attended him in legions." Peo- 

 ple accustomed to handle bees with address, can 

 easily seize the queen, and then, as during swarm- 

 ing, little is to be apprehended irom the bees at- 

 tempting to sting ; they are too much occupied in 

 regarding their queen. 



Thougii the queen lays several eggs, which 

 will be successively translbrmed into queens, only 

 one in its perfect stale can exist in a swarm : a 

 plurality seems equally adverse to the intention of 

 nature as a total defect. Hence it (ollows, that of 

 two coming at the same time into existence, one 

 must die lor the wellare of the community. But 

 the charge of accomplishing the destruction of the 

 victim is not confided to the common bees ; the 

 queens themselves are entrusted with it. Were it 

 otherwise ordained, dangerous consequences might 

 be the result ; for while one group of bees de- 

 stroyed the first of two queens, another might 

 massacre the second, and the hive being thus de- 

 prived of boih, would perish. Nature has there- 

 fore inspired queens with the most deadly ani- 

 mosity, and the most insatiable thirst for each 

 other's lite, which nothing but actual death can 

 appease. 



The same intelligent naturalist, M. Huher, to 

 whose authority we frequently recur, gives an in- 

 teresting account of the combats of queens, pari 

 of which we shall abbreviate. In one of his hives 

 fittest for observation, two young queens left their 

 cells almost at the same moment. Whenever 

 they observed each other, they rushed together 

 apparently with great lury, and came into such a 

 position that the aniennai were mutually seized 

 bv their liimgs. The head, breast, and belly of 

 the one, were opposed to the head, breast, and 

 belly ol" the other. The extremity of their bodies 

 had only to be curved, that they might be recipro- 

 cally pierced with the slings, and both fall dead 

 together. But nature has not decreed that the 

 two combatants should perish in the duel ; when 

 in the position now described, they separate, and 

 retreat with the utmost precipitation ; and when 

 these rivals felt their extremities about to meet, 

 they disengaged themselves, and each fled away. 

 A few minutes after separating, however, their 

 mutual terror ceased, and they again began to 

 seek each other. Immeuiately on coming in sight, 

 they again rushed together, seized one another, 

 and resumed exactly their former position. The 

 result of this rencounter was the same ; when 

 their bellies approached, they hastily disengaged 

 themselves, and precipitately retreated. During 

 all this time the workers were in great agitation : 

 and the tumult seemed to increas^e when the ad- 

 versaries separated. Twice they inteirupled the 

 flight of the queens, seized their limbs, and re- 

 strained them prisoners about a minute. At last, 

 that queen which v/as either the strongest or the 

 most enraged, darted on her rival at a moment 

 when unperceived, and with her fangs took hold 

 of the origin of her winir, then rising above her, 

 she curved her own body, and inflicted a mortal 

 wound. She withdrew iier sting, and likewise 



quitted the wing she had seized : the vanquished 

 queen fell down ; dragged herself languidly along; 

 and her strengih dticiining, she soon expired. 

 Ai\other experiment, equally interesting, on the 

 nmtual antipathy of queens, elucidates tlie instinct 

 of the common bees, and seems to prove that they 

 are aware of the necessity that sucli combats 

 should have a fatal issue. M. Huber having 

 painted the thorax of a queen, on purpose that she 

 might be recognized, introduced her into a hive 

 already provided with the natural queen. A cir- 

 cle of bees quickly lijrmed around the stranger, 

 but not to caress or receive her with that grateful 

 homage which a queen is wont to experience ; on 

 the contrary, they insensibly accumulated to such 

 a degree, and encompassed her so closely, that 

 scarce a minute elapsed before she lost her liberty, 

 and became a prisoner. By a remarkable concur- 

 rence, the workers at the sama time collected 

 around the reigning qijeen; and restrained all iier 

 motions: she was instantly confined like the stran- 

 ger. But as if the bees anticipated the combat in 

 which these queens were about to engage, and 

 were impatient to witness its issue, they retained 

 them prisoners only when preparing to withdraw 

 from each other; and if one less restrained seemed 

 desirous of approaching her rival, all the bees 

 clustering together gave way, to allow her full li- 

 berty for the attack: then if the queens testified a 

 disposition to fiy, they returned to enclose them. 

 These facts form a singular anomaly in the histo- 

 ry of bees. That they take a decided part on the 

 occurrence of such combats, is indubitable; but if 

 they mean to accelerate them, how shall we ac- 

 count for th.e uncommon care and attention, on 

 every other occasion, bestowed on their queen, 

 be now forgotten, and for their opposing her pre- 

 parations to avoid impending danger? The clus- 

 ter of bees that here surrounded the reigning 

 queen having permitted her some freedom, she 

 appeared to advance towards that part of the comb 

 on which her rival stood. All the bees receded 

 before her: the multitude of workers between the 

 adversaries gradually dispersed, until only two re- 

 mained: these also removed, and allowed the 

 queens to come in sight. At this moment the 

 reigning queen rushed on the stranger, and fixing 

 her against the comb, mortally pierced her body 

 with her sting. 



The mutual antipathy manifested by queens, is 

 not limited to their perfeet state, for it extends to 

 nymphs yet in the cells. The future existence of 

 a rival, which may dispute her place in the hive, 

 seems to excite apprehension in a queen already 

 come to maturity. The oldest queen in a liive 

 containing five or six royal cells, having undergone 

 her ultimate metamorphosis, hastened, within ten 

 minutes of escaping from her confinement, to visit 

 t'le cells of the rest still close. She furiously at- 

 tacted that nearest to her, and, by dint of labor, 

 succecil"il in opening the top: then she began 

 learinff i'l!'. siik of the cocoon; bather eflJbrts be- 

 ing probably inadequate 'i^ her purpose, she sought 

 the other end of ihe ce:!, where she efi(3cted a 

 larger aperture. When of sufficient size, she en- 

 endeavored to introduce her belly; and afier many 

 exertions, succeeded ingiving her approaching rival 

 a deadly wound. When she lefi the cell, the bees, 

 which had hitherto been spectators of her labor, 

 began to enlarge the openinfr, and drew forth the 

 body of a queen scarcely come from the nymphine 



