THE S\VARA\ 



understand each other, and adopt con- 

 certed measures, when, for instance, the 

 great honey thief, the huge sphinx 

 atropos, the sinister buttertly that bears a 

 death's head on its back, penetrates into 

 the hive, humming its own strange note, 

 which acts as a kind of irresistible 

 incantation : the news spreads quickly 

 from group to group, and from the 

 guards at the threshold to the workers 

 on the furthest combs, the whole 

 population quivers. 



*:• 



It was for a long time believed that 

 when these wise bees. genera!l_\- so pru- 

 dent, so far-sighied and economical, aban- 

 doned the treasures of their kingdom 



[23] 



