140 A PHILOSOPHER WITH NATURE 



organs possessed by some of the lower forms favour 

 this suggestion. He is of opinion that the sounds 

 which bees hear may be not the low loud sounds but 

 the higher overtones at the verge of or beyond our 

 range of hearing. 



It is, however, remarkable that bees certainly do 

 seem to hear on some occasions. The note with 

 which the old queen threatens the royal brood as 

 they come to maturity, and swarming time ap- 

 proaches, and so well known to apiarists under the 

 name of " piping," can often be distinctly heard 

 some distance from the hive, and is evidently intel- 

 ligible to the young queens, for they respond in 

 tones perfectly audible to the listener. Although 

 bees will take no notice of a very loud noise even 

 quite close to the hive, it is, however, remarkable 

 that the sUghtest tap on the hive itself, or any of its 

 attachments, or even a heavy tread some distance 

 off, immediately disturbs them. 



Despite the study and observation to which bees 

 have been subjected, their habits and instincts are 

 still a promising and most interesting subject of 

 inquiry. The strange relation of the sexes has 

 received more attention than perhaps any other 

 subject connected with these httle insects, both on 

 account of the interest attaching to it, and also 

 because of its bearing upon other questions. The 

 subject is, however, still full of difficulty, and the 

 more it is investigated the more the interest at- 

 taching to it seems to grow. 



In a colony of bees there are the drones (males), the 

 queen (female), and the workers (neuters). It has 

 long been known that the neuters are merely im- 

 perfect females, and the bees possess the wonderful 



