250 THE LORE OF THE HONEY BEE 
taking place in mid-air, of the kings leading forth 
their hosts of warriors—the din of carnage—the 
wounded and dying falling like rain out of the blue 
of the summer sky. These descriptions have 
always been a great puzzle to modern students of 
bee-life, because nothing of the kind seems to take 
place at the present day. Each hive goes about 
its business, apparently in complete disregard of 
the existence of other hives. Neither at home, 
nor abroad in the fields, are reprisals ever wit- 
nessed among bees, whether singly or collectively. 
The most peaceable creature in the world is the 
honey-bee, except in the single case when her home 
is being wantonly assailed. 
But in autumn frequent encounters take place 
between robber-bees and the hive they are attack- 
ing, and one is constrained to believe that it is of 
this Virgil writes. 
Perhaps when once a stock has discovered that 
stealing honey is a much quicker and easier 
method of obtaining it than by the laborious pro- 
cess of gathering, these particular bees will never 
again be won back to honest courses. Not only 
will the parent hive continue to break out in this 
way at the close of every season, but all swarms 
from the same hive are certain to develop the like 
tendencies. The strain will be a continual source 
of annoyance and loss to the bee-master, and, if 
he be wise, he will take the shortest and surest 
way of putting an end to the trouble, by promptly 
