20 THE HONEY-BEE. 



is to lay eggs, and every part of her structure and 

 every power she has is more or less related to this 

 all-important duty. She is, as we have implied, 

 freed from every other office. The hatching, the 

 tending, the rearing, the instruction of her progeny, 

 are entirely taken out of her hands, and it is doubtful 

 whether she has any affection for her children. She 

 is constantly attended by a retinue of ten or twelve 



FIG. 7. QUEEN SURROUNDED BY ATTENDANTS. 



The Queen, or Mother-Bee, as in nature, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, and 

 exhibited in a glass hive to the royal visitors at the British Bee- Keepers' Association 

 Show at Kilburn, 1879, by Abbott Bros., Southall. 



" maids of honour," who all keep their heads turned 

 towards her, clear the way for her, prevent all crowd- 

 ing round her, and supply her with the most 

 nutritious food, previously half digested by them- 

 selves. They caress her with their antennae, and 

 seem to find a real joy in mere proximity to their 

 monarch. Should she, by more rapid movements 

 than usual, outstrip her retiring attendants, the 

 bees with whom she thus unexpectedly comes in 

 contact appear excited and alarmed, and move 



