CHAPTERII. 
THE QUEEN BEE, 
Tue Queen Bee is at once the mother and mistress of the Hive. 
She is distinguishable from the rest of the community by certain 
marks, which render her detection very easy, by any one once ac- 
quainted with her peculiarities. She is longer in the body than the 
common bee, and moves with a more deliberate and measured tread. 
Her wings are shorter than those of the worker or drone, whose bod- 
les are entirely covered, while those of the queen scarcely reach be- 
yond the middle. Her body tapers gradually to « point, her under 
jaws are shorter, her head rounder, her trunk more slender, and not 
half so long as that of the working bee. Her legs, though longer, 
have neither brushes nor baskets, or cavities in the thighs for the con- 
veyance of farina and propolis. Her colors distinguish her also: the 
upper surface of her body being a much brighter black, and the under 
surface and the legs of a dark orange or copper color, that of the 
hinder legs being somewhat deeper than the rest. We think the 
above explanation of the appearance of the queen will enable almost 
any one to distinguish her from the other bees in the hive, and if ne- 
cessary to remove her when requisite, as is sometimes the case in 
managing bees. 
The office of the queen is to increase the species by the laying of 
eggs, which she deposits in cells constructed for their reception. 
10 c 
