THE QUEEN. 41 
tant insect; but must as surely perish, as the body without 
the spirit must hasten to inevitable decay. 
101. The queen is treated with the greatest respect and 
affection by the bees. A circle of her loving offspring often 
surround her, testifying in various ways their dutiful re- 
gard; some gently embracing her with their antenne, others 
offering her food from time to time, and all of them politely 
backing out of her way, to give her a clear path when she 
moves over the combs. If she is taken from them, the 
whole colony is thrown into a state of the most intense agi- 
tation as soon as they ascertain their loss; all the labors of 
the hive are abandoned ; the bees run wildly over the combs, 
and frequently rush from the hive in anxious search for 
their beloved mother. If they cannot find her, they return 
to their desolate home, and by their sorrowful tones reveal 
their deep sense of so deplorable a calamity. Their note at 
such times, more especially when they first realize their loss, 
is.of a peculiarly mournful character; it sounds somewhat 
like a succession of wailings on the minor key, and can no 
more be mistaken by an experienced bee-keeper, for their 
ordinary happy hum (76), than the piteous moanings of a 
sick child could be confounded by the anxious mother with 
its joyous crowings when overflowing with health and hap- 
piness. We shall give, in this connection, a description of 
an interesting experiment. 
102. A populous stock was removed, in the morning, to 
a new place, and an empty hive put upon its stand. Thous- 
ands of workers which were ranging the fields, or which left 
the old hive after its removal, returned to the familiar spot. 
It was truly affecting to witness their grief and despair; 
they fiew in restless circles about the place where once stood 
their happy home, entering the empty hive continually, and 
expressing in various ways, their lamentations over so cruel 
a bereavement. Towards evening, ceasing to take wing, 
they roamed in restless platoons, in and out of the hive, and 
