THE HONEY-BEE. 



whatever ; nor did a set of tuning-forks, which I tried 

 on a subsequent day, have any more effect. These 

 tuning-forks extended over three octaves, beginning 

 with A below the ledger-line. I also tried with my 

 voice, shouting, &c., close to the head of a bee ; 

 but, in spite of my utmost efforts, the bees took no 

 notice. I repeated these experiments at night, when 

 the bees were quiet ; but no noise that I could make 

 seemed to disturb them in the least. In this respect 

 the results of my observations on bees entirely 

 agreed, with those on ants." 



These experiments do not appear by any means 

 conclusive. It may well be that sounds which are 

 merely loud or shrill would pass unnoticed by the 

 insects, as conveying no meaning to them. In like 

 manner, a clap of thunder, the firing of a cannon or 

 gun, the playing of a brass band, will produce no 

 manifest effect upon them ; but, if the queen utters, 

 as she sometimes does, a peculiar sound, an instan- 

 taneous and very remarkable recognition of it takes 

 place. The sound referred to is usually heard at the 

 time when the young princesses are ready to emerge 

 from the cells in which they have been developed. 

 When thus emitted by the young queens, no attention 

 appears to be paid to it by the workers, who, however, 

 restrain the mother-queen from destroying her royal 

 daughters. But, when these are released from their 

 natal captivity, and the queen, standing with her 

 thorajc against a comb, makes, with her wings crossed 

 over her back and in rapid vibration, a certain sound, 

 it receives immediate attention. Ruber tells us that 

 bees which had been plucking at, biting, and chas- 

 ing the queen, hung down their heads when, this 



