The Young Queens 
fever,” till the mother-city shall be com- 
pletely exhausted. 
Swammerdam cites a hive that, through 
its swarms and the swarms of its swarms, 
was able in a single season to found no 
less than thirty colonies. 
Such extraordinary multiplication is above 
all noticeable after disastrous winters; and 
one might almost believe that the bees, 
forever in touch with the secret desires of 
nature, are conscious of the dangers that 
menace their race. But at ordinary times 
this fever will rarely occur in a strong 
and well-governed hive. There are many 
that swarm only once; and some, indeed, 
not at all. 
After the second swarm the bees, as 
a tule, will renounce further division, owing 
either to their having observed the excessive 
feebleness of their own stock, or to the 
prudence urged upon them by threatening 
skies. In that case they will allow the 
third queen to slaughter the captives; 
ordinary life will at once be resumed, 
and pursued with all the more ardour 
for the reason that the workers are all 
213 
