86 BEE-BOXES. 



and caressed her, touching her softly with their 

 antennae ; but that as soon as she moved onwards, 

 they resumed their labours, whilst all that she 

 passed in succession paid her the same homage. 

 This sort of homage is only paid to fertile queens ; 

 whilst they continue virgins, they are not treated 

 with much respect. 



The queen is very numerously surrounded, when 

 depositing her first eggs in the cells, her attend- 

 ants then cling to one another and form a living 

 curtain before her, so completely impenetrable to 

 our eyes, as to preclude all observation of her 

 proceedings ; unless the apiarian use the leaf-hive 

 of Huber, or the mirror-hive of Dunbar, it is 

 hardly possible to snatch a sight of her, excepting 

 when she lays her eggs near the exterior parts of 

 the combs. The manner in which bees attach 

 themselves to each other, when forming a curtain, 

 or when suspending themselves from a bough, or 

 taking their repose, is, by each bee, with its two 

 fore claws, taking hold of the two hinder legs of 

 the one next above it, thus forming as it were a 

 perfect grape-like cluster or living garland. Even 

 when thus intertwined with each other, as Swam- 

 merdam has observed, they can fly off from the 

 bunch, and perch on it again, or make their way 

 out from the very centre of the cluster, and rush 

 into the air. This mode of suspension, so volun- 

 tarily adopted, must be agreeable to them, though 



