Egg-laying by the ^ueen. 87 



the queen, like the drones, will soon die if she be shut away 

 from the workers by a double wire cage, even though in 

 the hive and surrounded with honey. The fact that pollen 

 husks — cuticula — are never found in the queen's stomach 

 gives added proof of the above fact. The contents are 

 grayish. I never saw a queen void her feces. Vogel reports 

 having seen it, and Mr. Cowan reports to me that he has seen 

 a queen pass a yellowish gray liquid. Thus there is no doubt 

 of the view of the German scientists, especially as we find 

 the queen's alimentary canal comparatively small, though 

 the renal tubules are large and numerous. The queen, like 

 the worker bees, is developed from an impregnated egg, 

 which of course could only come from a queen that had 

 previously mated. These eggs are not placed in a hori- 

 zontal cell, but in one specially prepared for their reception 

 (Fig. 24 i ). The queen cells are usually built on the edge 

 of the comb, or around an opening in it, which is necessi- 

 tated from their size and form, as usually the combs are 

 too close together to permit their location elsewhere. These 

 cells extend either vertically or diagonally downward, arc 

 very rough and are composed of wax cut from the old 

 combs, mixed with pollen, (Mr. Cheshire says all kinds of 

 refuse is used in constructing queen cells) and in size and 

 form much resemble a pea-nut. The eggs must be placed 

 in these cells, either by the queen or workers. Huber, 

 who though blind had wondrous eyes, witnessed the act. 

 I have frequently seen eggs in these cells, and without 

 exception in the exact position in which the queen always 

 places her eggs in the other cells. John Keys, in the old 

 work already referred to, whose descriptions, though penned 

 so long ago, are wonderfully accurate and indicate great 

 care, candor, and conscientious truthfulness, asserts that the 

 queen is five times as long laying a royal egg as she is the 

 others. From the character of his work, and its early 

 publication, I can but think that he had witnessed this rare 

 sight. Some candid apiarists of our own time and country 

 — E. Gallup among the rest — claim to have witnessed the 

 act. The eggs are so well glued, and are so delicate, that, 

 with Neighbour, I should doubt the possibility of a removal 

 except that some persons assert that they have positiA c 



