346 THE INSECT WORLD. 
then takes place between the two battalions. Each one precipi- 
tates itself with fury upon its adversary. Two bees press against 
and bite each other till one is overcome. The victor springs 
upon the back of the vanquished, squeezes it round the neck with 
its mandibles, and pierces it between the rings of its abdomen 
with its sting. The victorious bee places itself by the side of its 
fallen enemy, and resting on four of its legs, rubs its two hind 
ones together proudly, as a sign of supreme triumph. Réaumur 
relates a strange fact which he says he often observed, and which 
proves that the insects we are treating of do not fight to satisfy 
a sanguinary and savage instinct, but (which is less reprehensible) 
to satisfy their hunger. Bees attacked by a superior force are 
in no danger of losing their lives if their enemies can induce 
them to give up their throats—that expression conveys the idea. 
Supposing three or four are furiously attacking one bee: they are 
pulling it by its legs and biting it on its thorax. The unfortunate 
object of this attack has then nothing better to do, to escape alive 
from such a perilous situation, than to stretch out its trunk laden 
with sweet-scented honey. The plunderers will come one after 
the other and drink the honey; then, cloyed, satisfied, having 
nothing more to demand, they go their way, leaving the bee to 
return to his dwelling-place. 
There are also strange fights—regular duels—between the bees 
of the same hive. Very hot weather has the effect of irritating 
them, and making them boil over with rage. They are then 
dangerous to man, whom they attack boldly. But more often it is 
amongst themselves that they quarrel. One often sees two bees 
which meet seize each other by the neck in the air. It happens 
also that a bee, in a state of fury, throws itself on another who is 
walking quietly and unsuspiciously along the edge of its hive. 
When two bees are struggling in this manner they descend to the 
ground, for in the air they would not be able to get purchase 
enough to be sure of striking each other. They then engage in a 
hand-to-hand fight, as the gladiators used formerly to do in the 
circus. They are continually making stabs with their stings, but 
almost always the point slips over the scales with which they are 
covered. The combat is sometimes prolonged during an hour 
before one of them has found the weak point in the other’s natural 
