VOL. LXXXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 175 



In the month of April, I found in the cells, young bees, in all stages, from 

 the egg to the chrysalis state; some of which were changed in their colour, 

 therefore were nearly arrived at the fly state, and probably some might have flown. 

 As this season is too early for collecting the provision of the maggot abroad, the 

 store of farina comes now into use; but as soon as flowers begin to blow, the 

 bees gather the fresh, though they have farina in store, giving the fresh the 

 preference. 



Of the queen. — The queen bee, as she is termed, has excited more curiosity 

 than all the others, though much more belongs to the labourers. From the 

 number of these, and from their exposing themselves, they have their history 

 much better made out: but as there is only one queen, and she scarcely ever 

 seen, it being only the effects of her labour we can come at, an opportunity has 

 been given to the ingenuity of conjecture, and more has been said than can well 

 be proved. She is allowed to be bred in the common way, only that there is a 

 peculiar cell for her in her first stage; and Reaumur says, " her food is different 

 •when in the maggot state;" but as there is probably but one queen, that the 

 whole might not depend on one life, it is asserted that the labourers have a 

 power of forming a common maggot into a queen. If authors had given us this 

 as an opinion only, we might have passed it over as improbable, but they have 

 endeavoured to prove it by experiments, which require to be examined: and 

 for that purpose, I shall give what they say on that head, with my remarks 

 on it. 



Abstracts from Mr. Schirach. — The following experiments were made to as- 

 certain the origin of the queen bee: — "In 12 wooden boxes were placed J2 

 pieces of comb, 4 inches square, each containing both eggs and maggots, so 

 suspended that the bees could come round every part of the comb: in each box 

 was shut up a handful of working bees. Knowing that when bees are forming 

 a queen, they should be confined *, the boxes were kept shut for 2 days. When 

 examined at the end of that period, 6 boxes only were opened, in all of them 

 royal cells were begun, 1, 2, or 3, in each; all of these containing a maggot 4 

 days old. In 4 days the other 6 boxes were opened, and royal cells found in 

 each, containing maggots 5 days old, surrounded by a large provision of jelly; 

 and one of these maggots, examined in the microscope, in every respect re- 

 sembled a working bee. This experiment was repeated, and the maggots se- 

 lected to be made queens were 3 days old; and in 17 days there were found in the 

 12 boxes 15 lively handsome queens-f-. These experiments were made in May, 



* How he came to know this, I cannot conceive, for nothing a priori could give such informa- 

 tion. — + Now this account is not only improbable, but it is not consistent with itself. First it is 

 not probable that a handful of bees should, or would, set about making 2, 3, or 4 queens, when we 

 do not find that number in a large hive: and 2dly, it seems inconsistent that only 15 should be 

 formed out of 12 parcels, when some of the former parcels had 4 young queens. — Orig. 



