312 INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



and retain them prisoners above a minute. At last, 

 the queen which was either the strongest or the most 

 skilful warrior, darted on her rival at a moment when 

 unperceived, caught one of her wings near its joint, 

 and rising exultingly above her, inflicted a mortal 

 sting. Quitting hold of the wing she withdrew the 

 weapon, while the wounded queen fell down, dragged 

 herself languidly along, and her strength failing, 

 she soon expired *." 



Experiments in proof of this were varied in every 

 possible way, both with impregnated and virgin queens, 

 and always with similar results. Reaumur has said, 

 that when bees have a queen they are satisfied with, 

 they are nevertheless disposed to give a good recep- 

 tion to any female seeking refuge among them. This, 

 however, does not at all agree with the experiments 

 of Huber and Dunbar, and it appears probable that 

 Reaumur mistook for caresses the anxiety of the crowd 

 which surrounded the stranger, on her introduction, 

 in order to keep her in confinement, his hives being 

 too thick for him to observe what followed. Huber 

 introduced into a very thin hive, containing a fertile 

 queen, another in the same condition, after painting 

 her thorax for the sake of distinction. " A circle of 

 bees/* he says, " quickly formed round the stranger, 

 but not with the intention of caressing and receiving 

 her well ; for their number soon increased so much, 

 and they surrounded her so closely, that in less than 

 a minute, she lost her liberty and became a prisoner. 

 It was remarkable that other workers at the same 

 time collected around their legitimate queen, and 

 restrained all her motions, for we saw her imprisoned 

 as closely as the stranger. It may be said that the 

 bees anticipated the combat in which these queens 

 were about to engage, and were impatient to behold 

 the issue of it, for they retained their prisoners only 

 * Huber on Bees, p. 93. 



