The Life of the Bee 
very young, that the hive is depopulated 
and impoverished, and that there are great 
voids to fill before the arrival of winter. 
75 
The departure of the second and third 
swarms resembles that of the first, and the 
conditions are identical, with the exception 
that the bees are fewer in number, less 
circumspect, and lacking in scouts; .and 
also that the young and virgin queen, being 
unencumbered and ardent, will fly much 
further, and in the first stage lead the 
swarm to a considerable distance from the 
hive. The conduct of these second and 
third migrations will be far more ‘rash, 
and their future more problematical. The 
queen at their head, the representative of 
the future, has not yet been impregnated. 
Their entire destiny depends on the en- 
suing nuptial flight. A passing bird, a few 
drops of rain, a mistake, a cold wind—any 
one of these may give rise to irremediable 
disaster. Of this the bees are so well aware 
that when the young queen sallies forth in 
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