602 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 
Since then I have watched for and seen the same thing happen 
more than once. 
Obviously you can’t expect many chances of observing this, as, 
of course, these just happen to be such bees as “at that particular 
juncture” find they are doomed, and act accordingly. 
I had, however, a good chance of noting it on each occasion, as 
I took the precaution of being “on the gui vive” during hours 
(only too many this year), when few bees were out. Again, | 
kept my eye solely on any old, ragged-winged bee who had 
missed the flight-board (to be sure, in the great majority, or rather, 
in all but in the few solitary cases I remarked, these managed to 
get in); and, lastly, the “laden” flight of the departing bee was 
not difficult to follow, nor could one confound it in all the cases 
IT saw both this summer and,asI shall further on narrate, in 
winter, with the fiight of the bees that might chance to be at 
work, going and returning, below. 
I am aware that some bees on rising to gain the flight-board 
will take a sweep round in front of the hive first, as if to get 
“elevation,” but these did not do that. They rose high in the air 
with a spiral half-turn, and faced straight away from the hive out 
of sight altogether. 
My winter experiments have convinced me that bees will 
deliberately leave the hive and cast themselves forth to die, in 
preference to awaiting death therein. 
Neither need this appear incredible when we recall the case 
(frequently to be observed) of the sickly-looking, imperfectly- 
formed, young bee, evidently just emerged from the cell, dragging 
its deformed body, as fast as its feebleness will allow it, out of the 
hive, and down the flight-board, to fall and die as remote as 
possible, lest the community should be inconvenienced. 
I now send you this, as I here divide what I observed in winter 
from this portion, to let you say if you would care to hear further. 
T intend making further observations during the working 
months, and have asked other bee-keepers to do so. 
