FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 77 



and then I catch her in the hollow of my right hand, 

 holding her in the hollow formed by the three fingers, 

 while with the thumb and forefinger I am free to handle 

 the frame at leisure. 



BEES BALLING QUEEN. 



When a colony is being overhauled, it sometimes 

 happens that the queen is found balled. This balling 

 is likely more because the colony, being frightened, is 

 seeking to protect the queen than because of any hostility 

 to her. Fig. 30 shows a queen thus balled, or rather the 

 balling bees are shown, the queen being hidden by them. 

 The ball is small, whereas a ball of bees bent on the des- 

 truction of a strange queen is likely to be as large as a 

 hickory-nut, or larger. 



Fig. 24 — Clipping the Queen. 



Whether the obj-ect of the bees be to protect the 

 queen or not, anything that tends to excite them suffi- 



