150 Domestic ANIMALS. 
80 long as there is any prospect of her leading out a swarm. 
When the old queen departs with a swarm, a young one is 
liberated, who immediately seeks the desgruction of her sisters, 
but is prevented by the guards. If she lead forth another 
swarm, a second queen is liberated, and so on until further 
swarming is considered impossible, when the reigning queen is 
permitted to destroy her sisters. In cases where no new 
swarm is to be sent off, the queen mother is permitted to 
assume the office of destroyer. If at any time two queens 
happen to come out simultaneously, it is said that a mortal 
combat takes place at once, and the victor, is acknowledged to 
be the rightful sovereign. On the loss of a queen, the whole 
swarm is thrown into the greatest confusion, and if there be 
no worker eggs or brood out of which a queen can be made 
by the peculiar process of feeding already mentioned, all labo. 
ceases and the bees soon die. 
There are three substances for which the bees forage the 
fields. First, a resin, or gum, which is on trees; next, the 
pollen, or fine dust, of flowers; and lastly, the saccharine mat- 
ter that is in the flowers. When the cells are to be built, they 
bring home the resin, and stop all the cracks or crevices in the 
Fig. 48. hive, so that neither the 
rain nor any insect can 
get in to trouble them. 
Then they set forth to 
bring materials for wax, 
to construct their cells, 
The wax is made from 
pollen. The bees swallow 
it, and then hang them- 
selves in festoons in the 
hive. In the course of 
twenty-four hours small 
rings make their appear- 
ance on the body. Theu 
the bee detaches itself from the rest of the group, and, descend- 
Festoons or Bess Srorstina Wax. 
