LONGEVITY OF THE QUEEN. 21 
some half-dozen of bees were busily engaged for some forty-eight 
hours, when they were abandoned entirely, on account of the ad- 
vanced state of the brood. I had previously commenced feeding 
them, and the bees were building combs and storing them with honey, 
and worked to all appearances as well and systematically as if pos- 
sessed of a queen; which I was sure was not the case, as I could 
readily see every bee in the hive, and every cell, in a moment of time. 
I continued to feed them, and watch their operations closely by day 
and night, until I was satisfied they had a sufficient supply to last 
them as long as they would require food, as I could see from day to 
day that their numbers were diminishing; so that by the first of No- 
vember, one half of their number at least had become extinct. The 
remaining bees appeared as active and industrious as those occupying 
my other hives. They were flying briskly every pleasant day, and 
appeared eager to improve every opportunity to labor and gather 
stores as those of other colonies. Their numbers were continually 
diminishing, and on the first of December there were not more than 
a pint or pint and a half remaining in the hive; and by the middle of 
the month not a live bee remained. The cold weather probably had 
an effect in terminating their existence, as there were not a sufficient 
quantity of bees to keep up a proper amount of heat. 
The foregoing experiment, in’ connection with others made by 
Bevan, Huber, Reaumur, and others, goes to convince me that the 
natural life of the working bee does not reach the term of one year, 
and that they may very properly be termed an insect of 4 season. 
LONGEVITY OF THE QUEEN. 
The life of the queen bee has been ascertained to be of much longer 
duration than that of the worker. This is a wise provision of the 
Great Ruler of all events, for if the life of the queen was as brief as 
that of the working bee, the whole race would be liable to soon be- 
come extinct. 
The experiments and observations of Huber, Bevan, Dunbar, Gold- 
ing and Rocca, and of several American apiarians on this point, are 
sufficient and ample to settle this question.. Though no one has ever 
pretended to be definite as to the exact length of her life, all admit 
