94 STRANGE FACTS ABOUT QUEENS 



colony leaves with the queen on her wedding 

 flight. 



It would seem that, knowing themselves capable 

 of rearing another queen, and, indeed, having other 

 young queens in their cells, in case anything 

 happens to the first, they are not concerned, but 

 when there is no such reserve in the hive, they 

 consider it necessary to form a strong bodyguard 

 to protect their only hope. 



When the queen returns to the hive duly 

 fertilised, she first removes the adhering portions 

 of the drone, and then commences to destroy all 

 the other queens in the hive, displaying a most 

 bloodthirsty desire to perform this duty. In 

 some cases the workers assist her, but when 

 the hive is still very thickly populated with 

 bees, they sometimes, seeing the advisability of 

 a further migration, prevent her from doing so, 

 and when this is the case, she, failing in her 

 desire to annihilate her rivals, rushes from the 

 hive, together with a number of the bees. Some- 

 times these second swarms, as they are called, are 

 almost as large as a first or prime swarm, but in 

 general much smaller. In some hives this pro- 

 ceeding takes place several times, at intervals of 

 two or three days; but, from the bee-keeper'spoint 

 point of view, it is desirable in most cases not to 

 allow more than a first and second swarm to take 

 place, as the hive is seriously weakened and the 

 casts are of little value. By cutting out all the 



