334 THE INSECT WORLD. 



of bees. The first swarm is always led by the old queen ; if other 

 swarms succeed, it is the young females lately hatched who lead 

 the way. 



There are many signs which announce that a swarm is going to 

 take place. The appearance of the males, or drones, is one of the 

 first signs. Another sign, but far from being infallible, is the 

 excess of the population in the common home. The bees seem 

 then to find themselves so ill at ease in their over-crowded hive, 

 that part of them go out and keep outside, either on the stand 

 upon which the hive is placed, or upon the hive itself. Crowds of 

 bees may be seen heaped up on each other outside, only waiting 

 for the signal of departure. But the least equivocal of all the 

 signs, that which points out the event for the very day, says 

 Reaumur, is when the bees of a hive do not go into the country 

 in as great a number as usual, although the weather may be 

 favourable and seem to invite them to do so. "There is no sign," 

 says Reaumur, " which points out so surely that a swarm is pre- 

 paring to take flight, as when in the morning, at those hours 

 when the sun shines, and when the weather is favourable for 

 work, the bees go out in a small number from a hive from which 

 they went out in great quantities on the preceding days, and 

 bring back only a little rough wax. The fact of their acting in 

 this manner seems to force us to concede to bees more intelligence 

 and foresight than many people are inclined to allow that they 

 possess; at any rate, it is exceedingly puzzling to those who 

 wish to explain all their actions by saying that they are purely 

 mechanical. Does it not seem proved that from the morn- 

 ing all the inhabitants of a hive have been informed of the 

 project which will be executed not before noon, or, perhaps, not 



for some hours after it ? There is a well-known story of 



an old grenadier who, being comfortably asleep while his comrades 

 were pitching their tents, answered to his general, M. de Turenne, 

 when questioned on the subject, i that he knew very well that 

 the army would not remain long in the camp they were pitching? 



" All our bees, or nearly all, seemed to have foreseen the move 

 that their queen was about to make, as that old soldier had fore- 

 seen the general's order to his army."* 



* " Memoires pour servir a 1'Histoire des Insectes," tome v., p. 611. 



