THE BEE. 



martial conflict until one only survives, who assumes the throne- 

 of the hive. 



143. The circumstances and anecdotes related by observers 

 illustrative of the affection, devotion, and respect manifested 

 towards the queen by her subjects are innumerable. In addition 

 to those which we have already given, the following will be 

 read with interest. 



All the devotion, it must be observed, commences only after the 

 royal nuptials. A virgin queen is treated with indifference the 

 most absolute. But aftfr her marriage has been celebrated, and 

 she presents herself to her subjects in the double character of 

 sovereign and mother, they more than respect her. " They are," 

 says Reaumur,* "constantly on the watch to make themselves- 

 useful to her, and to render her every kind office. They are for 

 ever offering her honey. They lick her with their proboscis, and 

 wherever she goes she has a court to attend her." 



144. The same naturalist relates that even the inanimate body of 

 the queen is an object of tenderness and affection to the bees. He 

 took one out of the water quite motionless and seemingly dead. 

 It was also mutilated, having lost part of one of its legs. Bring- 

 ing it home, he placed it among some workers that he had found 

 in the same situation, most of which he had recovered by means 

 of warmth, some, however, being still in as bad a state as the 

 poor queen. No sooner did these revived workers perceive the 

 latter in this wretched condition than they appeared to compas- 

 sionate her case, and did not cease to lick her with their tongues till 

 she showed signs of returning animation ; which the bees no sooner 

 perceived than they set up a general hum as if for joy at the 

 happy event. All this time they paid no attention to the workers, 

 who were in a most miserable condition, f 



145. In the economy of the bee, there is nothing which presents- 

 more difficulty to the naturalist than the satisfactory explanation 

 of the functions of the drones. These, as has been already ex- 

 plained, are the sole male members of the society ; the queen 

 being the sole fertile female ; and the workers, though female, 

 exercising none of the functions of that sex, and being limited to 

 the industrial and parental duties of the society. The number of 

 drones in a single society is from 1500 to 2000, one only of whom 

 can enjoy the honour of elevation to the distinguished position of 

 king consort, and that one, as already explained, never surviving 

 the day of the nuptials. What then, it may well be asked, are 

 the services rendered to the community by thes^e hundreds of con- 

 sumers of the products of the industry of the society ? They never 

 themselves take part in the common labours. They neither 



* Beaurmir, v. 262. f Reaumur, v. 265. 



74 



