THE MARVEL OF INSECT LIFE. 



CHAPTER VII. 



BEES SPEAK A LANGUAGE. 



HEBRAISTS say that the name of Deb6rah, or " She 

 who speaketh," was given to the bee on account 

 of the humming sound made by its wings in flight. 

 Whether this be so I do not pretend to decide. But it is 

 quite certain that bees do speak a language of their own, 

 and that much of it is not only audible to human ears, 

 but intelligible to human minds. 



For example, any one who is accustomed to bees can 

 distinguish between the difr'ering sounds of the wings. 

 There is the quiet hum of contentment. There is the 

 flurried buzz of bewilderment, heard when bees suddenly 

 find themselves without their queen. There is the 

 quick, excited buzz of hunger, and even those who have 



