ARTIFICIAL SWAEMINO. 181 



I supposed myself to be the only observer who had noticed 

 this remarkable fact, and who had been led by it, to modify 

 the whole system of artificial swarming. The perusal of 

 Mr. Wagner's manuscript translation of that author, showed 

 me that he had arrived at precisely similar results. 



It may seem at first, very unaccountable that bees should 

 go on to fill their hives with comb unfit for breeding, when 

 the young queen will so soon require worker-cells for her 

 eggs; but it must be borne in mind, that bees, under such 

 circumstances, are always in an unnatural state. They are 

 attempting to rear a new queen in a hive which is only par- 

 tially filled with comb ; whereas, if left to follow their own 

 instincts, they never construct royal cells except in hives 

 which are well filled with comb, for it is only in such hives 

 that they make any preparations for swarming. It must be 

 confessed that they do not show their ordinary sagacity in 

 filling a hive with unsuitable comb ; but if it were not for a 

 few instances of this kind of bad management, we should 

 perhaps, form too exalted an idea of their intelligence, and 

 should almost fail to notice the marked distinction between 

 reason in man, and even the most refined instincts of some 

 of the animals by which he is surrounded. 



The determination of bees, when they have no mature 

 queen, if they build any comb at all, to build such as is 

 suited only for storing honey, and unfit for breeding, will 

 show at once, the folly of attempting to multiply colonies by 

 the dividing-hives. Even if the Apiarian has been perfect- 

 ly successful in dividing a colony, and the part without a 

 queen takes the necessary steps to supply her loss, if the 

 bees are sufficiently numerous to build a large quantity of 

 new comb, (and they Ought to be in order to make the artifi- 

 cial colony of any value,) they will build this comb in such 

 a manner that it will answer only for storing honey, while 

 16 



