OF THE INTELLIGENCE AND OF INSTINCT. 179 



the larvae, the working bees, or nurses, can change them from 

 working bees or neutrals into females or queens. Should the 

 queen bee be lost, the working bees immediately set to work 

 and break down several ordinary cells to convert them into a 

 royal celL The larva of one of these cells is now fed so as to 

 become a queen bee. When a young queen bee has finished 

 its metamorphosis, and gnawed through the covering of the 

 cell, a great agitation may be observed in the hive. On one 

 side may be seen working bees, which strive, as it were, to 

 retain her in the royal cell by shutting up all access to it ; on 

 the other hand may be seen the old queen bee approaching to 

 endeavour to destroy her, in which attempt she is obstructed 

 by hosts of working bees, which endeavour to obstruct her 

 progress, but make no attack on her. At last, as if in a 

 passion, she quits the hive, and with her the greater part of 

 the working bees and males over whom she presided. The 

 young bees, too feeble to leave, remain with the young queen 

 bee, which now becomes the sovereign of a new colony, occu- 

 pying the seat of the original one. The hive which has left 

 with the old queen remains together, and forms a new society, 

 which, recommencing again all the labours we have just de- 

 scribed, furnishes, after a certain time, a second swarm, whose 

 emigration is determined by the same causes as those which 

 gave rise to the first. A hive gives off several swarms during 

 a season, but the last are always feeble. The colony some- 

 times breaks up on the death of the queen bee, the attacks of 

 enemies, or the weakness of the swarm ; but the bees thus 

 dispersed seek shelter in other hives, where they are uniformly 

 destroyed by the proprietors of the hive, for no strange bee is* 

 admitted into a hive in which it was not born. Sometimes, 

 also, a whole colony attacks another, and robs it of its stores 

 of provisions. 



333. This pillaging instinct on the part of bees resembles 

 what we find takes place in some other insects, but which is 

 manifested in a different manner. Animals of a different 

 species are captured and reduced to slavery. The natural 

 history of ants gives us the example. 



These interesting insects live in colonies, composed of males, 

 females, and labourers. These latter are steriles, or neutrals : 

 they do all the necessary work, and are provided with strong 

 mandibles, a large head, but are without wings. Thus they 

 may be known from the other ants. Each species has its 

 own mode of procedure. Some build their houses in earth ; 



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