THE BEE. 



until the entire hive becomes a scene of tumult. The wax- 

 makers abandon their work, the nurses desert the infant brood ; 

 they run here and there in all directions through the streets and 

 passages of the hive as if in delirium. That all this disorder 

 and alarm is produced by the report spreading that the sovereign 

 has disappeared, was proved to demonstration by Huber, who 

 restored to the hive the queen he had purposely withdrawn. 

 Her majesty was instantly recognised by those who happened to 

 be assembled at the place of her restoration ; but what is remark- 

 able is that the intelligence of her return was immediately spread 

 through every part of the hive, so that the bees in its most remote 

 streets and alleys, who had no opportunity of personally seeing- 

 her majesty, were informed of her re-appearance, as was proved 

 by the restoration of order and tranquillity, and the resumption 

 of their usual labours by all classes of the population. 



129. If, instead of restoring to the hive the queen herself, a new 

 queen, stranger to the population, be introduced, she will not 

 at first be accepted. She will, on the contrary, be guarded and 

 imprisoned by a ring of bees, in the same manner as a strange 

 queen is treated in a hive which still retains its reigning sovereign. 

 But if she survives sixteen or eighteen hours in this confinement, 

 the guard around her gradually disperses itself, and the lady 

 enters the hive and assumes without further question the state 

 and dignity of queen, and becomes the object of the homage paid 

 to the sovereign. 



As we have already stated, the first work which the population 

 undertakes, after being assured of the loss of its queen, is directed 

 to obtain a successor to her. If there be not royal cells prepared, 

 they set about their construction. While this work was in 

 progress, and in twenty-four hours after their queen had been 

 taken from them, Huber introduced into the hive a fruitful queen 

 in the prime of life, being eleven months old. Not less than 

 twelve royal cells had been already commenced and were in a 

 forward state. The moment the strange queen was placed on 

 one of the combs, one of the most curious scenes commenced which 

 was probably ever witnessed in the animal world, and which has 

 been described by Huber. 



The bees who happened to be near the stranger approached her, 

 touched her with their antennsD, passed their probosces over 

 all parts of her body, and presented her with honey. Then they 

 retired, giving place to others, who approached in their turn and 

 went through the same ceremony. All the bees who proceeded 

 thus clapped their wings in retiring and ranged themselves in a 

 circle round her, each, as it completed the ceremony, taking a 

 position behind those who had previously offered their respects. A 

 62 



