NATURAL HISTORY OP THE HONEY BEE. 51 



the head, thorax, and first ring of the abdomen; and Huber 

 concludes, without any hesitation, that the final cause of this 

 is, that they may be exposed to the mortal sting of the first 

 hatched Queen, whose instinct leads her instantly to seek the 

 destruction of those who would soon become her rivals." 



" If the royal larvEE spun complete cocoons, the stings of 

 the Queens seeking to destroy their rivals might be so en- 

 tangled in their meshes that they could not be disengaged. 

 ' Such,' says Huber, ' is the instinctive enmity of young 

 Queens to each other, that I have seen one of them, imme- 

 diately on its emergence from the cell, rush to those of its 

 sisters, and tear to pieces even the imperfect larvse. Hith- 

 erto philosophers have claimed our admiration of nature for 

 her care in preserving and multiplying the species. But 

 from these facts we must now admire her precautions in 

 exposing certain individuals to a mortal hazard.' " 



The cocoon of the royal larvae is very much stronger and 

 coarser than that spun by the drone or worker, its texture 

 considerably resembling that of the silk worm's. The young 

 Queen does not ordinarily come forth from her cell until she 

 is quite mature ; and as its great size gives her abundant 

 room to exercise her wings, she is usually capable of flying 

 as soon as she quits it. While still in her cell she makes the 

 fluttering and piping noises with which every observant bee 

 keeper is so well acquainted. 



When the eggs of the Queen are fully developed, like 

 those of the domestic hen, they must be extruded ; but some 

 Apiarians have supposed that she can regulate their develop- 

 ment so that few or many are produced, according to the 

 necessities of the colony. That this, to a certain extent, is 

 true, seems highly probable ; for if a Queen is taken from a 

 feeble colony, her abdomen seldom appears greatly distend- 

 ed ; and yet, if put in a strong one, she speedily becomes very 



