THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BROOD. 15 
or male passes three days in the egg, six and a half as a worm, and 
metamorphoses into a fly or perfect bee on the twenty-fourth or 
twenty-fifth day after the egg is laid.” 
“The young bees break their envelope with their teeth, and are as- 
sisted as soon as they come forth by the older ones, proceed to clean 
themselves from the exuviee with which they were surrounded,” and 
in the course of a few hours are busily engaged in the labors of the 
family. “We have seen her,” says Wildman, “the same day issue 
from the cell, and return from the fields loaded with wax like the 
rest.” Others suppose they remain in the hive for two or three days 
before they commence their labors. 
The royal cells, instead of being near horizontal, as the brood 
and store-house cells, are placed in perpendicular position on the 
edges of the combs, near the centre of the hive, are of much larger 
dimensions, and are not adjoining each other, but occupy different po- 
sitions on the edges of the combs, and resemble in form the shell of 
a peanut, as previously stated in Chap. ii., and from three to twelve in 
number. At the time the nymph is about to change to the perfect 
queen, the bees cut or gnaw away the wax or covering of the cell, 
rendering it very thin. In this position the young queen is supplied 
with food by the worker bees, by means of a small hole in the cover- 
ing, through which the confined queen receives its food from the 
worker bees. Bevan says, ‘‘ Probably the young queens are thus tem- 
porarily imprisoned, the more complete to ensure success to them in 
their first efforts to fly, which would seem to be an object of consid- 
erable importance. In furtherance of this, they are provided with 
capacious shells, which, by enabling them to expand their wings, be- 
fore they emerge, fit them for immediate flight, whereas the work- 
ers and drones issue from their cells with folded wings.” It has been 
supposed by some apiarians that the worker bees stand very much in 
awe of their sovereign, and that she has them perfectly at her command 
and control. Huber declares that he “has heard it on various occa- 
sions, and witnessed the striking effect which it has always pro- 
duced.” Other apiarians have, however, expressed different opinions, 
and have never witnessed any such effect produced as has been stated 
by Huber, and I doubt very much whether the queen has, and does 
