32 THE BEE keeper's MANUAL. 



colony. She reigns therefore, most unquestionably, by a 

 divine right, as every mother is, or ought to be, a queen in 

 her own family. Her shape is entirely different from that • 

 of the other bees. While she is not near so bulky as a 

 drone, her body is longer, and of a more tapering, or sugar- 

 loaf form than that of a worker, so that she has somewhat 

 of a wasp-like appearance. Her wings are much shorter, 

 in proportion, than those of the drone, or worker ; the un- 

 der part of her body is of a golden color, and the upper 

 part darker than that of the other bees. Her motions are 

 usually slow and matronly, although she can, when she 

 pleases, move with astonishing quickness. 



No colony can long exist without the presence of this all- 

 important insect. She is just as necessary to its welfare, as 

 the soul is to the body, for a colony without a queen must 

 as certainly perish, as a body without the spirit hasten to 

 inevitable decay. 



She is treated by the bees, as every mother ought to be, 

 by her children, with the most unbounded respect and affec- 

 tion. A circle of her loving offspring constantly surround 

 her, testifying, in various ways, their dutiful regard ; offer- 

 ing her honey, from time to lime, and always, most politely 

 getting out of her way, to give her a clear path when she 

 wishes to move over the combs. If she is taken from them, 

 as soon as they have ascertained their loss, the whole colony 

 is thrown into a state of the most intense agitation ; all the 

 labors of the hive are at once abandoned ; the bees run 

 wildly over the combs, and frequently, the whole of them 

 rush forth from the hive, and exhibit all the appearance of 

 anxious search for their beloved mother. Not being able 

 anywhere to find her, they return to their desolate home, 

 and by their mournful tones, reveal their deep sense of so de- 

 plorable a calamity. Their note, at such times, more espe- 



