The Life of the Bee 
return to their cells, and resume their 
peaceful path to the flowers that await 
them. 
78 
We will now, in order to simplify matters, 
return to the queen whom the bees have 
permitted to slaughter her sisters, and re- 
sume the account of her adventures. As 
I have already stated, this massacre will 
be often prevented, and often sanctioned, 
at times when the bees apparently do not 
intend to issue a second swarm; for we 
notice the same diversity of political spirit 
in the different hives of an apiary as in the 
different human nations of a continent. But 
it is clear that the bees will act imprudently 
in giving their consent; for if the queen 
should die, or stray in the nuptial flight, 
it will be impossible to fill her place, the 
workers’ larve having passed the age when 
they are susceptible of royal transformation. 
Let us assume, however, that the impru- 
dence has been committed; and behold our 
first-born, therefore unique, sovereign, and 
recognised as such in the spirit of her people. 
218 
