THE QUEEN 91 
recognized as the normal period of development from the egg to 
maturity. 
The instincts of the newly hatched queen are very different 
from those of the newly hatched worker. The worker mingles 
freely with her fellows without the slightest hostile action. The 
newly hatched queen begins at once to search for possible rivals. 
Should there be other unhatched queen cells, she will at once 
destroy them, if unmolested by the workers. Should the colony 
be preparing to swarm, the unhatched queens will be protected 
by a guard of workers. Ordinarily the needs of the colony are 
met by a single vigorous queen, and she promptly dispatches any 
others, either mature or in the cells. On one occasion the 
author observed three young queens to emerge almost simul- 
taneously. They immediately gave battle, and but a few 
moments elapsed until they were in a death grip. 
It sometimes happens that an old and failing queen will 
remain in the hive for a time with the daughter who will later 
supersede her. Apparently then there is no antagonism between 
them, for the mother in the very nature of things must shortly 
die. Just why there is such a change in the attitude toward 
each other in cases of this kind is hard to understand. 
Usually when the queen is from five to seven days old, she 
departs on her wedding flight. The mating takes place in the 
air during the warm period of the day, when the drones fly in 
greatest numbers. The organs of the male are torn violently 
away, and carried back to the hive by the newly impregnated 
queen. The entire content of the male seminal fluid is absorbed 
by the queen, who retains it in a special sac, where it continues 
to fertilize the eggs during the life of the queen mother. It is 
no longer questioned among practical bee-keepers that the queen 
mates but once, and that one impregnation is sufficient for life. 
One of the most remarkable things in the life of the bee is 
the fact that an impregnated queen may produce at will either 
male or female offspring, while the unimpregnated queen pro- 
duces male offspring. Apparently, the eggs from which drones 
