206 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



began to piece out and repair the comb which, needed a 

 corner. The queen at once commenced laying, and soon 

 filled the unoccupied cells, when she was again removed, 

 and the bees once more began the construction of queen- 

 cells. 



" ' The young bees now began to hatch forth, and in two 

 weeks the family increased so fast as to make it necessary 

 for them to prepare to emigrate. They had built six queen- 

 cells, and in about twelve days the first queen was hatched. 

 As soon as she was fairly born, she marched rapidly, and 

 in the most energetic manner, over the comb, and visited 

 the other cells in which were the embryo queens, seeming 

 at tunes furious to destroy them. The workers, however, 

 surrounded her, and prevented such wholesale murder. 

 But for two days she was intent upon her fell purpose, and 

 kept in almost continuous motion to effect it. On the 

 fourteenth day, the second queen was ready to come out, 

 piping and making various noises to attract attention. 



" ' A part of the colony then seemed to conclude that it 

 was tune to take the first queen and go, but by some mis- 

 take she remained in the hive after the swarm had left. 

 The second queen came out as soon as possible after the 

 others had gone, and then there were now two hatched 

 queens in the hive ! they ran about on the comb, which 

 was now nearly empty, so that they could be distinctly 

 seen. But they had not, apparently, noticed each other, 

 while the workers were in a state of great uneasiness and 

 commotion, seeming impatient for the destruction of one 

 of them. The mode they adopted to accomplish it was 

 of the most deliberate and cold-blooded kind. A circle 

 of bees kept one queen stationary, while another party 

 dragged the other up to her, so that their heads nearly 

 touched, and then the bees stood back, leaving a fair field 

 for the combatants, in which one was to gain her laurels, 



