342 THE INSECT WORLD. 



with every appearance of the greatest rage, and put themselves 

 in such a position that each one had its antennae seized between 

 the teeth of its rival ; the head, the thorax, and abdomen of the 

 one were opposite to the head, the thorax, and abdomen of 

 the other ; they had only to bend round the posterior extremity 

 of their bodies and they would reciprocally have stabbed each 

 other with their darts, and both engaged in the combat would 

 have been killed. But it seems as if nature would not allow this 

 duel to end by the death of the combatants. One would say that 

 she had ordained that those queens, finding themselves in this 

 position (that is to say, face to face and abdomen to abdomen), 

 should retreat that very instant with the greatest precipitation. 

 And so, as soon as the two rivals felt that their posterior parts were 

 about to meet, they left go of each other, and each one ran away 



in an opposite direction A few minutes after they had 



separated from each other their fear ceased, and they recommenced 

 looking for each other. Yery soon they perceived the object of 

 their search, and we saw them running one against the other. 

 They seized each other as at the first, and put themselves exactly 

 in the same position. The result was the same ; as soon as their 

 abdomens approached each other they only thought of getting 

 free, and ran away. The working bees were very much agitated 

 during the whole of this time, and their tumult seemed to 

 increase when the two adversaries separated from each other. 

 We saw them on two different occasions stop the queens in their 

 flight, seize them by the legs, and keep them prisoners for more 

 than a minute. At last, in a third attack, the queen which was 

 the most infuriated or the strongest rushed upon her "rival at a 

 moment when she did not see her coming ; seized her with her 

 teeth by the base of her wing, then mounted on to her body, and 

 brought the extremity of her abdomen over the last rings of her 

 enemy, whom she was then able to pierce with her sting very easily. 

 She then let go the wing which she held between her teeth, and 

 drew back her dart. The vanquished queen dragged herself heavily 

 along, lost her strength, and expired soon afterwards."* 



These singular combats take place between young maiden queens. 

 Francis Huber, by introducing into a hive some queens from other 

 * "Observations sur les Abeilles," tome i., pp. 174-178. 



