NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY BEE. 33 



important insect. She is just as necessary to its welfare, as 

 the soul is to the body, for a colony without a queen must 

 as certainly perish, as a body without the spirit hasten to 

 inevitable decay. 



She is treated by the bees, as every mother ought to be 

 by her children, with the greatest respect and affection. A 

 circle of her loving offspring constantly surround her, testi- 

 fying, in various ways, their dutiful regard ; gently touching 

 or embracing her with their antennae, offering her honey, 

 from time to time, and always, most politely backing out of 

 her way, to give her a clear path when she wishes to move 

 over the combs. If she is taken from them, as soon as they 

 have ascertained their loss, the whole colony is thrown into 

 a state of the most intense agitation ; all the labors of the 

 hive are at once abandoned ; the bees run wildly over the 

 combs, and frequently, rush forth from the hive, exhibiting 

 all the appearance of anxious search for their beloved 

 mother. Not being able to find her, they return to their 

 desolate home, and by their mournful 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 the experienced bee-keeper, for their ordinary, 

 happy hum, than the piteous meanings of a sick child could 

 be confounded by an anxious mother, with its joyous Growings 

 when overflowing with health and happiness. 



I am well aware that all this will sound to many, much 

 more like romance than sober reality ; but I have determined, 

 in writing this book, to state facts, however wonderful, just 

 as they are ; confident that in due time they will be univer- 

 sally received, and hoping that the many wonders in the 

 economy of the honey bee will not only excite a wider inter- 



