VOL. LXXXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 103 



The swarm commonly consists of 3 classes; a female, or females,* males, 

 and those commonly called mules, which are supposed to be of no sex, and are 

 the labourers; the whole about 2 quarts in bulk, making about 6 or 7 thousand. 

 It is a question that cannot easily be determined, whether this old stock sends off 

 entirely young of the same season, and whether the whole of their young ones, 

 or only part. As the males are entirely bred in the same season, part go ofF; 

 but part must stay, and most probably it is so with the others. They 

 commonly come off in the heat of the day, often immediately after a shower: 

 who takes the lead I do not know, but should suppose it was the queen. When 

 one goes off, they all immediately follow, and fly about seemingly in great con- 

 fusion, though there is one principle actuating the whole. They soon appear 

 to be directed to some fixed place; such as the branch of a tree or bush, the 

 cavities of old trees, holes of houses leading into some hollow place; and when- 

 ever the stand is made, they all immediately repair to it, till they are all col- 

 lected. But it would seem, in some cases, that they had not fixed onany resting 

 place before they came off, or if they had, that they were either disturbed, if 

 it was near, or that it was at a great distance; for after hovering some time, as 

 if undetermined, they fly away, mount up into the air, and go off" with great 

 velocity. When they have fixed on their future habitation, they immediately 

 begin to make their combs, for they have the materials within themselves. I 

 have reason to believe that they fill their crops with honey when they come 

 away; probably from the stock in the hive. I killed several of those that came 

 away, and found their crops full, while those that remained in the hive had their 

 crops not near so full: some of them came away with farina on their legs, which 

 I conceive to be rather accidental. I must just observe here, that a hive com- 

 monly sends off" 2, sometimes 3, swarms in a summer; but that the 2d is com- 

 monly less than the first, and the 3d less than the 2d; and this last has seldom 

 time to provide for the winter: they often threaten to swarm, but do not; whe- 

 ther the threatening is owing to too many bees, and their not swarming is 

 owing to there being no queen, I do not know. It sometimes happens that the 

 swarm goes back again; but in such instances I have reason to think that they 

 have lost their queen, for the hives to which their swarm have come back do not 

 swarm the next warm day, but will hang out for a fortnight, or more, and then 

 swarm; and when they do, the swarm is commonly much larger than before, 

 which makes me suspect that they waited for the queen that was to have gone 

 off with the next swarm. 



So far we have set the colony in motion. The materials of their dwelling, 

 or comb, which is the wax, is the next consideration, with the mode of 

 forming, preparing, or disposing of it. In giving a totally new account of 



■• I have reason to believe that never more than one female comes off with a swarm. — Orig. 



Y 2 



