2 HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 



Every association of bees comprises three de- 

 scriptions of individuals ; and each description is 

 distinguished by an appearance and cast of cha- 

 racter peculiar to itself. 



" First of the throng and foremost of the whole, 

 One * stands confest the sovereign and the soul.' " 



This couplet may, to a limited extent, be applied 

 to other kinds of bees; but it is more peculiarly 

 applicable to hive-bees, as amongst them there 

 has never been found, in any single family, more 

 than one acknowledged regnant chief, usually de- 

 signated by the name of Queen ; of whom, as 

 having the highest claim to our attention, I shall 

 first proceed to speak. 



The QUEEN, who is at once the mother and the 

 mistress of the hive, differs, as Mr. Hunter has 

 observed, from the royal chiefs of other insects, 

 such as hornets, wasps and humble-bees ; for the 

 chiefs of these latter societies seem to work them- 

 selves into royalty, whereas the queen of the hive- 

 bees reigns from her very birth. She is distin- 

 guishable from the rest of the society by her ma- 

 jestic movements, by the great length of her body, 

 the proportional shortness of her wings, and her 

 bent sting. Her body tapers gradually to a point, 

 her fangs are shorter, her head is rounder, and her 

 trunk not half so long as that of the working bee. 

 Her wings extend only half the length of her 

 body, but are strong and sinewy. Her colours 



