OF NATURAL HISTORY. 147 



uniformly fix their eggs upon fuch plants as are mofl: agreeable to 

 the palate and conftitution of their young. Water infeds never 

 depofit their eggs on dry ground. I have feen butterflies which 

 had been transformed in the houfe exhibit marks of the greateft un- 

 eafinefs becaufe they could not find a proper nidus for their eggs ; 

 and, when every other refource failed, they pafted the eggs on the 

 panes of the window- 

 Some fpecles of animals look not to future wants. Others, as 

 the bee and the beaver, are endowed with an inftindl which has the 

 appearance of forefighc. They conftruft magazines, and fill them 

 with provifions. 



The common bees attend the female, or queen, do her many lit- 

 tle fervices, and even feed her with honey from their trunks *. 

 When deprived of the female, all their labours ceafe f , till a new 

 one is obtained, whom they treat with much refped, and renew their 

 ufual operations f . They make cells of three different dimenfions, 

 for holding workers, drones, and females; and the queen- bee, in 

 depofiting her eggs, diftinguiflies the three different kinds, and ne- 

 ver puts a royal or a drone egg into the cells deftined for the recep- 

 tion of the working bees. What is equally fingular, the number of 

 thefe cells is proportioned to that of the different bees to be produ- 

 ced. One royal cell weighs as much as one hundred of the com- 

 mon kind II . When there are feveral females in a hive, the bees 

 work little till they have deftroyed all the females but one. If more 

 than a fingle female were allowed to remain in a hive, a greater 

 number of eggs would be laid than the working bees are able to 

 make cells for receiving them. 



I T 2 The 



• Reaumur, i2mo edit. vol. p. pag. 300. f Ibid. pag. 320. 



% Ibid. pag. 340. II Ibid. torn. 10. pag. 124. 



